The zen blossom blooms without effort as do you.
I’ve been reading falling into grace by adyashanti lately so that I may clear some more junk from my “mental attic” and have seen some improvements as well as some really well articulated insights from Adyashanti who studied mainly under zen practices however these insights aren’t attributed to any teaching. This book has been mainly about why human beings suffer to begin with and it derives human suffering from the perspective of ones world being that of the world that the mind makes up. Our psychological suffering happens because the story of the mind is believed. As a child this nonsense is not taken to be true, which is why you see so many exuberant children. Sure they still feel emotions, get into mischief and all that good stuff, but no one said these things have to cease nor should they cease from happening as true nature is the vast space in which all of these wonderful things reside. However when ideas, beliefs, concepts, and what have you begin to create a deep level of “I’m this character or person”, this is where the division begins to occur and as the human being grows older, they begin to become deeply connected to the separation. To the ego (fantasy) this reality seems very real, just like one while in a dream thinks whats going on is real, but if we wake up we see that it was only a dream.
…was that there’s no such thing as a true thought – Adyashanti
I saw that thoughts are symbols for things; they’re not the things, themselves. They’re descriptions of things. -Adyashanti
Like above this shift in perceptual seeing, can drop things away accordingly. It isn’t something that you work towards and clean but just a whole shift to a different plane of seeing which leaves all that stuff behind. Once this happens, or is seen for yourself, will automatically orchestrate itself to shift to actual seeing of reality and what is actually there.
How is this perceptual shift leading to suffering
It’s not obvious until you look at it, but when we believe our thoughts, in that instant, we begin to live in the world of dreams, where the mind conceptualizes an entire world that doesn’t actually exist anywhere but in the mind itself. At that moment, we being to experience a sense of isolation, where we no longer feel connected to each other in a very rich and human way, but we find ourselves receding more and more into the world of our minds, into the world of our own creation.
and because of this happening occurs there is a divide from reality and non-reality or illusion of reality. Also this creates the gaps in which what we think ourselves to be begin to “want” something more than what is. If this wasn’t the case, then suffering would not happen because we would know that right now is exactly what is here right now and nothing more and nothing less. What we have right now is perfectly what we should have right now and accept the moment for what it is. Regardless of whether pain is being felt, it would be accepted, sorrow was being felt, it would be accepted, or happiness is being felt. With that leaning in process, there would be no expectation of more and that acceptance would bring about instant freedom.
Seeing the truth and blossoming in the present moment
Here is what thoughts were observed seeing from here in an instant.
- The World is Illusion (not the world itself, but the fantasy world the “me” or “mind” creates
- Beliefs, Concepts, Ideas have no basis in reality therefore it is only a false sense of control that the me sees.
- The me is complete fantasy, there is no “you” because this you only lives in the illusory world
- Because this story is BELIEVED suffering happens because it does not match up with Life
Once the illusion is seen through, then you just have to see that what you actually are is nothing, and nothing is this vast space that everything is manifest (even the illusion of self!) and that this life is lifing as life! Its quite the realization because then it’s seen that life will always always always take care of itself, so.. mind if you’re reading this, let go of the wheel, life is already taking care of itself.
Nick Myers, a 26 year old serial blogger. Also minimalist, zen participant, philosopher, author of Emotional Alchemist, and tea disciple. I am one who sees a potential lesson in every experience in life. Life is who we are and life is our ultimate guru. I seek to bring us together through our own shared experiences. And hope to not only learn deeply who I am but to learn deeply who others are by dropping my ideas from moment to moment about you.
