My dear friends,
Thanks to everyone who has ordered a copy of my new book “One Year With Gott”.
They’re on their way from the US to you now.
For those that are still thinking about buying a copy, here’s a short chapter to whet
your appetite…….
February 3rd
Gott Speaks
The next day came quickly enough. We were all up early to prepare for dawn meditation but were surprised to find that Gott had already arisen and switched on the urn, turned on the lights, prepared the Hall, lit the incense and sat himself in the Teachers Chair, ready for his talk. Somehow, I couldn’t help thinking he’d done this before…..indeed, a lot of times before!
I rang the bell and everyone quietly moved from their rooms into the Meditation Hall and sat silently and expectantly facing the altar. Gott seemed to be in a kind of trance: his eyes were glazed over and he was obviously in deep reverie.
“I have been asked to share with you my truths” he began so quietly we had to strain to hear him.
“I have had them for so long now….and yet I can still so easily remember how they came about; and how they changed my life and my understandings.
Like yourselves I constantly wondered what was the meaning of life…..and how should I best live it?
Like yourselves, I went within and meditated, hoping to find answers. I became determined to find the truth. I knew it couldn’t be found outside myself – that was just madness with everyone acting like imbeciles and coming up with their own ideas, none of which were obviously working, even for them.
“So I went deeply within. Deeper and deeper I went, determined to keep up my search until I found the truth. At first I found all the thoughts that caused my confusion, then I found my feelings that supported that confusion, and then I found even deeper thoughts that were the very source of my confusion.
Eventually I went so deep there were no thoughts or feelings at all…….I had left them all behind…..and there was only silence and stillness and calm.
“In that calm and stillness I found understandings arose within me in crystal clear form. I did not create them and nor could I change them. They just presented themselves to me, not as ideas or words but rather as truths.
They did not ask anything of me, not even to believe them.
They simply existed at my core and expressed themselves to me, as me.
“The first of these truths assured me that life as we know it is full of stress, discomfort and dissatisfaction. Starting with birth, having illness, slowly aging and finally facing death are all stressful.
Keeping what you have – be it a person, a place or a thing – as well as not getting what you want are also stressful.
Having pain, feeling discomfort, being despondent or dissatisfied also lead to stress. In fact, I came to understand that my body often leads to stress, my thoughts often lead to stress, my
feelings often lead to stress, my programming often leads to stress…. and my awareness of the world around me often leads to stress, too.
I may have happy moments and good times but before and after each of them stress is always present.
“The second of these truths assured me there was a reason for all this suffering. And the reason was our cravings.
We crave for so much don’t we? We desire certain people, we want certain jobs, we thirst after certain foods and drinks, we strive for possessions , we work hard to gather money and to own homes and boats and cars.
All of these “I want” activities cause us great stress and oftentimes great disappointment as nothing is ever permanently “ours’.
We also desire many outcomes such as to become powerful or rich or sexually desirable or socially popular or famous or respected or admired.
And each of these cravings bring their own ultimate misery.
We even desire in the negative……to have a smaller nose, bigger breasts, stronger biceps, nothing to do with a family member, the end of the rain, the removal of a work colleague.
Each of these is also a desire and craving that leaves us unfulfilled and unhappy.
I could see the group was totally entranced and absorbed in Gott’s talk. Some shook their heads as if trying to remove some deeper awareness that had just made connection with them.
No-one spoke aloud.
“The third of these truths assured me that if I could first understand that for most of us life is suffering; and then understand that it is our desire for the permanence of things to make us happy or safe or more comfortable that causes that suffering when change happens……I could then understand that the answer to my underlying unhappiness and incessant feeling of a lack of fulfillment was to not be attached to any of the things of life!
And that included people, things, jobs, statuses, homes, money – anything!
It didn’t mean I couldn’t have some or even all those things….. but I couldn’t be attached to any of those things. They could come.
They could go. I didn’t have to own any of them. And I couldn’t keep any of them either.
This truth instantly relieved me of the burden of life. I could enjoy it kind of like a tourist without having to be in charge of any of it!! I just had to respect it all.
“This led to the fourth Truth I was given.
It was the answer to the problem.
It’s as if the first understanding explained the illness.
The second explained the cause of it.
The third explained the cure.
And this fourth explained the way to take the cure.
I never share what happened to me when I took the cure.
I only ever shared how to take the cure.
And that is to establish a new relationship between yourself and the world, one that is based on these truths, on mindfulness, integrity and selflessness…….and to train oneself diligently to live by these values until that glorious day arrives when you awaken to find you are truly enlightened.
At that moment, everything will seem to be the same around you – yet nothing will be the same within you.
“Time to meditate” said Gott. “Close your eyes…….slow your breath…..go deep within……..ignore all thoughts that arise…….. simply ignore them………move deeply into the silence behind your
thoughts, behind your emotions…….”
What we are today arises naturally through our thoughts of yesterday.
Our thoughts today are creating our tomorrow.
Our life, therefore, is the creation of our thoughts.
Dhammapada
Trudi thinks this 240 page book will be more popular than my best-seller,
The Return Of The Master!
If you’d like to order a personally signed copy (or two!) they’re just $25 each,
postage included.
Many blessings,
Les