Its not what you think

You may think certain things are missing in your life; a certain amount of money, the appropriate course of study, the perfect home, the right partner or relationship, business deal, opportunity, or condition.  Look closer.  Be aware you cannot tell life what you need.  Life reveals timeless insight and wisdom to you based on what you think you want.

You may hear people say you are what you think or you are what you do.  Step back.  Get completely clear.  Nothing is ever missing in life.  When you think this is the case, you forget who you are. When you know who you are, anxiety falls away. Whatever comes and goes, changes of state or conditions do not bother you.  What awaits discovery and recognition? Notice the witness of desires arising and falling away.  Notice what witnesses the silence.

Be playful

Recall how it feels to be playful, spontaneous, loose and free-spirited.  If you forget how to be relaxed and have fun in the moment, observe a puppy, a kitten or a small child.  Watch how they know nothing matters and take things lightly.  Get a feather and tickle yourself silly. Ask a friend or companion to use the tips of the fingers to remind you how to release tension.

This is not about pondering the last time you laughed.  Its not about focusing on a future moment when you imagine you might get around to it.  Notice where your mind is when your child wants to play. Are you always focused in the same place, in this moment, or on something else you would rather be doing?Is your mind elsewhere? Snap out of it.  Light-heartedness is a core state. Turn attention to how glorious it is to be where you are.  Be here now. Lighten up!

Savour the sensations that are available. Balance a fork or ball on your nose. Dance in ways that set your body free,  Float along with the wind as you fly a kite or sail along a body of water. Watch sand ooze through the toes at the beach.   Bend a spoon with the mind. Play for the sheer joy of it.

Go with it or observe only

Thoughts hold no power over you except when you allow yourself to believe you are your thoughts. You can continue forging relationships with certain thoughts, allowing them to shape your life with subtle influences.  You can listen to voices that prompt you to believe thoughts are real or, you can see them all as temporary visitors and read into instructions for good karma.

As you open existing awarness, you see what is happening in thoughts and feelings. In this state, you still sense division.  As you sense the watcher and what is watched, you are susceptible to moodswings and doubt. You may sense you are about to lose something precious.  Ask the heart whether what is real can ever be lost. Why does the mind vex and fear losing what is unreal? 

At a certain point, you no longer identify with streams of thought. You no longer observe life, a dream. Suddenly, you go with the flow and are it. Undivided attention arises. Almost no effort is required. Joy arises in the space of silence.  Achieve the Shanti you really are.

You make this place

You make this place what it appears to be based on how you think and feel about it.  Do people you encounter seem to behave as monsters or angels?  Your attitude shapes your experience.

If you seek to conquer others, the universe points to opportunities for profound lessons. If you wish to control others, you know suffering.  As you recognize controlling behaviour does not serve you, other options are still open to you.  Notice love is the opposite of control.

If you are kind, compassionate and non-judgmental, you see goodness in the hearts of others and overlook what the mind would have you compare and judge. Notice they see in you what you see in them. The world is a mirror that reflects how you feel about yourself. 

Let things be.  Flow with them.   Love people and things so much you are willing to let them go. Be happy, come what may.  State of mind and emotions fluctuate with conditions while being simply is. Unhinge the door the mind places in front of of the heart.  Love no matter what.

Live consciously

When you live unconsciously, mindlessly, you are unaware of self.  That is, in this moment, how you think and feel escapes you.  If you are not paying attention, in the midst of cutting veggies, you may slice a finger. Then again, maybe you think it'll be bloody tasty?!

You may be unaware you decide whether or not you allow mind and its filters to control how you receive information.  Notice what passive, reactive and observant vibrations feel like.  Notice whether you are aware of unique perspectives of the veggies, the knife, the cutting board and stew as well as the big picture of the flow that interlaces everything in the whole web of life. 

As you engage the analyical, comparative mind, you shift attention away from being. Imagine being raw veggies, the knife, spices, cutting board, pot, stock, aromas, air, water, fire. Appreciate each alone and how it feels to be the whole stew with unique and evolving flavours.

Similarly, to feel the way beyond the individual 'you' triggers awakening of childlike innocence and the feeling of being part of something bigger than you alone. Living consciously is recognizing unity, wholeness.  Oneness is the Source of all, genuine soulfood.

Recognize 'you' are the common thread in all aspects of 'your' life. Observe this 'you.' What does it feel like? Who or what is it pointing toward? The mind after all, is a gift, a teacher.  Identify which words and thoughts takes your focus away from one world. Notice what brings 'you' back. Silence the mind even temporarily.  Live more consciously.  Subside into the peace of silence.

Moving Mind

Two men were arguing about a flag flapping in the wind.

"It's the wind that is really moving," stated the first one.

"No, it is the flag that is moving," contended the second.

A Zen master, who happened to be walking by, overheard the debate and interrupted them.

"Neither the flag nor the wind is moving," he said, "It is MIND that moves."