Paying Attention
"“The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature.” - Joseph Campbell
When pain or panic appear to tighten their grip around possibility, when despair or desperation constricts your sense of life, when anxiety or agitation draws the peace right out of you, try placing your attention on your breath and observe the nearest thing.
Try watching a single leaf as it rustles softly in the wind. Watch the way the sole indentations inside a worn pair of shoes turn into the imprints of a soul, when stared at long enough. Watch how an object - once so treasured and loved - is calling for you to let it go. Watch each little thing, and after a while, notice how every thing and everything is yet another symbol and portal into the center we all share.
A vital and indispensable relationship exists between all things. If we are to observe anything with our whole Self - be it animals, plans, the human heart, hunger, or even a musical instrument - we will find that we share a core with these things that can only be described by a language that resides beneath words. The world - whether natural or manmade - is a boundless source of unique teachings, each formed of the same essence that is camouflaged in the open, patiently awaiting our total attention to show itself. By drinking from this source, the profound and united center within all things has revealed itself to me time and time again.
We so easily forget this common way of things and are guided by our insatiability and by universal providence back to the source so that we may once again experience and live in the space of being One with All.
We must learn to let in the Universe or be crushed by it. We must grow strong enough to love the world yet empty enough to come face to face with its worst horrors. Our destines and our being are bound inextricably with the beings and destinies of all things.
Mantra: I am one with all things. I am one with the Universe.
PS
"“The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature.” - Joseph Campbell
When pain or panic appear to tighten their grip around possibility, when despair or desperation constricts your sense of life, when anxiety or agitation draws the peace right out of you, try placing your attention on your breath and observe the nearest thing.
Try watching a single leaf as it rustles softly in the wind. Watch the way the sole indentations inside a worn pair of shoes turn into the imprints of a soul, when stared at long enough. Watch how an object - once so treasured and loved - is calling for you to let it go. Watch each little thing, and after a while, notice how every thing and everything is yet another symbol and portal into the center we all share.
A vital and indispensable relationship exists between all things. If we are to observe anything with our whole Self - be it animals, plans, the human heart, hunger, or even a musical instrument - we will find that we share a core with these things that can only be described by a language that resides beneath words. The world - whether natural or manmade - is a boundless source of unique teachings, each formed of the same essence that is camouflaged in the open, patiently awaiting our total attention to show itself. By drinking from this source, the profound and united center within all things has revealed itself to me time and time again.
We so easily forget this common way of things and are guided by our insatiability and by universal providence back to the source so that we may once again experience and live in the space of being One with All.
We must learn to let in the Universe or be crushed by it. We must grow strong enough to love the world yet empty enough to come face to face with its worst horrors. Our destines and our being are bound inextricably with the beings and destinies of all things.
- Observe an object in motion - water trickling from thawing ice on a rooftop; the gentle back and forth rocking of a swing in a playground; the spinning of a top or a turbine.
- Place your attention on your breath. Once centered, be aware of your heart beating.
- Slowly merge the beat of your own heart with the beat of what is before you until you see and feel your shared truth.
Mantra: I am one with all things. I am one with the Universe.
PS
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