HJ: Enlightenment can happen anywhere — even deep behind the iron curtain, as recently discovered mystic Ilie Cioara beautifully illustrates. Ilie spent upwards of twenty years meditating, by himself, in a small apartment in Eastern Europe in the midst of the communist bloc, during a very oppressive time in human history. Through the practice of awareness and meditation, Ilie found ‘enlightenment’ and, as many in similar situations do, began writing profusely, sharing his incredible realizations about the self and reality with the world. Although he remained in obscurity for much of his life and up until quite recently, his work is being compared to such well-known masters as Rumi, Eckhart Tolle, and other individuals of a similar caliber.
I find his words to resonate deeply with that divine knowing inside of me and reading his energy and the energy of his words, he has the vibration of a light worker of the highest order. He chose a difficult path in this life and came out the other end quite enlightened, a truly miraculous occurrence indeed. His story and accomplish serve as an example of the power of the light in illuminating even the darkest experience this world has to offer. Truly a testament to the indistinguishable nature of the light, which we all contain within.
– Truth
I Am Sublime Reality
By Ilie Cioara | The Silence Book
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Excerpts from I Am Boundlessness, published by OBooks
Within each human being – as well as within each living being – a Primordial Light exists; It never changes Its clarity or Its ability to permeate all things. Without this Light we would be unable to understand ourselves or the Reality of Life in Its permanent movement. In Its absence, no authentic relationships can exist between human beings or with nature in general.
Although this Light is within us, awaiting for us to use It, nevertheless the path to the Light is so arduous! Why is it so difficult to discover it?
We have set foot on the Moon and we want to reach the soil of planet Mars, yet we cannot cross this infinitesimal distance between our surface consciousness and the inexhaustible Source of Light in the depth of our being?!
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The encounter with ourselves I describe is the result of personal experience. Each human being has access to this reality.
Lucid, all-encompassing Attention is the only instrument we use in order to encounter the mechanical reactions of our mind. We need to specify that this is not an attention directed by will, pursuing a certain purpose or goal, but it is that Attention which ensues spontaneously, by itself, when a noise or a thought, an image, a desire or fear appears on the surface of our consciousness. All-encompassing and all-illuminating, it dissipates everything that appears on the mirror of the mind, without leaving any memory residues.
In that moment of “psychological emptiness”, the notion of “me” disappears and, in the unity of our being, we are integrated into the Great Whole. Let us also mention that Attention is the manifestation of the Sacred within us – “our divine Nature”; by enlightening the mind, It dispels and dissipates all darkness and It unites us with Divinity for a split second.
A truly healthy mind functions only when it is needed. The rest of the time, it must be silent. From this silence or peace all benedictions ensue: spiritual and physical. In that instantaneous moment of stillness of the mind, the “ego” loses its energies, as well as its intrinsic fictitious importance. The physical body functions perfectly, unhindered by chaotic and stressful thoughts.
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Bliss
Bliss is a state of complete happiness, free from any cause or motivation. It cannot be planted or cultivated, such as a flower, by the self-interested “ego”, in any circumstance. It cannot be the fruit of imagination, nor can it be attained through persistent effort or will. It cannot be negotiated, for it is priceless.
No prayers – no matter how persistent and passionate – can help us attain it, for all these are nothing but egoistic endeavors, whose author is none other than the “personal self”, always pursuing its self-interest. Its activity cannot go beyond the dimension and the limits of its time-space structure.
This bliss or boundless Happiness ensues spontaneously, as soon as the ego becomes humble and silent, as it has understood its powerlessness. In the unforced and undesired silence, any ideal,
goal or purpose is completely absent and our being expands into Infinity. In a state of truly Pure Energy, we are perfectly conscious of an immense joy, united with Eternity.
Every human being who has understood – through a direct experience – the great mystery of inner harmony and equilibrium has access to this holy fulfillment. Each reaction of the mind is a wonderful opportunity to attain the state of bliss. Try to encounter the movement of the “ego” right now, in this very moment. The flame of Attention dissipates it instantly, and your being is integrated, in union with the Sublime. Do not content yourselves with a mere intellectual understanding of the phenomenon!
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Uniqueness
I am here as well as everywhere in the Immense Infinite,
I permeate everything.
All is within Me, I Am present in All,
There is nothing outside of Me, seen or unseen.
I have no cause and no Source of creation,
I have always been and I will always be, endlessly,
For what has no beginning will have no end,
In Essence and form, I Am a perfect Whole.
Uniqueness – as Unity – encompasses all,
It is within each of us, eternally revealing itself.
Attention is the accompanying Light,
Its intrinsic value is similar to the Sun,
Dissipating darkness, illusions and anomalies,
Offering priceless jewels of Joy.
Ilie Cioara was an almost unknown Romanian mystic who lived much of his life under Soviet occupation. As a result, his practice was solitary and hidden. He began his spiritual life as a Christian mystic, but at some point switched over to mantra meditation. After 20 years of practice, one day he felt an intuitive impulse to drop the mantra, and just practice the silence of the mind, by listening to the noises on the street, in the now. Much of his teachings were stowed away prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990. He taught quietly from that time until his death in 2004. aged 88. Ilie Cioara’s message is original and unique, as he never travelled to India and never belonged to any traditional school. In his 16 published books, Cioara wrote on awareness, silencing the mind, meditation, and enlightenment. The Silence of the Mind and The Wondrous Journey, Life is Eternal Newness and I Am Boundlessness is a tetralogy.Website www.thesilencebook.blogspot.com
