joy

There is something more beautiful, more grand, more wonderful than you could ever imagine, that exists within you, which is the substratum of all existence. Yet in order to feel this joy, this bliss, in order to find this total freedom from life's so-called burdens, you have to dig for your self. You have to give up something. You cannot stay the way you are, with the same disposition, the same values, the same preconceived ideas, the same concepts, and be free. You cannot do this. You have to do an about face and totally give up all of your ideas about life, totally surrender your ego, your mind, your body, your preconceived ideas.

To whom do you surrender this? To your Self. You thought I was going to say, "To God." But who do you think God is? God doesn't want your problems. Why should you give God your burden? Find out who this God is, where this God came from, and you will soon realize that you have created God in your image. There is no such God, but it is better than nothing. It's good to know you have a big daddy somewhere. (students laugh) Who you can cry to. (laughter) Somebody you can scream at and blame for all your problems.

Yet as we grow, as we unfold, as we let go of all this stuff we've been holding on, something does happen. We become lighter. The burden seems to disappear by itself. The only burden you've ever had is your mind. There is no other burden. See if you can stop your mind for a few seconds, and see how peaceful you are. Where there are no thoughts, there are no worries, there are no fears, there're no anxieties, there are no desires, no wants, no greed, no hurt, no enemies. It is the mind, the thoughts, that causes these things to come to us. We actually create these conditions. We create our own reality. 

Think of the kind of life you are living today, your possessions, your friends, your loved ones, your employment. Do these things come to you through luck or chance? Of course not. You have created all these things yourself, for you have believed in the false self. You have imagined that you are a human being who has to go through experiences. You have been brainwashed since you were little to believe the things that you believe today. So, if you really want freedom, liberation, you do not go searching for this. It is nowhere to be found, for it already exists within yourself. You are already that, so where can you go searching for it? Who can give it to you? 

Robert Adams