देखना सोचना नहीं हैby Jeanne de Salzmann, excerpted from Parabola.
SEED QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: What does finding a certain freedom in the act of seeing mean to you? Can you share a personal story of a time you experienced "I do not know" without seeking an answer? What helps you stay in front and see clearly?
“Where the mind is without fear. and the head is held high, where knowledge is free. Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls.
Today I saw that much of my fantasy life revolves around the desire for fame, renown, glory. I imagine myself stunning an audience with my conducting a symphony I composed for example. What sees this is not the fantasy but my true self or knowing awareness. I ask myself: which is more precious, the fantasy or what sees it. No contest. What sees is far far more precious. I think the fame fantasy will diminish now it is in the light.
Freedom in the act of seeing means to me the freedom that comes from seeing what is, free of judgments, preconceptions, and expectations, free of simply seeing my thinking, which happens so easily. It means being free of conditioning be it my own or my culture's or whatever. It means lifting the veil, removing the psychological cataracts, and seeing clearly. I often experience "I don't know" and am open, searching, and receptive, all of which I value, and yet I don't know if I am ever totally free of seeking an answer. I think of seeking as goal-directed. I usually don't actively seek because it gets in the way of seeing, which I treasure. I think the bible says something about the problem of having eyes and not seeing. Knowing the value of non-judgmental non-goal directed seeing helps me see clearly.