Liberation

In the previous posting, I mentioned how the turnaround allows for a certain for of liberation – from stuckness in and blindness around projections. The Byron Katie process allows for liberations in several ways…

1. We are liberated from taking our concepts as true. We see clearly that they are just what they are – human concepts. They are certainly useful when we take them for what they are. And they become a trap – and a path to suffering – when we take them as “true” in any way.
2. We are liberated from the suffering inherent in believing in thoughts.
3. We are liberated into the nature of mind – the inherent spaciousness, clarity and wisdom/intelligence of mind. That which is obscured when we believe in thoughts.
4. We are liberated from projections by turning the statements around, to ourselves and/or its opposite, and seeing how each of these new statements are as true as the original.

Together, these liberations are close to (and can in some cases be the same as) the Buddhist form of liberation. Awareness is initially identified with its content – the fluid sensations, emotions and thoughts, and this causes contraction and suffering. Then, awareness awakens to its own nature of spaciousness, clarity, wisdom/intelligence, and fluid responsiveness to inner/outer situations.

There is a liberation from being exclusively identified with the always changing content of awareness, and the rollercoaster-ride that comes with it. And there is a new “ground” in the spaciousness and clarity.