Notes From Yesterdays Journey

6/7 sept.2008

Time, change and Resistance. Notes from yesterday's journey. Just coming back to the simple interaction with attitudes and thoughts, in the present. There needs to be a foundation of basic awareness energy- like a reserve in order to have the patience to interact with one's own negative thoughts. Keeping present awareness on the resistance to suffering. Especially the magnifying quality of thought and imagination. I.E: Anticipation of suffering, based on assumptions made from painful past experiences. This is the nature of Mayaillusion. This pain is in fact what spiritual growth is, and feels like. Resentment often arises out of any situation, I.e: work, where we are forced by necessity to confront these aspects in ourself. We immediately blame this pain on outside factors who provide us with this situation.

Enlightenment is not a final, lasting big deal concept at all, but is a natural result, very transitory, of overcoming our own negativity, resistance and resentment of the present. yatharbutta-things as they are-sukha-joy arises naturally and spontaneously when the work of refocussing our mind from the constant preoccupation with avoiding pain, ceases to drain our basic foundation of awareness. This energy wasting routine- Maya is constantly reinforced by our fellow sufferers and society in general. But is unrecognised. However, it's heavy quality (energetically) is actually quite easy to identify. If one can maintain the reserve of perky awareness which allows mindfulness. So Emptiness of resentment and resistance,coupled with a willingness to allow increasing continuity of practice using the awareness energy liberated from negative habits is key. The Lightness of being

This somewhat airy-fairy sounding phrase,is a useful way of describing perky awareness. It has a playful quality. In the sense that We are unfettered by the burden of critcism,or judgement-self-imposed, or external. So before progress can be made it is important to create this state. Or rather gain access to it. Initially this can be done by assciation with previous examples from our own or (even others), experience. Chogyam Trungpa, in his book Shambhala, the sacred path of the warrior, describes it as the dignities of meek and perky. Like a tiger in the jungle simply enjoying the bouncyness of it's own body, (for meekness!) and like two snow lions playing in the snow, (for perkiness). Two good archetypal images, which, with imagination can form a blueprint for our intended use of energy. The question is what works for each person is different, so in the beginning if joy seems a faraway experience, energy has to be invested in recalling to mind, that which makes us happy. In terms of the eight noble truths, this could come under the heading of right intention. What is a human being? every action we do expresses what we are. (At that particular moment). Shamanically speaking, one is a shaman when we take responsibility for our own state of mind. It's that simple. Now, enjoyment comes when we discover the workablity and even playful aspects of reality. These are hidden behind habitual attitudes and patterns which are in truth unconsciously absorbed, and played out when we do not have a positive intention but allow a kind of cloudy vagueness to prevail! It's rather like be a passenger in a sophisticated space-craft, when no-one is at the controls. Isn't it worth the trouble of plotting a course when that may be an option? My father once said to me, that when we allow ourselves to shine, the world responds with great gifts. Its a question of being willing to experience the true mystery of reality, which is always present, no matter how hard our habitual mind, or cocoon tries to hide it. This is not to say that our natural state of mind is "bad", it's more a question of being awake to the subtle processes that take place constantly. This awakeness, needs to be energised somehow, which brings me back to the idea of lightness. Another insight my father came out with was about enlightenment, being a result of letting go of heaviness. But, before this is possible it is necessary to be willing to admit or ay least be aware of that which obstructs it. Being willing to aknowledge that pain is there, suffering is there, yet not

to identify with it, but in actually experiencing it, let it go. techniques and teachings are all very useful, but in the practice actually we must be present to the fact that we are creating our own "martial Art" or "style of yoga" or whatever. The practice or whatever discipline we may be involved in, is a useful way to produce this basic fund of perky energy, from where the space of openness can be generated. It takes courage to lie on your back and open yourself to the possiblity of limitless space, there is always some part of ourselves that wants to curl up and hide under the comforting duvet of familiarity.