I listen to a lot of Practice calls. Some calls (or parts of calls) I listen to over and over again. I find that, left to itself, my mind will take me into illusion, talk me into an experience of “I”, “me” – who I usually think I am. It’s so important to stay close to Practice in as many ways as I can.
Practice calls regularly bring me into seeing what is – an experience of really being Here – and out of the illusion I don’t even realize I’m caught in.
Recently I was listening to an Open Air in which the Guide gave what seemed to me an in-depth description of the practice of meditation. I listened to it over and over. It took me to a deeper experience of meditation.
I found myself really being Here (I’m practicing it as I type these words), moment by moment, with no idea what the next moment will be. (Again, I’m practicing it now – really interested in the tapping of each finger on the keyboard, paying attention to what is going on in the mind, hearing birds and traffic sounds – an absolute miracle.)
My experience in listening to that Open Air call was that giving up “doing” is so important. Giving up “doing” allowed me to get here. (And – present tense – allows me to get here. Remembering to practice it now).
This giving up “doing” seems to bring me to a sense of adventure. I really have no idea what will happen next – and I love that! Life is exciting! A complete mystery – and when “I” am Here, life is a mystery that I sense is Love and that I trust in.
I spend a lot of time with children. I have found in working with children in situations that seem challenging, the mind often does not know what to do. It does not have a “solution.” If I consult it, there will likely be fear, a sense of inadequacy, perhaps an effort to avoid or control. But when present with a child in this moment, not having a solution, staying in Unconditional Love, staying in the moment, I’ve experienced many situations that “I” did not have a solution for work out in a way that seemed compassionate for all. To me, this seems like “non-doing,” practicing moment-by-moment Awareness, whether in formal meditation or not.
It is an experience of really Being Alive.
Gasshō,
Jeff