Holding the Busy Life

Front facing,
busy life,
rushes forward and straight into
the disappearance
at the end of two parallel lines.

Inner facing,
quiet life,
observes and holds the busy life,
while steadily breathing in and breathing out
the stillness.

Easing Reactions

Don't make it a goal to try to stop reacting to things. This is futile. When there is conditioning and underlying resistance, reactions will happen naturally. Three kinds of noticing may help.The first is a simple noticing that the sensations and thoughts of a reaction are now happening. They have a start, a middle, and will end. The second kind of noticing is noticing that something wants to concoct a story out of this energetic flow. And make it "mine". The story is just another bit of energy. Let if flow. The third is noticing that the flow of all this energy is free and unattached to the body or mind. Even "body sensations" flow freely into awareness and flow out when another perception distracts. 

Should you take apart the reaction and analyze it? This can be helpful at times when a reaction recurs frequently. There may be some underlying false beliefs that stubbornly persist. The Work of Byron Katie, the Enneagram,or other investigative system, can be very helpful in this. But if you have reached a point where you know the power of unquestioned thoughts and have done work in this area, it may be as well to soften recurring reactions with acceptance and awareness.

Reborn

In the Christian concept of being reborn, a person can be new again, from within a religious cocoon. They leave their sins behind. To be reborn in a non-dual meaning is to die to your sins as well. In addition, to die to the sense of being an individual who gets things done. It means to live from the place of absolute clarity. It does not mean you cannot participate in whatever life has been created for you. It only means you cannot be mistaken about your part in it.

Innocence

What is innocence?  It is not knowing who you are. It is acting from a place with no definitions. It is willingness to take whatever role is assigned, for now. The innocent don't know what is going to happen. They don't know anyone's motives. This is the absolute truth for everyone. You can't be anything but innocent, but you may think you know better.

Innocence is recognizing that yesterdays' roles have gone up in smoke and are no longer attached to this moment. It is laying down the burden of others' ideas about you. Do this even if you thought your loyalty kept you firmly in the tribe. Be willing to be homeless. In that innocence you are home.

One line poem #13

One by one, demanding questions find their way back from whence they came, leaving a thin trail of satisfaction.

Cognizing Entity

Sanyaha told his students: "This is not a world experienced by "me." The "I" is not moving through a world that is out there. The world does not act upon a "me." The "me" is an experience of consciousness.  Consciousness assumes the form of a me, of a world, of you, and all the time, there is no cognizing entity, no center.  There is only ever the knowing of experience. Cognizing yes, entity, no.  Experience continues to happen.

First arises an assumption that "you" are the mind in a body, navigating the objective world, which existed before you were born. Then you may learn that something called Consciousness experiences all that is known and there is no personal volition.  Finally it is seen that the experience, and the knowing of it, are one and the same."

Student:  "If there is no me, then why does it seem as if I am still looking out of these eyes?"
Sanyaha: "You" are not looking out of those eyes. There is only perception occurring, along with conditioned thoughts about a fiction called "me".  You think everything you know and do has an owner called "you".  This is John's body, these are John's thoughts.  I, John, should have done a better job on that." This is not the case. It's like thinking the sandman brings sleep every night as your parents may have told you as a child. Then you find out there is no sandman. Sleep happens without anyone's help.

When you are looking at something and thinking nothing, do you disappear? Whatever you are, exists before, after and during thoughts. Do not give this a name. The name is only a word. Existence or being is present with or without any words."