Two men were walking inside the forest. One of them is young he is just released from prison where he spent 10 years. The other man is rather old, he is a monk, living isolated on a mountain.
The young man knew the monk since they were kids and he asked to see him as he wanted to change friends and change a path in life in general.
Suddenly, as they were walking inside the forest they noticed a beautiful young woman standing close to the edge of the peak, admiring the view of the valley below.
The young man, who he had just released from prison, haven't see a woman for ten years couldn't believe his eyes as the young woman was very pretty. He rolled his eyes wide open and whispered to the monk.
"Oh my! Do you see that?! Oh my! I can't believe my luck! My my my, how beautiful she is man! Listen, I want to go and talk to her. Uhm.. do you mind? if.."
The monk looked at the beautiful young woman, then looked at the young man and after a long pause, he smiled and replied.
"You can do whatever you need to do. Personally speaking, I am not interested about that beautiful woman."
The young man happily surprised, he rolled his eyes once more and he replied.
"I can't believe my luck! Man!!.. there's not even competition!"
And after a small pause he continued.
"Well, I haven't see you for many years.. ya know.. perhaps.. perhaps you are not interested in women.. sorry, have no intention.. but.. anyhow I am surprised to hear that. We were both living alone, I assume without relations with women for you as well, and.. you are not interested about that woman ?!?" He smiled and added "I am really surprised. Do you mind telling me how is that possible?"
The monk smiled and replied back.
"Listen. It doesn't have to do with that, and for your information I were always interested about women. But.. I have long come to realize, that, that woman is just an illusion. In a way, she doesn't exist. She is a projection of my senses. If I shut off all of my senses that woman will vanish from my perception. She will disappear. You see, all those 20 years living in the mountains, I am meditating for prolonged periods of time daily, shutting off my senses to the external stimuli in order to exceed the identity of myself. In order to find who I truly am."
The young man wanted to go and speak to that woman but he thought he could hear a bit more of that story before he go. And he added.
"That's unusual to hear. I see the young woman will stay there. Continue please, I want to learn how it ended. Did you find yourself?"
The monk, after a short pause, he continued.
"By shutting off the external stimuli, one is diving within, he is entering different realms and hence, the sense of the known self, with all of his memories, notions, hatred, attachments, expectations are thus dissolving. They are transformed from the inflow of the higher energy. Because only the higher frequency can change the lower frequency. All that have simply no longer a meaning. It's like the view of that woman at the valley below. Do you think she would be interested that moment to think about the tiny ants living down there? Or.. perhaps, she is more interested to admire the beauty of the valley below her feet?"
And the monk continued.
"It's all a matter of perception and the way one looks. One can have a new pair of eyes to look into the world. And the world will either disappear or it will be restructured. There comes a moment, where the structure of everything, every texture feels different. In fact, it feels like no other known human sense can ever bring forth."
After a long silent pause, the two men looked at each other. Without saying a word they farewelled each other and they continued on their paths.
❖
There can be diverse prisons in one's life and nonetheless that person could never see his or her own limitations, all those which are preventing that person from reaching their true potential. From addictions such as nicotine, alcohol, narcotics etc to the broader limitations that are raised high like invisible walls. Things that we are taught from a very young age and as such they become part of our thinking. And someone could spend a whole life and still never question about them. Things like the value of imposed systems in one's life, such as the religion, the government, the educational system etc. And to sincerely ask oneself, if the existence of any imposed system in one's life could make a better world to live for all people alike, that are equally sharing their lives under the same sky.
Grigoris Deoudis
