Listening to a Vernon Howard talk does cost something. He does not shy away from hurting your precious feelings. He can be refreshing blunt, and to the point. Recently, I heard one of his talks in which he spoke about living on the level of opposites and how you can rise above this level. Vernon has a knack for pointing out something so obvious that it left me with inspiration and awe. He referred to this lower level as living in a fog. Can you relate?
He talked about our virtues and vices (the opposites). He asked the listener to observe the chatter in our minds as we go through our day. How our mind is constantly commenting on our actions, events, and other people, saying this is good, or this is bad. We would all agree our minds do do this, but we are not aware of how often it does it. He continued to say that we are not these good or bad self-descriptions, and commentary.
This is what makes a Vernon Howard Talk magic. He points out that all this noise goes on in our minds, and we fall into it, because we believe it is us. It keeps us busy in our own dramas (the fog). Observing this chatter separates us from the chatter, so our minds are free and work clearly. How can we be careful with our lives when there is so much noise? In the silence, everything becomes crystal clear.
Fact: There is another way to live, which can be compared to night and day. Life is fun out in the sunshine.
Great. Thanks
He is indeed refreshingly blunt – and boy do we need it!
Living on the level of opposites is pure agitation. Believing that the commenter in the mind is me is no way to live because I am not seeing Reality as it actually is, in which case I’m living in delusion. I see it judging, comparing and commenting, when I’m awake to see, otherwise I Am it. And that is no way to live. Living above this nonsense is a magical way to live. I pray for more Light to see my delusions.
So well said!
Outstanding! Thanks Steve.
The real cost is your old life. Your old reactions, your old blames, your old regrets, your old beliefs, your old ideas on how to be happy. To sum it up, “the old.” So the cost is not costly at all if you want a life where you travel to nice places, instead of revisiting your old present life. There is nothing more fun than to see where you have been wrong. Seeing where you have been wrong makes you right. Those negative parts, absolutely, do not want to hear anything that takes that negativity away. For a while, being pleasant and happy will seem to be so strange to you, because you are not used to it. Say good-bye to that old life.