The First Instant

THIS IS A FREE VERSION CONSISTING OF EXCERPTS FROM THE COMPLETE BOOK AVAILABLE AT HTTP://WWW.SHININGTHROUGHTHEMIND.NET

All there is - is Knowing A guide to a direct, unmediated Knowing of your own true nature Wakefulness by Gilbert W. Schultz

In the belief and appearance of being an individual, your true nature, which is the open nature of the innite, has entered into a nite situation. This text is presented as a pointer, through which you may discover how you entered into this nite aspect. This knowing is a return to that which you have never left - the immediate actuality of your own true nature.

tihun loka ujaagara This light (of Knowing) illuminates the three worlds. - from an Indian song

Copyright 2005 Gilbert W. Schultz

Contents Foreword Prologue Authentic Being What is the First Instant? All Psychological Suffering is Completely Unnecessary The Struggle Ordering Information for The First Instant 3 4 8 9 14 15 17

Foreword Foreword By Sailor Bob Adamson

In the year 2000, I received an interstate phone call from a man I did not know. He told me he had been listening to an audiotape of one of my meetings, which had been given to him by a friend. He was obviously moved by the message he heard on the tape. He asked if he could transcribe it. My immediate response was Oh yeah, another one (as many others had previously tried to transcribe the meeting tapes and had given up, probably because of the poor quality of the audio, coupled with a lack of true understanding of the content). So I said Go for it - not expecting to hear any more about it. Some weeks later a booklet appeared (in the post). Questions were asked. More tapes were transcribed. A book was published (titled Whats wrong with right now, unless you think about it). Continued questioning, listening to and transcribing of tapes eventually led to the end of questions and the quiet condence of knowing was clearly evident. That knowingness expresses in myriads of shapes and forms. This book, THE FIRST INSTANT, is an expression of that knowingness. It is direct, immediate, ever fresh and new. Nowhere to go. Nowhere to come from. No one to do either. It IS as it ever IS. THE FIRST INSTANT. Read this book and be directly introduced to the timeless reality that you really are -THE FIRST INSTANT. Allow it to resonate and suffuse your being with the quiet condence of immediate knowing. Gilbert Schultz is the man who made that phone call and edited the book. Since then, this present book THE FIRST INSTANT has emerged, no longer transcriptions or listen-ings but coming from the direct knowing - expressions of the IS-ness of THE FIRST INSTANT. Sailor Bob Adamson

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The First Instant Prologue

The First Instant is this ever-present actuality which is nothing other than this boundless beingness the essence of what you truly are. You cannot move away from this instant and you never have been anywhere other than right here in and as this one and only rst instant. This, as a concept, appears to be considerably challenging for the mind, even though this obviousness is undeniable for anyone who really examines the present evidence of what is immediately appearing as the presence of what is which is this world and its nature. From the individual perspective, ones whole life has been a never-ending appearance and disappearance of objects in this immediate living-ness this rst instant. The direct unmediated knowing is always the primary awareness. It only appears to be hidden for the individual, by the habitual ways of looking, a continual series of xations on mind content, and the constant referencing to the me. This immediate awareness, this directness, is the ever-present actuality and this does not change at all ever. It is very subtle compared to our usual habitual ways of looking at the world, which is nothing much more than objects in mind. Words, names, descriptions and the like are all objects in mind and none of these actually obscure awareness at all, even though we believe that they do. It is usually very difcult to communicate that our belief in the concept of time is actually erroneous. All concepts about objects slipping into a realm called the past are just concepts and nothing more than that. There is no evidence that supports that there are any objects in the past. Even to say there were objects in the past is erroneous. Just because the majority believe in this common vague concept along with its apparent subsequent mindscape (a series of concepts) does not make it a fact. The direct evidence, which is ever-present, is prior to the translating processes of mind and it remains untouched by anything that arises as thought. It is so obvious and yet seemingly so challenging to our belief system, including the concept that one is a separate individual. This primary belief is the main culprit and the last to be let go of, for those that open to the ever-fresh newness of effortless living. Many years can appear to be wasted on practices and methods and these delay tactics can never bring you back to the fullness of this rst instant of being-ness because you have never left it ever. The ever-present fact of being is the ever-present fact of knowing and this is your true nature. When have you not been? Is there a time when you were not? This pure functioning of direct cognition is the case with everyone no matter what the apparent condition of body or mind may appear to be. It IS and always has been One without a second IT is the ever-present nature of all and everything. The direct knowing-ness is ever prior to the content of mind. It is pure intelligence. The true nature of mind is clear and empty and nothing can lodge in its pristine openness. You are this ephemeral openness that formless knowing. That is what is referred to as Essence. It is insubstantial yet it is totally suffused with the immediate intelligence of knowing. This simplicity of direct knowing is so simple and so obvious and yet it appears to be so elusive for so many who are caught up in xated consciousness and intellectual pursuits. This writing may

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Prologue
reveal to you why that is so. In the rst instant of the pure functioning of seeing-knowing there in you and here in me and in every single sentient being on this ball of consciousness, which we call Earth, is the very same seeing-knowing. It is not two. It appears as many, however it never divides at all. It is the pure functioning of One without a second. Those who imagine that they need to rene this immediate knowing are misled. It is pure knowing in its immediate pure functioning. It does not require any rening at all. It is only the mind that aligns itself with this pure intelligence or not. Realization appears in the mind but the ever-present fact of seeing-knowing is the light that illuminates or is the essence of any true realization. The only thing that appears to obscure this ever-present fact of direct illumination is the belief in being a person, a false center called me or whatever. Most obscuring factors depend on this belief in a false center. Read this book from this perspective: You are pure knowing which is instant and ever present. You are not the content of mind, which appears to grasp at some knowledge for its survival. In the most authentic aspect of yourself, you are the light of knowing and nothing more that. I am (you are) the light of the world. A direct and simple introduction to this First Instant is: All there is is direct cognition. It is the rst instant of knowing. There is nothing else, anywhere, at any time. The various patterns, shapes and forms appearing within and before you are just this direct cognition Awareness. It is nothing but Awareness. The world is pure energy. All its patterns, shapes and forms are appearances within the realm of direct cognition. There are numerous names for this and all names are within the realm of mind and this, in essence is pure, direct cognition. That is all. All is That. All there IS, is KNOWING. There are no appearances, which can be separate from this. All appearances are registered in direct cognition. In essence all appearances are nothing but this direct and immediate expression of awareness. Dont take my word for it pause and look see for yourself. It is obvious. No appearance has any independence whatsoever from this directness. Look and see for yourself. Even the terms Non-Duality or Oneness are just words or concepts appearing within the realm of direct cognition. You are this direct cognition. KNOWING. You are nothing but this. Simply BE the seeing; it is the knowing of this directly. You do not have to think about it. You will not come to this through thought alone. It is instantly here prior to thinking. It is unprocessed direct seeing. Seeing knowing not two. This profundity is a kick in the teeth for the intellect, which is a borrower. All that seemingly arises within the immediacy of this experiential realm (mind) is nothing but direct cognition. It is nothing but this. It does not split into two. If you repeatedly return to this pointer, it will unfold all the complications of mind stuff. It is not a mantra. It is simply knowing itself.

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The First Instant

You are this cognizing factor. Words cannot touch it. At best they can only point back towards it. All these words here are pointing to it. The seeing is it. You are the seeing simple! To say that you do not know this is an absurd statement. It is too obvious for the mind to grasp. It is the actual presence the non-conceptual actuality. It is all immediate and never anything else but the unmediated knowing being-ness. Do not attempt to turn it into an object you are THIS cognizing factor. There is no past or future in this. From the ordinary point of view, the dualistic mind cannot cope with concepts of non-duality. Much argument springs from this for intellectuals. These concepts expressed here may appear to take you beyond the dualistic mind; however you are there already (here). The fact is simple and plainly evident: Whatever arises in mind you are ever prior to this content you are present and aware. No doubt can arise about this simple fact you ARE. All of the mind-realms of words, images and concepts are nothing but an appearance, which invariably registers in the immediacy of direct cognition. The ticking of the clock, an original sound and its echo all register in the immediacy of direct cognition. You may say that is obvious. The light of knowing illuminates the obvious. You are this light of knowing. Any thought that springs forth from this immediate knowing, that it is obvious, is registered in the immediacy of direct cognition like a reection in a mirror. The very knowing that it is obvious is this light of direct cognition. This is all that there is. It is all that. All is That. You are in this instant the instant is in you. One, not two. You are looking from this rst instant. You are looking into this rst instant and all you see and know is this rst instant. The knowing is the rst instant. It is direct, unmediated cognition. The mind is like a mirror and everything is reected in the mirror without preferences. Preferences appear in the minds processing and these are xated reections in mind. Direct cognition is not a process of mind. Anything that is re-cognized from this is a reection in the mind and this reection is also cognized directly and immediately in this rst instant. I AM (YOU ARE) the Knowing of That. It is one knowing. One awareness. Not two. Nothing is transmitted. So, anything that is triggered off in the mind from reading this is a process of mind, yet the direct remains direct and does not move. From the viewpoint of mind this is very subtle, yet from the direct unchanging, unmediated knowing, it is simply obvious. No questions arise in this direct knowing. It simply IS. Beyond what you call yourself, within what you call yourself, is this vastness of direct cognition unlimited and untouched. This pure functioning is unchanging and untouched by anything. When this is cognized fully and completely, the entity (which is simply imagination), with all its story of being caught in the realms of re-cognized mind stuff (memory), is overcome and the belief is dissolved spontaneously. Some call this enlightenment. It needs no name at all. It transcends all phenomena including all concepts of realization and non-realization. You are this light of seeing; you are unmediated knowing. You are this direct knowing. It is only a belief in mind that it may be otherwise. I repeat: To say that you do not know this is an erroneous statement. You are this knowing and

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Prologue
whether you afrm it or deny it, it does not make a scrap of difference in the immediate knowing. You are this knowing; it is not going to come in some future time. It is right now! Right now is all there IS it is presence/awareness. The Ultimate truth can be nowhere other than right here in this rst instant of knowing. It is clearly evident without any thought or process in mind. Without any mind contortions or contrived actions in trying to see this ever-present evidence, it is found to be nothing but this instant of knowing. Seeing-knowing is spontaneously happening. Not one speck of anything other than itself is in this space of knowing. It has been referred to as space-like awareness. In this, nothing is created and nothing is destroyed since its very essence or nature is emptiness. Therefore, even logically, in the mind, you can determine once and for all, that there is no one that can get it or not get it. All such nonsense is merely the apparent comings and goings of appearances in mind. That is why I say: Dont waste time trying to change your conditioned mind simply be the seeing of it.

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The First Instant Authentic Being

You may be a long-term seeker or a fresh new seeker of your own wholeness. It makes no difference. Each is paid in full each receives the message. The message is ever-present and appears as every particle in this singular instant of unicity expressing itself. There is NO realized person anywhere. Yes I am awake. Yes, I am present and aware. So are YOU. I am not a teacher. Yes in the appearance, I appeared as a seeker. Yes it appears that I was fortunate enough to nd a true teacher. In the pure functioning of wakefulness, there are no doubts here. The message is simple and it crosses all boundaries and objectications. The message is for self-knowing naked awareness. I am not a teacher. I am simply a messenger. Just like a bird singing at dawn, the message is clear yet there is no one that hears it. In the appearance of being a teacher or a student, there appears differentiation. These two aspects are one at their source. The teacher invites the student into the singularity of the source. In the pursuing exchange, the student and the teacher exchange places and the boundaries blur. At a certain point equality suffuses these two and they become one. If the teacher keeps the student on the path of practices then it is simply a mind game. Ignorance is blindness to that which already IS. If you cannot recognize your own authentic being directly without doubting yourself then use all your powers of discernment to nd a teacher who resonates in your own authentic being. Seeking elsewhere for that which is true is simply ignorance. Belief is useless in this search, except as a tool for exposing the false. Here in this body-mind, there are only transparent beliefs. My teacher directed my own light of knowing into an investigation without compromise. What a gift! Since this has happened here, it can also happen there. No doubt. It is obvious.

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What is the First Instant? What is the First Instant?

The rst instant can be described simply as this vast unbounded presence. It is completely indescribable yet all talk is not about anything other than this presence. The rst instant is all there is. There are actually no limitations to this space of knowing (which you are). If you explore it, it simply opens up more and more as this unfolding rst instant of knowing. As this moment unfolds before you, there is a space of knowing in which everything unfolds. We call this unfolding, time. If you stay quietly present to this subtle unfolding of time, you may notice that everything of this unfolding is registering clearly within this space of knowing. It never budges. It has no qualities of coming or going to it. It is as if this space of knowing is absolutely still. The scale of these movements or unfolding vary from large and obvious movements down to very subtle impressions of change. All of these impressions are registering on awareness without causing any change to the space of knowing. This clear open cognizing is the rst instant of knowing. Without a thought or story being attached to this open cognition, it remains clear and without hindrance. When the mind latches onto some movement in this unfolding, a xation takes our attention into a mind realm. This can be called inadvertence. We tend to be less present to the unmediated registration of direct cognition. In retrospective analysis, it appears that we had gone into the minds matrix. However, in the rst instant of direct cognition, what we truly are has never gone anywhere. We are the rst instant of cognitionknowing. There is nothing that is not of the rst instant. This instant right now is it. All moments from the so-called past are it. All moments of the so-called future are it. It is One momentthe rst and only instant. What is this rst instant? You are this rst instant. Unmediated knowing. There is no other here in this rst instant. You are the center of your world. Start from the fact that YOU ARE. This immediate being-ness is not negotiable. It IS. Everything else is belonging to this ow of unfolding phenomenal changes. All that appears in this ow will disappear.

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The First Instant

Find this rst instant in yourself. It cant be told in any nite manner. The direct cognition, which registers the impressions of the moon and the nger pointing at the moon, is IT. Everything is registering in this rst instant of cognition without any preferences. It is the mind which introduces preferences, concepts, etc. This mind realm, in its totality, is registering in direct cognition without exceptions. In other words all content of mind is ancillary to the pure function of direct cognition Who is lost in this mind realm? Who is a seeker? The way out is the way in. Seeing that clearly, one recognizes that there is no in or out. THIS is IT. Direct and immediate. This is the rst instant. Nowhere to go and nothing to get. Since not everyone can see this, we need to continue with various expressions that point towards the obvious until it is seen clearly. Behind your eyes, in the space of seeing and knowing, the unknown is lled with knowing in the immediacy of a single instant. It is the rst instant of presence awareness. You are That. Whether you know it or not, you have always been THAT. It is ever prior to any content that appears in the mind. It is the knowing of all that appears and disappears in the mind and in the world. This world and this mind are not two things. They are one. This is an introduction to the First Instant. The word rst is quite obvious. The word instant implies quickness but this is not really what is meant here. The rst instant simply means before anything else. Before time appears in mind or comes into play. Before the mind interprets anything. These states, which you appear to identify with, are actually all transient and insubstantial. Even the concept of identication is insubstantial. This revelation challenges the very fabric of a person. In the pure space of your essence you are the knowing that this is so. This pure space of wakefulness remains true and unchanging. It is pure knowing, no matter how it may appear to be translated in mind. Instead of going with what the mind interprets from its habitual ways, stay for a moment with the simplicity of this direct seeing. Open to this seeing seeing from this pure and empty space of being. It is nothing more than pure knowing. It doesnt become any thing. All is revealed for what it is, in this rst instant of being - seeing - knowing. The apparent limitations of mind are not really there. These beliefs just appear to be there, like reections in a mirror. Take a look for yourself! Isnt this direct knowing the very rst thing in this knowing of what you are? Right here, before anything else? Always! Isnt it so clearly obvious? Isnt everything clearly obvious as What Is? This wakefulness does not change and is not touched by the changing content of mind. In essence you are this rst instant of direct and immediate knowing, prior to anything that may be appearing to happen in the mind. This fact is so simple, yet it is impossible to grasp with the

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What is the First Instant?

mind because it is not a concept it is the actuality. Allow a conscious intention to spread throughout your being. I call this resting back into simple wakefulness. From here, all is self-evident and clear. Awareness is the obvious primary factor. The psychological you, what you think you are is subsumed in awareness your true nature. At some point the person may appear as a wanting to make a practice of this. This clarity is not achieved or done by a person it is neither the presence nor the absence of any contrived personal doing. It already is and so it can never be a practice. You can (or will) be the seeing of this for yourself. In this wakefulness, all the senses are registering directly, prior to the mind labels and translations. What I am saying here is too revolutionary for a person too subtle to access from an identied position or attitudinal posture in mind. All that the mind can appear to do with this information is to dispute it (resist) or relax back into itself (non-resistance). No matter what psychological position is taken on this, it is all registering in the ever present rst instant of simple wakefulness. Stay open as this wakefulness. Watch everything from this open view. A one way view from a xating thought-based mind will not perceive this. Awareness could be said to be omni-directional and yet there is no direction in awareness at all. The feeling is one of simple openness. It is every where, when and how. It may be simply described as openness. Openness is impartial awareness. It is not personal. It has no bias It is Universal Awareness. This is what was once referred to as Cosmic Consciousness. Once the mind truly rests back in this rst instant of wakefulness then all things are found to be of one taste. The rst and only instant is full of the light of knowing. It is time-less. You cant get out of it. Any contraction of attention can only ever be partial. There is nowhere that is not IT! The inner light, the innate knowing that abides in us all, guides us from the darkness of ignorance into the full light of immediate knowing. The nature of this light (awareness) is to shine and it shines time-lessly. This is irrespective of conditions and obscuring mind stuff. You are this light of knowing The cloud of unknowing is just a passing shadow All shadows are cast by the light itself You are the light It is all-inclusive, open, self-shining awareness You are the light of seeing Direct cognition Unmediated knowing One without a second The truth of this cuts through all manner of obscuring mindsets. Whether you accept it or not,

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The First Instant

you are this One. The second can be taken as the psychological stance (of a me), which appears within this One. There is no difference between what you truly are and the Great Sage, the Buddha, or Christ or whatever Ideal personied consciousness you may have attached importance to. All of these realized beings have simply opened fully into being-ness, oneness the Universal, the Unicity of Being. From this openness you see directly into the nature of all things. You see that you are this innite appearance of connectedness. Even this concept of connectedness is appearing on or after the unmediated knowing which is prior to all thoughts, states and all appearances of these apparently independent parts. The sum of the parts is not equal to the whole. Go (back) in the direction (so to speak) of the wordless I am-ness. All contrived movements in mind to achieve this openness are only obscuring the view and they prolong the belief (through continued use) in a concept that one is independent and separate. It is just not so! If someone were to ask me for advice on this search for completeness, I would say something like the following: All the contrived postures and attitudes of my seeking led me nowhere, except around and around on a circuit of endless mentations. Only with the expansive openness of not seeking did a clear view dawn in me. Many helpful hints and examples (of it) were thrown my way by Teachers and Life itself. This intrinsic knowing shines through the ignorance of seeking. What is not apparent for some is that this intrinsic knowing is already here. Its fullness is seemingly diminished (ignored) by mind stuff in the psychological posture of a person that is seeking. And so I would say, relax back into your own true nature of openness. From this openness, a view dawns that all is well. All formulas and concepts are a trap if they are held onto. An open and unbiased concept may deliver the mind into this openness that it is pointing at. From this openness, there is an increase of resonance in immediate knowing which is seeing. All is appearing within this seeing. It is direct. By not attaching to, or xating on, anything that is appearing, the openness remains open (as it always is). The absence of an entity in this openness is tasted and the intrinsic knowing is that this openness (this awareness this simple wakefulness) is what I truly am. Stay with the warmth of that. It is formless I am formless One formless Being. The Buddha speaks of this formlessness. The transcendent wisdom mantra: Tadyatha gate gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha. Briey translated this means: I am formless, I am formless, hooray! The so-called true teaching of Non-duality can never be a structured system. There is no non-dual teaching as such. There is no non-dual teacher either. All there is is a pointing to THAT which IS. THAT WHICH IS NOT is of no consequence. Belief in that which is not will be eliminated or rendered passive as that which IS becomes ever more clear and obvious. Your true nature or authentic being-essence is this unmediated, direct knowing which is prior to all mind interpretations and concepts. The First Instant is this ever-present Is-ness. Your essence is prior to the minds interpretation.

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What is the First Instant?

The re-cognized, the efforts to organize a repeat of Is-ness, is simply obscuration in mind of this Is-ness. This unmediated, direct knowing is prior to all. All these endless and so-called heavy mind games oat freely beyond you like a leaf on the river. Nothing touches you and nothing sticks the leaf still gets tossed around (for awhile but this abates) and the leaf dissolves into the river of life. Apparent substantiality resolves itself spontaneously and continually. It is well worth repeating that you will not acquire anything. This point is one that brings up resistance in those who are well down the track of some Sadhana or practice path. If there is a process, it appears as a process of elimination only. In its simplest form, this teaching is nothing more than the elimination of erroneous beliefs. You will not recognize an awakened one simply by appearance or behavior. Wakefulness is not conditioned in any way whatsoever. In a naked wakeful state (in yourself) you will see that this wakefulness is actually everywhere. Those that are free may shine clearer and brighter simply because the mind is not cluttered with xations. A sense of equal-ness pervades. You are present I am present Both present In this immediate timeless presence. We call it Now Right now This now has no beginning to it It has no ending to it. It is the vast presence of Eternity Timeless Awareness. It spans the entirety of everything there is Without a hint of movement.

THIS CHAPTER CONTINUES IN THE COMPLETE VERSION OF THIS E-BOOK AVAILABLE AT: HTTP://WWW.SHININGTHROUGHTHEMIND.NET

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The First Instant All Psychological Suffering is Completely Unnecessary

In order to begin to be free from psychological suffering, one must rst feel some warmth towards oneself. This warmth arises from our authentic being. This is a prerequisite. If this warmth is absent then things will not proceed very far. If you have emotionally beaten yourself over along period, this may appear too difcult. It is not. Your normal rational intelligence can proceed to assist in the rst steps of self-discovery and then warmth will arise of itself. In order to feel a warmth and love towards oneself, we need to transcend the emotional baggage belonging to memory and habitual states of mind and body. With a willingness to make a direct enquiry, things start to happen. These long standing beliefs in mind weigh us down and inhibit our natural open nature of being. In order to transcend these xations in mind we must investigate them. In investigating them thoroughly we discover quite clearly that they are simply transient reference points and so are found to be nothing but appearances in mind. With this completed investigation comes a revelation. We nd that the present view, which is presently active, is already transcendent to these xations of self-doubt and emotional baggage. Everything is seen clearly. In this way, warmth of being spreads throughout the natural presence and this includes all the instruments of cognition. This is so simple that no one believes it. Who else is going to make this investigation? Only you can do it. All that can be done from here is to point this out. The rest is up to you. Once completed, you will be amazed at how simple it is and it will bafe you as to why you did not see the simplicity of it before. The rst bird of the morning sings its simple song. Is anyone listening?

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The Struggle The Struggle

If you live with the expectation of becoming enlightened, then you have been denitely and unequivocally misinformed. The essence of what is commonly believed to be enlightenment is actually with you right now, it is the natural state. The un-enlightened aspect, the ignorance or the denial of this true nature is an obstacle seemingly preventing a realization of its natural open presence. Enlightenment is just a word. Dont get hooked on words. Words can only ever point at that which IS. Pointing at that which IS NOT is useful as a tool for the negation of erroneous beliefs. The natural state, being natural, is not affected by realization or non-realization. It is beyond the dualistic realm of ordinary mind content. The non re-cognition of it is simply due to an identication or xation with mind content, which has arisen from a one-way looking out accompanied by an ignorance of within. However, this boundary between within and without is only a concept and a way of looking at things. Pure seeing is not divided into seeing and not seeing. Seeing is knowing. You cannot stop these aspects of awareness. Even ordinary seeing with the physical eyes continues when you close your eyes. Pure seeing-knowing is omni-directional. The psyche, the senses, are all habitually turned out towards the world of appearances through a conditioning brought about by involuntary imitation or apparent assimilation of inuences around us. We, as a xating aspect of mind, get hooked into a realm of elongated mind content. Is it that simple? You tell me. You, as a xation with mind content have been seemingly lled with concepts from others and this has been the inherited condition for common man. Its all embroidery upon a plain cloth. Mere belief itself is neither right or wrong. It is their bias that attaches them to more substantial habitual states in body and mind. The self-center is the central bias point of xating consciousness. What do you know of it? Truly? Whether a belief appears to be right or wrong can only be just another opinion. It is just another reference point in mind. This conditioned mind and its beliefs are actually insubstantial and they collapse upon investigation. They are just not there. Any fear of that collapse keeps the mind busy with its structures of thought support for a false entity in a false world. There is no such collapse as such, it is more like a cloud vaporizing. By ignoring your natural state, you have inadvertently, yet only seemingly, bound yourself in erroneous concepts. They actually appear in you and you are not bound by themat all. Paradoxically, your argument about this fact is your bondage. It is just a belief. Who is bound by what? Look through your own eyes to the immediacy of What IS. With assistance from the one who is free of the conditioned mind (in yourself or from outside), an investigation can take place wherein all erroneous beliefs are cleared away or seen through. This may appear to take time just as the seeming accumulation of conditioning has appeared to take time. (Time is mind). When time disappears, the natural state is pristinely evident as your own true nature.

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The First Instant

This is immediate and direct unmediated knowing pure awareness. IT IS. Enlightenment or pure awareness (true nature) is timeless. IT IS. (It is not a process). Throughout all the ages, in the diverse appearances of the One, there have been those who know. Their words, directions and instructions are simple enough. The common belief is that a transmission is needed. Nothing is actually imparted by the guru or teacher and the so-called transmission is just a concept. The guru reveals to you your own light of knowing which is ever direct and present. You have only seemingly forgotten it. The full potency of the message, just like your own authentic being, is so simple and so obvious, that most miss it all together. All that is needed are just simple directions as to how to make this investigation within the scope of your own awareness. A process of the elimination of all concepts including the primary concept of I am brings one to the un-doubt-able fact of open awareness (Where one nds that it is already open). So-called teachers that promise enlightenment through elaborate practices and methods are themselves misinformed. The true Master holds a mirror in which you see yourself. In pure seeing the Master and the seeker vanish. Seeing-knowing remains as the ever present actuality. The seer and the seen dissolve into pure seeing-knowing. They may all continue to re-appear, yet the substantiality of the objects, which they appear to be, is clearly known to be awareness and nothing else. Thus, the true meaning of One without a second, reveals itself to itself. You are THIS! It is a constant revelation ever fresh. This moment THIS MOMENT has never happened before. The innite web of subtle energy runs throughout (is) the whole manifestationthere is no entity that has independence or substantiality anywhere. No one to claim ownership of even one atom let alone a body or mind. As Nisargadatta says: You have taken yourself to be something that you are not. As Sailor Bob Adamson says: Relax and be what you are.

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Ordering Information Ordering Information for The First Instant

This free e-book consists of excerpts from the complete The First Instant e-book which is available for order on the Shining Through The Mind web site at http://www.shiningthroughthemind.net. This e-book and its contents are copyrighted by Gilbert Schultz. You may freely redistribute this free version of the e-book provided you only distribute an unedited, unmodied, complete copy of the electronic le as you obtained it from the Shining Through The Mind web site. Gilbert welcomes all comments and questions. He may be contacted via e-mail at gilbert@shining throughthemind.net.

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