Where no self-clinging exists, no preference for pleasure over pain nor for winning over losing, no reminiscence of good old days now gone, nor for the unrestrained anticipation of days to come*, here is Presence. A common theme of "going with the flow" most would agree on, although even as the stream pushes up against many a boulder it still goes "with the flow". To express preference for anything other than what is, really goes "against the flow". To observe and confront life immediately, without choice or mental manipulation, is to go with and be "in the flow".
When the moving stream stops to form a little stagnant pool it is akin to us using the spiritual path as an escape and excuse to not face and go with what IS. The cocoon or sanctuary self-created, a resistance to the natural and joyous flow of creation, because reality has "become too hard" and one would rather hide out in a fantasy world of one's own. The only way past is through, to go beyond something means to be with it, giving total attention, not repressing or replacing the current reality view, with its pain sadness or depression, with something else more positive or pleasant. Distraction is what we do naturally and easily, it is not a way out or forward but only a quick fix (necessary at times for saving face or staying calm and cheerful at work).
Presence free from pleasure and pain, ideation and mental creations, yet at the root of them all. Seems that joy or pleasure through the senses and psyche flow freely when there's no preference for these over pain or hardship. The beauty of a setting sun is fleeting and transient, inner awareness alone remains always constant, assuming many diverse shapes colors and forms, dissolving and recreating endlessly...
Much of what we call pain or suffering is really just an addiction or attachment to pleasure and comparing the present with golden moments of the past; and/or always planning for or looking forward to pleasurable times ahead. "Living for the weekend and vacations", so to speak.
Beyond the Bliss Sheath is Pure Presence only, which is another way of saying Pure Peace & Positivity.
Joel
*Reminiscence (at times) is a part of immediate presence and being, as is having exciting future plans. The point is to not be stuck in the potential mind traps of memory and anticipation.. and sentimentally or nostalgically always wanting to repeat the experiences (actually just memories now) of the past.
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if you understand the whole structure of how you think, why you think, the words you use, the way you behave in your daily life, the way you talk to people, the way you treat people, the way you walk, the way you eat - if you are aware of all these things then your mind will not deceive you, then there is nothing to be deceived. The mind is then not something that demands, that subjugates; it becomes extraordinarily quiet, pliable, sensitive, alone, and in that state there is no deception whatsoever.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever noticed that when you are in a state of complete attention the observer, the thinker, the centre, the 'me', comes to an end? In that state of attention thought begins to wither away.
If one wants to see a thing very clearly, ones' mind must be very quiet, without all the prejudices, the chattering, the dialogue, the images, the pictures-all that must be put aside to look. And it is only in silence that you can observe the beginning of thought-not when you are searching, asking questions, waiting for a reply. So it is only when you are completely quiet, right through your being, having put that question, "What is the beginning of thought?", that you will begin to see, out of that silence, how thought takes shape.