Freedom
The discovery of pure silence, the core of being, the core of your own being, the gentle space of acceptance, of love itself, allows for an amazing unfolding to occur. Instead of cowering in fear from events, experiences, bad news, interpersonal problems, concerns and the like, you can now face EVERYTHING head-on with the steadfastness and genuineness of reality itself. Everything in life happens "in" you, not "to" you because "you" are the space in which everything occurs. "You" are not bound by your body, your mind, your past or future. You are the awareness itself in which all creation is occurring. Even and eventually death itself cannot separate your self from you. And this is the meaning of freedom itself. This is living freedom: the ability to be here and now no matter what, no matter who, no matter how.
To better illustrate this I shall share an experience which occurred to me just the other day. The importance of it lies not in the experience itself but in what it showed me, rather to where it pointed me. I was at a concert event, sitting back waiting for the show to begin. I looked in amazement at thousands of people sitting there and while watching them and for some reason I became aware of the pure silence within. It had never occurred in a situation like that before where so many noises, sights and sounds filled my awareness. As the silence expanded forth, I suddenly "tried" to find the sense of self, the sense of "I am", the sense of me, and it was not within (the usual "place" of silence)! The sense of "me", this silence, was everywhere: all these people, all these sights, sounds, colors, smells, textures filled the space of the pure silence itself. "Me" was everything at that moment and it was amazing. The first reaction was a bit of fear, for when one experiences something like this, the initial response is "ok, now I'm cracking up." But having had many experiences come and go before I allowed whatever to happen--just happen. And of course I am so glad that it did because it showed me that "I" am the space allowing everything to be.
The moral of the story: All this stuff is "real" folks. I write this to you to help you find freedom for your self, nothing more. This freedom is alive and is available to you this moment if you are willing to risk everything: even your very life! Simply let go of all your thoughts, especially the thoughts, "I am this body, this person, this name, this history." What is left is "you." You are the silent space of love itself embracing the entire universe this moment. Try that the next time you think you are just a face in the crowd!
Love is you!