Tag: Ilie Cioara

The Power of Emptiness – Ilie Cioara

The “void” or “psychological emptiness” is a strange phenomenon,
It appears spontaneously, in the pause between two thoughts;
As the old thought ends its course and disappears,
Its end is the gate, natural silence ensues.

Insist in being with it, as much as you can,
The mind is completely silent, we are attentive – a clear consciousness,
All meanings, boundaries disappear – us and the Infinite are “One”;
Practically, we have a new mind – always fresh.

Being in the pause – I become infinite!
It separates two worlds. I leave the limited world
And enter Boundlessness, through total melting;
The whole being is calm – a constant sparkle.

There is no time, no space – just everlasting Eternity;
I move in direct contact with life, in a permanent present.
I am Pure Energy, without motivations,
The simplicity of existence integrates us completely.

We really encounter Life only through this “now”,
Free from the old, we are able to embrace the new.
All this beauty vanishes, when another thought appears,
It comes from the knowing mind – an old recording.

Let it play its game, do not oppose any resistance,
Encounter it as it is, without any purpose;
It will certainly disappear, and “emptiness” ensues again,
Another opportunity to encounter it practically.

We find the real meaning of Life through this “void”,
It is a boundary line between the two worlds:
On the one side the limited, where the “ego” is the master;
On the other, the Infinite, where Love is the master.

Emptiness also separates Light from the darkness,
The permanent chaos through struggle, contradictions and conflicts,
From the harmonious being, equilibrium and joy;
The whole egocentrism perishes, by encountering the void.

Peace, divine order becomes our nature;
It changes our way of being, without effort or will,
Only through this psychological void, we become honest and humane,
The Purity of the Energy – makes titans out of pygmies.

Let this “psychological emptiness” be your guide
In everything you encounter on your spiritual path.
If it is not the starting point, we easily get deceived,
Only through emptiness – we become Love!

The “void” or “psychological emptiness” is a strange phenomenon, which appears spontaneously in the pause between two thoughts. First, the old thought ends its course and disappears. At its end lies the gate, where natural silence ensues.

Persistently try to identify with this “emptiness” and dwell in it for as long as possible, by becoming one with it. In this circumstance, the mind is completely silent. In a state of Attention, we are pure Consciousness. When we have no motivations or meanings, there are no limits. The Infinite and us are melting into “One”. In this state we have a new, fresh mind, which has no connection to the old mind.

In this state of “emptiness” or “psychological void” we notice that the whole being is perfectly calm and united with the Endless – manifesting itself as a spontaneous flash. Living in a real way outside time and space, we are constant Eternity, moving in direct contact with the movement of Life, in a perpetual present. By simply “being”, we attain “wholeness”; we have a pure Energy, without motivations.

The real encounter with Life can only happen in this perpetual “now”. When the old man disappears, we acquire the capacity to embrace the new, brought forth by the movement of Aliveness.

Life’s beauty disappears instantaneously the moment another thought, as a reaction of the mind, invades this present and muddles its meaning. In this case, allow the intruder to follow its course. Do not oppose any resistance. We are just a luminous dot – a simple witness on the screen of consciousness – in stillness, we just watch what is happening, without any purpose, goal or ideal.  When we encounter the intruder-thought in this manner, it disappears spontaneously, leaving the path open for the next moment.

The real meaning of Life is revealed to us only in the context of this “emptiness”, as a boundary line between the two dimensions. On the one side lies the limited world, where the personal “ego” is the master, on the other lies the Infinite, where Love and Beauty create a climate of boundless Happiness.

Similarly, this “emptiness” separates Light from the darkness. The chaos we frequently encounter within the limited mind, caused by disputes, contradictions and conflicting states, is replaced by a perfectly harmonious being, manifesting itself as Joy and unlimited Happiness. Only in this circumstance, egocentrism disappears by simply becoming conscious of it.

This “psychological nothingness” makes us honest and humane. It radically changes our whole being, without efforts, desires or imaginary states.  It represents the abyss, the tomb, where all the fragmented energies of the egoistic, obsessive and possessive structure disappear irreversibly.

Therefore, let us use it as starting point in each of our spiritual investigations. When “emptiness” is missing, any attempt of psychological progress can only result in deceitful imaginary states.

Let us remember that this attentive and lucid passiveness of the mind gives us the opportunity to encounter true Love and to identify with Divinity.

Each meeting with this “psychological Nothingness” is a true hammer blow to the structure of the “ego”, whose author and prisoner we are. Depending on the frequency of these blows, we will, one day, experience the phenomenon of Liberation.

This fortunate event appears as a complete surprise. It cannot be desired, imagined, nor expected as a result or merit of a psychosomatic activity pursuing a goal or an ideal.

-Ilie Cioara

From The Silence of the Mind.

This book is available from Amazon.

There are more postings from Ilie Cioara here.

You can read an interview about  the Romanian Sage, Ilie Cioara here.

The State of Sublime – Ilie Cioara

Ilie Cioara’s description of his enlightenment.   ilie_cioara3_0

I was 55 years old. One morning, waking up from my sleep, I noticed that, psychologically, I was functioning differently from the night before. The mind had lost its usual turmoil. In a state of serenity I had never felt before, I was functioning in perfect communion with my whole somatic structure.

My surprise was so great that it prevented me from understanding the mysterious phenomenon as I didn’t manage to put it into words. I had read, of course, lots of descriptions of Enlightenment, Liberation, but there is a great difference between mere intellectual knowledge and directly experiencing the phenomenon.

Only after a couple of hours I realized what had happened to me, without pursuing this “something” as an ideal to accomplish. I was, to use a simile, in the situation of a man blind from birth, who had just gained his sight after undergoing surgery. Everything around me was as new. I had an overall perspective on things. A silent mind allows the senses to perceive things as they are.

The mind in its totality had become, through silence, an immense mirror in which the outside world was reflected. And the world I was perceiving directly through my senses revealed its own reality to me. My fellow beings, close friends or complete strangers, were being regarded indiscriminately, with a feeling of love I had never felt before.

If any reaction of the mind surfaced, it disappeared immediately in contact with the sparkle of impersonal Attention. A state of quiet and all-encompassing joy characterized me in all circumstances, whether pleasant or painful. My behavior was that of a simple witness, perfectly aware of what was happening around me, without affecting my all-encompassing state of peace.

The State of Sublime is, of course, difficult to describe, but not impossible to experience by someone who authentically practices awareness. In order to communicate it, a simple and direct language is used, which is not filtered through reason, because the “ego” with its subjective perception is no longer there. To put it this way: the psychological emptiness is the one who lives in the present moment, expresses this encounter into words and still remains present and available to the next moment.

As a result of this direct encounter with the moment, always new and renewing itself, I felt the need, fueled by intuitive impulses, to express “Self-knowing” using verse. It was a natural thing to do. In few words I could encompass and communicate the essence of the experience.

In the first year I wrote 300 poems. Later on, their number reached 1000, of which 600 are accompanied by prose explanations, such as the ones in this book.

I would also like to describe a few effects which, as a result of becoming aware of the reactions of my own thinking process, have completely disappeared, without any other intervention from my mind.

After experiencing this phenomenon, I felt as a broken vessel, from which the following started to disappear: my interest in astral journeying, my religious beliefs, my egoism, desires, fear, envy, pride etc. My awareness remained open all the time, offering me the possibility to pass from the finite dimension into Infinity.

When encountering this extraordinary phenomenon, with the help of a global perspective, I understood the whole human tragedy, caused by the misinterpretation of life in its constant mobility and newness from one moment to the next.

Life cannot be encountered and understood objectively unless we are in a state of complete freedom and serenity of the mind. Life is always new, from one moment to another, and it demands, even forces us to encounter it with a new mind, with a new brain and with new brain cells, which have not been used previously. It is a well known fact, scientists claim that man, during the whole span of his life uses no more than 10-15% of his brain cells and memory potential. As you can see, our psychological possibilities are unlimited.

After these explanations, it will be easier to understand the process of our own conditioning, as well as the phenomenon of breaking the shell of the “ego”.

As I had shown previously, life demands that we encounter it directly, without any memory baggage.
How do we lose the memory baggage? Easy, very easy. Here is how:

We encounter the movement of the mind with the flame of total Attention – requested by the aliveness of life in its continuous flow. Without the light and serenity provided by Attention, nothing can be understood in a real way.

In the light of Attention, any reaction of the mind (thought, image, fear, desire), which functions chaotically, obsessively and dominates us, is instantly dissolved. In the psychological void that follows, a new mind appears which expands into Infinity, as a state of Pure Consciousness, pure understanding as well as transformative action.

This simple state of “being” is in itself an action, where the entity who performs the action doesn’t exist anymore. The old man, conditioned by his behavioral patterns, loses its authority as the chaotic, uncontrollable reactions dissolve – they are the energies which sustain and fuel the “ego”. Only in this way, by a simple encounter with the reactions of the mind and its subsequent demise, the barrier of the “ego” is broken. Through a momentary opening, our real being is revealed – which alone can transform and heal us.
The total Attention without any purpose is the Sacred itself in action. There is, in fact, another type of attention directed by will, which behaves subjectively by limiting itself to one object. By its own nature, this type of attention defines itself as lack of attention.

In the peace of the soul, in the passiveness of the mind, in the psychological emptiness or stillness – who exists nevertheless? When the usual mind is silent, can you notice that, as silence takes over, a new mind appears, which expands into Infinity and defines itself as Pure Consciousness?

Thus we discover that we are a simple “being”, “here and now”, boundless – one with Infinity. In this simplicity, there are no expectations or purpose, because the “ego” has completely disappeared. This is the Absolute Truth, existent within us and everywhere around us, revealing itself to us when we open the gate, through the humble silence of the mind.

Such realizations, on moments of existence, operate radical transformations which will eventually shatter the fortress of the “ego”, whose prisoner you are as long as the mind dominates you and as long as you give psychological importance to the mind.
When this fiction disappears, melting into the Sublime, we experience creative Intelligence, Love, Beauty and Happiness, which direct our behavior through intuitive impulses.

-Ilie Cioara

This post was first seen on gurusfeet.com.

http://www.gurusfeet.com/guru/ilie-cioara

Self-knowing Is Not a Method – Ilie Cioara

“Self-knowing” is not a religious belief, nor is it a method, because we do not anticipate any ideals to reach, nor set out with a goal in mind, by doing or not doing something. Will, effort, imagination, faith, repeating formulas or mental analysis are unnecessary, for the simple reason that all these are connected to the past and, therefore, they are part of the “ego”. This imaginary structure can only repeat old facts, increasing its “self-importance”.

Any method, no matter how promising, can only fortify the structure of the “ego”, further increasing the chaos within the individual. Functioning on this level, we ourselves set the traps and we fall into them. The reality of these facts demonstrates, beyond any doubt, that we are the victims of our own “ego”.

In practicing “Self-knowing”, we start only from “what is” — from the reality of facts appearing before us each moment, in the unfolding movement of the Aliveness. We need not do anything other than to come into direct contact with all these apparitions: thoughts, emotional states, desires, images etc. It is just a simple meeting, without pursuing any results or expectations.

The simplicity of the encounter with the movements of the “ego” leads to their disappearance. Both the encounter and the spontaneous disappearance of the reactions of the mind confirm the reality of “Knowing”. In this emptiness, we are a simple state of “being” or “Pure Consciousness”.

Only in this perfect meeting does a new perspective open; the Sacred within us manifests itself as Love, Intelligence and absolute Purity.

We can search the whole world, as well as everything that the human mind has imagined or invented, be we will never find anything comparable to the efficiency of this simple encounter, as a state of “Nothingness” or “Psychological Zero”.

The “emptiness” or passiveness of the mind — provided by lucid Attention — is an abyss, in which the old, egocentric, arrogant, fearful man disappears. Simultaneously with his disappearance, the true nature of our being is revealed — without beginning or end, in its essence immortal Divinity. This is the new man, destined to create a different world, in which Love and its hallowing impulses is present everywhere, creating a true Paradise on our planet.

-Ilie Cioara

From The Wondrous Journey, page 39.

This book is available from Amazon.

There are more postings from Ilie Cioara here.

You can read an interview about the Romanian Sage, Ilie Cioara here.

Listening and Watching – Ilie Cioara

Be still, stop, be attentive – an all-encompassing attention!

Neither past nor future, be with the present moment;

Between you and what you listen to, let thoughts, images disappear,

Be just pure listening, a whole being, boundless.

The divine instrument – observation – alive and crystal clear,

You listen and watch, outside and inside yourself;

The whole thinking is mute – a tomb-like silence,

There are no expectations, no ideal projections.

All these will create in you a perfect order,

Body and mind, the whole being, in a direct relationship,

Able to understand any life phenomenon

In a certain, real and profound way, as ephemeral as it may be.

Such a simple meeting is pure meditation,

Practice this all the time, in every circumstance;

Start and end with a total silence,

The whole being in harmony – in a timeless state.

This peace gives you an ever-renewing mind,

Completely detached from the old, integrating in the present;

Psychologically, you are without center, boundless, you are Immensity itself,

Able to embrace the Eternity of the moment.

Through these simple meetings, the old man starts to crumble,

A crack appears in the egoic structure,

Through it, the accumulated energies start to leak and disappear,

They were holding you prisoner from times immemorial.

The Liberation started thus is continued, in time, until in the end,

When the “ego”, the sad conditioning, perishes,

The Spark – the Sacred within us – returns to the Source,

Sooner or later this is everyone’s fate: total Liberation.

Here lies the whole secret of knowing oneself,

Mystery intertwined with spontaneous action;

The only one which transforms, and finally liberates

The conditioned being from its degrading “ego”.

Always remember that knowledge keeps you prisoner,

Be quick to understand its unintelligent nature;

Give all your respect to the moment – meet it with humbleness,

Through it, wonders open into the Infinite world.

-Ilie Cioara

From The Silence of the Mind: Experiencing the Mystery of the Present Moment, page 3.

This book is available from Amazon.

There are more postings from Ilie Cioara here.

You can read an interview about the Romanian Sage, Ilie Cioara here.

Thus Emptied – Ilie Cioara

Creation is constant movement, eternal newness and absolute freshness. It never repeats itself, it is never static and it is never caught in the trap of time and space.

The individual mind, no matter how cultured, has no access to the phenomenon of creation and cannot understand it, because the mind is always old and outdated. Each movement of this particular mind separates and limits. Thus, with such a mind, we will never, in any circumstances, be able to discover the mysteries of the movement of creation.

Therefore, this ordinary mind must be silent! But how can we make it become silent? Only in one way: when we encounter it simply and directly, with the flame of Attention, without having any motives or ideals to accomplish.

If the meeting happens in the right way, the mind becomes quiet – it becomes completely silent – and in that moment our whole being is detached from the known. From then on, the vessel of consciousness, thus emptied, is able to encompass and understand the newness brought forth by the movement of life.

Therefore, a new mind, without limits and without knowledge; in its stillness, is creative and through it, the person is always new and active. Such a mind, in a state of Pure Consciousness, creates radical changes in the structure of the ordinary man by its simple presence.

-Ilie Cioara

From The Silence of the Mind: Experiencing the Mystery of the Present Moment, page 54.

This book is available from Amazon.

You can read an interview about the Romanian Sage, Ilie Cioara here.

Self-knowing – Ilie Cioara

“Self-knowing” is based on the simplicity of listening and watching, both the outside world as well as the inner world – as reactions of the knowing mind. Finally, outer-inner become one single movement.

The flame of Attention is the instrument which accompanies them, as a lucid flash of pure Consciousness, characteristic of the reality of our being.

Through this wonderful contact between us and the flow of life, made directly and spontaneously, the knowing mind – as past and future – is completely excluded. Thinking becomes completely mute. The whole mind is in a state of complete passiveness, where we don’t expect anything, as a purpose or an ideal projection. The inner order, the psychological harmony from inside our being creates a natural wholeness – body and mind – an unchanging unity, able to have a direct relationship with any life phenomenon.

We can call such a meeting: the state of meditation. It can be realized in any life circumstances – when we are alone as well as, for instance, when we find ourselves among a noisy crowd.

The starting point for meditation is silence – it transcends the whole being into a timeless state.

The peace of the soul – without being desired or forced, as we have shown earlier – provides us with a new mind, integrating us into Eternity on present moments.

In this simple state of “being”, there is no center from which we look outwards and no boundaries which set our limits. We are the Infinite in constant movement, unfolding moment to moment.

Through these meetings with ourselves, the egotistic structure imprisoning us loses its resistance. Finally, a real crack appears in the shell of the “ego”, marking the phenomenon of liberation. Simultaneously with this fortunate event – which comes as an unexpected surprise, uncaused by desire or imagination – the fragmented energies of the “ego” start to leak and fade away.

From now on the whole being is led by Intelligence, acting through intuitive impulses.

We must mention that the phenomenon of liberation or Awakening from the tyranny of the personal self is irreversible. It sets us apart from the rest of our fellow beings, by giving us a new outlook on life and a new mentality.

Sooner or later, each inhabitant of this planet Earth will have to experience this fortunate phenomenon. It represents a turning point in the spiral of moral evolution reached by that particular individual.

From that moment on, his personal evolution reaches a faster and faster pace, with massive eliminations of fragmented energies, accumulated since ancient times during our association with matter.

One day, in a moment that no one can foretell, the pure Spark, absolute perfection, will return to the Source of the Sacred, from where it descended millions of years before in order to experience the duality with physical matter.

Before ending, we need to remind that any advice on spiritual evolution demands that we put it into practice. By practicing it correctly, it will create beneficial effects, both on ourselves as well as on the world in general.

The whole process of knowing starts and ends with the flash of the passing moment. Let us therefore give the moment all our respect, by encountering it with a humble mind. Only in this way it will reveal the beauty of life to us, as well as the mysteries of the Infinite.

-Ilie Cioara

Excerpt from The Silence of the Mind, page five.

This book is available from Amazon.

You can read an interview about the Romanian Sage, Ilie Cioara here.