"The instant that the mind surrenders, you recognize you are one with ever-present and all-inclusive space. Without that space, mind and thought cannot exist."

Gangaji: Welcome. 

Participant: Thank you so much. I feel so blessed to be here. The question I have is …

First, before you ask me your question, let me ask you mine. Regardless of what I say, where will you find the answer to your question?

... Within me, I think.

Exactly. So, before you ask it, just check within yourself: what is the answer?

When I ask myself the question, the answer I get is, “Let go and trust,” (laughing). but I wanted to hear it from you first.

That’s a profound answer, isn't it? “Let go and trust.” Then you’re not thinking, “I want to trust. I want to let go. When the moment is right, I will trust and let go. I will discover what is here.”

What if, in this moment, you followed your own directive?

During today’s meditation, it almost felt like the heart is a wide-open space, and I'm holding on to the thoughts in my mind, not willing to let them go. The first thought that came to my mind was, “It's so peaceful here; I should try to hang on to this.” And then I realized that I don't need to hang on to this. 

It’s not possible to hang on to it.

I need to let go of all the hanging on I'm doing.

Exactly.

If I just drop everything, then I drop into this space.

 This is a deep understanding. This is trustworthy. 

Yes, but ...

This “yes, but” is actually the opposite of trust, isn’t it? We are trained, of course, to use our minds, and our mental evaluation of things can be very useful—except when it comes to this wide-open space of the heart you are sensing is already here, already at peace. In the instant that “yes, but” arises, the mind has made itself separate from that space and believes that separation to be real. In truth, this space is ever-present and all-inclusive.

The instant that the mind surrenders, you recognize you are one with that space. Without that space, mind and thought cannot exist. But because of our cultural conditioning and the power of learning, the mind tries to isolate that space and make it a thing, as if that space is separate from everything occurring in it.

Then how do I do this? How do I let go and trust? 

Only the mind asks “how.” You can’t do this. This has nothing to do with doing. This space that you are aware of simply is. It is here, now, permeating everything. It has to do with trusting isness, even though it can never be grasped or understood by the mind. Rather than the mind trusting it can do it, it’s the mind that surrenders to trusting what already is. There is plenty you can do, but you cannot do Reality. Reality is what is and has always been here.

Thank you, thank you so much.

Thank you. I'm so happy that you're here.

Silence is Always Here

When I was first with Papaji, we spent most of our time in a humble little room on the banks of the Ganga River in India. The walls of his room were old and mildewed, yet to me they were beautiful. Everything was shining. The quiet and the presence within that room was all-pervasive. I thought to myself how ironic it is that in the West we have visions of God sitting on a golden throne in heaven. Here I was in a humble little room with strange smells and sounds coming up from the street and I realized, Here is God. Here is God! This is heaven. I am in heaven, and who would have expected it in such a poor place? 

The next day he took us for a walk in the marketplace. Such noise! Such smells! Such grabbing and yelling! Not aesthetically pleasing at all, and I wondered why he’d brought us there. It was so perfect back in that beautiful little room with the only sound being the whap, whap of the ceiling fan. After internally complaining for a moment or two, I looked up and happened to catch his eye. With startling clarity, I seemed to hear him say, Here too. In that instant, all noise was penetrated by eternal, abiding silence. The beauty was seen. Even the beggar whose body had been eaten away by leprosy was seen in his beauty. Later I realized that whatever the noise level, I am here also, and I am silence itself.

Perhaps you have been graced with an unexpected glimpse into your true nature. To be true to that grace you must explore it. See if it truly ends. Does it end when you step into downtown Denver or Manhattan? Does it end in the daily noise and lights and activity of a prison cellblock? If the peace that is your true nature (and the nature of all) seems to leave, be willing to retreat for a moment to check and see. One millisecond, and you will see that this peace of being is everywhere, emanating from everything. 

Honor this instant in your life when you recognize beauty, peace, and silence to be the truth of who you are. Honor revelation by taking one millisecond to check when you assume it has been lost.

It is very usual to honor thoughts, emotions, and feelings. Be unusual and honor that which is deeper than any thought, emotion, or feeling. Let your life be an unusual life of fulfillment, regardless of circumstances, regardless of moods, regardless of discomfort.