Well stated!
Years ago I decided to stop listening to "the experts," because to do so meant to continue on in the same direction of living a secondhand life instead of observing things for myself. This little adjustment is when everything changed.
It is indeed possible to have the realization of finding something beyond thought. However, the impetus to do so, for me, was never to make life better or to follow a path. If one's true desire is to find the ineffable, it cannot be realized by listening to talks, reading, studying, praying, or positive thinking. It takes a keen enquiry, which is to observe in an unalloyed fashion that entails dropping all beliefs and the conditioned mind.
Many people, including popular speakers, have ideas and opinions that are of no use except to a mind that likes to be impressed by them for one purpose or another. — usually entertainment or a sense of ego or security This is okay if it is one's goal, but I had always been driven to find out what I was at the core, at the essence. I worked on this until it became apparent, refusing to be distracted by the ramblings, ideas, and nonsense of others, even if well meaning.
The ending of suffering has to do with ending thought and the illusion of the self that believes it is a person attached to a physical body and identified by an accretion of thoughts called "me."
A false guru or teacher, even if unaware that he or she is false, is anyone who does not freely give his guidance to uncover what lies beneath the illusory self. Talk of the law of attraction, experiences, spirit guides, reincarnation, and higher and lower levels of consciousness are typical discussions of such people. Making money on the lecture circuit is fine, but I am talking about something beyond such ephemeral pettiness.
It is difficult to express these sorts of ideas in words or conversations, because the idea is not the thing and people are quite often motivated by their own sense of self and end up being irritated, insulted, or frustrated when faced with the truth.
I have written much about this topic and I reject all the popular authors and so-called enlightened teachers for one reason: They are not me and are not living my life, nor can they have a realization on my behalf, so what they have to say is reflective of their own findings alone. The only true teacher is the one who freely guides you back to yourself. It is this simple.
I can adequately explain what it is like to have thought come to an end and to have the self disappear, and I readily admit that what I say should never be taken as truth. Each person, if ready and motivated, needs to explore the self until it becomes obvious that it does not exist. And then something amazing and mind-stunning occurs. It is not an experience, nor is it a mystical wonder. No lights and sounds or visitations from "higher beings." And it is not disassociation; in fact, it is complete engagement with totality. It is a clarity that can never be known by thought. Out of body experiences (of which I've had many), psychic experiences, NDEs, seeing Jesus or Buddha, and positive thinking have nothing at all to do with this.
Still, I am not sure why so many people write about something that has not occurred to them.
Thank you for taking time to respond.
