Be still and see!
The comfort in allowing things to be as they are. Here's what happens!
Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Dont’ resist them- that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like — Lao Tzu
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In my book, This Glorious Dance: Thoughts and Contemplations About Who We Are, I start the introduction with this expression: “…when we sit, when we really sit, we begin to notice.” By this, I aim to convey the profound experience of sitting in silence and observing what unfolds within. Words may never fully capture this happening, yet I will try.
In this sitting, we are not expecting anything to happen. We are not trying to manipulate the outcome of the sit. Instead, we gently place our observation, our awareness, and our soft glancing on the silence within, right from the silence within. As you continue to sit, you become acutely(yet so certainly) aware of various urges that arise within, seemingly pulling at your body. It might be the urge to get up and do something, anything, to break the stillness. You might notice sounds that had previously gone unnoticed — the distant hum of a refrigerator, the soft ticking of a clock, or the faint rustling of leaves outside. Each sound, each sensation, each thought becomes a point of awareness, not a distraction but a part of the process.
Somehow, in that silence, we begin to see how life constantly moves itself. The sounds you hear, created and animated(conceptually in wave forms) by life itself. Perhaps, you can hear a neighbor talking. You begin to intuitively see that life gives life to the speech you hear, animated through the neighbor’s mouth. You may begin to feel sensations under your feet. Notice how you have zero input into how those sensations arise. Your cells doing their thing, your nerves bringing sensing to the surface of your awareness without your permission. The breeze that brushes against your face, just on its own peaceful journey. Just transient phenomena passing through your awareness. You observe the mind’s habitual patterns, the way it clings to distractions or resists stillness. Once again, you notice that the mind is trying to cling or resist on its own accord. Yet, you remain anchored in the silence, not reacting or trying to change anything. Just observing.
Ah! Notice I mentioned earlier not having expectations, yet I point to the expectations of a noticing. I am fully aware of that. Still, do not expect this to be your experience. We can cross-check or trade notes after.
Nikola Tesla said, “Most persons are so absorbed in the contemplation of the outside world that they are wholly oblivous to what is passing on within themselves.” Somehow when we pay attention to what’s happening within ourselves, we see that what’s happening within is what’s happening without, what’s happening to us is what’s happening to every ‘other’ and what’s happening to every ‘other’ is of the power of this Mystery that is who we are. It’s in this observation that we see the spontaneity of existence. It’s in this knowing that we can fully understand what Lao Tzu said, “Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them- that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like”.
It’s in this that we find comfort. But what is this comfort? Is this comfort in not seeing that we are not our thoughts, we are not our circumstances, we are not what we lack, we are not what we want, we are nothing but Wonder.
I want to share with you a poem by Hafiz from the book, The Gift. This one is called Get The Blame Straight
Understanding the physics of God, His Indivisible Nature, Makes every universe and atom confess: I am just a helpless puppet that cannot dance Without the movement of His hand. Dear ones, This curriculum tonight is for the advanced And will Get all the blame straight, End the mental Lawsuits That Clog The Brain —