One of the Greatest Portals of Being

Throughout my life, I have always felt a deep kinship with nature and thought this kinship was due to the beauty I witnessed in the colorful arrays of light, sound, and the rich smells of the deep canopy. However, I now know there is a deeper meaning in the beauty I have always seen in the vastness of the forest floor. It wasn’t until I began to consciously practice awareness, that I realized the presence of nature, within the trees, plants and wildlife. It is this presence that calls me back again and again.

The beauty of nature is rooted not in the external, the beautiful multitudes of form, but from its inner dimensions of stillness. The calmness I witness here comes from a deep place within nature where thought ceases to exist. Within a forest, we get to behold a timeless experience where thought has not yet arisen in the many forms present here. It is said that nature’s presence resides below thought and that is why such dimensions of peace can be felt amongst its embrace. As part of the human species we can tap into this joyous stillness, by moving beyond thought and entering into the vastness of space, if even for a brief moment. It is because of this profound capacity of stillness, that I believe nature to be one of the greatest portals of being. Take a walk in nature and see how deeply meaningful this experience can be. Leave your labels, thoughts, and descriptions behind and then witness for yourself the joyous experience of being. You will be able to know the true essence of beauty itself.

The Joy of Sitting Through Resistance

I must admit that I was quite skeptical when I first heard that we could experience joy through sitting with resistance. After trying this practice during a particular difficult period of my life, I began to realize that there might be something to this idea. When I could actually practice seriously, I did feel a sense of peace and serenity. As I allowed myself to go fully deep into this non–resistance practice, a fleeting almost fragile sense of joy began to surface. Granted, today this is not always the case, as I have much that I am in resistance to on a daily basis, but I at least know that the practice works, if I so choose to do it. I do believe however, that is noteworthy enough to begin a discussion about it and to re-visit this from time to time as I now see this practice as an important part of our path to clearing deep states of pain and suffering.

What does it actually mean to sit with resistance? Well, I describe this way: it is sitting with all the contraction, complaining or avoidance that we experience when we are confronted externally with something that we don’t like, is painful or causes discomfort. What we are confronted with could also be internal such as a physical pain in the body, an emotional reaction or a disquieting thought. Whatever it is, it is important to note that the pain and suffering that we are experiencing does not stem from the situation or the internal grief but from the resistance itself. This was the revelation I needed, for I realized that the resistance itself is what caused my suffering so much of the time. It was then that I could finally release holding patterns, contractions in the body, and difficult mental constructs that kept me in pain for years. Once these cleared, that fragile joyous space began to surface more often. Today, if and when I practice, I can more effortlessly contact that space of serenity, peace and yes-even joy. Check it out for yourself and see what happens. Are you resisting something right now? Let me know what you find…

The Magic of Awareness

These past two weeks were rewarding as I had the blessed opportunity to intensely investigate the nature of awareness. It all started with wanting to be more present during the dreaming state. Waking up while dreaming requires one to be highly present during the day. I was amazed how many moments were lost. Moments that were given birthed to but their existence never known. I began to realize how easy it was for the subconscious to rule in these moments, for I was not there. In order for the subconscious to exist, to perform its magic in the background, it requires us to be unaware, asleep or just not noticing what’s going on around us. So I tried an experiment and spent one whole day intensely focused on awareness.

I noticed how something as simple as a messy room or desk would drop my presence. I didn’t want to see what was there, since I wasn’t going to “deal’ with it today I thought. Those moments of not wanting to “deal with this today” syndrome affected my ability to stay in presence immensely. So I spent one day just” cleaning up” several of those areas, and magically had a lucid (conscious) dream the next morning.

What this points to is how difficult it can be to stay with things that are uncomfortable, unpleasant, unsightly or painful. However, with a little focus, determination and perseverance, I was able to stay aware of what was happening around me and within myself. This allowed for a greater number of “moments” to have their existence recognized (actually there is only one moment but that is for another blog post), which in turn lowered the chance of my subconscious to steal the show.

I encourage all of us to take up the experiment and honestly check with ourselves how present we are during the day. How many times do we look away from something in our environment, not to mention what is within us. The subconscious lives in those places or moments where we are absent in body, mind, and spirit. Pay attention and see how the magic of awareness creates miracles in our lives- and who knows, maybe we can meet each other in our lucid dreams.