Applied Philosophy

Truth. Some thought must also be directed at the importance ofbecoming knowledgeable with the different aspects of how the mindworks and the key role it plays in this re-connection. Benefit is alsogained by understanding the conceptual and functional differencesbetween information and knowledge-wisdom. Information, regardlessof its value, only points the way, “having” or being able to “repeat”information in spite of how proficiently done, is not synonymous withknowledge or being wise. Reading and commenting on it generates agratifying sensation, but it is merely temporary. Information’s trueworth comes to light when while pointing the way generates thehealthy desire for change, when it leads to engage in the fluid andconsistent effort and surrender to what needs to be done. Invariablythis must be undertaken while in conscious presence, so that throughthe experiences that naturally present themselves along the day,misinformation (distorted energy - ignorance) is transmuted intoknowledge that re-connects with the Self.Re-connecting with the True Nature of ThingsReside on the truth that life, like true philosophy, does not comewith an instruction manual. Nonetheless, it flows, totally free andplentiful in possibilities; hence, the attractiveness of understandingand taking care of re-formulating false information, fears andobscurations, that (through ignorance) are allowed to contaminate andimpede the flow. Learned attitudes and behaviors, deeply ingrainedthrough repetition, have come to restrict freedom and choice and limitincursions into new experiences, to linger in the false safety of theknown, to feel comfortable in the false protection of boundariesdefined and set by others - even though it will irrevocably result instagnation and suffering. Suffering that in this context refers to theharmful load of energy that is added to the pain inherent to aparticular situation. There are situations, which naturally occur,which in themselves may be painful, but taken out of context byadding mental drama, as well as working them over and over with thesame recurrent unwholesome attitude. This is what is not healthy andtherefore a source of added pain or what is known as suffering.Altogether, such obscurations promote departure and distancing fromthe true nature that resides in each and every one of us. However, itshould be abundantly clear, that it is entirely possible to choose to reconnectwith that center of authenticity from which things can be seenand felt for what they are; which when allowed to be, attract andgenerate joyful, healthy and abundant happiness.Be aware of the fact that, you are not responsible for what youinherit, but definitively accountable for what is done with it! To that2

effect, learn to healthily and responsibly live in full knowledge thatnothing is certain, other than change, impermanence. Subsequent toexamining the true nature of that uncertainty, it will be abundantlyclear that instead of symbolizing fear and anxiety (in its superficialplane) in reality (in its core and true essence) it represents anuntapped source of possibilities, of experiences to be lived, thatrepresent new paths or new ways to see the path. Possibilities thathave always been there, but we have slowly but steadily moved awayfrom the capacity to see, feel, connect and experience them at will;therefore, interfering with how the true nature of things unfolds andflows through us.The concept “allow the true nature of things to flow through us” maycreate the false impression that events are pre-determined. Nothingfarther from the truth! A human being is co-creator, directing andorienting what’s done in this phenomenic plane; nonetheless, nothingis originated by us. As Albert Einstein comments when citingSchopenhouer, “A human being, may do what he wants, but may notwant what he wants”. Image also well illustrated by Mónica Cavalléin her book; “La Sabiduría Recobrada; Filosofía como Terapia”(Regained Wisdom; Philosophy as Therapy), when she brings thefollowing example: “A surfer moves thanks to the impulse of the sea inhis favor; the energy that moves him is not his, but of the wave herides. He or she is not being passive; on the contrary, allowingthemselves be carried proportionally to the measure in which they arecompletely lucid, in a state of vigilance and complete attention. Onlythe active respect, conscious, attentive, to the intelligent flow of thewave, makes it possible for the surfer to artfully ride the wave. Apassive respect for that energy would not be considered respect, butresistance. The passive surfer in not the most docile, there isresistance to being carried. Analogously, the particular I is acollaborator, for being auto or self-aware, but not a maker ororiginator. A channel, not a source. A co-creator, not a creator. As longas a person does not believe, it is being passive; in the sense that thatcreation can only be expressed through him or her if completelyvigilant and maximally active.”Instead of running away from its false representation, uncertaintyshould be embraced with abandonment, to allow each experience tofully unfold in accord with its true nature. Connecting in this way, themost favorable option is reached; first by providing space tocontemplate a larger number of possibilities or options, instead of thefirst one that enters the mind, and secondly, by allowing the space tofeel the option that will best flow with that particular situation. This3

is facilitated by developing the capacity to look inside, to directly lookat and connect with, the truth that resides in the core of genuinenessin each and every person. Capacity enhanced through meditation,practice that teaches how to quiet the mind, to diminish andeliminate discursive dialog. Absence of mental noise, static andinterference that provides space, free of distortion that allows seeingthings for what they are.Living, thinking of past issues is not plentiful living, it representsdragging, from and with the mind, the useless ballast of lived drama;while, living in the future is hoping for something that will neverarrive. Both, attitudes of the mind, lead to merely survival in theperiphery of the phenomenic plane, wasted time and energy; failedattempts to reach for comfort where there is none; one and the other,detracting elements for the evolution of the self. The only true spaceand time to live in plenitude, with depth and meaning, without addingsuffering, taking care of things for what they are, is to consciouslyplace yourself in the here and now, and the way to achieve it, is todevelop the capacity to reside in the present moment through“conscious presence”.To reside in conscious presence, as the words suggest, is to be awareof the present moment and to do it with the whole being, consciouslysilencing the furtive mental dialog typically full of drama, to depositall attention in the bountiful and eternal now. This leads todeveloping a different form and state of perception. In it, the personis a witness, consciously removed from the situation while at the sametime going through it. Observe everything (including yourself), from theoutside while doing things, as well as the dynamics of the situationsas they unfold. It is equivalent to becoming a spectator whileconcurrently seeing yourself as part of the movie. This way of seeingthings opens doors to new ways of interpreting information which areclearer and more objective.While a witness, abstain from making mental commentaries, becompletely mindful of what is being observed; above all be attentive ofthe energy that accompanies that which you feel in relation with whatis being experienced at the moment. If mental dialog erupts, recognizethat it has surfaced and allow it to pass along, returning as fluidly aspossible to deposit the energy of attention on the subject underconsideration. This is done as many times as necessary, withoutjudging whether there were any or many interruptions, or how muchtime was spent or not in conscious presence. Just be mindful of themain objective and the auspicious implications of achieving the task.4

The most important aspect here, to feel in your being that the truth ismore closely related to the energy in that silence, than to thedistracting noise of the thoughts generated by the untamed mind.In the same way that we have unconsciously and through repetitionbecome accustomed to the mental murmur we’ve come to falselyidentify as faithful companion; we may now consciously become awareof the fact that generating mental static detracts from seeing thetruth. The neuralgic point of that static being, not the words orimages per se, but the negative energy that accompanies it, which hasbeen incorporated into the mental dialog routine and consequentlyinto the repertoire of responses, is also what we’ve come to know andbe familiar with. Each and every time that truth is seen and feltwhile in conscious presence, it validates and allows for surrender tothe sensation and certainty of the beneficial effects of quieting themind to produce the space, the silence, the vacuity from which truthand auspicious healthiness arise.This serene contemplation promotes that reactivity be identified assuch. That reactivity per se is the signal or red flag that somedetracting element is interrupting the natural flow of things.Consequently, witness and welcome the reaction, as it is an indicationthat it is being seen and felt; therefore, able to transmute it byapplying the antidote of mindful attention while in consciouspresence. That silence and vacuity is the root and unifying essenceshared with everyone and everything.Concurrently, gain a significant advantage point with respect to thediscursive elements of the mind and its negative-reactive aspects bybecoming aware and one with the fact that you are not that mentalnoise, but the being that observes it. Pendular movements of the mindare then seen for what they are…movements of the mind. Altogether,this allows addressing the untamed mind from various angles. Fromone direction, mental commentaries and the conditions that promotethe arising of mental noise are weakened; while from anotherdirection, space arises for the therapeutic healing silence to surface,as well as the conditions that favors it to arise. From still another andvery powerful vantage point, increase awareness of the truth that youare the witness and not the situation.In this state of perception of conscious presence, there is no judging.The silence generated while in conscious presence, while being thewitness during a situation, especially those that shake us, createsspace synchronous with the vacuity from which the correct vision of5

the true nature of things arise, which unquestionably is healing.Upon seeing things for what they are, enlightenment invariably takesplace, from that which is considered a detraction to that which nowchanges into wellbeingness. A gentle and gratifying sensationprevails afterwards, clear indication of the intimate connection withthe Truth or Universal Consciousness; therefore, with the Self. Eachexercise in conscious presence is cumulative, increasing the capacityand the skills to handle situations of ever increasing complexity anddepth.The conscious mind can discern the quality of the information. Theunconscious mind, not having that capacity, accepts everything itreceives; not judging or labeling anything. It simply accepts andstores information (memory), more importantly it works from thatinformation, regardless of its quality. The more the same informationis received, whether enunciated or through observed experience,healthy or not, the deeper and stronger it clings; hence, the moreautomatic and stronger the response. That’s why when engaged inunhealthy behaviors, not recognized as such, it is done with relativeease, since is has been repeated over and over, and the personbecomes familiar and comfortable with them, even with the paininherent to them. If while in conscious presence attention is appliedas an antidote on that misinformation, it will be easier to see and feelit, and therefore transmute it into knowledge.The base or prevalent energy of a human being, and therefore thedifference in quality or health of energy between people depends onwhether on average the information stored in the subconscious ishealthy or not, in terms of its capacity to generate pain or happiness.True happiness is defined here as the state closer to the absence ofpain, than to the sensation of elation that on average, most have(mistakenly) learned to go after and emulate. Emotional elationwrongly labeled as happiness, in truth an extremity of the other endof the pendulum, and therefore inherent to it, the slide to the otherend, pain. All obscurations and unhealthy attitudes, if not consciouslyobserved, crop up automatically from that repertoire ofmisinformation stored in the subconscious.Being in full knowledge of the veracity of that information, it ispossible, to consciously use it for auspicious purposes. Therefore, theattractiveness of learning to develop the capacity of remaining anddoing things while in conscious presence. In effect, contemplate beingand doing everything while in conscious presence, since it is the onlyway to evaluate, transmute (if necessary) and mindfully allow healthy6

information to register in the subconscious. Equally important is toallow the passing by and in the case of already stored information,letting go of unhealthy information. In this way synchrony with thetrue nature of things will develop and it will flow through youaccording to its true intentions.The usefulness and strength of generating and repeating the rightwords and images has been thoroughly recognized through research.Just as it works to unconsciously store negative information, it willwork to consciously solicit, attract, and generate auspicious thoughtsand energies (Law of Attraction). While in conscious presence, giveshape in the mind to the words and images of the situation to betaken care of, keeping in mind that the health of the result willdepend on what is requested and how it is request. Each thought isenergy in motion; therefore, it has frequency that vibrates insynchrony with the quality of the words, images and the underlyingenergy that prevails at the time of making the request. It is not thesame thing to love and request justice; than to despise, hate and feelvictim of injustice. Both attempt to obtain justice, but they do it fromcompletely different angles and energies. Feeling despise for injusticeis equally harmful as soliciting injustice for the unjust, and it is whatwill be attracted.With relative frequency negativity towards a situation isunconsciously masked, sometimes for years, but if carefully looked atwhile in conscious presence, the veil of deception will reveal itself.Stop thinking and soliciting what is not wanted or ruminate overwhat has pained, remove the drama associated with all thosesituations which are being attracted, created and perpetuated. Payattention to the underlying energy when thinking about a situation,especially when using the “drama format”, recognize that energy, andwitness the high level of disorder, and agitation inherent to it. Attimes that level of agitation is mistakenly used as a threshold toinitiate action about something or someone, when it is much moreeffective and healthier to engage in action as a result of analyzingthings while in conscious presence. In other words, act from thatneutral unbiased energy while in conscious presence, and from thecertainty that the healthiest and most effective tool to take care of asituation is being implemented. If any level of drama surfaces, acceptit is there, but allow it to pass along while observing it in consciouspresence. Slowly but steadily the detraction will be neutralized andtransmuted. Too much agitation may mean that additional time isrequired before the situation can be healthily handled. The easiestway to loose healthy control and allow a situation to take over, is an7

emotional reaction. However, that does not imply that being emphatic,even severe during a situation is uncalled for, as being conscious isnot synonymous with being feeble. You may very well need to gothrough a situation, uncomfortable as it may be, but let go of it assoon as it is over. Remember, you are no the situation but the beingobserving it!Moreover, recognize and validate, also while in conscious presence,the level and quality of the underlying tranquil, reassuring, healthyenergy which surfaces during and remains after the detractingcontent of an event has been transmuted. Be completely certain thatthe unhealthy energy associated with mental drama will be dissipatedwhile attended in conscious presence. This deep conviction and itsaccompanying sensation increase the speed of the healing process.Slowly but steadily, through careful attention, practice and repetition,the skill of how and on what should energy be directed at, will behoned. Have faith in yourself and be very attentive to the sensationsevoked by any and all experience, this is your real link and measuringstick with that which is healthy and flows with the true nature ofthings.Results will materialize in accord with the capacity to be consistent atplacing energy of attention where most effective. Awareness ofsensations will validate the way to auspicious results. Over time andafter repeatedly authenticating the practice through experience, itwill be felt that a moment not in conscious presence is a moment thathas not really been lived…..and it will not be far from truth. Thesensation experienced when fully immersed in conscious presence isone of auspicious joy and satisfying happiness. Perform this practicedaily, as many times as possible and if realistic, maintain the mind inconscious presence throughout the day, it is doable. Over time see andfeel how distorted information is steadily transmuted and replacedwith information that will bring joy to you and other sentient beings.This is an excellent way of applying antidote in harmony withtransmuting ignorance and obscurations which we all inherit anddevelop at one time or another.After taking care of ignorance that is obvious, consciously directattention at sensations that initially may be fairly imperceptible, overtime they will be seen and felt in greater detail and clarity, until madeto dissolve and disappear (transmutation). Even when initially thesource of the detraction is not clearly identifiable, its uneasy energywill be felt, thus, while in conscious presence, place energy ofattention on it, it is just a matter of time until it will be visible. With8

practice, that unidentifiable underlying energy will be easier to detectand recognize for what it is. Sometimes very significant events appearhidden under the mask of subdued energy!On another angle, at night, while asleep, when not conscious of themind, the now more educated unconscious mind will generatehealthier thoughts that will in turn positively affect next day’sattitudes, thoughts and events. When through the practice ofconscious presence and the formulation of auspicious affirmations themind is re-programmed and re-connected with the true nature ofthings, the information in the subconscious will steadily increase inhealthiness, both in quantity and quality. Dreams will also reveal ashealthier and more auspicious, completing a loop that will now flowat both, the sub-conscious and conscious levels.Therefore, the only results that can be harvested from the practice ofconscious presence are knowledge, enlightenment and the healthy joythat brings you in synchrony with the true nature of things. Onceresults are experienced and validated, there is simply no way back.Learn how the mind works and cultivate it for your wellbeing and thatof other sentient beings. That transformation, converting a detractingelement (ignorance) into healthy attitudes and behaviors, balancedhealthy actions that do not evoke reaction – (wisdom – illumination -enlightenment), arises spontaneously while in conscious presence andit’s the true alchemy spoken by the Wise-persons and MagiciansConclusionChoose to live in rightful plenitude, cast aside the false safety of thatwhich is comfortable and known, choose to go after the truth and theknowledge inherent in that truth, which is revealed only while fullyexperiencing the journey of the eternal now. Directing auspiciousenergy of attention while in conscious presence, incorporate truthful,healthy information to the self of the Subject knowing the object beingknown, will transform information into knowledge and wisdom.9