-Albert Einstein
Coping
How do we cope with all this chaotic surface phenomena that surrounds us, especially when it seems to be wearing down on us like a heavy weight?
Many people will choose to numb from it...take something, do something, own something, gain something or chase after something that will make it all better. But what if you have journeyed far enough along this path to realize that none of those external things will ever make it better? What does one do then?
The answer, I am discovering, is in finding that connection to who we really are beneath these shallow, superficial egos which do anything but bring us peace. And it is peace we are seeking, whether we know it or not.
What lies beyond the ego?
Well if we are anywhere more than one or two steps on this path we are at least intellectually realizing that there is something very powerful and beautiful beneath our surface layers. There is more than 'this'.
There may be many names for that something or someone. Some may call it Spirit or Soul. Others may call it Atman or Buddha-nature. Some may refer to as presence or awareness. Others our True Self or higher consciousness. I really don't care if you call it 'Fred'.
I think it is really, really important not to get hung up on naming it. Whatever we call it, based on whatever religious or cultural conditioning we have learn from...'It', whatever 'it' is, offers the same potential experience for everyone. It offers the experience of Grace.
Why would we want to connect...to know... that 'something'?
When we live from that place, we will live a life of freedom from physical world attachment and illusion. We will live with truth, love, faith and complete gratitude. We will experience a peace that doesn't wax and wane as the world around us changes. We will see clearly. We will know how to be present for each precious moment that arises. When we do that...this idea of suffering that comes about because of our insistence on living in the mind will disappear. We will indeed be free.
How do we get there?
The first step is to get out of our heads and away from our distracting busy work!!! We must learn to be rather than do...feel rather than to simply narrate our experiences. We need to live...rather than think about, describe, create and tell stories about living.
We can begin to do that by stilling ourselves every now and again...stilling our bodies and stilling our minds as much as possible. We can achieve stillness in two ways
1. Come to Your Senses
So many of us are so lost in what is going in our heads that we are not aware of the miraculous world around us. It is so important to begin with being mindful of your environment. in this moment
Just stop and take a look around you. Ask the questions: What am I seeing right now? And then, without words or labelling, just look about you. What am I hearing right now? Close your eyes and listen. What am I feeling right now on the outside of my body? Be aware of any breeze, the feeling of your clothes next to your skin or how your butt feels on the chair. What do I smell right now? What scents is your olfactory center picking up? And what can I taste? Bite into that apple and truly taste what is there without any need to describe it with words...just feel it.
Then when you are aware of where you are take a deep breath. Concentrate on that breath moving into your body and then out of your body. Bring that busy mind to that reality of precious breath.
From there, what are your senses picking up about your inner body. Can you feel the hum, the vibration of life in your hands even with your eyes closed? Can you feel your heart beating?
If thoughts come in, as they are sure to do, just allow them, accept them...see them as passing clouds floating by. Be aware of them without being them.
Come to your senses...come back to the awareness of what the body and mind are experiencing. Then know that the body and the mind together create just the shell you are in. They are not you.
II. Go Beyond the Senses to the Higher Self
Now ask the questions: Who is seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting or smelling? Who is perceiving with these five senses? Who is making sense of all this information? Who is breathing? What is this breath? Who is feeling what is going on inside my body? Who is thinking these thoughts? Who is really experiencing this Life?
Beyond your ego dominated and limiting perceptions; beyond this external world and its constant flux; beyond your body and mind...is who you really are. It is nameless, eternal, and never changing. It is still and silent. It is present and real. It graciously offers you the peace you long for.
Everything else is just an ever-changing foreground and you, my friend, are the background that is the peace you are looking for.
All is well.
Deepak Chopra & Oprah Winfrey.(n.d.) Day 18: Manifesting Grace Through Gratitude.
Eckhart Tolle (2019) How Do I Step More Deeply Into Presence? Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiavI90DP74
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