3. Happiness, Consciousness and Reality

F.M. Dostoevsky wrote: “Man is unhappy only because he does not know that he is happy. And as soon as he realizes that he is happy, instantly, that very second, he will become happy. That is all. Everything…” We agree with this statement. In our picture of the world (and it is supported—both scientifically and through daily practice), every human being already has what they truly desire (yet may not know it), and in their world, that occurs which they genuinely believe in (believes so deeply that they are ready to wager on it what is most precious to them: money, life, freedom).

In the broadest sense—Your reality, Your entire material world (Your health, Your finances, Your relationships, everything You possess and do not possess, all circumstances of Your life, all events and interactions with other people and with the world)—in short, Your entire reality is wholly created by Your consciousness. And this is not about “thought is material” or “one must think positively.” Thought, of course, is important. But the structure of Your consciousness is far greater than mere thoughts. Let Us examine the “edifice” of Your consciousness a little more closely, without delving into details.

Conventionally, one can distinguish four “stories” of our consciousness: faith, desires, feelings, and thoughts. It is precisely what fills these stories that determines how we live—literally creating our entire reality. Yet most often,

we do not even realize this; it seems to us that everything is as it is, independent of our consciousness, and that we can only study this intricate world existing apart from us, adapt to it, or struggle against it. But this is far from the truth. More precisely, this is merely one of the possible sets of beliefs, which creates a reality corresponding to it and shapes all of a human being’s relations with the world. Yet there can be others, and they give rise to a completely different reality.

In truth, in this brief Guide to Life, we wish to give You a vision that restores You to the stance of the Creator of Your reality—which is originally inherent to man, yet which we unconsciously relinquish, adopting other convictions and beliefs, shifting responsibility onto external forces (onto other people, the authorities, leaders, circumstances, God…), and often conversely, pulling responsibility for others (in essence, fellow creators) onto ourselves; and it is precisely this displacement of responsibility that makes us suffer and prevents us from seeing our happiness, from seeing that we ourselves create all of this in our lives, blaming someone external for our misfortunes, fearing external perils and threats (which we ourselves create), feeling resentful, irritated, envious, wrathful... or on the contrary, feeling guilt for being unable to make other people happy.

And it is precisely this that compels us to dodge in every way, to lie—to others and to ourselves, attempting to earn just a little

more money, to gain a little more power and superiority over other people. Behind all of this lies simply a displacement of responsibility. And even upon receiving all of this—money, power, success—we do not become happier, because fears and envy inevitably drive us to the next level—the next level of money, power, and “success.”

One need only alter one’s beliefs, fundamentally change one’s view of the world, accept responsibility upon Oneself as the Creator of one’s world, and return responsibility to the other creators for their reality, and everything will change at once—You will discover that You are already happy, for You Yourself create everything in Your world, and there is no one else responsible for it. And You create it for a reason; for some reason You desire it, and You believe in it. That is precisely why everything is as it is. You simply did not realize how, by what means, and for what purpose You create it, and it was precisely this lack of awareness that made You unhappy. Yet there is a chance to set everything right—by reclaiming responsibility for Your life and Your reality, not at the level of words and deeds such as “a man’s word is his bond” or “one must answer for one’s actions,” but at the level of consciousness itself: Your beliefs, convictions, subconscious desires, feelings, and thoughts.

Your reality is indeed the direct and manifest expression of what fills Your consciousness.

If You wish to know what fills Your consciousness—look into the mirror of Your reality. Everything You see there—the good and the not so good, the pleasant and the repulsive, the inspiring and the terrifying—is all You. And if You dislike something in this mirror, only You can change it. How do You find such a turn? Are You ready for such an adventure? For if You accept this, You will no longer have the possibility of shifting responsibility onto someone else. Ahead lies great and painstaking work in studying Yourself, in exploring the depths of Your consciousness. Yet it is also the most interesting and most blessed work in the entire universe, in all universes. To know Yourself.

To know Yourself, not to remake Yourself. I see in You a perfect being. A perfect Divine being who makes no mistakes, and therefore has nothing to remake, for this being is merely learning to govern its body, its Great Body. The Body of its reality. Learning by knowing Itself, its power, its boundless possibilities as a Creator.

When you see how a little child learns to walk and, in general, to master its body, its hands, trying to reach a cherished toy or delicious food, and when it does not succeed, do you see less perfection in it? Do you blame it for that? Or are you inspired by the fact that, facing certain—necessary—difficulties in the process of learning, it does not retreat, but continues making ever new attempts to master this skill? And then it masters ever

more and more complex skills. If You are reading this text right now, then it seems that in Your time, You succeeded in this as well.

We see You, Human, mastering the skills of the conscious creation of Your reality, as just such a perfect child who does not retreat in the face of possible “failures,” but over and over again makes attempts to learn. And it is precisely in this that We have been helping You all this time, throughout Your entire life, and We stand ready to continue helping You in this, patiently observing Your progress.

Yet are You Yourself ready to begin this path? Ready? Then the Game has begun. Do not demand too much of Yourself at once. Strive for now to realize what You believe in right now (looking into the mirror of Your reality), whom You usually blame for failures, for whom You shoulder responsibility, to whom You are indebted, and who is indebted to You... With what system of mutual obligations and debts have You become entangled along Your life’s journey? What do You receive from this? Does it make You happy? Know this: none of this is “objective” or “unavoidable.” It is simply Your beliefs and convictions that compel You to make such choices and act in such a way. This is neither bad nor good. You simply believe in it.