James Wood Teachings

Contents

A Summary of Contents of The Path of Awakening:

The Path of Awakening comprises the following ten chapters and their respective subjects, all key components of the spiritual journey:

Honesty

One of the basic misconceptions about the spiritual path is that you can awaken by avoiding or denying the world. You can’t. The world is the Absolute in disguise. You have to penetrate the illusion of the world directly and see its falseness. Avoidance of the world is what gives it its sense of substance, like avoiding a monster under your bed. The only way to get rid of the monster is to shine a light under the bed and see that it was an illusion to begin with. Instead of avoiding it, see it for what it is—a false appearance.

Study

Study scripture meditatively by listening to your own inner Wisdom as you read. You cannot understand the Absolute with your mind, but you can recognize it as your own inner essence. Read with the appreciation that Truth is deeper than anything words can describe on their surface. Ponder and meditate upon the words of the Teacher, taking them into the silent Space of recognition within you.

Instruction

In the case of the true Teacher, know that his nature cannot be fathomed by the mind, because he is Truth in human form. All beings are Truth in human form, but the awakened person is fully conscious of this and lives from that awareness. His relative aspect gives him a human appearance, but do not confuse that with who he is. He is the same as you in your absolute nature, only openly and without obstruction. If you find him, you find your own true essence. Let him guide you. Do not listen to his words as mere thoughts; listen to the Space underneath. If you find who it is that speaks, you find who It is that listens. Do not surrender to his person or relative form, surrender to who he is in his essence, the same as your own Being.

Action

On the absolute level, doing is an illusion. On the relative level, doing is everything. You cannot help but take action, regardless of what you are doing or not doing. The key is to take action that leads to growth in awareness. For example, sitting still is a form of action: a decision you make, an action you take to sit down and be still. If you sit still in meditation with a Teacher, your action becomes a form of spiritual practice. You are always locked into the relative cause and effect of an action unless you use it to produce growth in consciousness. If you fundamentally recognize the Emptiness of the moment of action and are unattached to its outcome, it is not-doing, or conscious action. Conscious action arises from beyond the mind.

Commitment

Decide. Is Freedom really what you want? Is your path about getting something, having something, or being somebody? If so, the path of awakening is not for you. You get Freedom by giving everything away. Once you have given everything, a miracle is revealed: You are already That which you have been seeking. You can do it. Just make sure that radical destruction of your illusions is what you really want. If not, you will just chase after shadows, not having the real commitment it takes to get to the end.

Embodiment

The physical body is not what it seems to be. Like any perceived object, it is a reflection of your fundamental state of consciousness. It is no more solid than a perceived body in a dream, however substantial it may seem. The body is a composite of the physical, mental, and emotional dimensions of the person, the vehicle of expression for your consciousness, but not who you ultimately are. Unconsciousness makes it seem solid. The more conscious you become, the less the body appears as a dense object and the more it radiates pure awareness as a brilliantly energetic field—more of a vibrant flux than material thing.

Meditation

You can connect with Silence by sitting quietly and listening into the space of your awareness, but you will probably notice that your connection is interrupted by thoughts and negative emotions. Do not judge these raucous intruders; noticing them is all you have to do to get still. Mental noise and negative emotions persist only because you judge them as bad or wrong. What sets them free is your unconditional acceptance. They can persist only if you judge them. Instead, accept them and see what happens.

Community

The fellowship that a group provides—the sharing of friendship in the common context of participating in the work together—is deeply supportive of your path. Eating meals together, doing work together, and just spending time together are ways to enjoy the companionship of conscious human beings. Because of a mutual commitment to basic values like honesty, integrity, and compassion, friendship with fellow students is often of high quality and can support you when the path gets rough. The path gets rough when you begin to see and feel your own falseness. You need friends who can be honest with you and give you encouragement when you need it.

Life

The awakened life is grounded in the ordinary. The Unmanifest must be balanced by the manifest to awaken into worldly life fully. The Timeless must be grounded in the temporal. Washing dishes, taking out the garbage, and dealing with family issues, for example, give Being relative weight and a place to develop its design. Living an awakened life is not life-denying; it’s life-affirming. It’s being deeply involved in life. It’s not avoiding the mundane; it’s embracing it. It’s finding and helping people. The Awakener stands on the river bank and helps others cross, reaching out to the world while standing firm in Freedom. The awakened life does not require a mountaintop hermitage to express itself. Being fully human is an integral part of awakened life and is important for transmitting the Teaching in an accessible way.

Devotion

To devote yourself to something means to give yourself to it fully so that nothing is left over. Devotion to a Teaching means giving yourself to it totally and not confusing the Teacher with his relative form. Devotion implies commitment, surrender, and love. The ego is constantly concerned with itself: how it is going to survive, what it looks like in the eyes of others, how to come out on top. These selfish tendencies are deeply ingrained in the unawakened psyche. Devotion to Truth in the form of the Teacher is the most powerful way to destroy these tendencies.