During recent months of self discovery, I've found that working with others opens vast gateways into my own awareness. The other day I was practicing with a close friend. We simply guided each other in a body awareness meditation. With our eyes closed, we focused our awareness on the simple task of sensing the existence of the right hand. Feeling the hand (without moving or using it), and connecting to it with a deeper realization, one can actually breathe into the tips of the fingers. Through this simple act of becoming aware of a body part, we are able to make solid contact with our true nature. Our experiencing, or the awareness of all experiences, is who we really are.
The more I learn from others the richer my life becomes. Each day I wake with vigor for a fresh start to the new day. I look forward to every opportunity to meet someone new, experience something unknown or question the status quo. Living by the mantra, "I know nothing; and therefore, anything is possible," I mindfully keep my life in constant flow. There are NO bad days.
"When we have arrived at the question, the answer is already near." -Ralph Waldo Emerson
Currently I'm struggling with re-learning algebra. I don't use it regularly, so like the foreign language classes of high school, algebra has long been forgotten. But I must display a solid understanding of math, reading comprehension and creative writing in order to obtain a California substitute teaching credential.
"Learning teaches you how to learn." -Jerry Brown
I believe real learning only occurs when both the teacher and the student are taught. We all have within us the inherent ability to be our own therapists. In Buddhism, we dedicate the positive energy from the teachings of the Buddha to attain enlightenment as quickly as possible for the benefit of all sentient beings. And what is enlightenment? Simply put, the goal is to return to our true nature, recognizing our noble birthright of freedom in any given moment. We practice to develop a mind which functions using all the positive qualities and is free from all negative states.
Aside from the time spent on my studies, lately I've been very fortunate to share the practice of mindfulness meditation with a close friend living in another country. I am so excited with the progress she has made. When we first met up via Skype, she shared her feelings of being scared and anxious on a daily basis. She holds a position of authority in the field of education, yet she was constantly concerned about the reactions and mind-made stories she perceived others to think about her. As a result she used a lot energy trying to cope with the emotions generated from these thoughts.
Following our initial "sitting" of merely a few short moments of deep breathing, she wept tears of joy and immediately re-connected with a her true essence. I was amazed and overcome with happiness in her quick progress. In the months since, she has touched some very deep places in her meditation practice. While working together, she has expanded my concept of mindfulness of the body. As someone who felt as if he lived merely above the neck, I now regurlarly enjoy sensing the connection between my thinker and my body. For this and countless other reasons, I am truly blessed to have her in my life today.
"Coming together is a beginning;
keeping together is progress;
working together is success."
-Henry Ford
In eternal togetherness,
Carl
