What Does Your Life Teach?

Everything has a story to tell, a beginning and then an ending. The trees, flowers, butterflies, spiders, rocks, planets and the solar system all have their stories.

All originate from life, are infused and animated by a life to become a particular life form, and then return to the pool of life. Along the way there are small and great dramas, crossroads of destiny, and surprises both wondrous and disappointing. Some stories end quickly and some continue.

Our families, nations, religions, cultures, and sub-cultures pass on knowledge through story telling, whether in prose or poetry. From first learning how to read to seeking truth and freedom, we look to stories to show the way and they do.

We are entertained by stories in movies, and books; in gossip and in scripture. Stories are the vehicle and proof of the power of language, the central jewel in the crown of language. And mostly we are swept along with the prevailing story. The latest reasons for war, the necessity of doing more, the apocalyptic end of the world, etc. We are manipulated by the stories we read and re-read, and tell and re-tell.

Just becoming more aware of the stories we live, along with their infinite plot lines and sub-plots, begins to wake us up. As in lucid dreaming, we become aware of ourselves as both in the dream (story) and outside it. In lucid dreaming, as in lucid living, we are no longer tyrannized by the stories circulating around us and inside us. The nightmare can be faced directly; the flying dream can be enjoyed in the moment.

What is your story and what is it teaching?

You discover your story by noticing what you are telling yourself, over and over. Notice what you tell yourself about your past, your present, and your future. In order to have any lasting impact (our) stories have to be told and retold. All stories have a narrative. What is your narrative? You can check right now. It is bound to be familiar.

Why Was I Born?

I looked for my true calling
I looked for my true purpose
What I am supposed to do on the planet
why was I born?
and I asked the question deep inside me
beyond logic, beyond thought, deep in the bowels
of the space where I connect to the universe
where I can be thrown into the raging storm of 'not knowing'
and the answer hit me in an immense tidal wave of understanding
"you are your own purpose
nothing more, and nothing less
a bundle of purpose and karma
all existing within itself
and the only thing holding it back
is the separation created by
words like 'I' and 'my' and 'me'"

Forgiveness

The central act of forgiveness and the one that indicates spiritual maturity in every case without exception is the forgiveness of the parents. The reason that we can’t forgive is that we don’t want to face the rage and pain, to admit what really happened.

The truth is that one must experience in full the pain of the actual harm that was done. That’s the block for most people. It has to be gone through again and again, and layer after layer has to come up.

Thoughts

When we sit to meditate, one of the most persistent and annoying distractions is the constant stream of thoughts, they just keep appearing unbidden even though we want to sit in silence. We want to sit in peace for a few minutes and just be. But, the mind will not switch off, thoughts will not leave us alone, we cannot stop them. And yet despite this direct evidence we still maintain the belief that we are the source of our thoughts, that we are in control of them and that this is 'my' mind and is something that I can use at will.

After The Glimpse

There comes a time when out of the silence within himself there comes the spiritual guidance which he needs for his further course. It comes sometimes as a delicate feeling, sometimes as a strong one, sometimes in a clearly formulated message, and sometimes out of the circumstances and happenings themselves. Not only does it tell him and teach him, but sometimes it does the same for others. Such is the effect of the Divine Life now working increasingly within him.

Paul Brunton, “INSPIRATION AND THE OVERSELF”

Destiny Has No Control Over You

Question: Since all is pre-ordained, is our self-realization also pre-ordained? Or are we free there at least?

Answer: Destiny refers only to name and shape. Since you are neither body nor mind, destiny has no control over you. You are completely free. The cup is conditioned by its shape, material, use and so on. But the space within the cup is free. It happens to be in the cup only when viewed in connection with the cup. Otherwise, it is just space. As long as there is a body, you appear to be embodied. Without the body you are not disembodied — you just are.

Nisargadatta Maharaj, “I AM THAT”