Just Do It

There are a lot of techniques that fall into the category of meditation. I've taught many, as different people respond better to different practices. All are just doorways to another way of seeing, understanding and being. So, in the end, the door you choose is of little consequence, if it leads you to the right place.

First, you need to come to know your own mind, through dispassionately observing it in action. This frequently goes hand in hand with gaining the requisite control over its activities. Then you need to learn to let go of your attachment to, and identification with, it.

You are not who you think you are. This is a crucial realization. (For those who seek the truth)

It's not about nailing down the correct idea of what/who you are. It's about sensing what/who you are, and living in accordance with that, in the steadily mutating moment. This isn't an extraordinary way of being. Pretty much everyone has been there for brief flashes, many frequently. But most aren't actually aware of just what's going on, while it's happening.

It's not about learning some trick that magically makes everything alright, either. It's about seeing that it already is. Everything is imperfect; ergo, imperfection is a given aspect of all existence and action - and therefore, of perfection, too.

Acceptance, patience, gratitude, compassion, humility, ... There are many different qualities that need to be nurtured, in order to create the openness required, for us to be who we are. Harmonious actions and lifestyles, flow naturally from an attuned way of being. But for most, it's necessary to regulate actions and lifestyles first. Ideally, that helps to ingrain the attitudes that form the foundation for surrendering to the truth.

To think that we already know, intellectually, is to delude ourselves. To walk the path, is to seek to verify that our understanding is wrong - to step out of the world we've created in our heads, so that we can stand tall and walk forth, in a new world. One made different by our viewing it through fresh eyes.

There is no finish line to cross, after which the work is done. It's like balancing on one foot. You can get more comfortable with it and learn to stay there for longer, but eventually you have to walk, or think.

The Buddha, Jesus and many other spiritual teachers have said that we're already divine. That the truth is simply obscured behind a cloud of self-perpetuating illusions. And that, regardless of which door we choose, our task is to shed our skin of arrogance and ignorance, and embrace our opportunity to help heal the world. Only this, can bring us the fulfillment and enduring happiness that we all seek.

So pick a door, any door, step through it and bask in the wonderland that you were born into. It's what you really want, and it's what the world needs.