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6/7 sept.2008

Time, change and Resistance.Notes from yesterday's journey.

Just coming back to the simple interaction with attitudesand thoughts, in the present. There needs to be a foundationof basic awareness energy- like a reserve in order to have thepatience 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 madefrom painful past experiences. This is the nature of Maya-illusion.

This pain is in fact what spiritual growth is, and feels like.Resentment often arises out of any situation, I.e: work, wherewe are forced by necessity to confront these aspects inourself.

We immediately blame this pain on outside factors whoprovide us with this situation.

Enlightenment is not a final, lasting big deal conceptat all, but is a natural result, very transitory, of overcomingour own negativity, resistance and resentment of the

present.

yatharbutta-things as they are-sukha-joy arisesnaturally and spontaneously when the work of re-focussing our mind from the constant preoccupationwith avoiding pain, ceases to drain our basic foundationof 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 reserveof perky awareness which allows mindfulness.

So Emptiness of resentment and resistance,coupled with a willing-ness to allow increasing continuity of practice using the awarenessenergy liberated from negative habits is key.

The Lightness of being

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This somewhat airy-fairy sounding phrase,is a useful way of describingperky awareness. It has a playful quality. In the sense thatWe are unfettered by the burden of critcism,or judgement-self-imposed, orexternal.

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 withprevious examples from our own or (even others), experience.

Chogyam Trungpa, in his book Shambhala, the sacred path of thewarrior, 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 ablueprint for our intended use of energy.

The question is what works for each person is different, so in thebeginning 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 ofright intention.

What is a human being? every action we do expresses what we are.(At that particular moment). Shamanically speaking, one is a shamanwhen we take responsibility for our own state of mind. It's that simple.

Now, enjoyment comes when we discover the workablity and evenplayful aspects of reality. These are hidden behind habitual attitudes andpatterns which are in truth unconsciously absorbed, and played out whenwe 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, whenno-one is at the controls. Isn't it worth the trouble of plotting a coursewhen that may be an option?

My father once said to me, that when we allow ourselves to shine, theworld responds with great gifts. Its a question of being willing toexperience the true mystery of reality, which is always present, no matterhow 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 aquestion of being awake to the subtle processes that take place constantly.This awakeness, needs to be energised somehow, which brings me back tothe idea of lightness. Another insight my father came out with was aboutenlightenment, being a result of letting go of heaviness. But, before this ispossible it is necessary to be willing to admit or ay least be aware of thatwhich obstructs it.

Being willing to aknowledge that pain is there, suffering is there, yet not

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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 usefulway to produce this basic fund of perky energy, from wherethe space of openness can be generated. It takes courage to lie on yourback and open yourself to the possiblity of limitless space, there is alwayssome part of ourselves that wants to curl up and hide under the comfortingduvet of familiarity.