Are you 'efforting'?

What this means is a mental striving, a mental exertion of 'I must do this in order to get that' or 'I have to work really hard in order to get my message across' or 'If I do nothing, I'm going to stay stuck' etc.

At its heart is a deep rooted fear, a lack of trust in the universe, which unfolds every moment in ways our little mind can only dream of.

Often, things happen to us 'unexpectedly', and these things, these designs from the universe have come to our avatar (this body) to do something with.
The people we meet, it's all down to chance - to where we were at the time. Did you sit down years ago and write a plan on how you met your current circle of friends? Or did you meet by pure universal wisdom?

Following the universal 'way' is what is known as Wu Wei, or the art of non-striving, the art of allowing what is happening to be happening without coercion, manipulation or trying to make something fit better. Any manipulation is just your ego trying to make things 'a bit more comfortable' for you - yet by merely being awareness you automatically make things more comfortable without any effort on your part: you merely let go of the fear (which are thoughts about past and future).

If you're constantly striving for change, you miss the present moment and all the gifts it bestows. You miss the interconnected presence, the timeless awareness that knows what to do and when to do it. You miss heart centred love at the highest vibration, and enter more deeper, darker, dense layers of vibration through the annoyances, frustrations and anxiety of 'trying to fix' and 'getting upset when your desired outcome doesn't happen'.

It's not up to 'you' to change the world: you 'are' the world and are not separate from it.

Therefore, by being present, by being peace, by being happy, you are changing the entire universe's vibration in those moments. Wonderful things will begin to happen for you (but also, importantly, for the collective).

If you continue striving and getting frustrated, or work too hard, you could burnout, get depressed, get judgmental with your life.

Time for a change. Let go of striving! Don't effort so much. Be, and enjoy your day - what is there to fix in this moment? Trust that the universe has your back; it knows what to do. Allow it! Just watch and be mindful of your thoughts - because your thoughts are what changes your world, not your 'efforting'!

The voice in your head

"The Voice in your head"

Do you listen to that voice in your head?
The fact you can listen to it proves it isn't the real you:

Watch it tumble over, overthink, muse and analyze,
Watch it struggling with problems, issues and criticize!

Smile at the voice in your head.
Thank you voice, for all your wonderful thoughts;
You're trying to keep me safe, and I respect you,
But I'm not going to follow you.
I don't believe in your plans or schemes.
It's ok, it's ok...come back to the body.
Let's just breathe for a while, and hug our anxious feelings.
Let's just settle, just for a moment.

Where, then, is this voice in your head?
Who is this voice?

I discover when I really look,
Nobody is there. Nothing is there.
Yet presence remains. Awareness remains.
Even when the voice is asleep, I exist.

So, who am I really?
I smile. I breathe. I be.

I'm the universe, I'm all life existing,
I'm spiralling into a myriad of forms and shapes,
I'm the cosmos deepening into consciousness,
I'm the smoke on the candle,
I'm the heat in the fire,
I'm the rain in the cloud,
I'm the nutrients in the soil,
I'm the life on the breath.

Timeless.
Timeless.
A joy of pure, unconditional bliss.

(By Craig Gilbert Sep 2024).

Musings in Autumn

 

The scenery and landscape is changing.

It reminds me of flow. Everything continues to change, to move; there's an inexplicable dance of magic that is not ours to control.

For this being, it's about letting go of attachment of warm, sunnier days, and embracing the new days with the same acceptance and equanimity. This is a practice; sometimes in the chill or the greyness I can wish for sunnier days...but if I notice I can smile at these thoughts and let them go.

There is no purpose in fighting what is. It's all going to change regardless, I may as well bow to the greater wisdom that's there and allow what is to be what is.

This is a wonderful lesson, if we choose to pause and observe, for everything in our life.

Holding on to moments from the past which are turning into memory is futile. We'll remember the ones we're meant to remember, learn from the things we're meant to learn from (if we see it truly) and the rest disappears into the void that we call 'time'.

Similarly, that longing for future sunshine and summer vibes is just that, a longing, and this too can be dropped for the fullness of this present moment.

The present moment is the only moment where we can observe life. Can we be with it fully, watching every colour, every shade, every shadow? Can we see the beauty and wonder that exists all the time, always here? Mindfulness invites us to do so. It is a way of letting go of conflict and existing with pure, untarnished awareness, which allows and accepts everything that comes.

Autumn then, is a visual reminder of such things: that being present is capturing the essence of movement, of the flow, to marvel at the incredible tapestry of life and experience it fully.  This, if managed, is a life well lived.

We are being held by a greater force that knows what to do, when to do it and how to do it. Every fluctuation of weather, of planetary movement, can affect the whole. It's all done with grace, with silence, without a fanfare - but it happens.

Trusting in this greater force is currently where I'm at (the 'I' being the smaller ego self that is my thinking mind) and letting go of control as completely as I can manage...giving in to this higher authority.  It has taken care of my whole life and continues to do so without any (necessary) input from me.

I muse often that the thoughts that enter this mind aren't mine (how can they be if 'I' does not exist?): especially when a new idea or creative urge arrives: where does it come from?

Deep gratitude and joy to everything seen, heard and felt - it's all part of an intricate design pushing ever onward, ever changing and evolving.

All we need to do is allow it to happen.

How to be?

 

How to be? True, absolute being-ness comes from beyond the thinking mind.

Thinking is always about the past or the future and never about the reality of NOW.

In the present moment, if we truly see it, we are meditating with whatever is here. As soon as we think about it, we are less present - unless, of course, we are aware of our thinking!

There are always two states we can live our life in: we are either thinking (and not aware but just following these thoughts sub-consciously) or we are consciously AWARE.

The more you live in awareness, the happier and healthier you become.

The more you live in thinking, the harder life is because we're always judging something, always wanting something different than what is here, always desiring more, always fearing something, always worrying, always doubting, always fixing...and so on, and so on. Too much thinking can lead to serious consequences in our health, our joy of life and our stress levels.

So...if you're thinking - first NOTICE you're thinking - then choose to let go of thoughts and come back to the present moment with your AWARENESS.

That is what meditation is.

Can you focus on what is happening now without thinking about it?

Let the thoughts be clouds in the sky and watch them go - why are you following them? What purpose do they serve?