Jan Esmann > Quotes

“Fortunately, all you have to get rid of is the illusion. People think they have to get rid of the small self in order to become Self-realized, but that is not so. Since they identify with the small self, they are beggars living their lives solely to get one acknowledgment of their egos. But the sad trap is that the more they get, the higher they think of themselves, and the more they identify with the small self.”
― Jan Esmann, Lovebliss: The Essence of Self-realization

“No, on the contrary! In enlightenment you have freed yourself of any sense of “I”, and you certainly have not evolved into an enlightened “I”. You can say there is “AM” (nothingness-beingness), but you cannot say there is an “I” that is or owns or experiences that AM-ness. Now, language bids us to use phrases like “I AM”, but it will have one meaning from the enlightened perspective and another from the unenlightened. I have seen this phrase cause much confusion in many seekers because it makes them believe that they as persons have to evolve to a serene point where their individuality simply is. But it will never happen, because it is not in the nature of the “I” to simply BE. It is the nature of the “I” to change and to interact with what changes around it. The “I” will never, ever get enlightened”
― Jan Esmann, Lovebliss: The Essence of Self-realization