Years ago, Osho said something that bothered many people. He said that he doesn’t believe in improving your character; it might give you a good shape but it is just an outer shape; you remain the same and no transmutation or change happens as it is just a surface process. He said that if you feel greedy, be greedy; if you feel angry, be angry and so on. There is nothing to improve. You need just to be.
Our society could not tolerate such a teaching: if you are greedy, be greedy; don’t bother about greed, if you are sexual, be sexual; don’t bother about sex. Our society said that Osho is bringing chaos and he wants to destroy the order of the world.
Obviously they didn’t understand anything that Osho said.
In fact, Osho said that when you are feeling or doing something you must watch yourself; don’t get identified, just simply look at it, be a spectator, an observer. Watch anger, watch sex, watch greed. The more you watch the better you can see. You will become an expert in witnessing yourself; you will see all the nuances of anger and of greed. You will become an expert in seeing the nuances of your ego as the ego is very subtle and delicate and is deep buried inside of you. You need to catch it and observing oneself is one of the best ways to accomplish this. Beyond the extraordinary result of this exercise you will be able to enjoy your life from all perspectives and possibilities.
Is it possible to be aware that you are angry when you are angry?
Yes, it is possible. When you are angry move into anger and be an observer. Watch your body: watch your heartbeat; watch your breathing; is it going crazy, mad or chaotic. Watch how your energy moves in and out; watch everything as thousands of things are happening. If you are a real witness you are an observer, an outsider. You simply see it as if it is happening to someone else. And suddenly in the middle of the process you will enjoy everything that is happening: good, bad, emotions, feelings, primary or secondary instincts and so on.
The second thing that helps you to become conscious of what you do and feel is being aware of repetitious patterns.
The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus said that every day the sun is new and you cannot step twice in the same river. Both affirmations are true from both a scientifically and philosophical point of view. Scientifically, the Sun is changing composition each day, each moment; it is literally a new sun. When you step in the same river a second time, tons of water have alread flowed so it is not the same river.
For us, what Heraclitus said more than 2,500 years ago is paramount if we want to be aware of our own feelings and doings. Remember that the mind is afraid; the mind needs planning. In fact, because love is now and mind is fear, you can say that your fear plans, your fear cannot trust the moment.
Most of us don’t know what life is for because we have never lived it in the “now”. We believe that being born is enough but we have never really enjoyed our lives. We were taught about impoverishment and we lost the capacity to live now and see the true beauty of existence.
The way you should live is as if each moment is the last; obviously because the next moment is uncertain. Once you can do that your life will change completely. To think “Someday I am going to do it,” becomes of great significance and value right now. Unhappiness becomes unimportant; love and harmony becomes important. You won’t have time to think of unhappiness towards enemies, or cultivate animosity. Friendships become more meaningful and relevant. You will truly enjoy your life and seeing your priorities differently.
You will start to understand that life is rich and abundant and existence is overflowing. All the belief patterns that others gave relative to poverty will be gone. You then look at nature and you understand how rich you are; millions of flowers at your feet are giving you their perfume and millions of stars over your head are giving you their light. You realize and feel that you are, in fact, the richest being in the Universe, ready to share your abundance with the whole world.