the permanence of impermanence

“What a distressing contrast there is between the radiant intelligence of the child and the feeble mentality of the average adult.”

– Sigmund Freud

Why is this so?

Young children possess what Zen calls ‘beginner’s mind.’ They are awed and fascinated with the wonder of the world, open to discovering and experiencing new things. Anything is possible. Life is a great adventure.

For almost all of us, the systems that ‘educate’ us to be adults stifle our natural joy and curiosity. We lose touch with our innate appreciation of life. We forget how to dream.

The blessing is that with attention, patience and love, we can reawaken our sense of wonder. We can again dance with life.

“The mind WILL be free, or it will be dead.”

– Grace Llewellyn

“Money cannot fill an empty soul.”

– Julia Cameron & Mark Bryan

Where in your life are you experiencing lack?

Are you experiencing a lack of self esteem? Of humour? Of energy? Of love? Of money and abundance?

Whatever you believe you are missing, it is there to be claimed. The first step starts with shifting your perspective. See the glass as half full rather than half empty. Focus on accepting what you DO have, and more will be attracted to you.

“Both abundance and lack exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend… when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that’s present — love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature and personal pursuits that bring us pleasure — the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience Heaven on earth.”

– Sarah Ban Breathnach

Sit in meditation for a few minutes until you feel relaxed and centered. Be very grounded, very present in your body. Be like a spiritual warrior. Be strong, courageous, alert. Now recall the most recent incident when you were shaken or rattled, when your buttons were pushed, or you found yourself stewing over something or suffering in some way.

Then welcome the memory, and affirm to yourself: Ah, this is showing me where I am not yet free. Welcoming, let me remind you, is very important. You are learning to be grateful for the upsets and fears in your life because they are showing you where you are not yet free. And you can not become free until you first become aware of where you are stuck.

Now look for the story you told yourself immediately prior to the upset. Something happened, or someone said or did something, or you thought about something, and it triggered a reaction in you. It violated some deep-rooted belief or idea, your story, about the way things should be, or ought to be, and the consequence was upset and suffering. Then, from this more relaxed, meditative place, see how it was just that, the story, that caused the emotional reaction in you.

Maybe the story arose from some rejection or hurt that happened to you way back in your past. You made up a story about it, and it’s been running you ever since. This process may bring up other stories, other emotions, fears, insecurities. Welcome them, too. Be in as clear a place of detached yet very aware presence as you can be. Remember the teaching: you are not your story. You are the lucid consciousness that witnesses everything, that watches thoughts, sensations, feelings, emotions, and stories arising within the awareness that you are.

If the situation that triggered the upset is liable to happen again, you can visualize it in your mind. Imagine the worst-case scenario. See it happening. Then say to yourself: What if this were to happen to me again? How would I respond to it if I were already fully awake, enlightened? If it is a scenario where it is possible to take some kind of action, then by all means use your meditation time to come up with an action plan to deal with the situation. Then, knowing that you have a plan should you ever need it, come back to being the clear, vibrant consciousness, the field of awareness, or presence, that you are.

This is an especially powerful way to work through your fear of death. What if you were about to die? What else can you do but be supremely present, to face it with open eyes, so to speak? This is how a true warrior faces his or her last living moment, without any story, and you are learning to do the same.

You are developing the presence that will allow you to face all your fears, and to see their fundamental unreality. Your fears are just stories and pictures inside your head, with corresponding contractive feelings in your body. Who and what you really are, though, is way, way bigger than anything you are experiencing.

As you illuminate these stories, beliefs, and images with the power of presence, with the clear light of the consciousness that you are, they will dissolve, the contracted feelings will expand, and you will open up to the boundless clarity and freedom that is your true nature.

– Jim Dreaver