The analogy of the movie screen is a beautiful description of our True Self, untouched by appearances of form and separation.
You Are Not Your Body or Mind
You are not your body or your mind. In this video, we will explore what you really are beyond the limitations of body and mind, your True Unlimited Nature.
You Are Always OK
No matter what is happening in your life, you are always fundamentally okay. Your True Nature is one of great peace, contentment, unconditional love, and complete freedom from all suffering. Nothing that happens in this life can take that away from you or change it in any way. It is only your conditioned thoughts that hide the direct experience of this from you. May this video help you remember.
Truth
Spiritual Truth
Shift your attention from words to silence and you will hear.”
Nisargadatta MaharajSilence is truth. Silence is bliss. Silence is peace. And hence silence is the Self.”
Ramana MaharshiBeing still and quiet is the ultimate spiritual practice.”
Adyashanti
Not nothing. Not everything. Not fullness. Not emptiness. Not two. Not one. Not dual. Not non-dual. Then what? It is beyond all words and thoughts. Even God, Self, Emptiness, Source, Truth, Consciousness, Awareness do not come close. These too are words and thoughts. So then what? What is this? What is Truth?
Only in the absence of all words and thoughts can it be found. Then what can you say?
Oh, there’s the rub. Saying something you fall into infinite error and destroy Truth. Saying nothing you leave those starving for Truth without true direction, lost in the dense weeds of their minds. This is the constant paradox of the awakened teacher.
This points to the elegance and wisdom of the silent transmission. Not falling into either trap, Truth shines forth without obscuration.
Such is the true value of Satsang.
In silence, the Buddha held up a single flower. Was even that necessary?
In Satsang, we explore the depths of this silence. Through simple practices and guided meditations we directly experience Truth beyond words and thoughts. We taste the great peace, love and bliss of our fundamental True Nature.
You can enjoy Satsang with Peter both online and at the Zendo of the Awakened Heart in Sedona, Arizona. Learn more and get directions to the Zendo or how to participate online here: Living Awake Satsang
Satsang meets online every Saturday at noon Pacific Time and every Monday both online and at the Zendo from 7:00 to 8:30 pm Arizona Time. There is also a silent meditation each Sunday from noon to 2 pm Pacific Time.
Sign up here and directions to the Zendo and online participation will be emailed to you as well as the schedule and any change in schedule.
Radiant Light and Love
Radiant Light and Love
A Spiritual Biography of the True Self
I experienced this Radiant Light and Love as a young child often when I was alone. By age twelve the noise of the world and my thoughts had drowned It out. At twenty-two years, It returned full force and completely overcame the noise of the world, thought and all self-identity. What I had thought I was dissolved completely in this Light and Love. The experience was pure heaven, absolute peace, bliss and unconditional love.
It was then that I first realized the great power of this Radiant Light and Love to heal people. Many people were healed in those ten days before thoughts of a separate self were re-established. This profound experience and the seeming loss of it after only ten days was the beginning of a dedicated spiritual search that lasted over thirty years.
In my early fifties, a Near Death experience from a bad surgery and several other profound awakenings initiated the return of this Radiant Light and Love in a more complete and permanent way. I found myself remaining in silence for long periods of up to a year at a time completely immersed in this Presence of God, for this is what I called It. It was then that this Light began healing people again. Since that time, It has continued to increase for the past twenty years.
Now a transmission is often felt by people around me, as this is what It does. I realize this Light and Love as my True Self and the True Self of all existence. All that is not This is but a dream of thought. Most people are not aware of It, nor are they able to see It. It is not a light of photons that can be seen with human eyes. I can’t honestly say how I can. Most people are distracted from realizing It by thoughts and thought-based perceptions of the world and a separate self. Yet, in Truth, beneath all this illusion and appearance shines this Radiant Light and Love. It is always here. Nothing that exists could exist without It.
Please understand that words cannot possibly describe an experience that is completely beyond words and thoughts, as all reality is. The only understanding is found in the direct experience beyond words and thoughts. And this is always available to you.
If you are open to it, this can be experienced in Satsang. I hold Satsang online every Saturday from noon to 2:30 PM Pacific Time and both online and at the Zendo in Sedona from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM Arizona Time each Monday.
Directions to the Sedona Zendo of the Awakened Heart in Sedona, Arizona and how to attend online can be found here: Living Awake Satsang and Satsang – Living in Truth
Peter Cutler is a Zen Monk, artist and spiritual teacher living in Sedona, Arizona.
The painting “When Two or More” can be seen at the online Zen Brush Gallery:
Your True Purpose
Your True Purpose
Many people want to know their purpose in this life. “Why was I born?” “What am I here for?” “What should I be doing?” and “What happens after I die?”
As teenagers we begin to wonder how we fit into the world. “Who am I?” “What role do I play?” “Where do I fit in?”
Later as adults we can feel frustrated with our jobs, our careers, our lives. We might feel that this is not my true purpose. This is not why I was born.
We cannot think our way into our True Purpose. We cannot figure it out. Figuring it out is what gets in the way of our True Purpose. It is why we’re frustrated and still seeking.
Look at a tree. Does it wonder what its purpose is? Does it question why it was born or if it’s doing the correct thing?
In Spring, flowers and leaves begin to bud. In Summer, it is lush and green. In Autumn, the leaves change color and drop to the ground. In Winter, it stands naked of all leaves and the energy goes inward like a monk.
All of this happens naturally without any questions, without any doubt, without any worries or concerns.
At one point this tree was just a tiny seed or nut. At another point it will be compost for new life to grow.
All of this happens without the tree worrying about its True Purpose. And yet in every moment its True Purpose is fulfilled completely.
And so it is with you. In every single moment your True Purpose is fulfilled completely. Only your thinking has confused you. In every moment you are always fulfilling your True Purpose. Just like the tree, from the moment of your birth you have been doing this. You cannot fail to do this.
It is only your thinking that has confused you. All of life is fulfilling its True Purpose in every moment. Your thinking has made you imagine that you are something separate from all of life, something special and independent. This is the cause of your confusion and your searching. You are not separate from all of life anymore than a tree or flower is. Not one and not two, not the same and not different, but not separate. You are life. Life is you.
In every moment you are always completely fulfilling your True Purpose. Sitting, standing and lying down, moving and remaining still, awake and asleep, in every moment this is your True Purpose. For a moment let go of your thoughts so you can realize this. It’s okay to relax and simply be. It’s okay to allow the mind to be quiet and still. How else can you know who you are? How else can you know your True Purpose?