Yesterday I got to spend time in my all-time favorite wonder of all wonders…..what is All This? Who am I? Where am I? Is it true?
Who would I be, what would I be, without thought, beyond thought?
Wow.
Either these are the most fun questions on the planet, or the most fun answers.
I am gathered in a small group of people who I adore. Even if I’m not sure of everyone’s family details or I don’t know major events in their lives.
It doesn’t matter.
There is a deep sense of everyone showing up with great love, being 100% in, committed to each other, listening to our hearts, accepting our minds, feeling our bodies, cherishing the words of the teacher we’re with (Ross Oldenstadt).
But the teacher is ultimately….the feeling of being alive.
Hearing the stories of awakening, searching and suffering from Ross and from the other people gathered is so intimate, like the sweetest thing I could ever taste in the world.
That moment.
And now….in my hotel room….
….Is this moment just as intimate, loving, spectacular, joyful?
Woah.
Yes.
If you aren’t sure you’re having a good moment today, maybe even right now as you read these words……double-check to see if it’s true that it’s not a good moment, or could be improved.
Are you sure?
Can you be absolutely positively sure?
How do you react when you believe THIS is not great. When you think it could be a little better. You could be more enlightened, other people could be nicer, the weather could be sunnier, you could be more successful, you could be healthier, you could be richer?
How do you react, what do you notice, when you think this isn’t that great, or that something is missing?
Dang.
Dissatisfied. Resentful. Gathering energy to renew forces on the Moment Improvement Project.
But what if right now was the most brilliant, stunning, loving, safe moment you could ever want or need?
Take a deep, deep breath and see if you can find the presence of loving kindness, tenderness, safety, joy, excitement, richness, abundance, and health….right now.
Not later, NOW.
In this room where I sit I hear a soft hum, very steady like a fan. The desk under my forearms as I type is cool and smooth. I smell the soap and feel clean after a shower. There are papers, a can of sardines, two apples, a hard drive, books, pens, a paper clip, someone’s business card.
Stuff is everywhere. The world is overflowing in this room, there is so much in here!
A screen brightly glowing that sends and receives messages to people and from people all over the world.
If you’re not sure this moment is amazing…don’t worry.
You don’t have to think anything. There’s nothing wrong with you if you’re a little disappointed with the moment. Or enraged.
“As long as you think that the cause of your problem is ‘out there’–as long as you think that anyone or anything is responsible for your suffering–the situation is hopeless. It means that you are forever in the role of victim, that you’re suffering in paradise.” ~ Byron Katie
As long as I think the cause of my problem is that there is something missing, in this moment (including inside me) I’m suffering in paradise.
I notice the very same thing I feel with all my friends here, and Ross, during retreat, I also feel right now, typing on my laptop, brushing my teeth.
“A prince who believes himself to be a beggar can be convinced conclusively in one way only: he must behave as a prince and see what happens….With experience will come confidence…” ~ Nisargadatta
What an awesome, fascinating, peaceful moment this is right now.
Maybe yours is too?
Check to see.
Love, Grace