February 14, 2018
When we look outside of ourselves for deeper truths we become exhausted and return home empty handed. When we begin to look inside, the ground starts to shift, the sky starts to morph and cracks in our persona begin to appear. Things start to feel more alive. The stakes are raised, and yet we dare not turn back.
At some point in our lives we might find ourselves amidst great struggle. We may suddenly come to our senses and wonder, “When did I adopt the belief that life has to be a struggle?” We may not overtly think in these terms, but if we look around we might find that much of our energy is expended trying to solve our problems, create a better future, and repair our lives. In this mode of thinking, the solution is never here. The solution is always out there, somewhere else, off in the future, out of our grasp. This is when our busy minds whisper, “Sure the solution you’ve been working so hard for is out there in the future, but we have plans to secure that future! When we finally arrive there we will certainly find the peace we’ve been looking for.”
You see our minds operate in time. They need a past and a future and a timeline to operate. They are not very good at operating in the present. In fact if you look very closely into the present you will find that the mind slows way way down–it has to. Try an experiment. For just a few seconds allow attention to settle right into this exact instant. Without entertaining any thought of past or future, the mind gets very quiet doesn’t it? Things become still. Senses become more acute. You no longer need to reach out to find the sounds in the room or the sensations in the body, they start to come to you. They arrive gently and effortlessly. Then a peace begins to emerge. Things become very quiet, very still. In this place of rest you begin to see through the subtle dance of the senses and into the profound stillness that lies beneath.
Looking outside for everything we find nothing. Looking inside for No-thing we find Everything.
From this place of stillness, rest, and peace we clearly see “future thoughts” arising as nothing more than thoughts. Thoughts of completion and of salvation refer to nothing. The completion is here. This peace is completion. As we gaze deeper and deeper into it, it begins to overtake us. We cannot tell where our own consciousness ends and the stillness begins. They are one and the same.
At some point the entire world emerges again. Only this time it is not in the future. It is not over there. It is not a vague promise. It is pristinely Alive. It is Here! Something is different now but it is hard to discern. We are so absorbed into Life that we wouldn’t even think of entertaining a thought of seeking an impossible future. There is so much Here! The closer we look the more the stillness overtakes us and the more of Life that appears. Here! Here! Here!
This is Abundance.
