Like a wave that appears
In the ocean
I appear
Separate in form
Apparently
Then when it has had enough
Of separation
The wave dips back
Into the everpresent ocean
As I do
The ocean that embraces me
Is unconditional love
Eternal, independent,
Forever ready
To take me back
And when I rise again
I am the ocean
Rising as a wave
Never in doubt
Of what it really is
Monday, June 30, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Awareness acting
Who has made the choice to have this life experience?
Who made the choice to inhabit this particular perspective that views the world in this particular way? Apparently formed in this body-mind, from genes and conditioning?
This question arises when we see that there is something here that can observe the body-mind. This question arises when we see that someting here is aware of this perspective. What is the something? It is I. I am this that is aware of the body-mind and I am this that is aware of this perspective.
In the awareness of one body-mind is the awareness of all body-minds. In the awareness of one perspective is the awareness of all perspectives. The bodies and minds and perspectives differ. The awareness is the same and I am that awareness. This awareness that I am, was here before my body-mind was here. And it will be here when my body-mind is gone.
Where is this awareness when I am not aware of being it? Where is this awareness when I am lost to the body-mind and its perspective? It is still here - this awareness. Where can it go? It is true that sometimes I am not aware of being the awareness. So sometimes I believe I am the body-mind and its perspective. And sometimes I see the body-mind and its perspective from what seems like somewhere outside of the body-mind and its perspective. So sometimes I am the awareness and sometimes I am the body-mind. Which is real?
When an actor plays a part in a play, he finds himself inhabiting the role fully. He is completely immersed in the character he plays. He forgets who he is in real life. He laughs as the character and he cries as the character. He feels the pain of the character's sorrow and rejoices in the character's joy. It is real while it lasts. But it does not last. The play does not last. And when the play is done, the character dissolves. And when the character dissolves, the reality behind the character emerges again. The actor finds himself back in his own reality. So where was the reality when the actor was immersed in the character? Was it lost? Even when the actor forgot his own reality and was totally lost in the play, did it change the reality of who he was? No. All that happened was that the actor forgot his reality and assumed another identity - temporarily.
And whose choice is it to assume another identity? Who decides to play the part of this character for a while? The choice is made by the actor in reality. Not by the character in the play. While the actor plays his role, he is both the actor and the character. He is the actor as the character. He is the actor wearing a mask. And all the characters in the play treat each other as though they are real. But they are not. If you didn't know this, you would argue this reality. Your mind would provide all the evidence to prove that the characters are real. But that would not make them real. They would remain characters in a play. Only you would be fooled, forgetting your own reality, and the reality of us all in the play.
Now imagine a play in which an actor drops his act! What would such a play look like? The actor can't take his role seriously. He can't take any of the characters seriously. He cannot obscure his reality. And when he drops his act, the other characters don't know how to react to him. They try to carry on their act, but whenever they interact with this actor, their act crumbles. The script is not panning out. Something shifts. The play is altered.
And all this shifting and alteration is in the play. The reality of all the actors is still unchanged by what happens in the play.
So back to where we started - who made the choice for this body-mind to be born? Who will make the choice for it to die?
Who is asking this question? Is it the mind or the awareness of it? What is aware of the question being asked?
You see, awareness has no questions, and it is aware of all questions. And I am this awareness. And you are this awareness.
The rest is a play.
Who made the choice to inhabit this particular perspective that views the world in this particular way? Apparently formed in this body-mind, from genes and conditioning?
This question arises when we see that there is something here that can observe the body-mind. This question arises when we see that someting here is aware of this perspective. What is the something? It is I. I am this that is aware of the body-mind and I am this that is aware of this perspective.
In the awareness of one body-mind is the awareness of all body-minds. In the awareness of one perspective is the awareness of all perspectives. The bodies and minds and perspectives differ. The awareness is the same and I am that awareness. This awareness that I am, was here before my body-mind was here. And it will be here when my body-mind is gone.
Where is this awareness when I am not aware of being it? Where is this awareness when I am lost to the body-mind and its perspective? It is still here - this awareness. Where can it go? It is true that sometimes I am not aware of being the awareness. So sometimes I believe I am the body-mind and its perspective. And sometimes I see the body-mind and its perspective from what seems like somewhere outside of the body-mind and its perspective. So sometimes I am the awareness and sometimes I am the body-mind. Which is real?
When an actor plays a part in a play, he finds himself inhabiting the role fully. He is completely immersed in the character he plays. He forgets who he is in real life. He laughs as the character and he cries as the character. He feels the pain of the character's sorrow and rejoices in the character's joy. It is real while it lasts. But it does not last. The play does not last. And when the play is done, the character dissolves. And when the character dissolves, the reality behind the character emerges again. The actor finds himself back in his own reality. So where was the reality when the actor was immersed in the character? Was it lost? Even when the actor forgot his own reality and was totally lost in the play, did it change the reality of who he was? No. All that happened was that the actor forgot his reality and assumed another identity - temporarily.
And whose choice is it to assume another identity? Who decides to play the part of this character for a while? The choice is made by the actor in reality. Not by the character in the play. While the actor plays his role, he is both the actor and the character. He is the actor as the character. He is the actor wearing a mask. And all the characters in the play treat each other as though they are real. But they are not. If you didn't know this, you would argue this reality. Your mind would provide all the evidence to prove that the characters are real. But that would not make them real. They would remain characters in a play. Only you would be fooled, forgetting your own reality, and the reality of us all in the play.
Now imagine a play in which an actor drops his act! What would such a play look like? The actor can't take his role seriously. He can't take any of the characters seriously. He cannot obscure his reality. And when he drops his act, the other characters don't know how to react to him. They try to carry on their act, but whenever they interact with this actor, their act crumbles. The script is not panning out. Something shifts. The play is altered.
And all this shifting and alteration is in the play. The reality of all the actors is still unchanged by what happens in the play.
So back to where we started - who made the choice for this body-mind to be born? Who will make the choice for it to die?
Who is asking this question? Is it the mind or the awareness of it? What is aware of the question being asked?
You see, awareness has no questions, and it is aware of all questions. And I am this awareness. And you are this awareness.
The rest is a play.
Friday, June 13, 2008
What is real?
Disagreeable things arise.
Mind's natural response is to judge them - bad, unpleasant, evil, unhappy, wrong, violent, and on and on.
It would be nice if mind didn't judge them. And sometimes it does not. And that's nice. And at other times, it does judge them. And that's not so nice! Do you see the judgement right here? :-)
Mind judges. That's what it does for a living!
We enter mind and we enter duality. And judgements are the poles of this duality. Good and bad, right and wrong and so on.
The next time mind rushes to judgement, notice what happens along with judgement.
When we judge something as good, the natural inclination is to stay in the goodness - to keep it. And when we judge something as bad, the natural urge is to fix it, to do something about it! Is it not? Discover if this is true for you.
So the urge arises to fix what is wrong or bad. And we follow the urge and the mind gets busy fixing and problem-solving.
The mind moves from judgement to more mind activity - review and analysis of the problem and an evaluation and implementation of the solution!
And throughout this process, awareness simply watches. It lets all the mind's moves arise within it, without judgement.
Awareness sees the judgement arise. Awareness sees the urge to fix arise. Awareness watches what the mind does with the urge.
When we are the awareness watching the mind, is there is a need to fix anything?
We are like the ocean holding a rising wave - no attempt to flatten it out.
Awareness is the acceptance of everything that arises, without a need to change anything.
If change arises, it too arises within this awareness, as awareness. What arises, comes from beyond the mind. The mind interpretes it, like a screen that catches the light and makes a whole world of fantasy from that source. The mind is the movie maker, - the virtual reality machine.
Judgements are part of the movie, problems are part of the movie and fixing problems is part of the movie too.
And movies are not real.
So we discover what is real. Each for oneself.
Mind's natural response is to judge them - bad, unpleasant, evil, unhappy, wrong, violent, and on and on.
It would be nice if mind didn't judge them. And sometimes it does not. And that's nice. And at other times, it does judge them. And that's not so nice! Do you see the judgement right here? :-)
Mind judges. That's what it does for a living!
We enter mind and we enter duality. And judgements are the poles of this duality. Good and bad, right and wrong and so on.
The next time mind rushes to judgement, notice what happens along with judgement.
When we judge something as good, the natural inclination is to stay in the goodness - to keep it. And when we judge something as bad, the natural urge is to fix it, to do something about it! Is it not? Discover if this is true for you.
So the urge arises to fix what is wrong or bad. And we follow the urge and the mind gets busy fixing and problem-solving.
The mind moves from judgement to more mind activity - review and analysis of the problem and an evaluation and implementation of the solution!
And throughout this process, awareness simply watches. It lets all the mind's moves arise within it, without judgement.
Awareness sees the judgement arise. Awareness sees the urge to fix arise. Awareness watches what the mind does with the urge.
When we are the awareness watching the mind, is there is a need to fix anything?
We are like the ocean holding a rising wave - no attempt to flatten it out.
Awareness is the acceptance of everything that arises, without a need to change anything.
If change arises, it too arises within this awareness, as awareness. What arises, comes from beyond the mind. The mind interpretes it, like a screen that catches the light and makes a whole world of fantasy from that source. The mind is the movie maker, - the virtual reality machine.
Judgements are part of the movie, problems are part of the movie and fixing problems is part of the movie too.
And movies are not real.
So we discover what is real. Each for oneself.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Freedom
Are there 2 sides to freedom?
We tend to associate freedom with the freedom from suffering. We want to be free of everything that limits us and constrains us and holds us back. Is it not?
And then we start to notice that this freedom does indeed exist. We can be free of suffering. We are free of suffering. We are free from mind's prattle. We are free of being hurt and feeling rejected. For we are not defined by any of those things.
And then we settle into this freedom with great delight. We feel expanded and happy.
And then reality strikes and we notice that all is not perfect. There are still 'bad' moments. - Moments when we don't feel quite so free.
So we remember the wise teaching. The one that says we are not what happens, but rather the awareness of what happens. And thank God - what a relief - the teaching works! And we go back to feeling free of the suffering yet again.
For now.
Then reality strikes again. And again and again.
There comes a time perhaps when the teaching 'stops' working! And no matter what wisdom we drag up from the depth of our being, we don't quite feel free. Even if we kid ourselves, there is something inside us that knows the truth. We simply don't feel quite free in this moment.
So what is happening?
Perhaps this is where the other side of freedom presents itself.
We can notice that freedom is also the freedom to feel 'not free'. Of course this is paradoxical. But we can let our experience teach us beyond the paradox.
The eagle that soars must also swoop down. For it depends on that which is earth-bound to feed it.
In other words, let not the taste of expansion become such an addiction that we are in bondage to it. Let it not be so grasped that we are not free to be small when we are small.
Be free from and of limitation and be free to be limited. And let reality show us how freedom dances between the two!
We tend to associate freedom with the freedom from suffering. We want to be free of everything that limits us and constrains us and holds us back. Is it not?
And then we start to notice that this freedom does indeed exist. We can be free of suffering. We are free of suffering. We are free from mind's prattle. We are free of being hurt and feeling rejected. For we are not defined by any of those things.
And then we settle into this freedom with great delight. We feel expanded and happy.
And then reality strikes and we notice that all is not perfect. There are still 'bad' moments. - Moments when we don't feel quite so free.
So we remember the wise teaching. The one that says we are not what happens, but rather the awareness of what happens. And thank God - what a relief - the teaching works! And we go back to feeling free of the suffering yet again.
For now.
Then reality strikes again. And again and again.
There comes a time perhaps when the teaching 'stops' working! And no matter what wisdom we drag up from the depth of our being, we don't quite feel free. Even if we kid ourselves, there is something inside us that knows the truth. We simply don't feel quite free in this moment.
So what is happening?
Perhaps this is where the other side of freedom presents itself.
We can notice that freedom is also the freedom to feel 'not free'. Of course this is paradoxical. But we can let our experience teach us beyond the paradox.
The eagle that soars must also swoop down. For it depends on that which is earth-bound to feed it.
In other words, let not the taste of expansion become such an addiction that we are in bondage to it. Let it not be so grasped that we are not free to be small when we are small.
Be free from and of limitation and be free to be limited. And let reality show us how freedom dances between the two!
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