With this episode #11, we continue our journey of ... explorations in Consciousness, ... Silence, ... Self Realization, ... Self Discovery, ... The Mystery ... Download How To Be In The World - Part 2? | Pop-up ViewerLets continue the...
With this episode #11, we continue our journey of ... explorations in Consciousness, ... Silence, ... Self Realization, ... Self Discovery, ... The Mystery ...
Download How To Be In The World - Part 2? | Pop-up Viewer
Lets continue the theme from our last episode re "being in the world."
In our own journey, two key principles have stood out over the years: acceptance and dissolving comparison.
Acceptance is to resolutely live the life that arises out of stillness ... the life that is continuously revealed as a result of the ongoing inquiry into the truth of who we are ... this is a life that is not just a one time revelation ... instead it is an ongoing, daily, and ever alive exploration that demands discerning truth at all times and then adhering to it even if we don't succeed "at all times." It is having the vigilance and the courage to undertake such an exploration and trusting what is revealed regardless of what it looks like. It requires utmost attention and the deepest form of participation ... participation with "what is here" not what is imagined or what is desired ... or what should have been. ... not with some external source but with one's innermost guides.
For each of us such revelations are unique and very particular to our journey ... here's one of the examples from Joseph Campbell's life:
“Nietzsche was the one who did the job for me. At a certain moment in his life, the idea came to him of what he called “the love of your fate.” Whatever your fate is, whatever the hell happens, you say, “This is what I need.” It may look like a wreck, but go at it as though it were an opportunity, a challenge. If you bring love to that moment—not discouragement—you will find the strength is there. Any disaster that you can survive is an improvement in your character, your stature, and your life. What a privilege! This is when the spontaneity of your own nature will have a chance to flow.
Then, when looking back at your life, you will see that the moments which seemed to be great failures followed by wreckage were the incidents that shaped the life you have now. You’ll see that this is really true. Nothing can happen to you that is not positive. Even though it looks and feels at the moment like a negative crisis, it is not. The crisis throws you back, and when you are required to exhibit strength, it comes.”
Joe, of course, is one of the greatest thinkers and wisest elders from the 20th century Western Tradition. As I explored his work in the 80s, I always felt that Joe is one of the rare ones who broke through using the intellect. He used to call himself a "maverick" and he certainly was that. He studied all of the mythologies of the world and naturally concluded that:
"Eternity is that dimension of here and now which thinking and time cuts out. This is it. And if you don't get it here, you won't get it anywhere. And the experience of eternity right here and now is the function of life."
Dissolving Comparison is to not be hooked into the game of comparison whether the comparison is with some imagined ideal or with some situation of others or even with our own past situations. And, again if one is engaged in sincere self inquiry ... in exploring the truth of who we are then comparison simply dissolves and even when it does arise - which it inevitably does - it does not have the same potency or grab. ... and can easily be seen as the unnecessary game it really is.
Whether it is comparison or non-acceptance ... the present moment guidance of the "voice within" is missed ... the present which is alive and particularly tailored to our unique life stream ... the uniqueness that cannot be known in advance .. that cannot be defined by anyone else ... the uniqueness that is beyond anything created out of any-one's imagination, including our own.
Such a surrendered life may not follow any prescribed path or vision and is not necessarily comfortable or safe however it always rests on the ever deepening foundation of peace ... peace that is here despite the highs or lows. ... peace that is refreshingly alive and ... it is the life that is an exquisite invitation to "chart your own course" with the Universe as your navigator!
I was reminded of Joe's 1st quote through one of the recent newsletters from the Upaya Zen Center and his 2nd quote is from "The Power of Myth" PBS series with Bill Moyers.
We also have two other channels available: PolitOpine re contemporary American politics and Obama Presidency and RumiTime re mystical poetry readings from Rumi, Kabir and others.