BY URVIL JAMES VILLARUEL

Feb. 14, 2016, Toronto, ON - From seeker into sought. From running away to standing still. A self centered in the Self is unmoved by the changing world around them. But what does this really mean?

We often think we know ourselves; what’s best for ourselves; what it is that we must do, but is this really ever the case? What story do we choose to tell ourselves on a daily basis in order to distract ourselves from the real truth? Only by knowing the true Self, by providing ourselves with enough room for silence, will we ever come to know the honest intention behind every chosen action. “I want to do this.” Ok, but where is that stemming from? What intention do you hold behind choosing that? Is it to become stronger; to make others stronger; or just to know? Contrarily, is it to promote your own superiority; to make others revere you; or just to have a good time, despite what you know you should be doing? A self centered in its true Self is not self-centered at all. There are no ulterior motives, only love. 

By expanding into this pervasive sense of love, by doing what it is that we want to do most with our lives, what is truly best for us in each passing moment, can we ever learn to avoid the pitfalls of superficial glory, pride and greed. A self that stems from love has no room for any of these attached states because it has become self-less; rather than self-centred. “Look how great I am.” “Look how much better I am than you.” “Look how much I have.” In order to win, someone else must lose. In order to gain, someone else cannot. But what if we all stopped playing this game of give-and-take and just did for the sake of doing, did because we loved to --- what kind of world would we live in, then?

Now, that isn't to say you should give away all your money, clothes, cars, jewellery, gadgets, or trinkets. Instead, simply understand the relationship between all things. In order to win, someone else must lose. In order to gain, someone else cannot. Understand that all life takes on this game of push and pull; this give and take; this apparent dualism within non-dualism. That is, of course, unless you choose to simply do because you love to. Then you both win.

By acting from a state of love, there are no losers, only winners. By doing, simply because you love to, nothing ever seems like a chore, or a debt. Everything is provided from a space of care; a space of generosity; and a space of compassion. Doing what you love and loving what you do is the key to shining bright the selfless-self; not the self-centred self. Choosing not to do in order to win, or to gain, but simply because you love to.

And all of this, stemming from loving yourself first.