The mind’s reality is a fiction. With that realization, it loses its reign as the arbiter of reality. Through the eye of the ego, life is a kaleidoscope of constantly changing attractions and repulsions, fears and transient pleasures. It bases its security on overvalued positionalities, but, with maturity, it progressively looks within for enduring qualities that can be relied upon. Without spiritual direction or information, it does not know which way to look and may merely settle back into basic survival techniques that have had pragmatic value.
… There is ‘thinking mind’ and ‘aware mind’. Awareness is automatic and inclusive of the totality of life’s situations. It relies on knowingness rather than on thinking or figuring things out. Its function is spontaneous and silent rather than calculating.
… Aware mind is not prone to banal positionalities or judgments nor does it get entrapped in frenetic endeavors. It tends to be easygoing and mellow and prefers to observe rather than to become involved in the world’s dramas.
… To the ego, peace sounds inactive and passive because the ego thinks in terms of ‘doing’ something, such as seeking control, gain, or avoidance.
… It does not rely on actions but on total vision. The ego relies on force; the spirit influences by power.