Many of the people I encounter sincerely want to realize the truth of their being. They ask me, "What do I do? How do I do that?" Paradoxically, this desire for true freedom finally can only be realized if you don't "do" anything to realize it.

There are practices where you do mantras, visualizations, prostrations, or some kind of selfless service. They are all designed to still the mind so that it is not obsessing on what is needed to reveal true fulfillment. Practices are excellent for honing the capacity of the mind both to focus and to surrender. Let us acknowledge that our spiritual practices have served us, that they are gifts from masters who have come before us. But let us also recognize that the truth of who we are is here now, and that all our practices have been ways of searching for what is already here, of trying to clear a path back to our own hearts.

The problem is that finally, any attempt to go somewhere implies that you are not already there. In fact, any activity you undertake to achieve this is an obstruction to the deepest recognition of what has always been fully realized.

In this moment you can realize what does not need to be practiced to exist. This is the easiest, simplest, and most obvious truth. What has kept it a secret throughout the ages is its absolute simplicity and its immediate availability.

This simplicity is difficult, because we are taught from childhood that to achieve something, we have to learn what the steps are and then practice them. This works beautifully for any number of things. The mind is an exquisite learning tool. But self-realization, as well as the deepest inspiration and creativity, come directly from the source of the mind. Realization does not come from any doing; it comes from surrendering the mind to the source.

If spiritual practices serve the purpose of stopping the mind, they are strong allies. But if they deepen the belief that you are someone in particular who practices something in particular in order to get something that you do not believe is already here, then they are an obstruction. They keep you spinning around yourself rather than allowing you to deepen into yourself.

Meditation means many different things to different people. It can mean focusing on the breath, or concentrating on an image, or any number of things. The meditation practice perpetuated by most people in the world is this: "I am this body. I am these thoughts. I am these emotions." There may be breaks where some kind of formal meditation is practiced, but then it's back to the strongest practice: "This is me. I am this body. These are my wants. This is what I have to have. This is what I don't have," and on and on. This is the meditation! And it is a meditation of suffering. Because it is so widespread, it is overlooked. It is thought of not as a practice but as reality.

This moment, stop right where you are. Stop all effort to get whatever you think will give you fulfillment, whatever you think will give you truth. All that is required is one instant of truly stopping.

There are exquisite moments when the usual meditation stops — moments of being absorbed in a lover's embrace,

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