The Book (Part 3) - What is Self-Awareness

Written by Adrian Newington

Oh Heart... could you now tell me something of Giving. So often in my life I have been a giver. A giver of my energies, a giver of my time, a giver of gifts, but all my best efforts seem to dissolve like smoke.

Dear Mind, what is it you hope to achieve when you give? If your giving has a motive of reward, then what you do receive will eventually vanish as you have said in a puff of smoke. It is not enough to give of worldly things... even though they might be given with good intentions and kindness. If one does not give out Love constantly from the Heart, then the permanence of your efforts will be the same as the permanence of your physical gifts.

The ability to constantly give out Love comes from Awareness. It is an ongoing thing from being able to consistently live in the moment. Here, the needs of the moment can always be met when Nurtured Awareness maintains an ability to recognize a need, and then bring forth a response that has a motive of pure Love. If you give a gift, do not give it so as to maintain a sense of being a "Kind Giver", but let your giving be in tune with the "Needs of the moment".

Seek no praise or rewards. Be free within yourself so that your giving is a reflection of your own state. Let your giving be as pure as your essential nature. Let yourself be unattached to the giving. Let it be as unconditional as my Love is for you. See clearly that your giving is not the compensation of a limited self, but rather an expression of Love that knows no limits. When your desire to give contains a desire to receive however subtle it may be, you must be prepared for the outcome. Just as you are open to happiness in receiving, so you must also be open to disappointment, or even sorrow should your expectations fall short of the Truth. Always keep company with me and your giving will naturally become purified.

Oh Heart, these desires of mine! Oh how they cause me endless trouble. Even the desire to obtain happiness causes me sorrow just as the desire to escape pain does. It makes no sense!... I am bound either way. Is it the destiny of Man to simply endure it all? Is there no life other than a life of opposites? Heat and Cold. Dark and Light. Sorrow and Joy. Sleeping and Waking. Company and Solitude. Nothing is permanent! Where oh where is the singular happiness that we all dream of. Is it in fact just that... a dream? What is a desireless state?

Even now I toss and turn as the power of the opposites come into play. This very phrase "Desireless" fills me with fear of being dead in a living body. Such is my comprehension that it is bound by limitations as I grapple with mysterious concepts. And yet, at the same time, I have known how easily you can expand my understandings in an instant. Is there no end to this duality?

Oh Heart, the desire to know my future circumstances causes me endless grief as I wonder and dream of how Loving my life might be one day. Forever I am lured into the dream of hope. How strange that even noble aspirations can make my very core ache. Where are the Green Valleys of Ancient Scripture to be found? Where is repose?

Oh Mind... you are not your desires.

You are freedom bound by Ignorance.

You are freedom bound by Passion.

You are freedom bound by Virtue.

Such are the three qualities of Man that bind him into action from desires. Each of varying degrees within all people. Some with a measure of symmetry, some with a dominant aspect. Some where only the attribute of Virtue might stand out. But know that all these qualities will keep Man bound to actions through the presence of his desires.

Heart !... I don't understand. The way you weave the words Virtue and Desire together confuses me. Surely the Righteous and Holy would not have desires.

Mind... be broad in your understanding of the word Desire. Do not be tempted to associate it only with failing or morality. Of course the Righteous and Holy have desires. What else drives the noble to be charitable ? Nothing other than a desire to help. Bound by Virtue, Man will do great deeds. He will help the needy. He will teach his knowledge and shed light; understandings, and peace. He will illumine others as his own Love becomes illuminated. Bound by Passion, man will pursue things with great effort and energy; always striving for flawlessness in the task of obtaining a desire. Devoted to a desire, worthy or otherwise, the enormity of the opposites is truly experienced. Far is the fall back to Earth for those who jump and catch the Moon. These are the ones that burn with yearning.

By passion, he can become greedy. By passion, he can become restless and longing. By passion, he is forever active in pursuits. He can create great accomplishments the likes of Art, Music, Literature, or he can be passionately stubborn or jealous. He can be passionately greedy with possessions and fortunes. He can burn with envy, and he can burn with the passion of sensuality. Such passion can elevate him to extraordinary heights as he obtains a desire, but when he sees his hopes collapse, his very passion will amplify his pain such that he can know the deepest anguish. He is the one who knows the extremes for he has the energy that can bring his downfall and pick him up again to continue in his ways.