Satsang Metaphors : AnyTime Misery Machine

It all... there is something to do. It is just: do not pay attention to any thoughts. Yes, well, if that comes naturally to you, that you are able to divest your attention from the mind, then by all means, by all means. What I noticed in the spiritual-seeming journey here is that my attention was pretty wild, you know? It was a crazy monkey. So the more I tried to control it, the more rebellious it would get. So I found in this experience that to work with surrender, to work with belief, was a lot easier.

So you need both attention and belief to suffer. I am going to share the ATM example after a long time today. But you need both of those to suffer or to take yourself to be limited, you see? So for me, it is okay if my attention is on a thought; it can go with the thought. But unless I take it to be real, unless I take it to be about me, it does not cause any trouble. So that's an example of 'let all thoughts as visitors come and go, don't serve them tea.' That seemed to be a simpler instruction for this one to follow. But we cannot generalize it. For some of you, it may be easy to withdraw your attention and to keep it centered on your sense of being, or to be centered on a mantra or something like that. Some of you may find that easier. But really, mostly I'm saying surrender or let go. Don't attach so much to these thoughts. Even if attention is going on them, it's fine.

So, how many of you... many, many of you are new also. When I started sharing Satsang, I used to constantly talk about the ATM. The ATM machine is the 'Anytime Misery Machine,' you see? So all of us have access to this anytime misery, you see, and it's an unlimited balance there. Unlike our physical money bank account, the ATM machine of anytime misery is an unlimited balance. So how do you withdraw misery? Suppose the project was different. Suppose the project was not to come to Truth, but you came to Satsang because you're too free and you want to suffer. You wanted some misery because you're feeling too bored of all the freedom, see? What would you have to do?

So what you have to do is to go to this Anytime Misery Machine, which is the mind. And how do you extract misery from it? First, you put in the ATM card, you see? What is the ATM card? It is Attention To Mind—ATM card. So you give your attention to the mind, you see? But in most countries, just putting the ATM card in will not give you the money. You know what else you have to do? You have to punch in your PIN: Personal Identification Number. I mean, there cannot be a better metaphor. The PIN is a personal identification, which is nothing but belief, you see? The minute you say 'Yes, what I am giving attention in my mind to actually applies to me as my personal identity,' that is: believe it to be real, believe it to be true. An unlimited amount of misery is available to us, but both steps have to be done. You have to give the attention to the mind and you have to identify; you have to punch in your personal identification.

And this 'you' is who? Because this question will always come. Is 'you' as Consciousness itself? All Satsang is Consciousness speaking with Consciousness. So mostly, most spiritual practices in the world and most spiritual paths in the world are about how to withdraw attention, how to withdraw attention. So chant a mantra, do some other practice, keep mindfulness—whatever you may say, if you really explore this, you will find that most spiritual paths and practices are about how to not bring attention to thought. But you will notice that if I say to you, 'Don't think of an orange,' whatever you do, don't think of an orange, you see? It's going to come. Except if some of you are maha-yogis or something, it is going to come, you see? So attention is a difficult monkey to manage.