THE GAME - Keys to the Ultimate Freedom

星空

Since we have such a large and mixed group, I don't know how to start. The best thing is to do that which is best for the greatest number. There really is no mass teaching that is very effective. Teaching, in order to be really effective, must be on an individual basis. The power of the Teacher when focused on a group is not nearly as powerful as when focused on an individual. The power used by the Guru is more intense with the individual; it's dispersed to the group; it's not concentrated. When the Guru works with an individual pupil, all the power flows through to the pupil to lift him to the place where he sees the Truth.

Now, each individual has a particular thing that he or she is seeking and needing at the moment. When I answer an individual on the point that he is asking, usually there are others who have the same question and who can benefit by it. Therefore, in general, I like to answer questions. But if you want, I'll give you a short synopsis of the subject.

Basically, we are all infinite, perfect Beings. I assume that most of us accept this, at least theoretically. We are told this by the scriptures, especially the Hindu scriptures. The Masters tell us this. I come along and say the same thing. But why don't we express this infinite, perfect Being that we are? The reason why we don't express it is that through habit of lifetimes, we have played a game of limitation. We have played it so long that we have completely forgotten that we have been playing a game of limitation and that our real basic nature is infinite. We do not look at this infinite Being that we are. We continue every day, every moment, looking at this little puppet that we set up, called the body, and assume that we are that body. So long as we keep looking at this body as being us. We are stuck right there; we cannot see our infinity, we don 't know that it is; and we go on and on, lifetime in and lifetime out, assuming that we are a body.

We have done this for so long that it takes a super will to move in the opposite direction, to look at and see the infinite Being that we really are. This super will can take us a way from assuming every moment that we are a limited body. If we would do it for just one second and see this infinite Being that we really are, we would use that second to undo much limitation. But first we must assume that we are infinite. Then we must start undoing the limitations. We must actually accept that we are not this body, that we are not this mind. and until we do that we have absolutely no chance of getting out of this trap, called "The Game of Being limited Bodies."

So, as the scriptures say: Thou Art That. Be still and know it. Every thought we have is necessarily a thought of limitation. Let go of thought, - get still.

The methods are, as we know, to get quiet. Quiet the mind. The moment the mind is quiet enough, this infinite Being that we are becomes self-obvious. So the method is very simple: quiet that mind enough so that you see this infinite Being that you are. Now the moment you see it, the moment you see this infinite Being that you are, you'll immediately go to work to undo the remaining thoughts that you are not it. And when there are no more thoughts, there's only the infinite Being left.

Very oddly, what you are seeking is the very closest thing to you. Every time you say "I" that's It. When you say "I," you're talking about the infinite Being. When you say "I am a body" you're saying "I, the infinite Being, am a limited body with a limited mind." It's really as simple as all that. But simplicity does not mean it's easy to let go of the habits that you have been hanging onto for eons.

This, that everyone is seeking, the thing that everyone calls happiness, is nothing but the infinite Self that we are. Everyone, in his every act, is seeking this infinite Self that he is, calling it by other names: money, happiness, success, love, etc. Having been told this, -and again, we've been told this many times before, - why don't we just be what we are and stop trying to be what we are not, - a limited body? Can anyone answer that? Why don't we stop being limited?

Q: Because we can't.

Lester: You mean an infinite Being can't stop being limited?

Q: Because we don't want to.

Lester: Right. We don't want to!

Q: The infinite Being doesn't want to?

Lester: Yes. I, the infinite Being, think I am a limited body, and I've been doing this so long that I, the infinite Being, dont want to let go of constantly assuming I am this limited body. Does that make sense?

Q: Yes.

Lester: Every time you say "I" without going any further, you're talking about the infinite Being that you are, but you immediately add to it "am this body." If you would only just say "I-I-I" from here on, you'd get full realization, because as you're saying "I-I-I" you're concentrating on "I" and not saying, "I am a little body with needs."

So there's no one who is not every moment experiencing the infinite Being that he is. As long as he experiences an "I" he is experiencing this infinite Being that he is.

However, you don't want to see that. You want to be the body. So, what is required? First, saying to yourself "I am not this body, I am not this mind; then what am I?" If we reject this body and mind enough, what we are becomes self-obvious.

We can never become an infinite Being because we are that. We can just let go of the concepts that we are not it. We can just let go of the concepts that we are a body, a mind. The first thing needed is the desire to let go of this limited beingness that we think we are. A very strong desire to be the infinite Being that we really are is the only thing that we need to get there quickly.

But, as he said, we don't want it. If we really wanted It, we would have It. There is a difficulty, of course, and what is the difficulty? It's the habit; it's the unconscious habitual thinking; it's the mind. So we attack it by attacking this unconsciously very-thinking mind. The mind is the only cover over the infinite Being that we are. We must stop thinking long enough to see what we are, and that "long enough" can be just one second. If you would stop thinking for one second (thinking includes the unconscious thinking too), -if you would stop thinking for one second, the tremendous liberating shock of seeing what you are, would cause you to use this infinite power that is yours, to scorch the mind. The mind can be scorched in large amounts, each and ever-y time we will, just for a moment, drop into that unlimited state of no thinking.

I guess the next question is: How do we create the desire for it? If the desire is strong enough, anyone can see and fully be the infinite Being in a matter of weeks, months, a few years. If anyone of you had a strong desire to see this infinite Being that you are and just kept that desire only, in a few months you would see and remain as the infinite Being that you are. You would stop imagining yourself to be a limited body. So the key is desire.

When you desire to be a body-beautiful, a body-healthy, all these thoughts prevent you from seeing the infinite Being that you are. You simply must exchange all your desires for the one desire to discover your infinite real Self, I'd like some questions now on what I've said so that I can get closer to your wishes.

Q: While doing "What am I?" I looked at the stars and I got an idea that I could be the stars. Then I talked to someone else and they said. "No. you don't do that." And I thought. "Well, for God's sakes. I am going to find out how to do it!"

Lester: Youre talking about a method called Self Inquiry, which is really the very top method. The final question we all have to answer is: What am I? And when that answer comes, that's It. So why not pose that question at the beginning? When you pose the question "What am I?" whatever answer the mind gives cannot be right because the mind is the cover over your real Self. The mind is the thing that limits you. The method is to hold only the question "What am I?" If another thought comes in. quickly stop it by saying to yourself. "To whom is this thought? Well, to me. Well, what am I?" And you're right back on the track.

Q: I see. Thank you.

Lester: Now there are just a rare few on our planet who can successfully use that method. Therefore I suggest we use it this way: always seek the answer to What am I? No matter what you do during the day, whether in meditation, reading and so forth, in back of your mind always keep that question poised and posed, ready and waiting for an answer: What am I?... What am I? I use what rather than who because who is a personal pronoun and tends to lead us into being the body. "What" is more impersonal. But this question should always be held. No matter what path we follow, no matter what method we use, we should always hold in the background "What am I?" And if we do that, eventually we must see the full answer.

Q: Pertaining to that, how many times does one ask the question?

Lester: Every time a thought, a stray thought, comes into the mind, we must say, To whom is this thought? Well, its to me. Then, what am I?" This will have to be repeated after each stray thought.

Q: But if no thoughts come then it is not to be said?

Lester: Right.

Q: You wait then for an answer.

Lester: Wait to see; you don't wait for an answer, an answer would come from the mind.

Q: You wait to see?

Lester: Yes, you wait to see. The Self becomes self obvious. All of a sudden It's there and you realize It has always been there, that you have been looking away from it by deluding yourself into thinking you're a body, a mind. And then you see yourself as all beingness. You become every person, every animal, every insect, every atom in the universe. That the beingness of the universe is only your beingness, is what you discover. It's there; It's there right now! But you are looking away from It all the time. When the mind is quieted enough, It's there. It's the "I" that I am, -that's It. There's nothing closer to you than that. Most of the time you are seeking It out there, through a body, and It isn't

out there; It's the "I" in here, that is the infinite Being.

Holding only that question is not easy and therefore I suggest holding it in general. Get in the habit of always seeking what you are, no matter what method you're using. And when quietness of mind comes, to the degree that there's no other thought on your mind but "What am I?" this stilling of all the other thoughts makes your Self self-obvious to you. It's right there where you are, wherever you are, - right where the "I" is.

So again, hold that question, - no matter what method you use, until the answer shows itself, until it becomes obvious.

Q: It seems very hard.

Lester: It's hard to let go of the habit of thinking every moment that you are a limited body. We're just bombarding ourselves all the time with the thought: I am a body; I am a body; I am a body. This goes on all the time so that we don't see the infinite Being that we are. It's a constant bombardment of: I am a body with involvement.

Meditation is an attempt to quiet the mind by holding one thought so that other thoughts die away. By holding that one thought, - if we can get to the place where just that one thought is there. ---that's enough quieting to see the infinite Being that we are. There isn't a method that doesn't try to effect the quieting of the mind so that the infinite Being that we are can become self-obvious.

Q: When you say "self-obvious" what does your real Self feel like?

Lester: When you get toward the end, as Vivekananda said, you see that there never was anything but "I" all alone. Now, if there's nothing but "I" all alone, then "I am everything, everyone," is your feeling. You look upon every other body as equally your body. You see everyone as you; just as you see your body as you, you see everyone as you.

The feeling is indescribable. It's such an intense experience, far beyond anything that limitation today will allow, that you'll never know it without experiencing it. But, from the level where we are, it's the thing we call happiness. It's joy unlimited, - infinite joy. At first it comes on as an elation; it's overwhelming; it's hard to contain; it gets to be uncomfortable. You get slap-happy, punch drunk, ecstatic; it gets to be annoying. And then you work at it until it fall s a way and what's left is a very deep, profound, delectable peace. It's a peace that is so much better than the extreme joy that you had before, that you don't look for that joy any more. The joy state is not the ultimate; the ultimate is the peace state. Every one of us can get a taste of it at times.

Q: Then it's possible to come across this and then lose it?

Lester: Oh yes. Many people do. The first time we really drop into it, we are not able to maintain it because the habit of thinking takes over again. And the moment we're thinking, we are thinking we are limited. Every thought must be a thing of limitation.

Let go of the game of being limited; let go of the world. Dont try to control it. Don't try to enjoy it. Take all your joy from within. Then, what was formerly the game assumes a sameness picture. Everything becomes the same. If everything is the same, and it is in the Absolute Truth, where can there be a game? If you get caught up in a game, you're caught up in an eternal illusion. The game will never end. And if you're in the game, you're away from your infinite Beingness. There is always a certain limitation in the game that will always keep you from being fully satisfied.

So there is a step above the game of playing we are bodies and that step is where everything becomes exactly the same. And that exact sameness is only you, your beingness. There is an infinite Oneness left and that infinite Oneness is you and is your beingness. It's beingness being all beingness. And there's no separation; there's only beingness, being all beingness.

Now, of course it takes experiencing it to really know what this beingness is. I am convinced that the best description of the top state is Beingness being all Beingness.

Q: How can I increase my desire for It?

Lester: Only you can do it. No one can do it for you. This is the unique thing about it. You have to do it. The grace we hear of always exists. Its the inner beingness that we are making us uncomfortable until we reestablish the original state. Desire for happiness is the grace. It's always there. All we need to do is to recognize it and take it.

Q: How does God get made into man? Isn't it somehow sacrilegious to try to change back?

Lester: No. Anyone who tells you that doesn't want you to attain the top state. But it happens this way: It's like going to sleep at night. You dream you're born into a little infant body; then you are a week old, a year old; then twenty, then forty; and you dream you have problems and problems and problems. Remember, this is only a night dream. This goes on and on, and you get so tired of it that you dream the body dies. Then you wake up. Where did you ever change yourself while in that dream? You didn't! You say it never was; it was all concocted in my mind, right?

That's exactly how we do it in this waking state. This waking state is a sleep state. We are totally asleep to the reality of this infinite Beingness that we are. We are no more awake to the Truth right now than when we are asleep at night. We are just dreaming that we are awake. Actually this is a sleep state that we need to awaken from, and when we do, then we say, "Oh, my gosh, it never was! I never was a limited body! I was always that infinite Being that I am!"

So we mentally create a dream called the waking state of the world. However, it's just a dream-illusion. But to recognize that it's a dream, you must wake up out of this state. Does that make sense? So the answer to "How did we do this?" is that we are dreaming it!

Q: Deliberately?

Lester: Yes, deliberately. You see, we start off as infinite Beings in a passive way.

We go down to the bottom, that's where we are now, - then go back to the top and again see our infinity. But after going through that, there's a positive knowingness of our infinity, whereas before it was a passive knowingness.

It's something like this: "Perfect health" is a meaningless term to someone who was born perfectly healthy and stays that way all his life; he doesn't positively know what it is. And yet, it's a nice state when he's in it. But he's passively healthy; he cannot fully appreciate it. However, if he got very sick and was on the verge of dying for many years and then reestablished the perfect health state, then that perfect-health state would be far more meaningful to him than it was before he got sick. And this is the silly thing we do to ourselves: We go from infinity down to where we are and back up to infinity with a positiveness of knowing the infinity that we are. But we pushed, on the way down, in a way that we lost sight of what we were doing. And if we look within, we'll discover this.

Q: That's the first time live heard a sensible explanation of the whole mess. First time it's ever been explained why we've been pulled down.

Lester: O.K., now go back up.

Q: Is there one person doing this?

Lester: There is one Beingness doing this. I think the best example of this is that of the ocean and the drops. We, the ocean of beingness, imagined little tiny circles around parts of us that we called drops; and this drop says. "I am separate from that drop and separate from all the other drops." It's an imagined circle around part of the ocean calling itself a drop. But actually every drop is the ocean. It has all the qualities of the ocean: it's wet, it's salty, it's H2O, and so forth. I think that example might make sense. Or, it's like a comb and each tooth says to the other. "I am separate from you." It's all one comb, and we are the teeth saying that we are separate, when in actuality it's just one comb. Remember, you are the one infinite ocean of Beingness. It is the "I" that you are. Seek It. see It, and forever hold It!

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This Session was recorded in Los Angeles, May 20, 1968.