The funny thing is, that with all of
this collective focus on not missing out via doing, we actually begin
to miss out on the things that really matter. We lose touch with
our sense of wonder, awe and reverence for simple yet amazing things
like the song of the birds in the morning, the beauty of the light
in late afternoon, and the magnificence of stars in the night sky.
And in the human realm, we start to take the simple magic for granted,
like how beautiful the sound of our loved ones voices are, how soft
the sheets feel and how a kitten’s sense of play can instantly
lift a foul mood. Reading on a Sunday afternoon instead of working,
walking barefoot on the beach with no sense of time, eating lunch
when you’re hungry, not because it’s noon - these activities
help conjure a greater sense of presence. The act of sometimes just
surrendering to the present moment instead of trying to micromanage
and be productive in each one will allow us to not lose out on such
precious gifts as these (and more).
I’ve identified lack of presence as one of the conditions adversely
affecting the collective populace, the problems that can arise on
an individual level in terms of resultant spiritually harmful behaviors,
and even a hint at what the solutions can be. But how do we actualize
those solutions within the constructs of what it’s like to
be alive on planet Earth right now? When I inquire as to whether
friends or clients spend time each day in meditative-oriented practices,
there is a high percentage of “little to none right now” because
they simply don’t have time, or often more precisely, have
chosen to not make it a high-level priority. Even those who do invest
time every day in “non-doing” (instead of the opposing
polarity of a constant productive-oriented mindset), admit to often
getting distracted, to cutting their practice short, and feeling
pressure and guilt from both without and within about the whole matter.
Why in the world are meditation-based practices—which are essentially
about accessing a state of simple, quiet “beingness” so
we can embody more presence when we are active—so hard to incorporate
into our daily lives?
Meditation expert Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., founding director of the
Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine,
Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical
School, as well as Professor of Medicine emeritus, wrote a lengthy
yet excellent book titled Coming to Our Senses: Healing Ourselves
and the World Through Mindfulness (Hyperion; 2005). In it he states:
“So meditation is both nothing at all - because there is no
place to go and nothing to do - and simultaneously the hardest work
in the world - because our mindlessness habit is so strongly developed
and resistant to being seen and dismantled through our awareness.
And it does require method and technique and effort to develop and
refine our capacity for awareness so that it can tame the unruly
qualities of the mind that make it at times so opaque and insensate.
“These features of
meditation, both as nothing at all and as the hardest work in the
world, necessitate a high degree of motivation to practice being
utterly present without attachment or identification. But who wants
to do the hardest work in the world when you are already overwhelmed
with more things to do than you can possibly get done -- important
things, necessary things, things you may be very attached to so you
can build whatever it is that you may be trying to build, or get
wherever it is that you are trying to get to, or even sometimes,
just so you can get things over with and check them off your to-do
list? And why meditate when it doesn’t involve doing anyway,
and when the result of all the non-doing is never to get anywhere
but to be where you already are? What would I have to show for all
my non-efforts, which nevertheless take so much time and energy and
attention?”
Kabat-Zinn answers these questions the same way I do—first,
that unless you have the ability to know via personal experience
in consistent immersion into nothingness and how it positively shapes
your “eyes-open” time, you have no differing states of
awareness to draw comparisons about. And, as he adds, “…everybody
I have ever met who has gotten into the practice of mindfulness and
has found some way or other to sustain it in their lives for a period
of time has expressed the feeling to me at one point or another,
usually when things are at their absolute worst, that they couldn’t
imagine what they would have done without the practice. It is that
simple really. And that deep.”
Grounding the foundation of your awareness with a deep connection
to both your soul and Source allows you to effectively be in service
in many large and small ways. Every time we are present in a situation
and can consciously choose actions unshakably rooted in the mindfulness
gained in meditative practices, the quality of the energy that emanates
from within expresses the higher octaves of purity and humility instead
of seeking ego-strokes or attempts to fill our perceived wants and
needs through self-oriented behaviors.
What type of meditative-oriented practice you engage in is best chosen
as to how it compliments your disposition, as long as it transports
you to a sense of full enlivenment and presence. I’ll toss
you a reverse-Nike phrase in closing: Just non-do it!
Suzanne
Matthiessen writes,
teaches and consults about spiritual growth and behavioral shadow
issues. She is in the process of developing a multi-media publishing
company based on the principles of Spiritual Etiquette. For more
information, please visit spiritualetiquette.com, and her blog, spiritualetiquette.blogs.com.
Suzanne
Matthiessen writes,
teaches and consults about spiritual growth and behavioral shadow
issues. She is in the process of developing a multi-media publishing
company based on the principles of Spiritual Etiquette. For more
information, please visit spiritualetiquette.com, and her blog, spiritualetiquette.blogs.com.
