searching for what cannot be lost

Many of us, in our meditation or spiritual practices, are searching for something: some sense of freedom, some better identity, or perhaps some good feeling. Searching can never uncover what has not been lost.

You are, in fact, that vast timeless space in which all 'things' appear. You are not a 'thing. Rather you are That in which all 'things' appear. By things I mean: thoughts, feelings, body sensations, and any external object.

So .... in meditation JUST BE ... don't take yourself to be anything that is thought, felt, or experienced. Do this and you will find stillness; then all will become clear.

ok?
bob

rest redux

Recognizing the awakened state is easy while imagining that you are separate takes careful planning and constant effort. Resentment, envy, and negative opinions drain us of life energy ... they drive us into a sort of sleep where we seem alone and unfulfilled. Blaming others is hard work.

When the desire for things to be other than they are drops away the immutable peace [pure awareness] that is always present becomes visible. The habit of unconsciously recoiling from life as it appears right now hides this fact. So ...

Give this a try. Next time you want to harshly judge another [which by the way is only thinly disguised self hate] - instead just relax. Just relax your body and your mind. Forget about the past and the future; let go of the things you think you need or want. Then notice, right here right now, the radiant peace that permeates everything in your field of awareness ... the pencil laying on the table, the sound of the air conditioning, the hairs on 'your' hand - peace everywhere without any effort at all on your part. So easy ... just relax.

Awakening is effortless ... bathe in this knowledge and all will become clear.

ok?
bob

just rest

Effort based 'spiritual paths' only feed the small self (ego). The foundation upon which the small self rests is the belief that you are somehow separate and that you need to do something to end that condition. A tasty meal for the small self is a large plate full of seeking, as the small self is only made up of unfulfilled expectations.
So ... how do we see though the fog of all this seeking? The answer is given in many teachings but one of my favorites is the way Jesus put it over two thousand years ago. He simply suggested that we unburden ourselves and join in That which has already been accomplished. His good news was and is that you are without the blemish of guilt and that you have always been Whole.
So ... during meditation we just relax and let all searching go. We gently surrender our expectations, hopes, and efforts. We simply rest - rest in the spaciousness and freedom found in the present moment - rest in the Wholeness that becomes evident when we give up the search.

In Matthew 11:28-30 we find this wisdom stated perfectly. "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

ok?
bob

life without center

In spiritual circles there is this idea of 'centering' ... that is, finding "our center." I guess the idea is ... if we somehow "find our center, "we can remain there and not be affected by life and its many twist, turns, and ups and downs. Does this ever work? Have you found your center?

Where would your center be? Take a look right now and see if you can find it. Bet you can't!

The idea of finding our center is one 'spiritual' variant on the idea that we can find some state or place where, in the future, we will have some consistent experience. As Dr. Phil often wisely asks: "How is that working for you?"

I suggest that if you take a careful look right here right now, you will find that there is only emptiness when you ask the question: "Who am I?" How can emptiness have a center? How can the profound freedom to let things be just as they are right now have a center?

Living life without center is to live life as it spontaneously arises in each moment ... noticing its astounding perfection. How do we know that it is perfect? Because that is how it is ... nothing can ever be other than it is.

So ... rather than trying to find some 'center' when you meditate, just notice how perfect everything is right now. Then you will see that the idea of 'you' having a 'center' is riotously laughable. Enjoy the laughter! As Alan Alda notes: "When people are laughing, they're generally not killing each other."

ok?

bob

be still

In spiritual circles the goal seems to be awakening. What is this awakening business? It is something we can discover through effort?

In the end, we realize that 'we' do not awaken, seeking simply falls away and the awakened state remains. In the absence of seeking, there is no 'me'. The 'me' consists only of seeking, seeking things to be other than they are right now which is very very very still.



So ... whatever your practice or beliefs about awakening are, the key is: be still and all will be clear.

ok?

bob

meditation goals

How would you know if your meditation practice is succeeding? Would you be having some oneness experience? Would you have a quiet mind? Would traffic lights change for you when you approached them? Would your relationships improve. Would you have more money? What would it be?

To know whether any enterprise is succeeding or not, we need to compare the current state of that enterprise relative to some goal. Unfortunately we too often set our 'spiritual' goals from our past conditioning. We often choose our goal to be one that we picked up from some teacher, to erase some past hurt, or to get something we lack. As thought is always about the past, this means that all such goals are just our past conditioning warmed over. New mixes of past thinking are still just past thinking. If we think about it, it is the past we are trying to transcend.

Let me challenge you to make your meditation goal be something that is not some 'new' version of your past thinking. Why not shoot for something fresh!

Why not choose your goal to be one that has already been accomplished yet is knowable right now? In other words, why not choose a goal that is outside the framework of past and future and outside the realm of 'things'.

What is available right NOW that is right smack at the heart of what is nearest and dearest to you? It is simply the forgiveness that has always been. If you make forgiving the world (and yourself) your goal, you will know that you are succeeding when you know that unconditional Peace is who you are.

PS: My wife told me I'd better explain what I mean by forgiveness as there are so many interpretations of the term. As you read this blog, I'd like to to at least know what I mean by the term. True forgiveness is the acknowledgment that the 'incident' never occurred ... that the 'incident' was just a fiction of separated mind and has no reality whatsoever right now ... it's something like a bad dream. Moreover the test to see if you have forgiven some one or some thing is: if you can remember it, you haven't forgiven it.

comments?
bob

the wisdom of insecurity

It is amazing how much one can glean from the titles of 'spiritual' books. Take for example Alan Watt's book: "The Wisdom of Insecurity". We don't need to read his book to guess the main point ... that trying to control everything and clinging to opinions about how things ought to be in the future is folly. Expectations and opinions are rarely in agreement with presently arising reality. Moreover, the only real security lies in knowing that there is none.

During meditation we ask the question "What is absolutely true right now" We turn our attention away from the past and the future". In the silence that presents itself during meditation we notice that we can't control anything that is happening. In that silence, we notice that we cannot predict which thought will pop into our heads next, or how we will feel in the next second, or what noise in the room might arise. We see that wishing for some better 'future' is to miss the wonder and mystery that is here and now. Is it not clear that our attempts to find security is what causes our feelings of insecurity and unhappiness?

I like the way Alan Watts states it:
"If happiness always depends on the future, we are chasing a will-o-the-wisp that ever eludes our grasp, until the future, and ourselves, vanish in the abyss of death."

What is your experience?
bob