Waves are the practice of the water. ― Shunryu Suzuki

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BEING THE UNIVERSE

Understanding that we and our world are composed of matter, and that we are ever-changing from the basic cellular level. We also can not find a way to separate our awareness from an object.

When the mind sees an object, it recognizes it, but we can not separate awareness of the object from the object itself. Would the object be there without awareness? The object and our awareness are not the same, but we can not separate them fully. When we see the moon, our awareness is what recognizes the moon, and yes we can say here is the moon and my awareness recognizes it but would either be without the other?

THE SEARCH FOR MIND

In essence, the mind is what is aware of everything — 
it is a clarity that perceives all external objects and events. 
But try to find it, and it turns out to be as impossible to grasp 
and as elusive as a rainbow — the more you run after it, 
the further away it appears to recede; the more you look at it, 
the less you can find. - Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Where is this thing called mind? Where is this central organizing principle?

When we speak of awakenment it is the recognition that there is no inner or outer world, no independent self or other, no separation or coming together. Eventhough the mind and body are experienced and they are visible, they have no actual boundary and so then when the self is looked for, it too would also be infinite and boundless.

Many yogis and yoginis have investigated their mind, looking for this separate self  and have too come to this conclusion. Scientists and philosophers have come to agreements around the notion that consciousness is everywhere, what we call mind or self is not isolated and bound.

There is a unified field where everything arises from. When we let go and allow our nature to come to the forefront, we experience this firsthand, before we fall back into separateness. 

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HOW DOES THIS AFFECT OUR RELATIONSHIPS?

It is important to taste boundlessness and complexity of existence and shake up solid notions we generally have because these assumptions impact our relationships and entire perspective of existence. 

For instance if we keep ourselves small and contained, and think we are solid and static, we do not think we have room for the extent of life we yearn to meet. How far we allow ourselves to dream and see are held in the confines of how small we think we are rather than the space of limitless possibility. 

Small obstacles in relationships can become much larger because we think we have limits and impossibilities in our capacity. 

We know the statement: “This is too much for me …” “You are too much for me … “ A phrase we hear so often, no one is to blame as this is washed through our minds as true … I’m not denying that sometimes we need to rest and have healthful boundaries and that we can say “no” ….  Often notions of our own incapacities can be benefited by being held in the arms of our own loving inquisitive reflection. If our mind and heart are vast, then we actually have the capacity to relate to everything, as we are everything. Often it is the habit mind or habit body that can’t see space in a situation, can’t find humor or love or patience.  

When we think we are these small solid human beings, meant to fulfill the fictitious dream that if we accumulate the right possessions, including relationships, material goods, status, identity, occupied in accumulating: meaningful moments can be overlooked.  

We can be lost in acquiring beyond what we need to thrive and caught in appearing a certain way. Thinking that will indeed bring us the feeling we want, the life we want, the love we want. We spend a lifetime focusing on what is not meaningful, or a life of planning rather than living. We feel empty handed at the end of our days and then our life. Wondering why we didn’t see what mattered more. Caught in the rat race, which is terribly addictive because it is what we are surrounded by. 

When we are caught in believing in the small solid self, we can also become insular seeing our self and relationship, or whatever microcosm we are creating as the most important thing and we forget the greater world and the big possibility of Love. 

Our highest potential as humans is to have equanimous compassion. To be free of the pain of grasping to the ups and downs of life because we see it for what it is: ever changing.  Lovership can be the ground for this compassion and reality to grow and then overflow. When we recognize and continue to fall into this state of totality, we can see the sameness in ourselves and others. Naturally what we want most for ourselves, happiness and peace, we will want to others. So we look to our lover as the perfect opportunity to help us see more clearly the universal thread of sameness. Our first lover is ourself, then our outer lover and world.

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BRINGING IT ALL INTO PERSPECTIVE

For all of us seekers, the daily practice is to know the many qualities of our existence and to keep tending to our true state, knowing simultaneously that we are human.

Moments and periods will ask more of us, in ways we know we could do better but we do our best. And in this we also grow in compassion. If we knew we were the universe and had no journey, then we wouldn’t have the depth of empathy for others struggling. Yet this is a hard one. To taste our potential and yet to show up in ways that are not aligned with it because parts of us are still held in another consciousness.

Have you had this experience? You were in a dark moment, but handled it differently? You saw a glimmer of another possiblity for your experience and presence in that moment and shifted just a tad? And then the world around you shifted too?

If not, pay attention in the coming weeks how the world responds when you choose to recognize your true nature, even when your habit mind wants to do otherwise. The more you do this meditation, the more this will support you as well. Be kind to yourself. We forget. We fall into tears, frustration, anger and the difficult emotions that have a place too. And then we return to our home.

In these moments, I have noticed that the quicker we return to our truth, our own evolution quickens. The world, the reflection of us, is offering us a gift in response to our courage and wisdom. It is saying … “yes! you are seeing who you are!”