Successfully Navigating Daily Life

Mastery of the fine art of communication between one human being and another is defined by impeccable timing. Knowing when to speak and when to withhold makes all the difference between an effective, appropriate word and the word unwisely spoken. Timing has a lot to do with being fully in the present moment and knowing the requirements of that moment. Being in the moment is key to perfect listening, and perfect listening makes possible perfect understanding and seeing clearly what is appropriate to do or say. The unwise word is based upon presupposition and preplanning where as the timely word, perhaps drawing upon past lessons learned, is always spontaneous and fresh, never planned nor rehearsed, but remains essentially a product of the current Reality. 

Preconceived ideas, well-thought out arguments, rehearsed points and the like are all indicative of ego, the inferior way. The wise know how to set these mental constructs aside and dare to be brave, that is, he does not reach for the security of forethought but knows that the blessed state of insecurity, meaning complete reliance upon the Moment for all that he needs, is the Superior Way. It is also the Way of Innocence in that when a man is as a child before the Present Moment, fully and completely dependent upon The Moment to take charge, he will see the Way through, say the right thing or remain silent, and know the Way to go. Unless a man becomes as a little child, he will forever be subjected to little ego-mind with all its short-sightedness, limited perspectives and inability to tap into the creative Power of the Now. Indeed, as is said, paradoxically, true security comes by embracing your insecurity. 

The Man In The Mirror

All of life should be seen objectively, and with dispassion. That is, little, if anything, should get under our skin and move us from the outside. We are meant to be in sole control of our emotional machinery. We should not be controlled by some stranger on the highway giving us the finger, or some grumpy cashier at the corner convenient store, nor even the naughtiness of our children. No, we should not allow anyone or anything on the outside of us to control our reactions. Otherwise we are simply not our own persons with personal happiness and peace beyond our control. To be moved from the outside is to be at the mercy of the world around us. 

This morning I was cutting it close to being on time for work. As I approached my exit off the highway I had to squeeze between two vehicles in order to make my turn. Although there was plenty of room between the two for some reason the red pickup truck behind me took offense as I moved into the lane in front of him. He laid on the horn and in my rear view mirror we made eye contact. He angrily raised his middle finger at me and sustained it for a long moment. I looked at him, his finger and at the same time scanned myself to see what I may have been feeling...but saw nothing...not a single reaction. I simply watch him as dispassionatley as if I was watching a boring TV show in my living room. After a moment of this "watching" he suddenly withdrew his finger, hit his brakes and put as much distance as possible between me and him. He acted as if he had seen a ghost. But what he "saw" was "no reaction", and it took him by complete surrpise, and more.

The funny thing about ego is that it can not function long without ego food...emotional reaction from another ego. But when you do not respond to provocation the ego doing the provoking is left with the uncomfortable sensation of nakedness...of being exposed, causing it to flee its reflection seen in the mirror of non-reaction. It is perhaps the first opportunity that a person gets to see themselves as they truly are. This seeing/experiencing of oneself...of one's negativity...of one's impatience, unforgiveness, upset and the like...makes change and transformation possible, as no problem can be overcome until one knows there is a problem. Emotional non-reaction to ego allows for the seeing of self in the Light of Reality. For this reason, patient, emotional non-reaction is called Love...the greatest transformational tool in the Universe.

Faith: Growing From Within

A woman wrote: "Faith that is seen is not faith."

Is this really true? A biblical verse seems to contradict this "As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead." James 2:26 If faith is evidenced by works (like growing in ability to be patient and kind toward others) then such things can indeed be observed within one's self. Indeed, they MUST be seen in order for faith to grow. 

The evidence of growing love and faith is seeing how we grow less and less bothered, less and less irritated by others. This can only happen when our negative, irritated, impatient thoughts begin to lose power over us by our growing objectivity to them. In this case, the seeing becomes freeing, and freedom from negative thinking is clear evidence that one is growing in the fruits of The Stillness within. For example, one day we see that we did not handle something properly and we sincerely regret that. We watched it happen, it pain us a bit and we let it go because we know we can do nothing about it. This letting go and letting God deal with the problem is the same as having faith in a Higher Power. Then one day comes along and a similar situation arises and, lo and behold, we discover that we have handled it better than the last time. Perhaps in a surprising or creative way. In any case there has been a clear change for the better, there has been growth, and it is plain that something new has been added unto us, but we do not know HOW we have changed. We only know that we HAVE been changed. We see that in giving the problem over to a Higher Power we were rewarded with new ability, a growth in grace and power that was clearly not there before. We see how doing nothing of ourselves allowed Creative Intelligence to do the work within us, through us. And seeing this leads to more faith born of Stillness, which is rewarded with more growth in grace and ability in a never ending progression of transformation.

Tranformative Faith

I once heard someone say that "Faith that is seen is not faith." But I wonder, is this really true? A bible verse seems to contradict this notion; "As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead." James 2:26

If faith is evidenced by works (like growing in ability to be patient and kind toward others) then such things can indeed be observed within one's self. Indeed, they MUST be seen in order for faith to grow. The evidence of growing love and faith is seeing how we grow less and less bothered, less and less irritated by others. And this can only happen when our negative, irritated, impatient thoughts within begin to lose their power over us by a growing objectivity to them. In this case, the seeing becomes freeing, and freedom from the influence of thought...especially negative thought, is clear evidence that one is growing Objectivity.

One day we see that we did not handle something properly and we sincerely regret that. We watched it happen, we let it pain us a bit and we let it go because we know that there is nothing we can do nothing about it. This letting go and letting God deal with our problem, so to speak, is the same as having faith in something greater than ourself. Then one day comes along, a similar situation arises and, lo and behold, we discover that we have handled things better than the last time. Perhaps in a surprisingly creative way. There has been a change for the better, there has been growth, and it is plain and obvious that something new has been added unto us, but we do not know how we have been changed. We only know that we HAVE been changed.

We see that the faith we exercised in giving the problem over to Him was rewarded with new ability...a growth in grace and power that was not there before. Seeing His magical, transformative work within us adds to our faith in Him. We see how doing nothing of ourselves allowed Him to do the work within us, through us. And seeing this leads to more faith in Him, which is rewarded with more growth in grace and ability in a never ending progression of transformation.

Meditation and Spiritual Exercise

There have always been those who have traveled great distances hoping to discover the meaning of life, and who seek the key to a spiritual practice that enlightens the mind and brings solace to the troubled soul. Oceans have been crossed, perils faced and relationships lost all in the name of finding the "holy grail" that gives grace, peace and purpose to the tired and weary mind. There are also employed countless rituals such as lighted candles, repeated prayers, special chairs and kneeling stools, of vows and fasts and holy exercise, all done and redone in the name of finding Inner Peace and ego release. But the problem with looking to a person, place, thing or particular behavior in pursuit of enlightenment is that the external practice always misses the point of genuine spiritual exercise...it externalizes a strictly internal discipline. It blocks discovery the very thing to be found. True spiritual exercise does not need to be sought any further then one's own mind...for "the Kingdom is within".

All true spiritual exercise begins and ends with the awareness of what is going on in your mind in the Present Moment. True spiritual exercise does not depend upon anything but the moment at hand to access and observe Reality. One only needs to bring awarness to bear upon ones inner state of being, on to ones inner thoughts and feelings, at any moment in order to return, as prodigal sons, unto the Light of Awareness, and out of darkness. There is no higher purpose of spiritual exercise.

There is no need to climb a mountain, sit in a certain posture or go to a particular temple to practice spiritual exercise. Whether you are at a stop sign, pumping gas, making a sandwich or talking with your wife, everyday, ordinary things can become spiritual practice, can become the means to access the Present and become the means to Realization and Enlightenment. In this way everyday things, if fully experienced with moment to moment mindfulness, become spiritual exercise leading one out of ego, which has it's being in the past and future, and into the Present Moment and Awareness...a human beings truest essence.

There is no need to seek anything outside of one's self...no need to seek beyond the Present Moment, any person, place or thing, to find what it already within and already waiting for us. Presence of mind, awareness of everything within and without, returns us to Reality and Safety, the moment we become aware that we are lost in thought. We only need to wake from the dream, awake from involvement with the inner thought world, to come back, like the Prodigal Son, to Awareness of the Present Moment where Reality lives. This is the Holy Grail whose Way is narrow and few find. This is spiritual exercise to make all other exercise of naught. Seek nothing beyond awareness of the Now and discover all that is Real. Come back to the Present Moment and find All that you have been searching for.