Below is a portion of a question/answer email exchange with a friend in Italy. I’ve posted it here on the off chance it might be of interest to others.
(Note: this conversation is part of an on-going dialogue. And as such, we have already shared a common vocabulary. So some of the words may be used and have meanings that are new or unusual for a first time reader.)
> I have some other questions for you.
> – How long it does take, on average, to awaken the human biological machine?
Awakening the machine is not something that happens once then you stay “on”.
It would be pathological to stay in the waking state. The same as it
would be pathological for you to not sleep in the ordinary sense.
Practicing exercises such as The Popcorn exercise, Zen Basics, and PWOS are good for:
1) Learning to recognize the waking state
2) Extending the amount of time spent in the waking state.
3) Practicing the skill of entering the waking state.
4) And, equally important practicing the skill of transitioning out of
the waking state.
How long does it take to awaken the machine?
It is instantaneous when it happens.
How long does it take to fumble and hunt around for the mechanism
(switch) that will put the machine into the waking state?
This can take quite some time.
The formula for having the machine enter the waking state is simple:
Place the attention of the essential self on the machine and it will
awaken as a reflexive reaction.
The formula is simple. But the practice is something that can take time.
First of all, how do we “place” the attention of the essential self?
And, how do we exercise the attention of the essential self so that it
becomes a blazing beacon of light rather than a feeble glimmer of
illumination.
What does it mean “on the machine”? On in what way, where, how?
There are more questions and aspects of this formula to uncover as well.
Fortunately the exercises are designed to lead you to find the answers
to these questions. This is not something you can be told. This is
something you find. Instructions are hints that lead you in the right
direction. Exercises are boxes that hold you in the right vicinity to
look.
However, whenever the question of “how do I get into the waking state”
comes up there is a companion question that should also be asked:
“what do I do when I get there?” Basically, how do I work in the
waking state.
There is a misguided notion that has spread and taken hold in many
people’s imagination. This notion is that all one has to do is strive
until the machine is awake then fireworks will go off, you will
graduate from one condition into another condition, and move on to the
next ??????.
The place that we move on to after graduation is never really
discussed. Presumably this is not discussed because when you get there
you will know what to do.
Well, you will not necessarily know what to do when you get there. If
a paraplegic is suddenly given legs that work, they will not suddenly
know how to walk, run, or dance.
Question: So what you are saying then is that it makes sense to ignore
the questions of how to use legs and what purpose legs can be put to
until one has good legs?
No. What I am saying is that when you have legs you will be in a
position to begin the process of using your legs and exploring the
full ramifications of having legs. But, this does not mean you should
ignore preparation.
Yes, it is possible to prepare for living and working in the waking state.
As it turns out, active striving toward using the waking state for the
work will facilitate the development of one’s ability to enter the
waking state.
This is not like going to college to learn a skill so that one can go
forth into the world after college and get a good job based on that
skill.
This is more like having a real true definite already existing job
that one is currently engaged to perform, a job that one as agreed to
do, or at least a job that one’s heart is passionately committed to.
We might not have words for this job. We might not be able to describe
it to others or even to ourselves — but our heart is passionately
committed to this thing.
It is this commitment of the heart that will fuel our passage through
the process ahead of us.
So now our task is to walk the walk and follow the path as it is laid
out ahead of us.
Let me ask you a question….
If I were to ask you “how long does it take to enter the professional
fighter ring?” would you not suggest that I should also be concerned
about preparing myself to handle being in that fighter ring?
Perhaps you would find it of interest to know that seeker I am
familiar with who have been working along these lines for many decades
still see a long road ahead of them.
Most people don’t seem to get comfortable with the process until after
about five years.
However, everyone that I have had the pleasure of meeting on this path
have experienced definable results withing days or weeks of trying.
So, all things being more or less the same, I would suggest that you
should have some exciting (perhaps fleeting) results right away, then
after five years you should be starting to get comfortable with the
process and feel that you are going about it the correct fashion and
have some confidence about your path. And, further after twenty or
thirty years you can expect that while you may be at a higher level
you will still have a sense of needing to strive and refine and work
on your path.
> – For a serious and real growth can I follow the school over the internet or is necessary for me to have direct contact with the school?
If by direct contact you mean face to face contact? I do believe there
are some things which are easier to pick up in person. The chance to
meet and share presence is a benefit — definitely.
But, is this a requirement?
Maybe. It might be a requirement. I don’t know.
We have a dear friend in San Paolo who studied with EJ Gold’s material
for many years — more than 20 years. At a certain time he developed
the intense desire to come for a visit. Circumstances aligned
themselves so that he was able to come for a 3 hour visit. That was
all the time he could manage to squeeze into a strange schedule that
permitted him to fly to the US and visit us. In that 3 hours we was
able to get whatever it was he felt he needed from a face to face
meeting. Then he was back on his way to Brazil.
Is it necessary to live and work here in California at the Ashram? No.
We have been making efforts with EJ for over 40 years to develop a
system of transmission that would give real work opportunity without
geographic, economic, and political barriers.
We know that travel is hard. We know that travel will become even
harder in the future. We have been working to make it possible to work
no matter where you happen to be.
So don’t feel that your work efforts will be wasted just because of
distance. It is totally possible to make valid work efforts where you
are.
> – Is there an initiation to get into the school?
Yes.
But this has happened many lifetimes ago. Many, many lifetimes ago. As
a being you have been around for millions, billions, and trillions of
years.
It is the being that is attracted to the school.
And the being has already made a commitment.
Keep in mind though that “the school” is not defined by the name of a
corporation. It is not defined by Ashram. It is not defined by a
specific configuration or association of humans. “The school” is
non-phenomenal. It has its fountain head in a realm that is absolute.
The manifestation of the school in the relative is … well, relative.
Sounds like a great plan.
I definitely support this as a good direction to go in.