A Course in Freedom:
The Drunken Monkey Speaks

Adapted by Masaru Kato from the book by Lawrence Lanoff, Ph.D.

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Whatever you believe to be true, real, correct or desirable is erroneous.

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Lanoff’s principal aim is to liberate you from the imprisonment of your inherited field of mythologies, “a series of misunderstood stories.” Mythologies are hidden beliefs, imposed by your culture, society, community, friends, parents, ancestors, teachers, religions, etc, which confine your way of life. He asserts that you are energetically trapped within your interwoven stories of “Thou shalt.”

     How are you trapped in the countless mythologies, rules, laws, and norms about yourself, God, money, sex, spirituality, karma, sin, guilt, self-sacrifice, etc? An example: “If you believe that spiritual people shouldn’t get angry, you will be contained by that experience, perhaps beating yourself up, and harshly judging your experience whenever you feel the natural, human emotion of anger. The fact is that you are human, and therefore, human emotion is a natural consequence of being human.” As you read Lanoff’s words, you will soon realize that you are imprisoned in a cage of myths. Most of your issues, pains and sufferings originate from your confinement of self, based on these untrue stories.

     To be aware that you are in the cage of myths is, by itself, a truly significant step towards awakening. To assist you to get out of the cage, Lanoff points out, “everything that you think may be wrong,” and helps you to realize the illusory nature of your beliefs and ideas. Whatever you believe to be true, real, correct or desirable is erroneous. Your ideas of what kind of person you should be, the way “it” should be, who to marry, how much money to make, etc, are all mind creations, which are not true. When you realize and integrate this concept, the absence of “ought to” gives you a tremendous amount of freedom, a peaceful, expanded, softened and blissful mind state.

The mystique of beliefs.

     First, every perception is symbolic. When you observe a thing or an object, you only capture a symbolically suggested meaning or image. When you see a red octagon on the road, you know it is a “stop” sign. When you see bundled papers with a cover, you know it is a book, something to read. Think carefully here. What you grab is actually the symbolic meaning you have constructed in your head. You never directly perceive the true essence of the object, as it is. You perceive everything symbolically. In this sense, everything in your life, including yourself, is a symbol. As the meaning referenced by a symbol is quite arbitrary. Therefore, everything is illusory.

     Second, you are not really experiencing the outer reality. Whatever you feel, perceive, or recognize is a byproduct of the translation that the brain makes into a language that it can understand. When you look at something, your brain processes the stimulus from your receptors, interprets the stimulus, and cobbles together a symbolic image that it conveys to your mind. “Your eyes don’t see; your brain does.” Everything is assembled and experienced within you. Therefore, nothing is inherently real.

     Third, your brain confuses two realities: factual, external reality and illusory, internal reality. Images generated inside your brain are perceived as real. Images projected from external reality are also perceived as real. The brain perceives all information as externally produced, whether it comes from inside or outside. The result is that you interpret stories and internal images as external, historical, and natural events. These three traits of your mind/brain make you hallucinate and assemble untrue stories.

If you believe it, you feel it.

     When you walk through the dark city street alone at midnight, you are freaked out, because you symbolically perceive the meaning of darkness as something dangerous, frightening. Your brain misunderstands the perception of a possible attack by someone or something hiding in the darkness as if it were an actual, clear and present danger. It’s not happening in 3D reality, but rather it is an illusion, manufactured and assembled inside your head. You feel the danger is real, however, because the symbols in your head are perceived by your brain as actual, real danger; the physiological reactions follow, the excretion of adrenaline, goose pimples, your breathing changes and your heart pounds. When you are in the bodily sensation of panic, you are totally trapped in the illusion of danger and fully convinced of its veracity. If you believe it you feel it, and when you feel it, you believe it. 

Tangible changes.

     Lanoff’s “drunken monkey” is a metaphor that represents the drive of self-defense, which resides in the unconscious parts of your brain. It is a “monkey” because it processes the information symbolically, in a language you cannot understand. It is “drunk” because it overreacts to almost everything, in an insane manner. The drunken monkey is in constant fear and it always vomits highly charged symbolical images of danger in your head. Then, you simply listen to it and tighten up within yourself.

     To awaken from the myths, Lanoff slaps your face and punches your awareness with very straightforward and radical statements: “God does not set your conscience—your ancestors do,” “The life is a lie, a complete fabrication,” “You are mistaken most times about everything,” “When a mask of God says, ‘I am the way,’ and you take that literally, you are lost,” “Your deepest fears are your doorway to freedom,” “All spirituality is a myth,” and so on. Interestingly, when your inner untrue beliefs are shattered by these statements, you sense that you are softened, expanded, and relaxed physically and energetically. The way you view the world and yourself will surely be shifted. You become filled with compassion, love and affirmation toward yourself and others, saying, “Yes!” to everything. You experience this change in a tangible manner.

     By sharing his insights, Lanoff deeply touches your inner reality. He helps you energetically and expands your awareness by touching your consciousness directly. This is not a gathering of information on what Buddha said, what Jesus said, what Krishnamuti said, or what Wayne Dyer said. This is not the cognitive arguments of human minds or egos. Lanoff has actually tapped deep inside the inner mind to touch the energetic dynamics creating our illusions.

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Lawrence Lanoff, Ph.D., is the author of A Course in Freedom: The Drunken Monkey Speaks (Soul Light Publishing, $29.95, Paperback), and will present a virtual live meditation in an online conference on July 20. For more information and to participate in this virtual experience of Dr. Lanoff’s workshop, email Masaru Kato at info@atmanwellbeing.com.

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