On this planet, we all go through stressful lives. In order to free ourselves from that situation, we have to look well beyond the conventional neurology. That departure can be quite interesting as it paves the way to freedom.

People adopt different paths in their effort to find peace and happiness. However, they look for the solution within the conventional neurology – following some techniques, becoming psychologically attached to religions or, rejecting all these, adopting some reactionary paths. Some take to meditative systems, mind control methods etc. All of these may differ from each other but, at their core, are still driven by the ego-dominated mind. That is why they do not take us on a radical departure from the sad state of affairs. People who feel drawn to paranormal phenomena do see some quantum shift in their psychology and, hence, discover a different trail untouched by the conventional neurology. There are also other avenues which produce similar effects in us. Two of these are explored below.

Shattering Readings: Going through books depicting talks of some Enlightened Masters can produce shattering effects on one’s psychology. This is because such talks tend to demolish the mental wall that we build around us through the noisy mind. The shattering feeling is particularly evident when we read UG Krishnamurti’s presentation. Such Masters strike away all the moorings that our ego would like us to hold on to. Those moorings provide a false sense of security. Total surrender can take place only when all that the ego relies on is dissolved. Being cut off from the moorings that appear to uphold our security, one may feel very disturbed. If we do not fall for such disturbances and continue to maintain our interest in the fundamental transformation, we soon fall into a new mental rhythm. That brings in the necessary confidence towards a deeper security through an inner order.

Understanding Passivity: Once we see the importance of not letting the conventional mind rule our psychology, we begin to explore the beauty of passivity. One moves away from all self-satisfying notions of spiritual achievements and rewards. Humility is the very essence of that state of mind. The beauty of passivity and the associated intrinsic transformation cannot be of value to the thought-ridden mind. They usher in a movement of understanding due to the non-interfering self-awareness and do not allow such tricky factors as pious egoism to rule the roost.
The state of passivity is one of natural detachment, not the result of an effort. This is so because, when there is effort, there is the attachment to the result of that effort – that is, there is no total detachment. Then how does detachment come into being at all? That is the riddle each one has to solve for oneself, because the answer to that riddle is non-verbal. Understanding passivity solves the riddle!
When we observe that every effort of the mind to reach freedom (or peace) ends up in a dead-end, there is a natural suspension of all such movements of the mind except those for purely practical purposes. It is good to sense that state of total helplessness as it is a prelude to radical transformation. It is tantamount to total surrendering. Usually, the mind hangs on to some religious or other avenues and thwarts that state of total abnegation. To remain there is not easy. It is like trying to balance a ball on the top of a cone. When the value of non-action is made clear through self-awareness, one sees its beauty and does not roll out from that apparent emptiness. Thought can no longer play its tricks. The mind lies fallow in that state of passivity. It is a potential state in which something new can be born, like a primordial spring, untouched by the past.

The eagerness to understand how passivity comes in is enough to let it happen in its own way, like the slow blossoming of a flower. Paying attention to those who go through an OBE or NDE can be quite helpful here. Associated matters are covered in the website http://spirituality.yolasite.com

Author's Bio: 


Gopalakrishnan is a member of the International Association for Near Death Studies, Durham, NC, USA. He presented a paper at the 2011 conference of the Association on the theme "The Spiritual Content of Near Death Experiences". Functions as a freelance counselor for mental relaxation. Lives in Kodaikanal, a hill town in south India, with his family. Now he and his wife are both retired and currently involved in developing a fruit farm at a village 20 km from their residence.
Blog: http://nde-thedeeperself.blogspot.com