Circumventing the matrix

 In a past life, I spent ten years in academics and twenty years in the financial industry, but then, more recently, have spent some fifteen years in the spiritual community. I can honestly say that there are amazing people in every area, just as there are some misguided people in every area. But then, most of the amazing people also have a bad day, just as the more challenged folks have the occasional brilliant day in the sun. So how can we classify anyone? How can we say some are trapped in the matrix and some have broken free? Anyone who has a healthy belly, a big heart, open eyes and an open mind has a shot at freedom from the conditioned mind. That’s the power of now.

 

In a conversation between physicist David Bohm and J. Krishnamurti, David asked him if he experienced a “center”. Krishnamurti replied no, in the sense of having desire, ambition, even a sense of being. David described the “center” experienced by the many in the following way, thought and conditioning created a reference point for the individual from which pleasure and pain is experienced and then conveniently forgets that this is not an objective personal perception but rather a made-up vantage point. Even worse, every pleasurably experience strengthens this fictional entity, just as every painful experience nudges us not to dig into its origin. This is the birth of “me, myself and I” with no end in sight.

 

What to do now? How can we get our arms around this psychological entity that our culture has crafted so carefully over the eons? Well, why don’t we start with the occasions when we circumvent the matrix first. Every loving encounter, every true perception happens outside of the body, mind, world matrix. We zoom into the essence that is outside of the biased center perspective. In every loving or zen moment we operate without a center. The moment speaks for itself without our personal commentary. We also have an antenna for “downloads” that are outside of body, mind and world. Having a knack for the present moment is the ability to open these different energy centers; we live in a different world at this blessed moment.

 

Now what to do when the old center returns. Maybe we get triggered or  distracted; maybe we are just tired or maybe the conditioning of the matrix is just to overwhelming and we get pulled down with it. So be it! Just noticing that the center has claimed our being once again is revelation enough to change the situation. The moment we are aware of the fact that we are telling a story is already the beginning of its undoing. Alert awareness is the tool to circumvent the matrix. Anyone with a big heart and an open mind has eventually come to the realization that conditioned mind is the root cause of all issues, while center-less living provides all the answer. Try alert awareness for a while and see how everything changes.