Chapter Two – From Doubt to Conviction

In Chapter Two, we will dive deeper into the realization that Presence-Consciousness—or simply Existence—is actually always already here. The aim of this chapter is to liberate you from false and limiting notions, while at the same time, anchor you in your Self-Realization to a point of great stability and ease.

Introduction

“Imagine all the people…”

In a world where the person (you) and your surroundings change continuously, it is amazingly potent to have something real at the center of your self-awareness that is changeless—a permanent, reliable, and always available source of inner satisfaction, wisdom, and even deep freedom and joy.

What our confused collective needs to discover, is that true well-being is not only found within, but is also always already here for us—wide open, naturally self-fulfilled.

Can you vividly imagine with me for one minute, right now, a world where everyone knows that their happiness is already within their being—always—and fantasize what that world looks like? An entire civilization rooted in always-available inner satisfaction…

How would we interact with one another? How would we naturally recreate our society? What would our everyday state of being be? Think about it….an entire civilization!

Thank you for taking a moment to imagine this with me.

Reality check

Before you continue with Chapter Two, let’s briefly recap the five lessons of the introduction course:

Lesson 1 unlocked the rudimentary realization of Presence, and gave you direct access to the sense of your own existence—I-Exist.

Lesson 2 informed you of the importance of practice in the form of recognizing and meditating.

Lesson 3 showed you how Presence is the substratum of all things, since all things have Beingness—Is-ness—as their only substance.

Lesson 4 and the memory exercise demonstrated to you that Greater Self (Beingness/Existence) is truly always present—changelessly so.

Lesson 5 introduced a broader overview of The Way of Self-Realization, to give you some “philosophical” context for the more experiential learning of the first four lessons. It explained Awareness and its different functions, and guided you to tap into the cognizance/clarity aspect of Beingness.

As a result of completing these lessons, you can now clearly feel/sense/recognize:

  • your own existence at will (the sense I-AM).
  • the Presence in things.
  • the changelessness of Presence, even when things do change.

It’s okay if your realizations from the introduction course are still somewhat fragile and fresh to you, and require some conscious attention to conjure up. This is natural, and it’s a good enough start for you to continue with the second chapter.

However, if you feel your sense of these realizations is still too tentative, I suggest you go over the previous lessons’ text and exercises once more and take your time with them before proceeding. There is no rush. Relax and take your time to integrate and become familiar with these profound new states of consciousness.

If taking more time to study the first chapter doesn’t do it for you, don’t hesitate to ask for support and additional clarification or tips in the appropriate Study Group.

That being said, don’t be too quick to doubt your ability to recognize the Presence that is always here. It’s easier than you think. We tend to make the idea about it more complicated than the recognition of it actually is. You got this!

Explanation of Always and Already (Present)

One of my absolute, most fundamental key pointers has always been that whatever it is we’re looking for is Always, Already present; Always Already here, now.

The significance of Always (see Lesson 4) in Always and Already, is the fact that it is utterly reliable, 100% trustworthy, and a truer indicator of our identity (because it’s more permanent) than our personality-self. It’s stable, changeless, immoveable—and thus of significant benefit to your well-being, once realized.

The significance of Already (to be discussed further in Lesson 6) is arguably even greater and more beneficial to its realizer (you). Realizing that everything you’re looking for is already here, becomes the graceful gift that never stops giving. It relaxes the negative seeking “muscle” and allows you to feel whole, complete, and realized more immediately. This, in turn, leads to greater actual clarity.

In the following lessons, we’ll dive deeper into the recognition that Presence-Consciousness is already effortlessly here, even before we can think or say anything about it. Knowing that your true being is already perfect and available to you, regardless of the appearances that may arise in consciousness, is another way of saying that you are already free.

To rest in this knowledge of yourself is peaceful happiness.