Reality is "what is." It doesn't come with a story - you know
the story of what is happening. Reality just happens. We add the story. Stories can be vivid or
complicated or they can be subtle and almost imperceptible.
In my quest to find out what's behind the story of life, I
discovered vichara. The path of self-inquiry, called vichara, asks the
question, "Who am I?" I meditated on that question for many days. One day I
felt I was in the presence of the answer. "Everything after 'I' is a story." It
was not until later that I realized the answer I readily accepted, was
premature. I was so proud of that insight. Then the truth became apparent - Once
"I" is thought or spoken, whether it is conscious idea or an unseen assumption,
the story begins. And the story is
one of separation.
The truth is a nightmare to certain mental structures - the
ones we refer to as "ego." I have awakened and gone back to sleep many times. Even though there has been a progression of
peace in my life, that doesn't matter. I am either awake or asleep now. Now is
the residence of reality.
I like to contemplate the words of masters. Sometimes I read
what I have written and that truth settles into me and I wake up and at other
times it is the words of others that jar me from my mental perches. Byron Katie's
work displays a level of awareness that is destructive to my mental positions. She
helps me wipe the me-ness out of life. The following excerpts are from her book,
"A Thousand Names for Joy."
"The original
stressful thought is the thought of an I. Before that thought was peace. A
thought is born out of nothing and instantly goes back to where it came from.
If you look before, between and after your thoughts, you will see there is only
vast openness. That's the space of don't know. It's who we really are. It's the
source of everything: life and death, beginning, middle and end." Page 47
"I've heard people say
that they cling to their painful thoughts because without them they would not
be activists for peace. "If I felt completely peaceful," they say, "why would I
bother taking action at all?" My answer is "Because that's what love does." To
think we need sadness or outrage to motivate us to do what's right is insane.
As if the clearer or happier you get, the less kind you become. As if when
someone finds freedom, she just sits around all day with drool running down her
chin. My experience is opposite. Love is action. It's clear, it's kind, it's
effortless and it's irresistible." Page 75.
I've noticed that in the very clearest moments of my life,
the voice in my head was silent. There was no call to do things differently or any
kind of appraisal of reality. I was just there, free and that presence was
enough. There's nothing wrong with hovering around the idea of me or "I," it's
just that when the me, I and my disappear, life gets more interesting. It feels
like giving life a chance to be what it is without my interference.
I wish I had a technique to tell you how to be in this place
of reality, but I can't because you are already there. Giving you information
on living in reality is like giving you information on how to be a human. The information
will not get you here. A jet plane won't get you here because you are already
here, immersed in the grand play of life, which is reality.
I'm hoping these word might awaken something in you, the
dormant realization that you are already what you seek and that reality, just
as it is, supports that realization.
Have a
great day and remember the eight word miracle mantra. "Everything can
be easy or at least easier"
Did you know that dancing three times a week, is more
effective than psychotherapy? Suppose that is not actually true? Could it benefit
you to believe that dance can reeve up your energy and soothe your soul? It
might be true about the three times a week. Certainly dance heals. So dance
more. Maybe you don't have a partner,
but why wait? As long as you are there, there's always a dance going on. I
dance with my dog and sing the songs.
There was an amazing experiment done with older adults. They
lived in an environment that played music from their youth, TV programs from that era and decorated the
surroundings to reflect that period. The
physical world was time warped to the past. The participants stayed a few weeks
and found when they took biological functioning
tests, they had actually youthened.
Try a little dance today, even if it is a foot tapping dance
or just moving the upper part of your body to the music. Check out the oldies music
channels and sway to some of the music. I dance to exercise. It's so much fun.
I hope you enjoy this video bringing the
new to the old. Happy Dance Day and remember to make it an easy day.