The Awareness of Self-Discovery By William Samuel

CONCERNING THE ROLE OF THE "TEACHER"

The idea has long been prevalent in the "East" and is growing elsewhere that the only way to the "release of Enlightenment" (illumination, Satori, Awakening, etc.) is at the hands of a personal teacher. Certainly the teacher, guru, minister, etc. is a grand help, and to deprive ourselves of their services when they can appear to help would be foolish, but the belief that one must assume the role of a student seated at the feet of a teacher is misleading and defeating.

"Ye shall all know me " is the statement, and the knowing that knows "Me" is our Identity, already established, at hand, here and now. Ultimately, the Self's Self-communion must be seen to be direct and so practiced.

This does not mean there is not a time when a church, Bible or teacher does not serve a happy, meaningful purpose in our affairs—or that they must all be forsaken when we find they do not have the same relevance the world gives them. the bloom that finds itself separate from the bush and cuts itself away in an act of intellectual independence, only finds itself dependent on a vase of water instead, and its petal last no longer than the one on the bush. Genuine enlightenment allows us to see the world for our own view it is and without having to contend with it blindly. This is the bloom that does not have to lash out at anything when it discovers its real Identity. Further, this is the bloom that seeds and finds its own beauty next season where this season's weeds are a tangle of contradistinction.

AWARENESS INCLUDES ALL SYSTEMS AND TEACHERS

Question: Mr. Samuel, Is it really possible, as you say, to steer a course that encompasses all philosophic systems and all teachers of those systems, including the "bad" ones?

Yes. How? By viewing systems as we view "images" within Awareness. By viewing teachers and groups as we would view blossoms in a garden—as we would look on a scene outside our study window.

I look outside and see a fence surrounding the pool. If I wished to grow eloquent I could wage a wordy war against "bad" fences which exist, as appearances go, to restrict or prohibit—but they exist as things of beauty, too, and as something for a morning glory to climb. Right now I look outside and simply see a fence being a fence. Any judgmental criticism would be foolish SELF-criticism.

Why would it be self-criticism?

Because Awareness and all it includes is who and what I am. It is self-criticism as surely as looking at one of my fingers and condemning it for not being a thumb.

If someone asks me what I think about fences, it becomes the sensible thing to answer this question. But let my answer be honest! The one who asks is not other than an image within this Awareness-being-Identity—an aspect of the very Identity I am. Condemnation of the fence at this point would compound itself as both an I-like and I-dislike judgment of my own, creating its attraction and revulsion with which I would have to contend. Then I would be likely to see the question-image having to fight the same battle because of my judgment of the fence. Our stated and written words, therefore, must be as honest always as we know how to make them—and it would be best in many instances to limit our conversation to yea, yea, nay, nay, as Jesus advocated.

Now listen carefully. If, in looking out my study window, I see a vagabond hound entrapped within that fence, struggling to be free, and he barks to me telling me of his plight, it would be the wise thing to go and open the fence gate, loosing the mutt and letting him be on his way to explore the universe.

But in doing this, I do not have to condemn the fence or tear it down, do I?

"Mr. Samuel, your symbology is beautiful, but what if I look outside my study window and find my son entangled in a briar patch filled with drugs, poison ivy and snakes? If the only way I could free him entailed hacking away at the snakes and briars, wouldn't I hack away?

Your question is here and now even though the situation you speak of is not. If such a situation presented itself to this here and now, I would do all that appeared necessary to release my son or anyone else—to include hacking at the entangling vines, if this is the only way it seemed I could free my vagabond son. It happens, however, that the judgless view of the universe brings experiences with it that require ever less hacking, attack-experiences with it that require ever less hacking, attacking, criticizing, condemning, killing or maiming.

The situation you present is hypothetical, you see. Where is any of that going on here and now? Out there is the fence around the pool just being a fence around the pool and the birds I see inside are not entrapped.

Now, some who come here appear entrapped by sundry philosophies which entertain certain ideas as "correct" and exclude other ideas as wrong, bad, evil, etc. There appear to me like fences being fences. People join groups of their own volition ordinarily. Like the vagabond hound yonder, they explore for a time and then travel on to more interesting areas to smell out and enjoy. If they come to us asking for advice while appearing to be entrapped by this or that conditioned thinking, this philosophy or that institution—if they appear to be doing something to their obvious detriment—we do and say what appears to be the HONEST, HONEST release from their predicament. But you see, we do this only for those who come to us asking questions and seeking our help. We are not in the business of getting images to do as we think they should. We are not trying to end the appearances of all conditioned thinking out there. We end our own dishonesty—and find ourselves with ever fewer personal reactions to contend with.

We stop saying this teacher or religion is right and that one is wrong. we view them as flowers in the garden. If a bee comes to us and says he is encumbered by yellow pollen, we would tell him the pollen comes from the sunflowers. Or if the centipede appears to be roasting alive, we would lift him from the hot stone in the sun and place him on the cool earth nearby. But, you see, I would only know how to do this by virtue of the fact that I had had my nose in a sunflower and had walked barefoot on the hot stone myself. I would not hurl invectives at the sun, nor cut down the sunflower.

Excerpt from "The Awareness of Self-Discovery" By William Samuel

If you would like further guidance in understanding any of William Samuel's work based on Self discovery - you are welcome to contact me, Sandy Jones -- samuelandfriends@gmail.com - Ojai, California -