battling the past vs. meeting the present

ten million years of ignorance and fear cannot stand up to a single moment of unguarded sincerity and the purity of love it reveals. the return to innocence is inspired by our innate perfection only as it reveals itself now, and is not achieved through the negation of our imperfect tendencies of the past. the ignorance of the past is what kept us from realization then, and only continues to exercise power over us until we release its hold on our identity. what has been done cannot and need not be undone, but this moment holds infinite and unlimited potential for new movement to take root. even the longest and most breathtaking journeys, however, begin with a single, simple step.

the supermystical power of loving the ordinary

spirituality is often sold as a journey of epic proportions full of incredible experiences and - if you're really lucky and extra special - even the promise of mystical powers. and who wouldn't love becoming some kind of superhuman? there's probably not a single person on the planet who at some point hasn't fantasized about it.

but what a disappointment when those who have been seduced into spiritual practice by the lure of escaping their boring daily lives and becoming something more than what they are now find that legitimate spiritual discipline involves exactly the opposite: being content with what is and realizing what we already are (basically, not demanding any changes from life).

after all, what's innovative about striving for something outside of ourselves to achieve happiness? whether we're looking beyond our immediate experience in hopes of getting a new possession, altering our present circumstance to better fit our desires, securing a higher social status, or attaining enlightenment is of relatively little significance. in each case, we're telling ourselves that what we have now isn't good or complete enough and withdrawing our own permission to feel truly satisfied with life until we reach our goal - which is always "out there," whether it be in space or time.

despite the fact that it's very often distorted as such, real spirituality is not an incentive program. it is perhaps the only mode of living available that's not based on the philosophy of devaluing what we have now in order to arrive at a more satisfactory future.

spiritual awakening will never, ever result from overlooking what is. because what is?

reality!

and how can you know reality without coming face to face with it? how can you ever even come close to knowing something if all you're doing is not only ignoring it, but actively running away from it?

working towards incentives is great, but not when it comes to your intrinsic sense of happiness and contentment towards life. if your basic sense of completeness and satisfaction depends on getting something other than what you have now, knowing something other than what you know now, or becoming something other than what you are now, you're screwed. you'll never get there. you'll keep on grasping and grasping and never be one inch closer to happiness.

the good news is, you'll never be one inch further away from it either. happiness is simply realizing what you are and being at peace with that (and you will always be what you are no matter what behavior you engage in, or fail to engage in for that matter). not superficially of course, as in "i'm a sensitive guy who works at a bank and likes gardening on sundays." realizing what you truly are implies discarding every last layer of artificial and misplaced identification and stumbling finally upon that to which nothing can be added or subtracted - that which remains unaffected regardless of what does or doesn't happen in your life - that which cannot win or lose but always, simply, is.

it's not beautiful, it's not amazing, it's not tear-jerking. (it's not ugly or boring either.) it doesn't solve all the problems in your life, and it may even create a few new complications. it doesn't give you special powers and raise you above all the messy flotsam and jetsam of everyday life (you're still gonna have to pay your taxes and wipe your ass). people won't look at you differently after you realize it and stand in awe of your power.

it's just the simple truth, and that's all.

but it will help you fold your laundry better, and it may even make scratching your nose a more joyful experience.

away and back again

our spiritual quest often leads us to perceive ourselves as separate from or more special than the common 'herd,' interested mostly in worldly superficialities.

actually, identifying oneself as beyond the status quo in some form or another is common practice.

the less we block our true nature, the more we realize how very much like everyone else we are. we find that we have even more in common with others than we thought before we started our spiritual journey, gradually perceiving less of a difference between ourselves and others.

as we see things with more clarity, our judgment towards others evaporates. whether they be absolutely 'ignorant' or fully 'enlightened,' we smile fondly at their misgivings and rejoice lovingly in their beauty.

the looooooooooong spiritual journey

this great long spiritual journey, this epic pilgrimage of the soul which gives us such a great sense of specialness, the whole process of transformation, gradual liberation through insights, climbing upwards, residing in the higher centers of the brain, expanding our consciousness, opening ourselves to the energy of the universe... and on and on and on and on... is a pretty complicated thing.

what is called “self-realization” is actually pretty simple. it consists of seeing what’s always been there, what’s been so all-pervadingly present in every moment that the complexities of the mind have been able to rob attention from it.