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Believing that data have independent power and meaning of their own is a superstitious belief,
so believing that your thoughts, your emotions, your sensations have their own independence,
that theyíre somehow independently generated, or they have a nature of their own,
thatís just a superstitious belief.
And we can actually see the downfalls in believing in this;
in believing that data have power and influence of their own.
You can see very directly in your life how thatís affected your life,
so in the Balanced View Training, weíre relying on something that
it doesnít need any kind of belief system or philosophy or written thing to uphold it.
To identify open intelligence very directly, we can just stop thinking for a moment,
just to see what remains.
When you stop thinking for a moment you have the power to know whatís looking.
This powerful open intelligence, from which all data:
all the thoughts, the emotions, experiences, anything we can label, anything we canít label,
this is the space from which they all arise, in, of, as and through.
So all data, their true definition, their essence, is open intelligence,
just like the images in a crystal ball are essentially the crystal ball,
and theyíre inseparable.
Data are inseparable from open intelligence, like the breeze is inseparable from the air.
So thatís good to know, because,
I was saying you can pinpoint the downfalls in believing in data descriptions,
so just take anxiety for instance, if you completely indulge in anxiety,
you know what the stories bring up, and then the limitations that you seem to experience.
Anxiety can produce a lot of tension in the body, it can produce a lot of paranoid thoughts,
it can produce a whole range of emotions, and it just leads to a whole distraction of data streams,
where we donít find an openness, where we donít find an okayness;
we donít find an empowering way to live our lives and to empower others.
I know this because Iíve experienced a lot of anxiety in my life,
and I know what happens when I either indulge in my anxiety,
it just created all those stories I mentioned, so feeling very limited,
then always looking for a cure for my anxiety; or then I tried to replace it with the antidotes
so I wouldnít have anxiety, so that I could feel relief, freedom and empowerment;
or I would just try to avoid it totally, you know, avoiding it, like saying,
ìOh, I canít get up and speak today because Iím so anxious, I need to go for a walk.î
You know, thatís the actual avoidance of an afflictive thought, emotion or sensation.
So these three strategies: indulging, avoiding or replacing,
are what we engage in most of the time,
and thatís what creates all this belief that thereís suffering due to the appearance,
so in this Training we take short moments of identifying open intelligence,
and we let the data be as they are.
So right now, if you have anxiety, just let it be as it is
without indulging, avoiding or replacing,
and we can do that for short moments with anything we experience.
Even if it seems challenging you can always rely on a short moment
of emphasizing open intelligence rather than emphasizing the data.
This is a very powerful practice, because like I said,
open intelligence and data are inseparable; they are one and the same.
When we identify open intelligence, we see that itís unaffected,
just like the sky is unaffected by a meteor shower that goes through it, or if a supernova explodes,
you see how space is unaffected by that appearance, by that circumstance.
Open intelligence: your power to know, our power to know, whatís looking,
is unaffected by the whole constellation of thoughts, emotions, sensations,
but it takes some time to see that at the basis, you know,
to really see that we are unaffected by the appearances.
Itís gonna take some practice to see that anxiety, for instance,
really doesnít have a power of its own,
that itís actually the beneficial power of open intelligence
shining forth in whatever way it looks for you.
When you start to let everything be as it is, you see thereís a great opportunity,
first and foremost, with afflictive states. Afflictive states is a great motivator
to really do something about it, you know, thatís what I initially was doing,
I had so many afflictive thoughts, emotions, sensations that I didnít want to feel them,
so I was always indulging, avoiding or replacing,
and I came to the point where I realized that didnít work.
There was no amount of replacing that I could do to keep that anxiety away,
there was no amount of indulging in it that would transform it into something positive,
you know, it was futile.
So thatís great, when you find that indulging, avoiding or replacing does not work,
then your only other option is to let it be as it is.
And what happens when you let it be as it is? You start to experience...
itís like letting a heavy load fall to the ground.
With tension, right now, if you stop labeling it as negative energy,
you just allow yourself to relax as the tension, donít try to do anything with it;
just let it be as it is, itís the powerful energy of open intelligence.
The more we rely on short moments, the more skillful means open up.
Open intelligence is always continuous, itís inexhaustible benefit,
so short moments is just accessing this intelligence, this openness.
So again and again, just take short moments, and emphasize open intelligence,
and you start to see the emphasis on all the descriptions
naturally shifts more and more to open intelligence.
In open intelligence thereís complete mental and emotional stability,
you can have all kinds of raging thoughts going on right now,
when you let them be as they are, do you see thereís actually mental and emotional stability?
If youíre just trying to rearrange everything, itís just more rearranging.
So for me it was like the first short moment I took I could give up my striving to relax;
I was always trying to relax. I just let everything be as it was, and there was an instant relief,
a soothing energy, even though I was still full of anxiety.
You know thatís very powerful to see, open intelligence inseparable from that anxiety,
and then you see the anxiety actually isn't such an enemy anymore.
Decision making, I mean that creates, for me it created so much strife.
You always want to make the right decision, and you fear you wonít,
maybe not always, but for big decisions sometimes weíve put so much time and energy into it,
and then you just feel completely lost; itís like there are way too many options.
In my experience Iíve just found more and more discernment,
decision making becomes very easy when we start to let everything be as it is.
Weíre making decisions all the time anyway, itís just certain ones grab our attention,
and we start analyzing, and just getting into a whole mess about it,
itís not like, you know, itís not like youíll know,
okay, Iíll put it this way, for me I just let indecision be as it was: I didnít know.
I just allowed myself to relax with not knowing what decision to make;
seeing that the world wasnít gonna end if I donít make this decision now.
We donít need to take that to an extreme now,
but does the world end if you donít make this decision now?
And actually we can start to prioritize, what is the most important decision we can ever make?
Either emphasize data and get lost in description, or emphasize open intelligence;
thatís the most important choice we can ever make.
Relying on open intelligence provides all the beneficial solutions weíll ever need.
Relying on open intelligence is synonymous with relying on the Four Mainstays,
so you heard the description of the Four Mainstays:
short moments repeated many times, they go continuous; open intelligence is continuous.
Relying on the training media, the training media is nourishment thatís actual empowerment,
the texts only ever direct us back to open intelligence.
They donít provide a lot of abstract instructions,
they just always bring us back to reality; they align us with reality.
Just reading one sentence from the text has the power to
just reset ourselves to our native beneficial condition.
So, go back to the back, at our information table and grab one of the books,
and start reading it; the instructions are total empowerment.
So when you identify open intelligence, maintain open intelligence,
just maintain emphasizing it, when you naturally remember to do so.
So if something comes up like indecision, and then that relates to everything else,
anger, anxiety, jealousy, you know, it just brings up a whole lot of stuff,
just maintain open intelligence throughout that whole flow of data.
Very powerfully, you start to see that those data they self-release,
like the flight path of a bird in the sky, just it self-releases; it leaves no trace.
That whole story we built up, it just resolves naturally,
and you see this in short moments, so maintain open intelligence
when you naturally remember to do so, rather than indulging, avoiding or replacing.
We donít need to complicate it either, if you want more complicated instructions,
you wonít get that here.
It doesnít make sense to complicate something that is already naturally present
and our birthright: who we are.
Thatís why we always talk about short moments of open intelligence
repeated many times, they go continuous.
You can test it every single moment of your life, whenever you... wherever you are.
Itís great to do it in this training setting, because thatís what people are here doing,
and then when you leave the training setting, and youíre in whatever circumstance youíre in,
test out short moments of allowing all the data to be as it is
in a very natural way, just the way you use your mind.
Our mind is completely beneficial, weíve been thinking that the content of our mind
is somehow not beneficial, I mean weíre afraid of being reprimanded, of being kicked out,
disowned, abandoned, all these kinds of things that just, you know,
they seem like thereís something wrong with us, and something wrong with everyone else.
So the difference in this practice is that itís completely effortless.
When you let everything be as it is, it doesnít require anything other
than letting it be as it is.
We have a full support structure on hand for everyone whoís interested,
the Four Mainstays are totally available, so you have a lifestyle choice available to you,
to support you in taking short moments, to see that all of your data
are actually the pure benefit of open intelligence.
It doesnít require a special breathing instruction,
it doesnít require a special posture, diet, clothing, location on the planet,
it doesnít require any of that stuff. It doesnít require that you become any particular way.
I used to think, ìWell, I need a different set of circumstances
in order to recognize natural perfection, open intelligence.
I thought that I would need to have better thoughts, better emotions,
and just get rid of all obstacles before I could realize natural perfection as who I am,
but actually I found that all of my data, no matter where I was, no matter what thoughts I was having,
no matter what I was eating, no matter what I was thinking,
all the great opportunity to recognize my exalted nature.
Now thereís nothing wrong with my data,
and to see that I have the power to take complete responsibility,
before, I was just acting irresponsibly; anxiety comes up, and just being irresponsible about it,
being distracted, blaming, judging, criticizing, disempowering, being a victim,
and so we donít have to live like that anymore.
And in this practice you see the results in many other people as well,
like complete mental and emotional stability in so many people
regardless of their circumstances. They can be going through anything and everything,
yet you see thereís a complete stability about them.
Itís not like theyíre avoiding life, theyíre not some kind of zombie,
theyíre just fully available, living life, a culture of gratitude, respect and appreciation
for all the community members and for everyone, for that matter.
You see very directly the results; thatís the thing I saw that was different about Balanced View.
Everything else I was in everybody was striving to be compassionate, to be this, to be that,
and I didnít see the results, and here we see the results, we see the results here;
all over the globe we see the results,
and most importantly is for you to check it out, do you start to see the results,
just check in. Do you start to see itís easier to let things be as it is?
If itís not, then turn to the Mainstays; read some text,
talk to a trainer, you know ask questions in the open meeting, ask questions in the trainings.
And then talk to community members, ìHow is it like for you?
if you experienced a lot of anxiety and indecision,
indecisiveness, how does it look for you now?î
And most people will just say, ìWell itís just not a problem for me anymore,
decisions come instantaneously, spontaneously, thereís a complete flexibility.î
And our motivation is really to benefit ourselves and benefit others,
that self-centeredness, it really is outshone.
We werenít trying to do anything about self-centeredness;
weíre just letting that be as it is, and more and more we open up.
So check it out in the community, just look what everyoneís up to here.
It doesnít mean that you completely change everything about your life
and conform to some idea of what you think this is; that wouldnít work either.
So if youíre trying to conform to an idea of open intelligence, let that be as it is,
just let that flow on by, and just rest naturally when you naturally remember to do so.
Donít try to change anything about your data,
and start to see if thereís more of a flow,
you know the term ëgoing with the flowí, this is the real meaning of ëgoing with the flowí
not trying to rearrange the flow in any way,
and you see that you can skillfully maneuver that flow;
being able to surf the flow very powerfully, very beneficially, very authentically.
Iíd like to learn how to surf, surfiní reality,
it can really be like that, just surfing reality,
where it doesnít feel like youíre always face-planting into the reef.
The pain of believing in data is like face-planting into that reef,
you just want to run away and not try it again.
So itís good to see that indulging in data just doesnít work,
so test out short moments of letting everything be as it is.