47. Watch Your Mind

What is done under pressure of society and circumstances does not matter much, for it is mostly mechanical, mere reacting to impacts. It is enough to watch oneself dispassionately to isolate oneself completely from what is going on. What has been done without minding, blindly, may add to one's destiny, otherwise it hardly matters.

You must have clarity and intensity of purpose, a sense of responsibility for yourself.

The very reality of the world must be questioned. Separate the observed from the observer and abandon false identifications. Do your work. When you have a moment free, look within. What is important is not to miss the opportunity when it presents itself. If you are earnest you will use your leisure fully. That is enough.

Whatever you may have to do, watch your mind. Also you must have moments of complete inner peace and quiet, when your mind is absolutely still. If you miss it, you miss the entire thing. If you do not, the silence of the mind will dissolve and absorb all else.

Your difficulty lies in your wanting reality and being afraid of it at the same time. You are afraid of it because you do not know it. The familiar things are known, you feel secure with them. The unknown is uncertain and therefore dangerous. But to know reality is to be in harmony with it. And in harmony there is no place for fear.

The purpose of your birth is to be conscious and happy.

Be like an infant with nothing standing between the body and the self. The constant noise of the psychic life is absent. Instead of trying to be this or that, be happy to be. You will be a fully awakened witness of the field of consciousness. But there should be no feelings and ideas to stand between you and the field.

As long as you allow yourself an abundance of moments of peace, you can safely practice your most honorable profession. These moments of inner quiet will burn out all obstacles without fail. Don't doubt its efficacy. Try it.

You are not sure of yourself because you never paid attention to yourself, only to your experiences. Be interested in yourself beyond all experience, be with yourself, love yourself; the ultimate security is found only in self-knowledge. Find yourself and be free.