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In every moment, there are two possibilities. One possibility is to have all of our curiosity, attention, and passion focused on what is happening. The other, is to have that same curiosity, attention, and passion focused on what is not happening, what is not present, or what we think should or shouldn't be happening. In every moment, the question is: What are you giving your attention to? Are you allowing what is, or going to battle with it-trying to change it in some way? When our focus is on what is, our experience opens up and becomes bigger, richer, and more complete. But when we focus on what is not (including the past, the future, or any thought about what should be), our experience of the moment contracts down and becomes much narrower and full of struggle and suffering, because inherent in our focus on what is not is the tendency to struggle with what is. We discover that much of the time we are oriented toward what is not and in opposition to what is. Life can be mostly about how to make our experience better and have more pleasure, and how to avoid the things that are painful. We evaluate our experience to see what's wrong with this moment and how it could be improved. We ask ourselves what could be added to it to make it better. As a result, our attention becomes very narrow and our awareness very limited as we focus on our own thoughts about the moment instead of the moment itself. Once we see how much time we spend struggling with what is, the tendency is to go to battle with that-to try to fix that. We think the solution is to fix this tendency to try to change everything. But that only changes the content of our struggle: Now we are struggling with our tendency to try to change things. We suffer over the fact that we are suffering. What if you just notice how much you suffer, without trying to do anything about it? Just allow struggle with what is to be here. Just recognize that for now, that is what is happening. This tendency to struggle with what is, is what we were taught or conditioned to do; and this conditioning is here and is also a part of what is. At any point where we simply accept what is,we can see how all of the struggling comes from the idea of a "me". Without this assumption that something is happening to "me", there isn't much point in struggling to change the moment. Our effortful struggle to change things only makes sense if there really is a me. We struggle in service to maintaining the idea of a "me". In fact, the struggle is the building block of the "me". Whenever there is no struggle, the sense of a "me" is not there. Our suffering is how we have always maintained a sense of identity. Once again, there is a tendency is to try to fix this by changing our beliefs about our identiy. We try to get rid of identification, which is another way of focusing on what is not. Yet, we are then still suffering because now we are struggling with our tendency to identify. Instead of accepting of what is, we are looking toward how it should be: I ought to know better; I should already know who I am. It is also possible to be really present to whatever is happening including our identifications, without making any effort to change things. If it is happening, then that's what happens. You can just let it be. You may even be amazed by it all, including the strange sense of a me. You can see how unreal this "me" ultimately is, but there is no need to struggle to get rid of it. There's no no need to assume that something's wrong that needs to be fixed. Just letting things be the way they are is the simplest way to end your suffering and be fully present in the here and now. Whenever it is just fine for everything to be just the way it is including any identity and struggle, then much more of what is can be recognized in our awareness. If we are present to and allowing our struggle, then it is also possible to notice something beyond struggle and any effort to maintain our identity. What that something is, is our true nature or Being. Along with identification and the suffering inherent in that, is the possibility of an awareness of this vast Being in which it all is happening. All the me is and ever has been is a idea, but we don't need to turn away from that or judge ourselves for it or try to get rid of it. Then we can start to also notice a beautiful, rich presence of Being, which is already allowing everything, including the idea of "me". We see that our struggle is only a small percentage of our experience and that this is all happening in an endless ocean of allowing. Being is and has always been allowing it all. When we are allowing, we include in our awareness what it is that is allowing, and that is Being-which is who we really are. This realization can be a very jolting experience or a very quiet one because Being is actually very familiar. Every moment of allowing has actually been a moment of experiencing Being. Paradoxically, what brings us beyond the struggle and unlocks the bigger view is realizing how much we enjoy identifying. Once we allow things to be the way they are, it is possible to admit that identification has been a lot of fun. The illusion of a separate self is an incredible act of creation. It has created the whole drama of human existence. It has inspired many of the great works of art and literature. We love to identify, but that doesn't mean we also don't suffer from it. This creation and projecting of a false identity-a me-is not a mistake. It's natural, spontaneous, and inherent in human nature. It's one of the richest parts of our experience-and there is also the even richer possibility of no longer mistaking the me as the totality of who we are. Identification isn't a mistake, and yet there is much more to life-and to us-than that experience. The larger Being that we truly are is always here.
Article Source: http://www.writedot.com
Internationally regarded spiritual guide, Nirmala has been offering Satsang and individual Spiritual Mentoring since 1998. He provides free spiritual books and many more ways to experience his teaching on endless-satsang.com. This and other unique content spirituality articles are available with free reprint rights.
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