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We are all insane, it is just a matter of degree.
Transcript:
A major thing that came out of the groups, we used to do, was people realizing that they’re not the only person that has these type of thoughts, any type of thought. People were amazed to see, that other people were also suffering from the same sort of things they were.
What I’ve come to see is, just a way of looking at things is, if we take … what we know as a person who has reached the ultimate stage of consciousness, that very, very few people…. There was one famous Zen monk he said, he thought only a hundred people had become enlightened throughout the … the whole history of humanity. Somebody else said a thousand, but still that’s very few. If you take that person who has become what we call enlightened, woken up … as the criterion … then we’re all insane. All of us, every single one of us are insane, and it’s all a matter of degree.
In the groups and … when … talking to people, and they go deeply into themselves, what comes up is a type of insanity. And when we see somebody who is diagnosed as insane, it looks so obvious. But if you bring that back and back and back, we’re all a little insane. If you were just to sit … and listen as though you could stand back and listen to your mind, it’s insane: the things it says about you, the way it judges you, let alone the way it judges other people.
And I ha… did notice one thing about people who are a little bit more insane than what we call sanity, people who are just on the edge. What I noticed with them, sometimes they would slip over into sanity way beyond where we were, what we would call “gone into the zone” or “become sane for a while” … “enlightened for a while.” But because their … stability, let’s say their mental stability was so ungrounded, they’d slip back again. And then, when they slipped back, they went more the other way than they’d gone the other way. Which means, when they went sane, they went more sane than most of us, but then, when they came back, they went more insane than most of us.
The thing is that with people that are … this … shaky … in their sanity, not very grounded, say mentally instable, when they go sane, as I say, they go very sane. When they come back, they think they’re still there, and they’re not. They’re not there at all. They’re way over the other side. But because they can remember things, they think, remembering it is the same as being there. And it’s absolutely not.
Many teachers and many gurus say the right things, but when you delve into their personal lives, you find they are not living that. Let’s go back to this other thing.
In a way, compared with what’s possible, we’re all insane. We’re not at our maximum potential. But it’s there, you see. It’s not that we don’t have it. We do have it. It’s there, but we keep giving energy … to, let’s say the negative side, what we’re not.
Now, you might say, “Oh, I know some people that do just the opposite. They’re always talking about how great they are.” Aha, you spend time with them, and you’ll find that’s a cover up. People, who exaggerate one way, are usually covering up another side of themselves. It’s very, very rare to find a person who is at home with themselves. Now, being at home with themselves…. Oh, I was going to say, doesn’t make them exceptional. It makes their behavior exceptional, but it doesn’t make them exceptional, because we are all that. I promise you, you are.
The more levels you drop into yourself, the more you will find this unexplainable thing; “The peace that passeth all understanding,” total … utter … unconditional … acceptance … and I call that love. Not the love we normally call love, which is the opposite something, but just love of everybody and every single thing – everything.
For, I’ve come to see separation really is an illusion. And then we can say separation from the mosquito we swat or the tree we walk past now. I’m talking about the major thing … which I feel so sad … is a separation from ourselves … who we really are.
I’ve never met a person ever, that if I sat with them long enough and just being with them, I don’t see … what some people call god, godliness. Everybody, and that includes you listening to this, I promise you, you are that. But the more you spend time on what you’re not, you keep missing what you are. Just stop some time and sit with yourself and look what you are. Look what you have.
What often comes up with, “Well, how can I do that?” – And I … I’ve said this as far back as I can remember. I hardly know anybody that does it, anybody – be … here … now … in … each … moment.
Don’t put that cup down automatically! Don’t do that! Because when you put that cup down automatically, you are not here. You are in your mind. You’re not even thinking cups or putting down. You’re in your mind thinking, “Oh, I didn’t do this.” or “I shouldn’t have done that.” or “I’ve got to go and do this.” or ” I’m going….” You’re not here. You see … heaven … is here … now! That’s all there is.
And it’s not that you’re not in heaven. It’s that you’re not allowing yourself to be here. You keep being somewhere else. Where is that somewhere else? It’s the hell of the mind that keeps working in opposites. And mostly, with most people, most of the time, it’s what they’re not. And that isn’t true. “Thou art that. The Kingdom of God is within.” … Now!
And if you keep looking on the outside at what’s not there, or on the inside that’s not what’s not there, you’re going to keep missing what is there.
Let me come back again. How do you do that? Be … here … now. Don’t do anything, you’re not doing. Don’t say anything, you’re not saying. Don’t think anything that you’re not aware that you’re thinking. That’s all it is. It’s so simple. It’s so simple, the mind just skips over it. But don’t blame the mind, because it’s been trained to look after you, and it thinks that is the way to look after you. And it’s only there, effectively, to take care of you mostly, physically.
If you would just be aware … as unconditionally as possible of what you’re doing, what you’re saying, what you’re thinking, there will be time no more. Time stands still. The past is irrelevant. The future’s irrelevant. There’s just an amazing … stillness, so alive [whispering] with everything and that’s you.
What we don’t realize is, we’re all doing exactly what we need to be doing. Perfect! Everything’s perfect. The only thing that’s missing is, we’re out of touch, because we’re not here being aware of what we’re doing. If we’re doing what we need to be doing, that is our maximum potential, we will continue doing it. If we’re present and aware of what we’re doing, and it’s no longer appropriate [snap!] it’s gone. It’s stopped. Finished.
As soon as you see what you’re doing, and it is not appropriate, you don’t have to stop doing it. It stops doing you. You keep doing things that are not appropriate for you, or damaging, or disturbing because you’re not there, being aware of what you’re doing. You’re just doing it.
And as I say, watch that mind! It’s going all the time, and it’s keeping you from being here. What are you doing? What are you saying? What are you thinking? When you’re in the mind, you’re not here. And I am talking about putting down the cup, turning the door handle, turning on the tap, turning off the tap, putting your shoes on, taking your shoes off. I’m talking about … what we will call … trivial things, mediocre things, but they’re not!
Nothing is more or less important than anything else. What is what we’ll call important is: what … you … are … doing … in … this … very … moment. That’s all there is. There isn’t anything else. If you’re there, doing what you’re doing, you’ll find, “Yes, there is something else, but it’s not what I thought it was.”
There’s a vastness … to every moment.
Just putting on your shoes … it’s vast … if you’re there! But if you’re thinking – even thinking about putting your shoes on – if you’re thinking, you’re not here. You’re in your mind, and you’re mind is not here.
The mind cannot be here. It’s either past or future. It’s either this or that. And here-ness is not this or that, or here or there.
It’s this- now.