What grabs your attention?
Who or what has that kind of power,
to “grab your attention”—is it really “yours”?
Presence is when the “you” is not.
Pleasure and pain are “yours”
because Presence is not.
Contentment, serenity,
and love are of
Presence.
Own it!
The unborn is not something difficult to attain.
It’s not something distant.
It’s not something we have to search for.
It’s not something we have to discover.
It’s something we already have, right here, right now.
Bankei Yotaku (1622-1693)
What is a mundane moment and what is a masterpiece? Can you tell? If Lord Krishna Himself came to you and was willing to answer you all the questions you have on spirituality, would that qualify as a masterpiece moment? Did you know that Buddha allegedly met Lord Krishna in his seven-year enlightenment quest, welcomed Him warmly and then asked Him to move along as he wanted to continue his meditation practice?
We really have only one interference to make the mundane a masterpiece, the inability to see moment by moment that what we feel we lack, we already have. Actually, it’s even worse than that. We know so little about ourselves that we don’t even acknowledge the subconscious craving and escape, so we project our longings and aversions into the outside world as experienced pleasure or perceived unhappiness.
When we throw a coin, it could be either heads or tail, only if it falls on the ground we see the manifestation. The unborn moment master flips a coin and does not concern herself with the manifestation, whereas the conditioned mind lives for the outcome, and gets happy when it is the one and disappointed when it is the other. Mundane or masterpiece is meaningful to conditioned mind, whereas it is a moment of peace, abundance and love for the master either way. In fact, she will tell you that there is no one who can claim the unborn moment. The unborn moment manifests itself as “life as is.”
So, how to get to the “unborn moment” that Bankei Yataku and so many before and after him have discovered? First, be still and unafraid to face that void that we normally project into the outside world, and second, sit with it until it dissolves into the mundane masterpiece moment, which is always the present one. Unfortunately, looking at the present moment with an open mind and heart is still only a necessary condition to meet the unborn moment, and not a sufficient one. Still, I wouldn’t worry much about the last step to take because the unborn awaits on the other side and connects us with the quantum-field of possibilities.
Self-inquiry—the practice of getting to the root to who we truly are—is hard to perform in all circumstances. Yet, there are those particular times when this question shakes the illusionary ego entity like an earthquake. I remember reading the story of one of Ramana Maharshi’s closest Western followers, Alan Chadwick, when he complained to Bhagavan that everyone in the ashram was looking up to him, but he felt like a failure instead. Ramana looked at him compassionately and then said, “Chadwick, who says all this?”
I could literally feel the energy jolt Major Chadwick received at that moment. Sometimes the negative programs that are running us become so obvious when we only shine only a little light on them. As it turned out, Alan Chadwick had a big breakthrough only a week later, likely set into motion by this simple self inquiry when his energy was low and the self-doubts haunted him. So please keep your eyes, ears and mind open every day for that one question that shakes the illusionary self entity to the core.
As I worked out in the hotel gym this morning in California, I reflected on the one person who likely got me there—Arnold Schwarzenegger. I had used weights as a teenager before, but when I saw the expression of my girlfriend at that time when she watched Conan the Barbarian, I joined a fitness club as well. Just like memes can portray positive as well as negative stimuli, bodybuilding and fitness could be called a “good” groove to fall into. There are plenty of negative ones too—greed, anger, jealousy, etc.
Should we aim to be free of all grooves, or are there some that we can just safely fall into and ride the train of human energy conditioning? Should we spiritual folks become light-workers and encourage others to hit the “spiritual gym” of self reflection and practice of compassion? Can we really be mindful 24/7, or is the “will to be spiritual” a muscle that gets tired when overused? Personally, I consider myself an energy surfer. I ride the waves that seem worth my while and get of our water when something smells fishy.
Not sure what your weekend plans are but either way, enjoy the ride!
After the sun reaches its height, it will gradually move toward sunset. After midnight, dawn is not far away. When a flower blooms at its fullest and most beautiful, it is also the sign that it will soon begin to wither.
When you are at your most perfect, at your best, it means the decline is already beginning. When you are at rock bottom, it means the ascent is about to start. If you do not understand and realize this truth and insist that things must happen according to your will, you will fall out of harmony with what is unfolding.
Once you understand this, you will not force yourself to be perfect—because perfection itself signals that death and decline are near. In relationships, if you seek perfection, it becomes the very state where true “relationship” no longer exists.
The most beautiful relationship is one that moves within this cycle—there will be joy, sorrow, fear—it is all part of the rhythm.
Within this cycle, you are truly alive. While alive, you can feel, you can grow—and this is what it means to be truly human. If you try to remain at “100 points,” in a state of perfection, it becomes a rigid state of the “living dead,” dull and lifeless.
The highest form of relationship is this: when the flower blooms, you enjoy its beauty, knowing it will slowly fade. As it withers, whatever thoughts and feelings arise within you, you can stay present with them. In this way, your wisdom will grow, instead of being stuck in the same place.
Suzhen Liu
The thinker is the thought; the experiencer is the experience. It’s pretty narrow isn’t it, even if the thought is a “positive” one and the experience as pleasant one. Actually, do you know what the downside of a pleasant experience is? It’s not so much that it has to be followed by a painful one, but rather, you want it again! That’s the idea of having pleasant experiences. We create desire.
What is the alternative? We can hang out in the quantum-field of possibilities instead. We are part of this emptiness that creates the manifestation, and we hang out there always. This is the “I Am” moment. It has nothing to do with us as individuals. We are mediums allowing the manifestation of “life as is.” How to get there? Be still! Watch the thought; live the experience; and return to “I Am.”
In a computer, the "working space" is the
RAM (Random Access Memory), while the hard drive is for long-term storage. They serve two very different but essential purposes, similar to the difference between a desk and a filing cabinet. (Google AI)
An image pops up in our head; say a new title for a book I am working on. If this book is just the means to an end to get an idea across to the reader who struggles with similar issues that I have encountered on my path, I help others to break free from the grips of their ego. Yet, if the book becomes an end to itself itself to cement my name and fame, the book becomes a bondage.
We can feel when mental images act just like a temporary “working space” as a means to an end, or if they become the end itself, and thus end up in long-term storage, and become our weight to carry. Empty your file cabinet. Delete your long-term storage. Be carried by the limitless energies of emptiness and use mental images just like clouds on the horizon. They form and are gone.
