Chocolate Cake ~ An Excerpt of "Awake Joy: The Essence of Enlightenment" by Katie Davis

 Chocolate Cake ~ An Excerpt of "Awake Joy: The Essence of Enlightment" by Katie Davis

Awake Joy is a guide to the Heart and is designed to be your companion throughout your journey to Self-discovery. Therefore, it emphasizes significant transitions to encourage the realization of a deeper consciousness, rather than residing in any sense of arrival. If you can decipher from this section your current reference point, you will have at hand the awareness that leads to a deeper surrender that will ultimately happen anyway! The awareness of your current reference point means that you are already beyond it, since you are aware of the point. The direction is always toward that which is aware. A point of reference is a general indicator to move beyond.

As an example of using a reference point, I might ask someone for directions to a certain address. If my search address is nearby, that person might first ask, if I know where the Post Office is. I am not looking for the Post Office, but the reference point is helpful in orienting. Likewise, I am not directing you to the reference points below. They are meant for general orientation. You might first review in more depth certain sections of this book and then proceed by investigating within that area.

The analogy that I am going to apply is a multi-layered chocolate cake. I further expand the nature of the bottom layers in Part I: The Dream and Part II: The Eyewitness. I develop the top layers in Part III: The Pure Being and Part IV: The Heart. Each dimension is parallel to the one above it and all exist simultaneously, while ultimately all being only Heart.

The body reference point is the bottom layer. I am the time based ego and I am identified with the dream of form. I am not aware that I am dreaming and that my world is the mental image that I am projecting. My attention is on you and I am not conscious that this focus is to primarily enhance or protect myself. My identity is my body and I am unconscious of being. This layer is the battlefield of conflict and I am the sufferer. I am also an illusion. As the ego-body, I believe that this is the only dimension and I am not conscious of
the layers above me.

The Eyewitness reference point is the next layer and I am the self-observer. The Eyewitness is a study of me, my form and my interactions with my world; the study of the false. I am still the ego, but I am progressing toward freedom of this state of consciousness. I continue to look out at you, but I am primarily interested in “me” for the broader purpose of self-understanding. I study my personal consciousness as the subject of my world. “I am the body” idea is at the forefront and I predominantly attend my inner objects of thought, physical sensation, mental images and emotions. I am becoming conscious of my personal
suffering and how it perpetuates.

The “I am” reference point is a layer that is beyond “you and me.” I am conscious of my being and I am attending the space around my objects in the world, as well as my inner space beyond my thoughts, mental images, emotions and body. My abode is the inner body, but I am not yet free of form. I enjoy a beautiful feeling of connectivity with all being and appreciate oneness within the world of experience. In unity consciousness, you and I are one and I am at one with all that I experience. I sometimes get lost in time fixation and therefore, I still identify with thoughts, but I can release them when I become aware of it.

Detachment is not a reference point, but it is a marker. It is a thin layer of icing that is applied before adding the next cake layer. Formlessness dynamically disconnects from the body and I am no longer identified with the idea of “me.” I am now consciously awake to the dream of form and the world is unreal. This shift is a universal transition and allows the bliss of Awake Joy to vibrantly emerge. The icing bestows the mystical phenomena that are commonly associated with awakening.

“I am the witness only” reference point is formlessness and I have no form. My being has transitioned to the pure being. I am the primal sense of being-consciousness-bliss and the substratum of form. I have surrendered conflict and I am now the playground of peace. I release subtle layers of the intellect and transmute the illusion of collective suffering. If thoughts are present, I have no sense that they speak in any real way and thus personal suffering is impossible. I am also conscious that the layers below me are unreal. I am not aware that duality persists. In other words, two subtle reference points endure. I am not conscious that I am still a reference point and that I will be eliminated.

“Pure I” has no reference point whatsoever and I am the final layer of our cake. “Pure I” is enlightenment and the fulfillment of non-duality. Not one word that I could say would be true.

The Heart is Self-realization and full embodiment and I am the Totality. The bad news is that we are not going to take this cake and eat it. The good news is that we are going to give it all away by serving it. The chocolate cake is not ready to selflessly serve without the fudge frosting! The frosting is the art of awake living.

The purpose of this chart of reference points is to assist your current perception. Once perceived, it is not calling for mental interpretation. Instead, we release the perception to open to the essential Essence to which they point. Interpretation will lead to analysis and theories, which will conceal and sabotage the purpose of the charting.

Throughout all of these transitions, the Pure Awareness that I am never changes. Whether I seem to take on form or not, in every case, I am the Eternal Now. I no longer differentiate between any of my dimensions and I am fully integrated as the Totality.

"Awake Joy" by Katie Davis is available at Katie's website at Awake Books

"Awake Joy" is also available at most bookstore and at Amazon

www.KatieDavis.org ~ Free Advaita Videos

Presence is Natural ~ Katie Davis, Author, Awake Joy

Presence is natural and does not require anything more. In other words, Self-realization is not an attainment or something you strive for. This Being-Consciousness-Bliss that you are is ever-present. It is right now.

The situation seems to be that a the thought “I” arises. In the old world, out of habit alone, we misidentified with the concept of "me” that is the “I am the body” idea. When this misidentification takes place, the “dreaming” I has extraordinary pulling power and suddenly all the other thoughts appear. So the thoughts are really not problematic. It is our misidentification that is at issue.

“I” is just another word. Where is the word pointing? We were taught that it was pointing to the body. This is true on a relative level of course. But is it true that your identity is limited to the body? I say this is not so, but this will be for your direct investigation. It requires huge curiosity, because you want to know the ultimate Truth. Ideas and concepts remain philosophical … instead we need to notice directly through direct experience.

When this misidentification with the “I” thought occurs, a veil drops and we are unable to be conscious of the being-consciousness-bliss that we are. To remove the veil, it requires that you seek this “I.”

Sit quietly for a few moments right now. Just close your eyes and be aware of how exquisite the air feels as it moves in and out your nose.

Then ask this question, “Who am I?” and listen with every cell in the body. We are not looking for a thought in reply. If a thought arises, such as “I am my given name”, ask the question again, aware of your breath, “Who am I?”

That question alone with lift the veil to perfect peace. Where is this thought arising?

It is beautiful to practice being present. The best tool for this is attending the breath. Breathing is always occurring right now and the present moment is the portal to the perfect peace within.

The body’s sensing is another tool. What do you hear right now? Do you smell anything? The body is part of the content of the present moment and therefore the key to the inner body.

But let’s take this a step further. The “I” that is practicing is the ego, the separate sense of self that needs more time and experience to realize. This is actually a postponement strategy of the ego. The more appropriate question might be, who is practicing? Who am I?

You are aware when you are driving your car, aware when you are shopping, aware when falling asleep. Are you aware that you are always aware? You are this Pure Awareness that is closer and more intimate to you than the body. YOU are appearing within this Awareness. You ARE this Pure Awareness. Another word for Pure Awareness is Presence.

So we are naturally present all day long during everything that is being done. However, most often, we get carried aware by compulsive thinking and lost in the thought stream in the head, instead of consciously being in the body.

The resolution?

1. Bring the “I” thought home by asking “Who am I?“ and then truly listen.

2. Are you aware of breathing?

3. Are you aware of sensing.

It does not take much effort to become aware of breathing all day long. It is always happening in every day life.

This is a first step and perhaps even unwise to move forward from here. Eventually the outward going mind (on its own accord) will remain within the Heart.

Of course eyes are looking outward, the body is functioning and sensing as it does, we are just deeply at rest … being still … while the body does what it does.

Body movement and activity can become Zen-like. During the morning shower, be aware of every movement. If there is a set habitual routine, change it. How does the soap feel as you pick it up in your hands? How does the water feel? Are you breathing? You become consciously present without rushing to the future about anything. Even if you are rushing, we are consciously present with that.

You soon find that the real effort is the misidentification with thought, having to maintain all of the ego’s ideas; constant thinking is exhausting! Day in and day out, how tiring is it to maintain the story of "me?"

When we misidentify with “I”, we move into time and space and then are caught in the world of duality. Relative happiness will eventually cycle to the opposite duality of sadness. Sadness will once again within time cycle to happiness. Neither are stable … where the Bliss and unending Joy are permanent.

Now, don’t go looking for it. You ARE it! When you are seeking, it cannot be found, which is why I say be STILL and notice what truly already is.

Katie's book, "Awake Joy: The Essence of Enlightenment," is available by clicking:

Awake Joy

Resistance and Time ~ Katie Davis, Author, Awake Joy

Whenever we resist something, we suffer. Resistance is the ego judging the present moment. It always has its idea of what it would like life to be. When it is otherwise, it resists the form that the present moment is presently taking. Some may not realize that it is actually our own thinking that causes resistance and therefore causes our negative emotions. The ego believes that it is other people and circumstances that cause its emotions to change and it is not so. But don't take my word for it. Observe directly to see how the ego operates and generates or perpetuates negative emotion. When thinking is unobserved and we misidentify with its judgments, it is self-inflicted suffering.

When you are feeling unhappy, turn your attention to your thoughts and notice how they are using you. The intensity of your unhappiness will always depend upon the degree of resistance that you are having against what is. This just is not that wise. The present moment is already as it is. Can you accept it just as it is? Is it possible to actually love the mystery of the appearance and truly be free to welcome all that is appearing, free of judgment?

Since the ego needs time in order to function, it will always resist the now. The now is the space within which the present moment is appearing. The more you are able to be the Now rather than the personal reference point of the ego, the less you will suffer. You will suffer less since you have not misidentified the dreaming "I" and its wants and needs. Free of the misidentification, you are also free of all the ego's thinking that causes you to suffer.

Since the ego is always under some sense of threat, it will attempt to control and manipulate whatever is. Of course, that is impossible since it is. That control and manipulation only causes you and others to suffer. We create more pain which will soon become more pain of the past that will be stored in the body for release.

If you observe the ego, you will notice how it is constantly fixated on the past or future, which obscures the Now that is the source of all true happiness and peace. Whatever past pain that you perceive that you have, it will appear as present conditioning, which is why we do not need to heal the past. It will appear in the present moment as your reaction to the present moment. Likewise, the ego is always attempting to use the present moment to get something in the future. This creates anxiety, worry and other negative emotions. Those desires are also based on past conditioning.

If you are interested in creating no more pain for yourself and others, stand free of time and you will see that you do not accumulate more time and therefore more suffering. The present moment is virtually all that you have. Are you missing it? It is the only true representation of Life as it truly is and the only doorway to presence.

To ask questions or share, please click the Comment button below and Katie will reply. If you are reading this from another website, you will need to go to the original post at:

http://www.AwakebyKatie.blogspot.com

Katie's website with free awakening videos, free Friends of the Heart newsletters with articles on non-duality, Advaita, awakening and enlightenment, Katie's schedule and her book, Awake Joy: The Essence of Enlightenment, is at:

www.KatieDavis.org

The Power of Forever Now ~ Katie Davis, Author, Awake Joy

In Self-realization, we realize that we ARE the Now that we also refer to as Self, Pure I, Pure Awareness, Heart, Essence or Absolute Truth; among others.

This is not to be confused with the power of Now that is the appearance of the universe that we call experience. The power includes the forces of nature, the content of the present moment, our bodies, thoughts, emotions, energies, physical sensations such as shakti or others. No matter what form Pure I may take, it never loses the consciousness that is its essential nature.

Even if you perceive a certain power or vision as “other worldly,” since it is experienced, it is none other than the power of Self. The power of Now cannot be separated from the Now any more than “my” power could be separated from “me.” ”My” power is totally dependent on “me.” Without “me,” ”my” power would not be.

The Now is beyond experience and its power is the mind-body that is experience. The mind-body and its experience cannot stand alone. It is totally dependent on the Now, whereas the Now stands free of experience and the appearance of the world. For experience, the mind-body is required and that is also dependent upon the power of Now. The mind is an extraordinary power, but not the Now. “My” body is included within that power. I experience “my body” and therefore it is dependent and cannot stand alone. Everything within the field of experience is the power of Now and inseparable from the Now that I am.

This is not to say that the human being aspect of us should not be embraced. It just is not who we truly are. We ARE the Now within which the body is appearing. When we say “I” that word is pointing to the Now that is Essence. The problematic situation that causes the veil to drop is the misidentification with the body. The mind-body is the power. You are the Now.

For the Self-realized, people, things and circumstances do not appear to be separate and they are appearing from “within.” Although the mental constructs of “inside” and “outside” have been eliminated, the forever Now stands alone and beyond the world and its present moment, although not separate. The Forever Now is eternally permanent, while the impermanent forces of nature are in movement. I am the screen upon which they are appearing and also the consciousness or power that is appearing as form. I am the Totality.

With Self-realization, suffering has been realized as a delusion and therefore has been spontaneously surrendered. The pain gap between the dreaming "I" and the Heart has been extinguished.

When the subject-witness is eliminated, the void of collective suffering is also realized as a delusion and is therefore eliminated. Pure I is free of time, space and therefore separation and its suffering.

I am pure consciousness- being-bliss that is beyond the "I am" that is the foundation of all experience. Now is free of the body idea and the mind’s ever changing phenomena. The body is still sensing and functioning as it does, but it is no longer one's identity. I just can no longer separate the Now that I am from my power; the world.

Pure I is free of the doer of action. This does not mean that the body is not productive. Rather, the belief that there is a doer has been realized as false. I am Pure I during all that is being done. All that is appearing is my power and therefore is the Heart that I am. There just is no doer that is performing the action. One could say that there is pure activity that is intelligent and creative without any identification with the action or its fruits. I am free of imagining that "I am the doer" of anything. It is a false idea to consider the Heart as the doer. There simply is no doer.

Contrarily, the mind-made self that is the ego is time bound and experiences itself as the divided mind. Although an illusion, it experiences bondage. For the ego, it believes that it IS its thoughts and that it is the thinker. Lost in time, it is not conscious of the freedom that is always present.

Since it believes itself to be separate, it experiences only separation. As an illusory subject, it perceives separate objects such as other people, circumstances and things.

Because the ego believes it is separate, a personal reference point that is misidentified as the body, it also imagines that it is separate from the divine. For those who are drawn to enlightenment and curious about the Truth or longing for God, the ego begins an endless search for what is already within. It is an endless search, because the ego cannot realize the Truth. A temporary falsehood cannot meet the permanent Truth. It is itself the veil preventing Self-realization.

Through Self-inquiry and asking this question, "Who am I?" and noticing where the “I” thought arises from, the “dreaming I” is realized to be non-existent. The veil of illusion is removed and only the Self-illuminating Heart, the living Truth, remains.

While we are being Now, the conceptual “I” cannot take flight. That concept requires the mind and its time in order to separate and function. We are purely Now and its present power.

Suffering for the ego is always caused by other people and life circumstance. It therefore attempts to control and manipulate life circumstances in order to make itself relatively happy and avoid its pain. Even in this pseudo power, it is remains helpless as it is tossed about by others and life situations. It is constantly under the push and pull of its emotional state. As the ego, I AM my emotions and always under threat by some other.

Suffering for the self-observer is the body's reaction to what it believes to be its own thoughts. It eventually takes responsibility for its own emotional environment, when it realizes that it is suffering due to its own judgmental thinking. It begins experiencing emotional balance by becoming consciously present to its thoughts and emotions. By observing the thoughts and emotions, it is not as likely to be used by them.

After complete detachment from form, the witnessing consciousness emerges and being-consciousness-bliss comes to the forefront. Nonetheless, all that remains unconscious within the void of the collective continues to emerge as an overlay on the bedrock that is Truth; yet its perfume is plainly evident. This is not enlightenment, but some mistaken it as such.

The subject-witness is a study of formlessness and the witness frees ever more subtle layers of the intellect. Those are two reference points: (1) a formless witness, who objectively is witnessing (2) formlessness (awareness aware of itself). There are not two. Nonetheless, what lies unconscious within the collective surfaces and the collective pain body is freed. It transmutes into the pure consciousness that it genuinely is.

Because the ego state of consciousness is misidentified with the physical body and its limitations, it believes that it is the doer of action and is therefore responsible for the fruits of those actions. The ego believes that it is making individual, mental decisions independently and these decisions will always be based on past experience. Its divided and conditioned intelligence thereby experiences the consequences.

Pure I is beyond this law of cause and effect and thereby free of causality. The Heart is pure intelligence and potentiality that is divinely abundant, all powerful, unconditional love and perfect peace.


To ask Katie questions or share, please click the Comment button below. If you are viewing this blog from another site, you will need to advance to the original post at:

www.AwakebyKatie.blogspot.com

For Katie's book, Awake Joy, and reviews, please click:

www.KatieDavis.org/AwakeBooksKatie.html

What is Satchitananda? by Katie Davis, Author, Awake Joy

When speaking of awakening and Self-realization, we often hear the Sanskrit term "satchitananda" or being-consciousness-bliss.

Reality is alway Real. It never changes and is free of names and forms. It is the only enduring, supreme Reality ... and you are That.

You are beyond your given name, beyond "me and my thoughts," "me and my emotions," "me and my form."

You are the single immanent Reality and it is being experienced within you right now. The question, are you conscious of it?

When speaking, I often refer to this Reality as the Self, Essence, Heart, Pure Awareness or Pure I. They are only words that point to the supreme principle that is ever shining within and available for direct realization.

The Self is pure being and this being is not personal. The Reality is also conscious, so we speak of Pure Consciousness. The direct experience of this Pure Consciousness is unbroken happiness, uncaused joy and Pure Bliss.

While being-consciousness-bliss may appear to be separate attributes of the Reality, this is not true. It is one homogeneous field of intelligence that is absolutely inseparable from who you are.

My invitation is to be still and notice what is shining deep within.

Book Signing, Talk, Satsang and Intensive in Seattle, Washington with Katie Davis and Sundance Burke

You are invited to a book signing at East West Bookshop in Seattle, Washington with Katie Davis, author of "Awake Joy: The Essence of Enlightenment" and Sundance Burke, author of "Free Spirit: A Guide to Enlightened Being." The book signing will follow a talk and satsang on Friday, September 12 at 7:00 pm. On Saturday, September 13 at 10:30 AM, you are invited to a satsang intensive that will also be at East West Bookshop. More information and registration details at www.katiedavis.org/schedule.html or at Pacific Northwest Satsang, Northwest Satsang or Seattle Satsang.

Awake Joy is the Radiance by Katie Davis, Author, Awake Joy

Awake Joy is the radiance that strings life's happy and unhappy moments together like the pearls of a necklace. In its discovery, the pearls dissolve into the freedom of conscious joy. This joy cannot be given to you, nor can it be taken away. If you are searching for joy, you are already here as the final answering. You are what you are seeking and in seeking it, you cannot realize who you really are. You essential Essence is steadfast, uncaused joy. It is constantly be experienced, although most are not yet consciously aware of it.

My book, Awake Joy, is not a therapeutic guide about how to change your life story. Rather, it is a pragmatic pointer toward the mature surrender of "me and my story." Through this transcendence, ever-present joy effortlessly emerges.

Of course, the conditioned mind does love repetition, so it is persistent. If you have ever read books to small children, you might have noticed that they love reading the same stories over and over. They thrive on the security of what is already known. This is not unlike adult storylines, as we anticipate more of the same. The ego loves the known, since it is based upon it.

For true discovery, I am suggesting that you simply leave the story alone for awhile and focus your attention on the storyteller. Meanwhile, I will offer pointers toward the permanent surrender of the mind-made, time based self. In this manner, you have the opportunity to realize unfathomable fulfillment in the Truth of Being.

Katie Davis Website: www.katiedavis.org

Heart of Life E-book by Katie Davis, Author, "Awake Joy"

"Heart of Life" e-book is now available on my website. It was just released. As a non-dual satsang teacher and author of the soon to be released hardcover book, "Awake Joy: The Essence of Enlightenment," I wanted to let you know about "Heart of Life: The Katie Collection." It includes writings that have been published as stand alone articles in magazines, newspapers and websites, in addition to Friends of the Heart Newsletters, throughout the United States and the United Kingdom.

The e-book includes 20 articles entitled, "Roses for Living," "The Secret Ocean," "The Sky of Now," "Awake Right Now," "Ego's Story-Time," "The Mystical Sky," "Inner Space," "Only This Love," "Awakening to the Invincible Summer," "Ego's Postponement Strategy," "Wisdom's Work," "Call of the Wild," "Be Still," "Pure Being," "I am Meditation," "Beyond Causality," "Duality and Conceptual Reality," plus an interview as a cover story for a Northwest newspaper in the United States.

The e-book also includes a description of my new book to publish soon, "Awake Joy: the Essence of Enlightenment," how to contract me directly and guidelines for permission to distribute or publish the articles for your newsletters or websites. "Heart of Life" is available at Awake Books.

Katie Davis Website: www.katiedavis.org

Joy's Way by Katie Davis, Author, "Awake Joy"

Have you noticed the space around "I"? That space is joy's way. You are welcome to continue creating things to try to fill that space, as some sort of future compensation, but things and circumstances within time is not where joy resides. In the meantime, you needlessly suffer, while hoping for personal empowerment that at best can only be partial. Sooner or later, it will be recognized that the space around all of your accumulations is the direction and it originates inside you. Essence is deeper than "you and your thoughts" and more profound than "your attention." It is the pure attention of the loving Heart; the only omnipotent power of the universe; LOVE.

So now, or later, it doesn't really matter, as long as you don't mind suffering and world hostility. I understand that you may still choose to cruise in a yacht on the surface of the ocean and remain oblivious to the charm of the undersea world that is brilliantly colored with tropical fish. However, you will not become acquainted with the beauty of the coral reefs and the underwater song of the humpback whales whining in the distance. You also have the option of diving in to explore the unfathomable depth of the inner Ocean. Yachts are fun, but that fun fades and becomes no more than a past mental image. It pales in the joy of your ineffable beauty.

Katie Davis Website www.katiedavis.org