On a recent adventure on a scooter looking for the small town called Copala in Sinaloa Mexico, I managed to get lost. My wife and dear friend Doug here in Mexico were not surprised. Eventually after driving for miles past what was supposed to be the turnoff, I stopped to try and figure where the heck I was. Sitting on the side of the road my mind drifted into contemplation of life. 

If we look deeply we will observe that all living beings desire to be happy always, without suffering, as in the case of everyone there is observed deep love for one’s self, and as happiness alone is the cause for love, in order to gain that happiness which is one’s nature and which is experienced in the state of deep sleep where there is no mind, one should know one’s self. For that, the path of knowledge, the inquiry of the form “Who am I?”, is a very good starting point, and most likely, the most logical one. 

Yet, it is our habit to let our busy mind run the ship and to follow a steady stream of pleasure and pain within the cosmic picture show we call life. When the ship runs into the unavoidable pain that follows all pleasure, we tend to hit the panic button. He, the great sage, left us with the remarkable truth that in this world you will have tribulation. But take heart He says, you can overcome the world.  Smart guy. 

Upon investigation of the way things actually are we will find that what is called ‘mind’ is a wondrous power residing in the Self. It causes all thoughts to arise. Apart from thoughts, there is no such thing as mind. Therefore, thought is the nature of mind. Apart from thoughts, there is no independent entity called the world. In deep sleep there are no thoughts, and there is no world. In the states of waking and dream, there are thoughts, and there is a world also. As the great Sri Ramana Maharshi pointed out - just as the spider emits the thread (of the web) out of itself and again withdraws it into itself, likewise the mind projects the world out of itself and again resolves it into itself. When the mind comes out of the Self, the world appears. Therefore, when the world appears (to be real), the Self does not appear; and when the Self appears (shines) the world does not appear. When one persistently investigates into the nature of the mind, the mind will end leaving the Self (as the residue). What is referred to as the Self is what some call the supreme being. Ramana - another smart guy. 

Sherman Dahl
The Emily Dahl Foundation 
February 2023