A Map to Awakening

A Map to Awakening

This book sets itself a task that we know is impossible: to talk about the state of Presence, of the awareness that I am here , which is also called Self-Remembering , because in this state we remember, that is, we realize that we exist. Words and states belong to different dimensions that cannot touch each other. It is like the candle and the moth. The latter can only limit itself to proximity—touch the flame and it is annihilated. Words touch reality but never penetrate it; reality annihilates words and transcends them. Words, however, can serve as a stimulus, or reminder; they can be useful signals to help one regain a wordless state. This special state is one that all of us have experienced at some time in our lives—perhaps it was the first time we saw the sea, or when someone dear to us died, or in the moment of a car accident. There was a vividness, an intensity of perception that created memory, engraving in our being a strong, precise and indelible moment of conscious awareness that can never disappear. We actually only remember what we were truly present to; the rest of what we call memories are just faded reconstructions. The untrained person needs earthquakes, traffic accidents, or spectacular places to be jolted into the state of Presence - these are rare moments that make us suddenly see where we are and perceive that I am here . However, these striking episodes are not necessary to the experience of Presence. The same higher state can be here, right now, simply by going against the many habits that have become ingrained in us and keep us in a state of sleep . The awakened state of I am here is always possible because not only is it independent of words, but it is also not dependent on circumstances. Although we may be buried under a mountain of habits, there is nothing to prevent it, if we know how to find it.