Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them. That only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in any way they like.
Lao Tzu
Speaking of flowing naturally....
I am sitting here trying to write through eyes that are swollen and constantly running while I reach for a tissue every two seconds. I can't see....the pressure in my sinuses is so annoying, even my teeth and jaws ache. I caught a common cold...well by the fever and body aches maybe it is a flue...regardless I have a common virus making inself at home in my body. My mind tells me that it is not a good time for this uninvited guest to show up, in the sense I have important plans at work tomorrow ( the little job I have taken on two mornings a week)...Yet, I know unless it gets miraculously better by tomorrow morning, I will not be able to bring this into the school, nor will I be able to function effectively if I do. Much to mind's annoyance, I have to utter the dreaded words..."I am sick!" Well let me rephrase that, "I am presently dealing with a cold or flue." (We are not our temporary or even chronic illnesses, we are simply experiencing them).
Anyway, I have learned through my practice to handle such bodily experiences. Instead of resisting and pushing myself past symptoms, as I have done for years...I now stop, notice, allow, observe, and experience what my body is doing in response to things like this initially "unwelcome" guest. I get curious, almost fascinated at times. I observe and I experience.
As Daniel J. Seigel writes in, Becoming Aware...observing and experiencing are two totally different actions of consciousness. When we observe we witness and narrate our way through, as if at a distance, and when we experience we allow and sense the entire illness. We "become a conduit directing the flow [of sensation]into consciousness." page 5
I Observe
I begin by taking the "unwelcome" label away from this unplanned for visitation. I chose to refer to the virus as a "guest", and my body as the host while I simply observe the process. I do not resist it or deny its presence. Afterall, I cannot change the reality of this situation. I cannot turn back the clock to the beginning of its incubation period and stop the exposure from happening. The reality is, I was exposed. The body may resist the invasion, as it is programmed to do, but "I" do not resist. I accept the fact that the virus found a way into this body and it proliferated through the prodromal period. And now, becasue of my very active immune system's intention to make my body inhospitable for this virus, the body is now experiencing the illness stage. I am aware the illness stage, like all phenomena in Life, is only temporary and that there will soon be a stage of decline, followed by convalescence. It is pretty darned interesting, don't you think? "I" witness and observe the process with great curiosity.
Then I experience what this bug and my immune system are doing to this body "I" am in, without thought. I allow myself to feel the symptoms. When mind is not in the way of saying, "Oh no this shouldn't be! This is awful!" the experience is not so bad. Not "pleasant", for sure, but I find, without resistance, the experience of acute illness goes from "unpleasant" to " almost "neutral". (Not completely neutral for me yet, lol...but getting there).
I am seeing through this observation and experience of a common ailment all human bodies are prone to, that I am learning to handle reality. Everything in life, including illness, is a learning opportunity. What are we here to learn? Everything...but mostly how to handle reality so we can evolve and go with the flow of Life while we are here.
Wow!
All is well
Daniel J, Seigal (2021) becoming aware. New York: Tarcher/Perigee.
Michael A. Singer/ Temple of the Universe (January 29, 2024) Why We Ignore the Rest of the Universe. https://tou.org/talks/
No comments:
Post a Comment