Listening: Do I hear what they are saying, or what my own inner-filter is saying?

The need for control seems to be a lifelong battle and struggle for many of us. We look upon the actions of others and indeed our own actions with the eye of judgment; ever watchful that we do what in our minds we perceive as being right. when we do not act in accordance with our point of view of was right, we then feel guilt, propelling us into a cycle of negative behaviour.

It is much easier to point our lens of focus – our lens of judgment – toward the actions of others. This ease of looking at others as opposed to ourselves is the initial, natural supposition in the way we view life, as one of course cannot look at their own eye with their own eye. And so we look at others. Indeed we only know ourselves by how we know and what we know, from others. Everything which enters into the eye and to the mind creates our perception of truth, reality, and who we are.

But there still seems to be something, some pervasive voice telling us that what we see is not how life should be. There are socially agreed upon notions of morality and proper behaviour which we learn in early childhood, demanding that we judge the world outside of thinking skull. In conversations of religious, political, or scientific topics we listen to what a person is saying to determine whether or not we agree or disagree. But what they are saying is not what we agree or disagree with; rather, our own interpretation of their words is what we are attempting to reach a conclusion towards. And so we are not really listening to them at all but to ourselves – to our own chatter in the skull.

Thich Nhat Hanh is a Zen Master with great insight into “deep listening”:

In our interactions with one another, how can we truly listen to what each other is saying? How can we pause our judgments in order to more deeply investigate, inquire, and truly hear what another is saying? I might even go so far as to say that we may never reach a point of making a judgment about what another human being has said, unless we only hear what they superficially are saying. Conversation is a lifelong relational journey we take with one another. If our initial inclination is to make a judgment about what another says, let us ask ourselves, what is important? Is it important that I let them know my judgment, my conclusion about what they have said according to my own interpretation, or is it important that I investigate what they think with them? Is it more important that I do not judge, but place myself in their shoes to understand what they are saying as we learn from one another?

Can we recognize the content of words apart from the ego who offers them?

The word preaching to me, has a certain connotation. It has an inference that one is giving a message to others they think others ought to believe or adhere to. Certainly, there are definitions of preaching which differ from this connotation that I perceive, but this is the sense to which I am addressing what it means to preach. This connotation to preaching is why I say I do not like preaching.

A criticism of the preacher is often that he does not practice what he preaches (please forgive the sexist “he” as I mean this pronoun in a more inclusive sense). But I feel that we as writers and speakers must give the message of which we believe we have to give, in the same way that a stream of water gives water to the thirsty traveler. I wish not to write with a purpose of giving instruction or or teaching that you ought to receive; rather, that I have thoughts and as the stream quenches the thirst of the hiker, perhaps the words I write may at some time inspire others to a greater understanding of what these words mean, even if it is a meaning that I myself do not yet grasp.

If one does not practice what they preach, is their message invalidated? If their message, although perhaps not lived by the speaker, their words may still inspire others to a greater depth of understanding life. So can we recognize the content of words apart from the ego who offers them?

Finding Out Where You Are

Living in the present – the Now – becomes easy when we realize that it is the only place we always are. No matter how hard we try, with out thoughts about the future, and remembrance of the past, we are always only living in this present moment. It’s the only place we will never leave.

Thoughts can make us lose our senses. Our senses touch, smell, taste, and feel only what is happening now. When we stop to listen to what is happening around us, feeling our connection to life, our mind is set at rest. Do you see where you are? Do you see what is happening? Do you see this miracle called life?

You are this miracle. Not simply something trapped within a box of skin which eats, sleeps, and drinks, but something that is EVERYTHING. Everything in the whole of nature depends upon everything else. We often define and identify ourselves with our personality. Which is to say we identify ourselves with our thoughts and abstract concepts of who we think we are and how others perceive us to be. We are given a name and an identity by our surroundings and this constructs our conception of who we are. But the Real You is something far beyond simple thoughts limited by human creations of language and symbols. The Real You is everything that is happening right now in the universe, the nothingness and the somethingness, the good and the bad, the here and the now.

We only truly come to our senses when we are living in the present. When our thoughts live in the future, we live in a reality that does not exist, which some might call living away from reality or insanity. Reality is the bird who swoops down from its’ perch once it has discovered a source of food on the ground. Reality is the sound of a tree rustling in a strong breeze. Reality is your lungs exhaling and inhaling back and forth.

When we stop trying to force our will upon existence we live in harmony with the present. We begin to live as the heart beats. The heart does not beat because we tell it to or compel it to function by force, it beats of its’ own doing. It does not worry about the future or whether or not there may come a day that it ceases to function,as we might worry about our finances or physical circumstances. The heart does what it is meant to do – beat. And that is how nature functions, how the universe functions, and how we ourselves function. But we can choose whether or not we let go of our own concepts of control in order to live in-step with this natural order of things.

In Step With the Wind

The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit. – Jesus, John 3:8

What does it mean to live as the wind blows? Does the wind itself control where it goes? Where did you come from? Where are you going?

Do you walk through this life as though you are the wind, free and present? Do you live as though your past creates your present, or as your present creates your past? “The wind blows wherever it pleases…” not because it intends to arrive at a particular place, nor because of where it has been. The wind moves for the same reason that people dance or compose music.

If the goal of playing music were to reach the end of the song, those who play the fastest would be considered the greatest musicians. But the purpose of music is to enjoy the journey, each fluctuating pulsating tone of sound. In our society, especially within religious circles,

We in the West live within a culture of insecurity and people searching for meaning in their lives of commercialism and advertising.  We are constantly bombarded with the phrase “God has a purpose for you.” But the word purpose can be looked upon from different perspectives.

There is the perspective of purpose all-too-common in western culture, which is a so-called “mission statement” or, pre-defined purpose we accept for our lives. A purpose of something we are supposed to do in order to bring fulfillment into our hearts. But perhaps in that sense – the one we are most often sold – can be very dangerous. It can create a mentality that we must take matters into our own hands to in a way impose our will upon nature.

There is another sense of purpose or, purposeless, in which we find our life’s meaning not in an intellectual concept or definition, but in the simplicity of how nature functions. When we look at our lungs breathing in and out, not because we will them to, but because it is simply their nature to do so. That is the sense of purpose I am speaking of here. A sense of purpose which does not make us feel that we have control over what is happening; rather, that we can get in line with what is happening here and now. We can recognize our life as being in unison with the lungs breathing, the heart beating, and vast ocean that is all of life and existence.

Live as the wind blows.

Related articles

• Witch(ever) Way The Wind Blows (eclecticeccentricity.typepad.com)
• The Wind and The Sun (green29855.wordpress.com)
• Paul Tripp on “The Biggest Challenge Facing the Church Today” (timmybrister.com)
• Wherever the winds blows – A guest poem (magicandmarvels.wordpress.com)
• Where the Wind Blows (keithgarrettpoetry.com)

What Is Your Solution?

This week I have been speaking with many different people who seem to be experience quite a bit of stress deriving from problems within their daily lives. The perception which they have expressed is that their problems are being caused by the action or inaction of others; family members and friends. Yet, if we are ourselves are experiencing a problem or point of stress, blaming others for that experience is the result of our own desire to control our surroundings. We complain because we want the actions of others to be different and aligned with how we think others should live, and when that is out of our control, we want to bring it back within what we can manage.

Stress and suffering are created within our heart because we do no want to let go. The actions of others do not in themselves effect us, rather; we allow them to have their influence in what is happening within us. Which is not to say that our environment does not intrinsically influence who we are, but that we can either flow with that environment or we can seek to control it. That is our choice.

When we seek understanding of the actions of others we begin a journey to get down to the root of what is happening, why it is happening, and how we can move forward to bring resolution to what is frustrating our thinking. Our solution is to live in harmony with one another. In order to live harmoniously, we must be free from the desire to control what is happening in our lives.

Control is rooted in our fear. We all want to live as free people, but this freedom can also be quite scary to many of us. We want to know that we are secure and know what is going, and so we seek control. But as soon as we know what is happening, and place a concrete definition to it, we begin to live in a world of illusion. Reality is not something to be defined in a sentence nor paragraph because it is beyond all concepts, words, things, and thoughts. It is from reality that we live, but we often become bamboozled into believing that our thoughts are reality, that our name and body is our identity, and that we are in control of our environment.

Writing on the subject of liberation is like attempting to tell the story of what you felt when you fell in love with someone, in terms of words. I could write the most poetic and inspiring book on the story, but you still would not have the smallest percent of true understanding on what I truly felt. Liberation is simply understood. Love is simply understood. Life is simply understood. And everything in the universe, implies these forces which shape, play, and continue our experience.

When a problem in your life arises, what is your solution? Where is your liberation? Where is your love and understanding? Where is your heart?

Related articles

• How Do Your Thoughts Affect You? (tracywebb255.wordpress.com)
• Give Up And Be Happy (glowville.wordpress.com)
• 3 Simple Steps to Banish Negativity (inc.com)

What The “Word” Says the “Word” Is

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life,and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

– John 1:1-5

Most often when we hear those of the Christian belief use the term “The Word” they are referring to the sixty-six books of the Bible. But of course, there is nothing within these sixty-six books which tells us they are in fact “The Word.” What the Bible does clearly state, in the above quoted verses, is that “The Word” of God is “He” who was with God in the beginning. It goes on to tell us that Through “him” all things were made. Therefore, one could logically presume that all things are in fact, “The Word.” You are “The Word” as I am “The Word.”

As Christians we naturally presume the Bible to be either the inspired or literal “Word of God” thus, we also assume that “The Word” is the Bible. However, given that the Bible was not formed until 300 years after the books of the New Testament were written, it is perfectly obvious why, according to the books in the Bible, this is not possibly the case being made.

You Are The Word

Many of us have a sort of insecure view of ourselves and because of this insecurity  we think that by attributing truth as being something else, something other than who we are or through whom we were made, we are somehow being humble. But what this truly produces is not humility but, humiliation. The “Word of God” – regardless of if you believe it to be the Bible or not – goes far beyond the sixty-six books of the Bible. You are the very Word of God living, breathing, and playing out this form of a human being. Just as Jesus Christ was God playing out what it is like to live as a human being to save them from their plight, you also are the Word of God existing for the same purpose.

The “gospel” which we commonly hear is one of institutionalized guilt, condemning you for your sin and selling a pedestalized Christ for you to accept and be made clean once again (until the next time you make a mistake). But the real gospel is simply this:

“We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”  Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”’? If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside— what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world?

The Real Gospel is that you are in fact this marvelous creation, this walking, talking Word of God living in this world. This Kingdom of God is not something you can say is over there but it is within you. You only have to recognize it. Once you recognize it, you see who you really are, and you begin to truly live.