Excerpt from The Wondrous Journey by Ilie Cioara

Each human being on planet Earth is — consciously or unconsciously — searching for happiness with unlimited persistence and greed. Happiness appears as a mirage; we try countless ways in order to find it in the external world, with perseverance and determination; nevertheless, each time, the desired happiness finally results in disappointing delusion.

Other, more subjective individuals turn to their inner world; in this case as well, their thirst for happiness is satisfied by sheer deceitful imagination. In each of our attempts to search for it, we start from what we know or imagine. Such happiness is always motivated by an object we anticipate or desire. True happiness ensues indirectly. It always appears in a state of non-search. Practically, we do not know what happiness is, but, when the mind is completely silent, in a state of total passiveness, our whole being experiences harmony. In this state, as complete beings, integrated into Life, we are overwhelmed with an immense Joy and Happiness without cause. Only when It appears as a real experience can we truly know Happiness and Its constant freshness, without turning It into a memory. Ever renewing itself, It is a natural gift offered to the individual who is free from his time-space structure. Only in this way do we discover the true Happiness that the wandering mind of the conditioned man has been searching for throughout the millennia. **** The moment we encounter true Happiness, we are in fact outside time and space. The “ego” — with its intrinsic duality — has completely disappeared. If the “ego” does not exist anymore, who can evaluate this happy fulfillment? In that moment, the Sacred within us, also existent in the whole universe, becomes one “Whole” and a Unique movement, in a permanent renewal. Do we truly experience this union, or do we merely understand it intellectually? You alone can answer this question. Each human being — from the moment of birth until the moment of the so-called death — persistently searches for this mysterious Happiness. Unfortunately, most people make the mistake of searching for it with the thinking mind. Because Happiness has no motivations, It is not part of the limited world. Its nature is infinite; therefore the knowing mind cannot encounter It, or understand It, or imagine It. Happiness comes to us by Itself, and It envelops our whole being when the mind becomes humble and silent, as it has understood its inability to encounter the Unknown. Lucid Attention — with Its flashes — dissipates all the darkness, as well as the baggage of the dysfunctional mind. In the empty space of peace or no-mind, our being is extended into Infinity; in that moment, the Divinity within us reveals we are one with the Source of the Sacred. In conclusion, let us add that in the environment of “Pure Consciousness”, Happiness is present as a natural fulfillment and It is unlike anything that can be found in this perishable world. **** The Love dimension is known by different names: Truth, Reality, God, Immensity, the Infinite, Intelligence etc. The very meaning of the words which define it express the fact that this dimension has no bounds. In this dimension, no faiths, ideals, desires or any such similar ideas can exist, as they are encountered in the limited dimension. For this reason, in this wondrous climate there is no struggle, contradictions, confusion, pain, hate etc. Boundlessness cannot be comprehended by imagination or by thought; there is nothing we can say about it. We can only describe and explain that which our mind can encompass. In the face of Limitlessness, the mind is poor, completely unable to understand it. In fact, the moment Immensity affirms itself within us, as a living state of the integral human being, the “ego” dimension and its limited way of expression does not exist anymore. There is not much we can say about the experience of living in the dimension of Love. Nevertheless, we will try to express certain feelings and states of being encountered in this state. In complete union with Love, we are perfect peace, we live total freedom; the very notion of “self” is missing, although we are endowed with a clarity and sensitivity of the mind such as we have never encountered in the limited realm of thinking. By melting with silence, we become that silence, equilibrium and harmony, free from duality: our being is extended into Infinity. Practically, by experiencing “psychological nothingness”, the “ego” disappears and, in its place, Immensity envelops us wholly and we become one with It. Integrated into the Great Cosmic Energy, we continue to exist as a state of superconsciousness. Encountering the Boundless It is impossible to embrace and comprehend the Infinite Universe With the limited “ego”; All is experienced in total silence, Free from time — the being and the mind are newly born. Thus, I am Immensity, in perpetual movement, In Unity with the Whole — a creative structure — I see, feel and act in perfect union with the Sacred, I use language to describe Wisdom. One with the Boundless, I am Happiness, A divine gift, with no support in the thought process; Happiness has no motives — a supreme satisfaction, To which, consciously or unconsciously, each human being aspires. The Freshness of Life Everything in the Universe is in constant movement, What is now — in a flash — is consumed and dies, The old moment is replaced with the new, appearing rhythmically, A constant succession — inviting us to know ourselves. Yesterday and the thousands of yesterdays Created our lives of fiction: lies, fear, madness; All that was — is dead — worthless in the present, The moment — a precious mystery — integrates us into reality. **** Intuition is that capacity of the Divinity of our being to warn or to direct us in a perfect way through lightning-like impulses. It is a surprise and an instant mystery. It has no connection with the conditioned mind. On the contrary, it reveals itself to us only in the absence of thinking. We can never, in any way, anticipate its appearance. It cannot be cultivated and we cannot invoke it with the help of a certain formula. Our only duty is to create a favorable climate in which Intuition can reveal itself, by itself. The only obstacle, obstructing its mysterious presence, is the “ego” and its whole memory baggage — a fictitious entity. When we see it as it is — with the help of lucid Attention — the “ego” disappears spontaneously. “Psychological emptiness” ensues naturally; our whole being, in perfect harmony and inner simplicity, transcends from the finite world into Boundlessness. In a state of “Pure Consciousness”, intuitive responses are mirrored onto the luminous screen of consciousness. We can explain this state in the right words only when we are requested to do so, in order to provide a better understanding of life phenomena. These intuitive impulses can reveal to us: either momentary dangers, threatening our lives, or hidden, concealed truths, or small realizations regarding our everyday existence. Happy indeed is the man who, detached from the “self”, abandons himself to the will of Divinity, offering himself as an instrument through which the Divine affirms Its Sacred guidance. For more information, please visit www.thesilencebook.blogspot.com On Facebook: www.facebook.com/silencebook The Silence of the Mind: Experiencing the Mystery of the Present Moment by Ilie Cioara