Sunday, January 15, 2012

No Escape


What happens when we escape? Where do our emotions go, how does our life unfold, when we don't face the grit and grime that often is so thick in our present moment? Where do you escape? Do you lose yourself in a good book, do you watch TV, do you drink away your worries, do you spend excessive time on-line. There are many ways to escape, not all of them bad. But just like procrastination, escaping only temporarily solves our problem, and does not help us to evolve. One way of dealing with difficulty in our lives, can be simply to take a conscious breath. This creates space around our field of awareness. I breathe in, and observe. Have you ever been so angry that the words coming out of your mouth feel as though some demon has possessed you and mid stream you stop and realize how out of control you sound? Breathing in creates inner space. It creates awareness that there is something else besides our voices and thoughts that exist within our bodies. Breathing out gives time, precious space to the current moment, whether it be joyful or pain filled. We are not our thoughts. We are not our emotions. What are we? We are divine light, consciousness, an ever present inner energy that is formless, but full of knowing. Not knowing in the egoic way (the voice in our head that identifies us with our emotions and thoughts) But God knowing. This "God knowing" is quiet, is forgiving, and ever-present if we are able to calm the storm of thoughts in our heads. One way to look at it is this. If we can be the valley, where we look up and can observe the landscape around us, rather than being in the forest, or exalting ourselves on the highest mountain, we can attain peace. Observing and breathing brings us closer to our core, our essential nature. Dis-identifying with our emotions and thoughts help us to be in the valley, and lift others up. It doesn't mean we don't laugh or feel joy. On the contrary, we can feel this joy more fully as it surfaces and we don't get lost in the future or past events, or cling to the joyfulness, never wanting it to leave us. I encourage a breathing practice. It is simple and always available. I can't remember the last time I didn't have breath in my body, and if I did, I surely worked hard to get it back into my body! Our breath is the link to our soul. Breathe in create space, space around your situation, breathe out raw emotion(let it go). Breathe in, simply observe, breathe out, smile.