When the unskillful sides of the mind get disempowered, it's like a velvet revolution — nobody gets killed, but things get radically changed.

"A question that ultimately comes up is: “Is there an alternative where you don’t have to fabricate it at all?” That’s the question you pursue. And when you find the answer, that’s when things open up to something else entirely. There’s not even a sense of present moment at that point. It’s a different dimension. But as the Buddha said, it’s touched here in the body — it’s going to be experienced right where you’re experiencing the body right now.

So keep working right here, because right here is where things open up. That ultimate freedom is right near the spot where in the present moment you’re making your choices, or your intentions are deciding to do this or do that. You begin to realize, as you get more skillful in these various processes that you’re bringing up to the fore, that you do have a lot of freedom of choice here in the present moment. And right next to that freedom of choice, which is conditioned freedom, there is the ultimate freedom. It’s going to be found right here, right next to where you’re exercising your freedom of choice, as you master these skills, bringing all these processes of fabrication, intention, and attention into the light of day, changing the balance of power in the mind — so that instead of having unskillful things having power over your mind, things that are actually conducive to the path gain the upper hand.

So try to be clear about what’s getting disempowered and what’s getting empowered. Because the skillful sides of the mind are getting empowered, and the healthy energies in the the body get empowered. The parts that work against the skillful side get disempowered. And then even the skillful sides of the body and mind get overthrown when things open to the deathless. It’s like a velvet revolution — nobody gets killed, but things get radically changed."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "An Inner Revolution"

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