Sunday, September 25, 2011

Bumper Sticker Spirituality

Listen to the quiet.
It whispers wisdom.

Crowd Surfing

It's true that, ultimately, every person stands alone, in this life.
Yet, we all stand with one foot on the shoulders of our fore-bearers;
and the other, on those of our societies.

Friday, September 23, 2011

The Brilliance of Ignorance

Everybody wants to know, to believe, to have it right. But there is no right, all beliefs are fanciful and all knowledge is flawed. This isn't a bad thing or a cynical view point, it's just the way it is.

Which isn't to say that we don't need to maintain some sort of knowledge base and belief system in order to function. It's more a matter of accepting and embracing the fact that we're wrong - as we act upon our best guesses.

This allows us to continue working on perfecting our ever-imperfect notions, throughout our journeys. Otherwise, we feel obligated to protect our beliefs and defend what we think we know. And all ensuing ideas are built upon these inherently faulty foundations. Where as, accepting that our understandings are inadequate, keeps us looking to discover new ideas and perspectives, in order to continually improve our hypotheses.

Embrace your ignorance. Be empty. You can't make the game winning catch, if your glove's already got a ball in it.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Bumper Sticker Spirituality

Run and arrive fast.
Walk and arrive full.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Bumper Sticker Spirituality

Most people are enamored by pithy phrases that sing sweetly, resonate pleasantly in the heart and sport enough sensibility to seduce the intellect. Many do a good job of inspiring kind thoughts, noble actions and enlivened spirits. True, they're not very effective for achieving grand understanding, but most people don't want to or, for whatever reasons, can't commit themselves to the quest to the extent necessary for substantial evolution. As one who's dedicated much of his life to serious personal study and inquiry, my knee jerk reaction is to scoff at the superficial nature of such quippy quotes. But for the vast majority, they're good reminders and motivators, and as close to spiritual exploration as it gets. So I've climbed off of my high horse, kicked my ego to the curb and embraced the genera.

“Just for today, be a Buddha”

Bring it on

I remember an occasion from my youth that provided me with a profound insight. I was probably 6 or 7, and rarely wore shoes. Running along the sidewalk in front of my house, I stubbed my toe, turning my fresh young flesh into a bloody ragged mess. Sitting under my good friend, the giant maple tree that lived in our front yard, I looked at the dripping disaster, cringing at the unpleasantness of the fact before my eyes. Somehow, perhaps my old friend sharing his wisdom with me, I gained an oversight of my reaction, or inner action, to the situation. I was trying to block the reality from fully entering my awareness because I was afraid of what it would feel like. After all, it was already a vicious, searing, pain. But something about my resisting what was happening, seemed wrong or foolish to me. So I made a conscious decision to cease my attempts to deny the experience. I thought “How bad can it really be? What's the worst that could happen?”. It wasn't an attempt to be wise or altruistic or anything, I just wanted to satisfy my curiosity. Silently, I invited the wound to, “Bring it on”.

Having anticipated an intensifying, I was pleasantly amazed. Instantly, like a wave of reality washing away the illusion, the throbbing, stabbing sensations melted into a warm, tingling, almost pleasant sensation. It was like I'd just discovered magic. The rules of the world had shifted in my favor. I sat for a moment, appreciating my new reality. Grateful for my pulpy digit and the obviously valuable lesson I'd just ingested, I heel walked inside, plundered the stash of bandages and plugged the leak.
Since then I've learned that resisting cold prevents warming. (Technically, it causes muscular tension that constricts blood flow) Resisting a headache makes it worse. (Adding to tension or preventing sinus release) Splinters, cuts and abrasions are only as painful as we make them. And this conscious control goes beyond physical discomfort.

Things happen in life, and then they're gone. But people keep them alive and distort them, in their minds. It may be an accident, a personal mistake, a perceived injustice or a lick of bad luck. Instead of letting if fade into history, the mind rehashes it, adding judgment and coating it with anger, sadness, shame or any other shade of discontent. The longer we hold onto it, the more times we review it and the thicker the coating of displeasure we imbue upon it, the more prevalent and distasteful it becomes for us. Looking reality in the eye, and letting things be what they are, lessens our angst and allows events to more quickly dissipate into our past.

This doesn't mean ignoring the past, and therefore, not learning from it. It means that we can choose how our lives resonate within us.

Our focus shapes our experiences in this life. The quality of our experiences color the quality of our days. The nature of our days determines our level of satisfaction with our lives. The way we feel about our lives is an indicator to our children of what they should expect in their lives. And the way we digest our experiences sets an example of how to be, for all others.

Taking control of your life is less about making the outside different, than it is making your perceptions and interpretations, about it, different. Of course, I want everyone to shape their outer lives to suit their wishes, as much as possible. But the outer isn't, and will never be, completely satisfactory. However, our ability to change how we react internally provides us with the power to reap immediate benefits in how we feel about our selves and our circumstances, in every moment.

Whatever the thing, event or situation, it is what it is, and nothing more. What you make out if it, with your thoughts and feelings, is your choice. What reactions you display, influencing those around you, is also your choice. Choose wisely. Your life will be defined by the decisions you make.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Truth Be Found

The truth is, truth cannot be told. Even if, a thousand times, my words have resonated well within you, and been proven true by time and experience, don't believe what I say, just because I say it; rather, use my words to inspire an investigation, and, on your behalf, find your own truth.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Don't Take Yourself too Personally

People fall prey to the idea that they are composed of their beliefs, thoughts and feelings. But these are just things that pass through our field of awareness. They're no more representative of a stable us, than are sights, sounds or anything else that passes through our awareness, via our senses.

“But thoughts come from within.”, one might say. Well, it does seem as though sights (et.al.) come from outside of us. Light reflects off of objects and shines upon our retinas where it's converted into impulses that travel to our brains. We only “see” 3rd hand translations of what's out there, inside of our minds.

One could conjecture, “Feelings recur time and again, and that repetition implies stability of being.” I could listen to the same piece of music several times every day and replay it in my mind, ad nauseam. Does that imply that it represents me?

Another argument might be, “I can generate thoughts or images of whatever I choose.”. We can certainly direct where and how we focus our outer attention; as well as, create tastes, sights, sounds, textures, etc. to turn our attention to.

“Well, thoughts and feelings exist only in my mind and are therefore uniquely mine.” All of our perceptions are shaped by our previous experiences, beliefs and understandings; and so, the world we live in is also unique to each of us. Partly because of what we focus on and partly because of how we interpret it. A tree, for example, might seem like a very consistent thing. But a lumberjack will see it as money, an animal lover as a playground for squirrels and birds, a gardener as extra work in the fall, an arborist will see its species and state of health, someone who's overheated will view it as a source of shade, while, to someone lost in thought or fixated on something else, it will be invisible.

Some might stipulate that we intentionally direct or create our inner lives. I've observed that, for the most part, thoughts, feelings and the like generally just happen to people. In fact, I think it's far easier for most to direct their outward perceptions than their inner goings on.

The one thing that does remain relatively consistent for us, is the awareness that all of these things pass through. However, it's difficult to claim ownership of it; because, when it's distilled down to its raw unadorned essence, there's no sense of individuality to it, at all.

Now, that awareness ingests all of the happenings of our lives through our body/minds. Maybe we're quite simply these sensory organs, the lenses through which awareness witnesses the passing of our time here. Our physicalities do enjoy contiguous existence, but they're constantly rebuilding themselves and never stop changing in make up and functionality. They go from infant, to child, to teen, to adult, to middle aged, to elderly, to on deaths door. They become exhilarated, sleepy, wounded, ill, hungry, stuffed, confused, alert, depressed, elated, sore, ecstatic and so on - all in the course of a single day. And every single cell is replaced, making them completely different ones, over and over, throughout the course of our lifetimes. Clearly, they're not the most stable things to hang our hats of self upon.

We do carry concepts of our selves, which change slowly enough that they may seem constant. But, of course, they're always adapting to keep up with the changes happening to our bodies and minds. The “you” you think of now is not the same as the one you considered to be your self last year, let alone, the one you harbored when you were a child.

It's been posited that we are our actions. Some habits endure; but again, actions change through phases of life, seasons, days of the week and shifting moods. So then: On Sat. morning I'm a shopper, but on Tues night I'm a teacher. When I see my cats playing together I'm a smiler and when I stub my toe I'm foul mouthed. When the weather's nice I'm a gardener, when it's inclement I'm a writer. (ad infinitum) Seems a bit ludicrous, doesn't it?

This leaves us with five, less than ideal, options, as we try to claim self definition. We can consider our selves the data that flows through our minds, the ever morphing receiver that processes the flow, the lingering, yet unstable, idea of our selves, our relatively random actions, or the insubstantial awareness that bears witness to it all. In any case, there really doesn't seem to be much of us to be found here, no matter how we look at it.

This isn't actually a problem, except that we seem compelled to keep everything clearly defined and somewhat orderly in our minds. But the truth is that we live in a fluid world where nothing, including our selves, is stable and consistent. Even our planet never stops changing - in mountainous ways, and stars come and go. We may have difficulty conceiving of it, the same way that a mosquito can't conceive of humans living for decades. But unlike the mosquito, we have the capacity to transcend our personal perspectives and to see the world truthfully. And, to feel the value of whole of the world in all its variety and phases of expression.

All of existence is in a constant state of evolution, and losing our fantasies of “solid and stable me” is the first step toward living honestly, contentedly and harmoniously, as an integral part of the motion of all being.

Or you can cling to the comforting illusion. It's up to you.

My advice? Don't take yourself too personally.

Monday, September 5, 2011

McYoga

Many have used the term McYoga in reference to the proliferation of chains of yoga studios. I see a more wide spread and disheartening trend that calls for the same moniker.

It seems to me that most classes are led by exercise instructors, not yoga teachers. And that their classes are about as educational as McDonny's food is nutritional. Most people have at least heard that Mcfood isn't proper food. But imagine someone who was brought up knowing and eating nothing but speedily processed pretend food-like fare. He would have no idea what fresh produce was. No clue what real meat or cheese tastes like. Would never guess that potatoes could be other than drowned in grease. And his body would have grown accustomed to sustaining itself on fake food, even though it would be far happier and healthier if it was fueled by real, fresh, well prepared meals.

So we have many millions of people who have never attended a yoga class where they got anything more than run through the paces and dismissed. And without somewhat of an understanding of anatomy, intelligent alignment and the energetic dynamics that enliven and support the postures, people are more apt to experience pain or injure themselves, and the results of their efforts will be greatly curtailed. And there's more general knowledge that's important to learn about how work with our bodies in such a way that they work with us.

Of course, having eaten only at McArnold's gym, they have no idea what they're missing. Some continue onward, not knowing. Others quit because they found it too challenging or got hurt, and assumed that it was yoga's fault; not that of an unskilled, uneducated or unconscientious teacher. And many teachers are in the same boat - unaware of what they don't bring to the table, because their teachers didn't feed them well.

And I'm only addressing the exercise aspect of yoga here. If I were to bring up those who don't understand and teach to the overall intentions of yoga, the numbers would be far far worse. But just focusing on the physical branch, which is all most people are interested in anyway, ignorance abounds, knowledge is discounted and bodies lose out – not to mention the hit that yoga's reputation takes because of the malnutrition served up by all the McTeachers.

Personal Benefits of Selfless Attitudes

My observation is that, although playing and getting new toys makes one feel good in the moment, it's like a sugar rush that doesn't last. And too much focus on that, sets up a pattern of perpetual focus on the self. Pretty much all of the “bad” feelings we experience are self based. And if our habits keep us attentive only to our own dramas, it's easy to get stuck in the muck.

Doing for others also makes us feel good. The same way that, upon seeing one, a smile sparks the same in the viewer, making another feel good inspires a like response in the benefactor. It may not be as immediately intense as slipping down a giant slide of self gratification, but it lingers longer and nurtures more holistically. And this sets up patterns, as well. The less attached I am to my story, the more connected I feel to others and the big picture. And the more appreciative I am of my life and how awesome this world is.

Looking from a broader vantage point, people appear less like a slew of competing individuals and more like an organism of human-ness; or even larger, all life on earth looks like a planetary being. One might consider if there's something to do that would help these grander beings. (Which most likely would be work on a “cellular” level, for the sake of the whole.) Although there may not be the same kind of individual feedback, this too, will generate positive feelings in one's self.

Just imagine how much more pleasant societies and life in general would be, if such attitudes and actions became prevalent throughout humanity. And wouldn't that make you happy.

Perfectly Purposeless

Everything just is, and simply happens. There is no divine plan. There's no designated purpose to existence. There's no inherent meaning to life. There's no particular point in doing anything.

Sounds like someone in the throes of deep depression, doesn't it? It's no wonder that people have created all manner of stories to avoid having to come face to face with this reality.

But, in fact, it's far from depressing. It represents ultimate freedom, setting the stage for our free will. How many people want to go to a college where there's no choice in curriculum? Everyone wants to be able to choose their own trajectories. Life is the same.

If you're strongest desire is to be a lemming, then the undesignated nature of existence would be a problem for you. But if you desire to be the master of your own destiny, then you're in luck. The universe is structured perfectly for you. We have the luxury of being able to set our own courses, to create our own agendas, to design our own purposes.

We may have a little karma or genetic predisposition, but as far as our choices are concerned, we're blank slates. Life's a blank slate. And our minds are boxes of a thousand colors of chalk. Write an equation, a story or a song, create some art, embellish something that someone else has scrawled, or just doodle. In short, have fun with it. It's entirely your call.

We're presented with the privilege of picking our own purposes. It's a happy situation. Rejoice! And don't fret the decision making. There's no right or wrong, and no contracts. We can change course, any time we choose.

It's a perfectly purposeless scenario.