My
buddhist teacher told me to sit there and do nothing. It was his way of
mental training, something I apparently needed to determine what is real and
what isn't it. It was his way to show me how I am not my mind. Really, is
there ever a good time to sit still and do nothing? Is it best in the
morning when you are just preparing for the day and looking at your To Do
list? Or isit better around lunch as half the day has passed? Or perhaps at
night after work when the day is over? Or before bed when you get to review
your day and you are just glad you survived? Who has time to sit still,
right? And then add the extra "do nothing" to the mix and what do you have?
A whole lotta nothing!
Sitting there and DOING
NOTHING
I simply sat there, many
times with eyes opened, partially closed, and nodding-off closed eyes.
What did I experience? Nothing really except for the fantasies that
exist when I am by myself. Oh, the great stories and adventures my mind
would wander in and out of. It was fantastical and in full Technicolor.
I traveled to distant lands and planets, I wore really outrageous
outfits, I married the superhero, I had many births and deaths, I lived
in my very special crystal cave, and I even flew my own dragon . Oh, my
mind..... how it wanders and what seems real totally isn't! I use to
fidget with the timer, looking down every few seconds, astonished at how
time moved so slowly (especially when i watched it). It was like being
in the dentist's office when I was a kid, sitting and staring at the
white sterile walls and glancing over at all the magazines, painfully
waiting to be called to the dentist's chair. Then came a time when I
would sit and go over my mental To Do list over and over organizing the
most efficient order in which I think things would be best completed,
on-time, and within budget. Doing nothing is counter intuitive
especially for a western-raised, productive, analytical, and very
results-based trained mind like mine. "Just breathe" I recalled from my
many years of yoga training. Focus on the breath. Whatever happens,
whichever asana I twisted myself into, the breath was the only thing I
had to keep me sane. Doing nothing became a way for me to accept what is
exactly as it is. No more fantasies, no more seeing the world through
super hot pink colored glasses. This is real and it is raw. Not exactly
how I wanted to experience my reality but, man! was it way more
effective. I spent less time reacting to the world and more time
embracing and accepting it. I realized I lived a life full of drama. I
reacted to everything. What calm and peace could there be when I lived a
life actually listening to the random rantings of my mind. The 1,000
monkey mind wins again and again. I became a slave to my own mind. What
a miserable place to be. Doing nothing was the ultimate act of defiance!
How victorious I am each day I get up from my meditation calm as the
sea at dawn, like a glassy lake. Peaceful and clear as a bell.
In the Wee Hours
I
like to call it the "Wee" hours of the early morning. It is the best
time to sit, 3-5am (or 4-6am), during the amrit vela, the darkest hours
of night right before the dawn appears. It is the time where you can
access the infinite universe. Many religions and spiritual disciplines
wake up in the wee hours of night to defy the ego's desire to slumber
and continue dreaming. The ancients say it's the most powerful time to
listen and get connected to the divine intelligence. There are no
disturbances and the earth is in her silence. This is the time to wake
up and listen, just listen. Listen to the mind's wanderings and
off-handed comments. Watch the mind's reactions to everything and simply
observe. A good meditation is when you observe and are not affected by
the thoughts. The meditation worked for you.
Creating Karma
The buddhists say that karma
is created in three ways: thought, words, and actions. You are not
creating karma if you don't do anything. Did you know your words can
kill people? Scary thought, isn't it? Think good thoughts. Say good
things. Do good things. The opposite would mean you are creating bad
karma and that will somehow come back to you, somehow, somewhere.
Consciously Choosing
This wasn't written to scare
you, this is to invite you to become more aware of your own thoughts,
words, and actions. Please ask yourself if what you say, think, and do
has an effect. If your words last forever would you say half of the
things you say? If your actions can hurt someone, would you take back
what you've done? As for your thoughts, are they really yours? Or do
they seem like a preprogrammed reaction? If so, from whom did you learn
it? Are you willing to consciously choose to unlearn these patterns and
come from an authentic part of you? Are you willing to be YOU?
Know thyself
Oh
those precious few words that send us life-long journeys seeking
ourselves. To know yourself means to know who you are and accept all
that is. Yogi Bhajan taught me that every human being has 3 aspects:
angelic, human, and animal. The angelic aspect is the side of me that
wants to assist others, do good, and be good. The human aspect is the
one that loves, experiences emotions and commotions. The animal aspect
is the one that is focused on surviving and procreating. There is no
judgement as to which aspect of me is dominant at any given moment.
However, it is my choice to accept all aspects and to know when to be
which. The knowing of myself is more basic than that, it is not of a
place to label, it is not a mind set or a mood even, it is a knowingness
that I came from the stars. The very base amino acids that all life
originated from. That I am a part of and an extension of THE ONE. I am
God, God and me are One.
Separation
When I forget, I feel alone
and separated and weak. When I remember, I am apart of a greater sense
of existence, the pressure lessens and I know I belong. Belong to what
you ask? To God, to the angels, to the devas, to the planet, to my
family of lightworkers across the planet and among the different
dimensions and other worlds. How could I ever be alone? Just because I
don't see my family doesn't mean I don't have a loving mother and a
protective father and siblings that love me. How did you ever fall into
the trap of thinking you are alone? It's just simply not possible. You
have somehow alienated yourself? Why do that to yourself? Choose
differently.
My Invitation to You: Be
still and DO NOTHING!
The
fact is, the Time is now! I invite you to just sit there and do nothing.
For me, it was the path inward, the path to the stillness in my heart, a
place where the unknown was known. Start listening within you and place
less focus on what's happening out there. Out there just isn't as
important as the inner landscape. Ultimately, there is only one
landscape, YOUR landscape, what you consciously choose to create in your
reality.
What's happening inside is
happening outside.
For instance, traffic in Los
Angeles, is for some nightmarish, a sea of cars on the crowded 14-lane
405 freeway. You can decide whether it is a joy or a pain. Either way,
you need to get where you are going, right? You can accept the ride, put
on some good tunes and just cruise or you can curse at every driver that
seems to cut into "your" lane, how dare them! Your reality is what you
decide it to be. So, start turning that frown upside down and put a
smile on that bright and shiny face. If the world seems hostile, which
part of you is hostile? Like attracts like, remember so put out what
you want to receive. Yogi Bhajan taught me that I have one chance to
uplift everyone I come into contact with. So, which do I choose? Take
them down like the sinking Titanic or uplift with my inner sunshine? Of
course, now that I am aware of it, I choose to shine and beam bright
light! This is me beaming some light in your direction hoping to be the
lighthouse to guide you home.