Q&A

The Self and the "world"

Yannis: In order to know the "world," one forgets the Self. In order to know the Self, one forgets the "world."

Question: Isn't the self connected to the world?

Yannis: The "world" is perceived through the limited perception provided by the five senses.

The physical-mental organism that we usually call "self" is perceived in the same way.

The Self (with a capital S, which some call Spirit or otherwise the true Being, the Is) is the One who perceives "behind" these.

In order for the Self to experience its true nature, it needs direct perception (or "intuition").

The ancient Greeks called this way of perception "myo" (mystery, mystery, etc.), meaning "I perceive without using the five senses."

In this state (or state of meditation), the "world" does not exist in the current sense.

About Enlightenment

Question: It is said that the last delusion of the student is Enlightenment.

Yanis: The so-called "Enlightenment," or Self-Awareness, is the state in which that which IS experiences its true nature.

In this state, there are no distorting lenses of identities, nor, of course, those of the "student."

Now, it simply IS.

The spiral staircase of Self-Awareness

Question: Is the cessation of desires achieved through "indifference"?

Or is it that as the "drops" in the "glass" increase, we automatically experience a reduction in desires?

Yannis: One helps the other.

With the "drops," that is, with Awakening, the duration of the Presence of the actual Being increases, as does the way of perceiving Him, which is Intuition.

This results in an ever-expanding View, understanding, as a result of the now increased Energy of Presence, and therefore less identification, i.e. more "indifference."

This, in turn, creates more Awakening, more "moments."

This is the wonderful spiral "ladder"; the Path of Self-Knowledge.

Is there a feeling of loneliness when you ARE?

Question: When you are with the Essence, don't you feel lonely?

Yannis: There is no such thing, neither as a "feeling" nor as a concept.

When you ARE, you are complete.

Also, you cannot be "with the Essence."

You can only be the Essence.

Question: It requires thought, I don't understand...

Yannis: As you will have noticed from our discussions, or by watching the group's posts and videos uploaded to YouTube, during meditation, the personality, i.e., the lower mental and emotional (and therefore the identities related to form), is completely passivized, and Consciousness, my true nature, THAT WHICH I AM, is activated. Then MY way of perception is through the "instrument" of Intuition.

In that state (meditation), "I" as a body-mind do not exist.

The meditator no longer exists.

Or, in other words,

meditation has occurred when there is no longer a meditator.

Self-awareness and God

Question: When you talk about "let my will be done," I get confused and don't understand it because it's completely contrary to my beliefs.

Because I don't feel like God.

Γιάννης: Αυτό που συζητάμε εδώ, αυτό που λέμε Εαυτογνωσία έχει συμβεί όταν πλέον υπάρχει ελευθερία από κάθε “πιστεύω”.

Because everything you "believe," even that you are this particular mental-emotional form, represents what you think you are.

You, the personality, are not God.

But YOU, who give LIFE to this personality, ARE God.

And THAT which YOU ARE has its own Will and acts accordingly in each different case.

Personality and Self

Question: Yannis, I don't know how necessary it is to use the ego in such a non-egoic experience...

Yannis: What is very easy to understand is that communication through the five senses and cognitive-emotional translations is extremely limited.

Usually, for the sake of broader understanding, when I use "I am," I am referring to the physical-mental organism, that is, the personality that is usually considered to be me.

However, when I use "I AM," I am referring to my true nature, to what I really AM, to the formless, impersonal "Spirit," to the multidimensional IS, to the SELF.

And as you understand very well, I AM when what I "am" is passive.

To whom does "pain" belong?

Question: Man should be proud of his pain because every sorrow is a reminder of his higher Essence.

Yannis: Very soon on this Path, it becomes clear that Man is not a physical-mental organism.

Man is the multidimensional Being, the true Being.

The Path of Self-Knowledge represents the Experience of this reality.

This Being is not touched by pride, nor does it feel pain or sorrow.

However, we often confuse Man with the "human being"; the physical-mental organism and the qualities that each ego has.

Thus, the ego-seeker (mystic, spiritual, etc.) has its own rules-filters with which it interprets events.

Take advantage of the power of identification in events by "emptying" yourself and propel yourself as understanding, as what you ARE.

Is there only one now?

Question: Is there only one now?

Yannis: Yes and no.

Yes, there is the eternal Now in which intellectual and emotional translations, the "I", are absent.

It is the way in which the state of Being, What I AM, is "nourished."

No, because there are much more subtle states of Consciousness that operate on different "steps" of the Now, where primordial recordings, polarizations of Being, are made.

However, the transition to the "vertical" Path, the Path of Self-Awareness, is through the cessation of daydreaming and intellectual-emotional translation, that is, in the Now, where Life and Joy are.

Where I AM.

In Self-Awareness there are no two

Question: In order for someone to enter a state of self-awareness, for Awareness or Self-Awareness to manifest, is it not a prerequisite to be absent?

Yannis: Exactly!

Self-awareness occurs when the Self experiences its true nature.

There, everything has been abandoned.

Even the egoic desire for self-awareness.

There are no two.

There is only ME, What I AM.

Meditation has happened when there is no longer a meditator.

About the opinion of "others"

Q. How can I stop caring about the opinion of others?

Yannis: Dependence on the opinions of others is a mechanical function of the "ego-form" as it operates through the personality, which can only be overcome by shifting attention from "appearing" to "being," that is, through self-awareness.

As long as your joy is dependent on external factors (praise, acceptance, recognition, etc.), you will always be bound to others.

The Path of Self-Awareness leads to self-existent Joy (Ananda), which springs from "Being" and needs no external nourishment.

When you experience this "feeling" of Fullness, even for a short time, the need for validation from others naturally diminishes.

Q. What steps can we take in this regard?

Yannis: First, let's understand that we care about other people's opinions because we identify with our "image," with our body.

We consider ourselves to be the "shadow on the cave wall" (our personality) and we try to protect that image.

When someone judges us negatively, we feel that our very existence is threatened because we need external validation in order to feel important or secure.

The solution comes with Experience, the Realization that we are not the personality, but the "Witness" who observes it.

Society functions like a "Procrustes" trying to bring us to its standards. The people around us, because of their own insecurity, try to keep us in specific molds of behavior. If we start to change or differentiate ourselves, they react to bring us back to the "rut" of the familiar and predictable.

When we understand that their criticism stems from their own need for security and not from our reality, their opinion loses its weight.

Instead of reacting mechanically (with anger or sadness) to a crisis, i.e., "biting" at the hooks of external stimuli, you are called upon to remain detached, in a state of Self-Awareness.

I would also say that you don't need to draw negative attention from others or flaunt your differences. You can function socially with diplomacy, without letting your "inner" state depend on it.

When you feel that someone's opinion is affecting you, ask yourself: "Who is being hurt?"

Is it your ego?

Is it your identity as a "good kid" or a "successful person"?

Through this question, your attention turns to its source (the Self) and withdraws from the object of criticism.

I would also suggest that you regularly practice Self-Residence when you are alone, that is, staying in the sense of Your Existence ("I Am") for a long time.

The more you "feed" your "inner" Observer with moments of Presence, the less power the "leeches" of public opinion will have to suck your energy.

In closing, I would say that you do not stop listening to the opinions of others; you stop identifying with the image that others have of you. You become Self-Supportive, staying within your own silent Presence and not in words or, more generally, in the influences of your environment.

To fully accept and love ourselves

Q: How is it possible to accept and love ourselves completely?

Yannis: Unconditional acceptance and love for “ourselves” are not achieved by adding yet another new commandment of “love” or “acceptance,” or through “self-improvement”—that is, by changing the programmed commands of the personality—but by transcending the illusion of the “ego,” or in other words, “who I think I am,” and by experiencing our true nature.

The self with which we usually identify (our name, body, memories, hopes, fears, virtues, and flaws) is in fact a “form” or a “vehicle” and not our True Self.

True acceptance arises when we realize that we are not our bodies or our thoughts, but the Life that permeates them.

Thus, acceptance requires the deconstruction of the identities we have built. It represents the emptying of illusions and ingrained commands, so that we remain “naked” (Tabula Rasa) in the face of Existence.

Love, in turn, is the natural state, the true nature of Being, of that which I AM.

It is not something to be acquired externally or through mental commands (“I must love myself”), but something that wells up spontaneously when the personality is deactivated—that is, when the mind and emotion quiet down.

Only when the “false knower,” the “I,” is completely abandoned, is revealed what always exists: the pure Love and Freedom of that which I AM, Bliss.

Q: Is there anything I can do to achieve this state?

Yannis: To reach absolute Love, one must practice Self-Remembrance—the experiential answer to the question “Who am I?”—which gradually gains duration and stabilizes into a state of Self-Abiding.

This means to “dwell,” to abide within His Presence, where there is no separation or lack; where all is One.

In general, as a conclusion, I would say that the acceptance and Love of the “self” is not an act of reconciliation with our flaws, but the Realization, the Experience that we are the Whole, Life itself, which is by its very nature Perfect, Timeless and Indivisible.

About the Student of Self-Awareness

Q. What does it mean to be a student on the path of Self-Knowledge, also known as “Enlightenment”?

Yannis: Being a student on the path of Self-Knowledge represents an attitude that differs radically from the traditional concept of school education in terms of how deeply existential it is.

In agreement with Socrates, a student is one who “knows that he does not know.”

It is the stage where the student—the seeker—realizes that they do not possess true Knowledge but operate through “programmed commands” or, in other words, through their “psychological lenses.”

In contrast to conventional learning, which accumulates information, the journey of Self-Knowledge is a process of “unlearning.”

The student-seeker is called upon to let go of identities and roles in order to Experience their true nature.

The experiential admission “I don’t know” is the necessary “doorway” for one to open oneself to the possibility of True learning.

Q. Who can be considered a good—or advanced—student on the path to self-knowledge?

Yannis: A “good student” is not necessarily someone with a high IQ, but rather someone who has the ability to focus their attention on a goal without “flitting” off into daydreams.

Learning this skill requires persistence and repetition (“repetition is the mother of all learning”), as the student must overcome the “fascination-boredom” dichotomy to solidify their new state.

When the student masters the skill of remaining undistracted in what they are doing, they possess the “master key” (the key that opens all doors) to every form of learning.

An advanced student, therefore, is not one who has spent many years engaged in the practice, but one who

quickly returns to the Presence after a moment of distraction.

Q. What determines a student’s progress?

Yannis: A student’s progress depends mainly on their dedication.

The student “pays” for their development with moments of pure Presence, that is, with the energy of engaging in the transition to the state of Awakening.

Through this way of life, the student constantly demonstrates “this is what I want,” thus attracting the necessary Knowledge.

Q. How can one find a Teacher to help them?

Yannis: There is a well-known saying: “When the student is ready, the Teacher comes.”

The “Teacher” may not be a person, but an event, a book, or an inner inspiration (“Eureka”) that appears when the student has gathered the necessary energy of inquiry.

The student must be completely open (without prejudice), like an “empty vessel,” in order to be able to accept and attune to the Teaching however it appears to them, without distorting it through their own interpretations.

In conclusion, I would say that being a student means approaching everyday life as if it were school and exams, constantly seeking the “spirit” behind the surface of events.