Expressing our true nature
Self loathing, social anxiety, embarrassment, and regret. I have felt them all strongly in my life. I think the misery of these mental states comes from the assumption of a better self. If only I was able to express my true self, life would be fulfilling. But, before we know it, we have been moulded by our genes and our environment and thrust into the world. So what is this ideal by which we judge ourselves?
Shunryu Suzuki posited that Zazen (sitting meditation) itself is a direct expression of our true nature. And the peace that regular practice has brought makes me see great wisdom in this teaching. When we meditate we are expressing something that cannot be articulated well with words.
In mindfulness meditation we sit in an alert posture and attempt to observe the breath and anything that arises. Through that very intent we accept that control is an illusion. We acknowledge that thoughts, sensations and emotions arise spontaneously. This expresses an unravelling of the volitional self.
We note the transience of everything that arises. A distressing memory, physical pain, an irritating itch, or even bliss. Everything ebbs and flows and so we learn to stop grasping. By repeatedly letting go we express the impermanence of anything that can be known through direct experience.
By softening our heart and seeding it with compassion, we express our true feelings for life.
Acknowledging the spontaneity and impermanence of experience, with this background hum of compassion, we have already detached from the contents of consciousness and are expressing our fundamental state of being; a vast continuumofchange, ineffable and far removed from our usual flawed self.
Oddly, we may not notice that the facade has dropped away. The thoughts that arise may be unenlightened. We may be setting new goals or expecting an altered state of consciousness. But consider that we are able to express all that was mentioned by simply sitting with an alert posture and a beginner's curiosity about our own mind. That should not be possible if we were truly separate selves enclosed in a shell!
So just practice to express your true nature. And bring your practice to the fore in ordinary moments of life.
Shunryu Suzuki posited that Zazen (sitting meditation) itself is a direct expression of our true nature. And the peace that regular practice has brought makes me see great wisdom in this teaching. When we meditate we are expressing something that cannot be articulated well with words.
In mindfulness meditation we sit in an alert posture and attempt to observe the breath and anything that arises. Through that very intent we accept that control is an illusion. We acknowledge that thoughts, sensations and emotions arise spontaneously. This expresses an unravelling of the volitional self.
We note the transience of everything that arises. A distressing memory, physical pain, an irritating itch, or even bliss. Everything ebbs and flows and so we learn to stop grasping. By repeatedly letting go we express the impermanence of anything that can be known through direct experience.
By softening our heart and seeding it with compassion, we express our true feelings for life.
Acknowledging the spontaneity and impermanence of experience, with this background hum of compassion, we have already detached from the contents of consciousness and are expressing our fundamental state of being; a vast continuumofchange, ineffable and far removed from our usual flawed self.
Oddly, we may not notice that the facade has dropped away. The thoughts that arise may be unenlightened. We may be setting new goals or expecting an altered state of consciousness. But consider that we are able to express all that was mentioned by simply sitting with an alert posture and a beginner's curiosity about our own mind. That should not be possible if we were truly separate selves enclosed in a shell!
So just practice to express your true nature. And bring your practice to the fore in ordinary moments of life.
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| Photo from www.freepik.com |
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