Awakening to awareness in the moment.
I wish to share something that has deeply enriched my life, something almost mystical.
The origin is unclear, but it began when I was often left waiting, the only boy with a car, ten, twenty minutes at a time.
Then I began to meditate... Breathing in, breathing out... Drawing awareness inward. Into the body. Into the moment, the now. And then these three questions emerged one after the other. "Who are you?", "Where are you?", "What are you doing?"
I observed how my mind responded to these inquiries, without seizing any thoughts, like watching ripples spread in a pond after a stone is cast.
When I do this, there is no specific goal, I expect no particular outcome. But having done this regularly for over two decades, I've noticed various things.
One is how everything changes, who I am, how I see myself, how I view the world. Nothing is permanent. Good and bad pass and slip through one's fingers, so it's futile to cling to what is past. The only constant is the now, and it is always in flux. Once, during a lengthy difficult period, I noted that I was suffering and that this suffering seemed longstanding and likely to persist into the future. Permanent discomfort. It was very convincing, but I saw through it. It wasn't that the suffering was permanent, but that the cause of my discomfort colored every moment with gloom. The cause was my attitude towards the circumstances I was in. From this sprang self-pity and other emotions that fostered negative thoughts.
Thoughts become words, words become actions, what we do becomes habit, and habits steer thoughts.
This insight allowed me to cut through this cycle, leave the dismal, depressing state, and redirect my mind towards more positive flows.
This doesn't always work. Often I must go through the pain process to find a better place.
Another outcome from these meditations was a delightful habit of calling my awareness inward and seeing myself from the outside. My version of the three questions. Who, where, and what. I then observed the response impartially. It allowed me to see the humor in the situation.
But enough for now. I could ponder endlessly on this topic.
I hope you find joy in your day.
Love and peace.
