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?

The Practice of Non-Preference

The Practice of Non-Preference:

Life is always changing, always bringing something new to our door. It's therefore a wonderful practice to accept what comes, whatever it is, and allow it in.

When we prefer something over something, we're in our mind, and there's a judgment of what is here. We start to fight it!

For example, if you're having a lovely day, health is great, and then all of a sudden the next day you feel ill, we often go into our mind and judge: "Oh, but I was well yesterday, now what is this? I'm not better. I'm feeling worse. What have I done? What can I do to make myself feel better?" We instantly disapprove of the 'feeling worst' and want it to disappear.

You feel better by feeling the worst. In the universe's eyes, there is no better or worse, there is just now and what happens now.

It's interesting, but we're always looking to the future, to try and mould it, shape it and control it so we 'feel good, happy and healthy' and anything that runs contrary to this we object to.

Stop objecting. Just be where you are. Everything comes to you for a reason and everything is coming to stay just for a little while before heading off again.

Practice non-preference. Embrace all the highs, all the lows, all the 'betters' and all the 'worst'.

Miraculously, what seems to come after doing this is a peaceful equanimity, a joyful presence that is kind and compassionate to whatever comes.

What are you objecting to today? Can you embrace it, allow it to be, without judgment? See how this makes you feel.