My Mother

 Image from Lucy's album - Mum with Lucy and Annette

  Image from Lucy's album - Mum with Fr David

 Image from Lucy's album - Mum with Mary Ann (Sr Michelle)

My sister, Mary Ann, taught me the poem, My Mother, and coached me to recite it for public performance when I was a little kid of about six.  

I loved it then and I love it now.  Most of all, I love how true it has been for me and my mum.  

My darling, sweetest angel mum, you were my first love in human form. I have adored you all my life and can only love and adore you more and more!  

Thank you for showing me the true meaning of unconditional love.  Thank you for being the bedrock of my life.  

Thank you for the humour you infected me with through your watchful eye, your sharp mind and your playful spirit despite all the suffering you experienced from the time you were orphaned at four.  

Thank you my darling, thank you.  I am eternally grateful.

MY MOTHER

by Ann Taylor

Who sat and watched my infant head
When sleeping on my cradle bed,
And tears of sweet affection shed?
My Mother.

When pain and sickness made me cry,
Who gazed upon my heavy eye,
And wept for fear that I should die?
My Mother.

Who taught my infant lips to pray
And love God’s holy book and day,
And walk in wisdom’s pleasant way?
My Mother.

And can I ever cease to be
Affectionate and kind to thee,
Who was so very kind to me,
My Mother?

Ah, no! the thought I cannot bear,
And if God please my life to spare
I hope I shall reward they care,
My Mother.

When thou art feeble, old and grey,
My healthy arm shall be thy stay,
And I will soothe thy pains away,
My Mother. 

Thanks darling Netty for teaching me this poem....I wonder if you knew back then what beautiful imprints it set in my tender mind...imprints that only predisposed me to appreciate ever more and more the wonder and beauty of our darling mum!

Why don’t I do the things that I know are good for me?

Image from Lucy's album

Please Note: This is Part 1 of a 2-part post

Why don’t I eat a balanced diet when I know it is good for me?

Why don’t I eat organic food when I know it is good for me?

Why don’t I learn to enjoy my own company when I know that it is good for me instead of constantly seeking the company of other people or things?

Why don’t I exercise daily when I know that it is good for me?

Why don’t I do work that truly inspires me when I know that it is good for me?

Why don’t I spend time in meditation daily when I know that it is good for me?

Do you sometimes find yourself asking these rather inconvenient and disturbing questions?  If so, what is your response?

Let me take a guess.  I suspect it would be one or more of the following:

·       You mentally grimace and then return to what you’d been doing or find something else that might absorb you more fully so your mind doesn’t stray to these kinds of troublesome thoughts

·       You chastise yourself for not doing what you ‘should’ do and continue on as usual

·       You think of reasons why you’re not doing them, for example:

You don’t have enough time.

You don’t know how.

You don’t think you’ll succeed.

It’s too hard.

You’re not entirely convinced that they’re good for you anyway.

You don’t think it’s that urgent, perhaps when you’re older or retired or when the kids have grown up or…

    

·       You reason with your mind that these propositions are not necessarily true, for example:

Aunt Milly never ate organic food and she lived till 99.

Grandad never exercised and he seemed fit.

I can’t afford to do the work I really like because there’s no money (or not enough money for the lifestyle I want) in it

Well, I’ve tried meditation before and I just couldn’t do it.  Besides, it’s not for everyone.

What’s wrong with seeking company? 

     Well, with respect to the last 2 dot points, if the reasoning satisfies you or if you believe there is    nothing you can do about it, then perhaps reading on might be a waste of time.

If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it. Right?

But, if you’re willing to explore the question a little further (and this will mean suspending your current ways of thinking and beliefs), then let’s keep going.

Urgency

If you knew that your house was about to be hit by a tidal wave and that the water it brought inland would leave your house flooded for days, what would you do?

You’d vacate in a hurry, wouldn’t you?  And you’d try to salvage whatever you could in the little time that you had.  And if there wasn’t any time or if you didn’t believe that there was, you’d leave empty handed, wouldn’t you?

That kind of behavior reflects your sense of urgency.  You know there’s little or no time.  You’ve got to act fast.  Super fast.

Urgency is one thing that we lack or fail to have an appreciation for when it comes to choosing to do the things that we know are good for us.

Why?

Why don’t we have a sense of urgency when it comes to these choices?

Here are the reasons in dot point which I shall elaborate on individually later:

·       Intangibility

·       Ignorance

·       Delusion

For now, I’d like to take a brief but necessary detour.

Vedanta

In the ancient Indian spiritual tradition, there is well developed system of inquiry into the discovery of Self-Knowledge which can also be understood as Liberation (freedom from suffering in all its forms).  It is known as Vedanta. 

Some of its more notable students are Ramakrishna, Aurobindo, Anandamayi Ma, Nityananda, and Neem Karoli Baba, several of whom brought their wisdom and presence to the west.  Deepak Chopra is also a student of Vedanta.

One of the teachings (and subject of inquiry) in Vedanta is that limited action towards a limited goal can only provide limited benefits. 

As an example, completing a course of study is a limited goal.  The actions that are taken toward such a goal can only be limited i.e. certain amounts of study within certain amounts of time will help us achieve such a goal. 

The benefits that we gain are correspondingly limited – we have a limited amount of new information which we are able to use in a limited number of ways and which may benefit a limited number of people.

Now, Vedanta contrasts this and almost every kind of goal we have in life (examples of which are mentioned in the list of questions that I posed right at the start of this post) with the goal of self-knowledge which is a limitless goal.

Why is this a limitless goal? 

Because the self is limitless and knowledge about the self is limitless.  Additionally, the benefits of such a limitless goal are also limitless.  

(Think about the implications of this in relation to your desire for freedom, peace, joy, creativity...)

The question that I did not ask right at the start and which is probably the most important of all is:

Why don’t I give my time and energy to the discovery of myself, to Self knowledge, when I know that it is good for me?

Put another way,

Why don’t I give my time and energy to dispelling my ignorance of my Self, my true nature, which will effectively eliminate all my suffering when I know that it is good for me?

The reasons are, as I stated above, to do with:

·       Intangibility

·       Ignorance

·       Delusion

Now let me explain each one.

INTANGIBILITY

Knowledge about myself, my true nature, is intangible.  It cannot be measured or evaluated by our systems of measurement.  And unlike some other forms of ‘knowledge’, it does not seem to have a monetary or practical value and thus no tangible reward. 

In the world that we live in where money is necessary for our survival, self-knowledge does not have currency.  It is an indulgence that few can afford.

IGNORANCE

We do not really understand what self-knowledge is and that is understandable.  How could we when we don’t have it! 

Neither do we understand the nature and extent of our Ignorance.

Now this is important because it is this Ignorance that gives rise to our suffering in all its forms – from the irritation of an insect bite to the existential loneliness or hopelessness into whose pits we may fall from time to time.

Self-knowledge is the only antidote to our Ignorance.

DELUSION

We live with the delusion that

·       This physical/material world is the only ‘real’ world and the only one that ‘really’ matters

·       We do not need Self-knowledge

·       Our suffering is the result of not having enough or the right kinds of limited goals (please refer above to what is meant by limited goals and examples of them)

·       Security and pleasures (‘aartha’ and ‘kama’ respectively in Vedanta) are the most important and meaningful goals in our lives

·       Is fed by one form of limited goal or another or treated/relieved by one kind of prescription or another whether psychological, intellectual, medical or physical

·       Self-knowledge (whatever that is) is hard to pursue and can never reward us with the kinds of security and pleasures that we seek.  On the contrary it will deny us these very things, leaving us with a sense of nihilism

·       We have time to pursue Self-knowledge…when we have accomplished all the other limited goals in life

Part 2 will follow in due course.  Watch this space J

Becoming the Ideal Human Being

Image from Lucy's album

Imagine for a moment, the ideal human being.  What do you see?

Please do not continue reading until you’ve taken a few moments to really imagine this, taking note of your feelings as the image of the ideal human being is constructed in your mind, as you see more and more of what you want in such a person.

Doesn’t it feel good?  Wonderfully good? J

Hmmm…so, is it possible? 

Is it possible to become this ideal human being? 

Don’t dismiss it just because you think/believe that it is going to be difficult. 

My question is: Do you think it is possible?  Not, Do you think it will be difficult?

So, assuming that it is possible, that you believe that it is possible, let’s explore how we might achieve this highly desirable outcome – the ideal human being.

Notice, I haven’t bothered to state what the ideal human being is like.  I haven’t presented a list of characteristics or qualities of such a person.  Why?

Because the ideal human being already exists – a creation in god/love’s own image.  A creation that arises from the ground of being which you may call ‘god’, ‘brahman’, ‘ultimate reality’ or ‘divine consciousness’.

How do we unveil the ideal human being?

So, the question is how do we realize or unfold such a creation, the ideal human being which already exists in each one of us, or as they say in Buddhism, how do we realize our ‘buddha’ nature?

Each time we sit in meditation practice, after bringing ourselves to a state of gratitude, I remind us to leave aside whatever motivations we have come to our practice with and embrace a new motivation.

This motivation, expressed so beautifully in the Buddhist Prayer of Motivation, reminds us of our interconnectedness, our oneness and our common desire for happiness.  It also reminds us that the cause of our suffering is our failure to realize our true, fundamental nature (the nature of the ideal human being, if you like J).

This is the prayer that I say:

By the power and truth of this practice,

may all enjoy happiness and the causes of happiness.
May all be free from suffering
and the causes of suffering

May all never be separated from the great happiness

devoid of all suffering
And may all dwell in the great equanimity which is free from 
craving and attachment, hatred and aversion, prejudice and ignorance.

I always make it a point to explain what is meant by ignorance, our ‘fundamental ignorance’. 

It is the ignorance of who and what we truly are – the nature of god, our Buddha nature, our Brahman nature, our ultimate reality.

Until and unless we can experience our true nature, if only briefly, we will have no alternative narrative to the narrative of our conditioned existence.  We will have no TRUTH to overturn the compelling story (a myth really), that we have been crafting and telling from our birth.

So, it becomes important for those of us who are seriously keen to be happy and not just sporadically happy but lastingly happy, to realize our true nature.  Without that, we will continue to live in our ‘false-hood’, as ‘not ideal’ human beings!

The TRUTH begins and ends in the reality of non-separation. 

In modern quantum physics, this is called the ‘unified field’.

This is the state of consciousness in which the Knower, the Known and the Knowing are all one. 

You, as the subjective ‘knower’, see something – the objective ‘known’ in the process of ‘knowing’.

Huh?  All double Dutch?  Gobbledygook??  Irrelevant?

Well, let’s look at it this way.  You’ve heard about gravity?  Perhaps understood it to some degree?  Right. 

Now, you don’t need to think about gravity to go about your daily business like walking, driving or lifting, do you?

Yet, gravity, whether you think about it or not is at work. And for the most part, you can ‘blissfully’ carry on living without paying any attention to it. 

After all, other people have designed cars and airplanes and hydraulic lifts and escalators to make your life so much easier to live without having to give gravity a second thought.  Right?  Of course J

Well, until perhaps you have to personally work against gravity, like climbing up a hill or the stairs (when the escalator goes bung J). 

Oops! Now, it starts to hurt.  And, true, you needn’t know a fig about gravity, but, like it or not, you’re now confronted with its impact on you. 

What do you do?  Curse and swear at gravity? 

Or find ways of working with it, being in harmony with it?

So it is with our truth, the principles of our true nature. 

So long as you’re not aware of your true nature, you will remain a victim of your ignorance, your conditioned existence, your compelling myth, your falsehood.

(Ever wondered why its got 'hood' in it???  Yep...J)

You will live your life as if things are not in your control and you will find that things do go bung often, in big ways and small:

Someone irritates you.  Your child is not making the decisions you think s/he should be making.  The government is behaving irresponsibly.  Life is unfair.  You should have done this and shouldn’t have done that.  You’re ill.  Your partner is ill and dying.  Your dog has fleas.  The world is an unsafe place to be in and you should be constantly protecting yourself.  You can’t trust the food you eat.  You are doomed to get the dreaded ‘C’ no matter what you do.  Someone’s lied to you...again.  Someone’s overlooked your contributions, your intelligence, your kindness…

These are all undesirable threads in your continuing (and mostly repetitive) narrative, your personal, victim story.

Oh, but I don’t see myself as a victim, you protest. 

Right.  So, you do see yourself as free, as fearless, as joyous, as creative, as self-determining so that you never get disappointed when things don’t go your way?  So that you are always happy no matter what happens?

I’ll leave you to answer that.

Meanwhile,

Knower, Known, Knowing.

From the ground of unity, from the unified field, all things arise through the agency of thought, intent.

And when, as the ideal human being, you consciously offer thought and intent in the unified field of being, you offer it not just for yourself but all other beings!

When, as the ideal human being, you realize that the outer world is not ‘out there’ but within you, you cease to reject it, to quarrel with it, to distrust it, no more than your eye would quarrel with your finger, your liver distrust your toe!

When, as the ideal human being, you, the Knower, feel the power and presence of every object, every piece of information, every movement, every situation, every ‘Known’ because each and everything is of the Unified whole, of the Unified You, the unified Self, you think, speak and act as an integrated whole, with infinite potentiality!

Now that is powerful.  That is liberating.  That is creative.  That is living in harmony with the truth of your true nature.  That is being the ideal human being.

Can we learn how to do this?  Can we teach our children how to do this?  Can we breed world leaders, educators and entrepreneurs who know this?  Can we start now? 

You bet. 

Every meditation practice offers us the opportunity.  Every moment of conscious breathing offers us the opportunity.  Every moment of awareness where Knower, Known and Knowing are one offers us the opportunity.

Are you ready to become the ideal human being?

PS If not, what's the alternative? J

If you're not feeling good, you're not feeling good-ness!

Image from Lucy's album

If you’re not feeling good, you’re not feeling good. 

Stating the bleeding obvious?  Perhaps.  Then again, perhaps it is not always so obvious.

Let’s try it this way:

If you’re not feeling good, you’re not feeling good-ness J

See what I mean?

If you’re not feeling good, chances are you’re not seeing and feeling and APPRECIATING the goodness within you and around you.

Instead, you’re focused almost exclusively on all that you perceive to be ‘not good’, to be awful, ugly, painful, undesirable, inconvenient, evil…

And what do you know about what you focus on? 

That’s right.  You get more of it. 

Focus is the summoning of energy to the object of focus. 

What you focus on, you create and get more of.  (They should be teaching this stuff in schools!)

Right, so, when you’re focused on what you have learnt to see as ‘problematic’, ’undesirable’, ‘ugly’, ‘unwanted’, ‘awful’, you summon energy to its continued presence.

But, when you focus instead on what you want, what you see as desirable, wanted, beautiful and life-giving, you summon energy to its continued presence.

You cannot see and feel and focus on your illness and expect to summon energy to wellness.

You cannot see and feel and focus on poverty and expect to summon energy to wealth.

You cannot see and feel and focus on war and conflict and expect to summon energy to peace and harmony (whether within yourself or in the world ‘out there’).

You cannot see and feel and focus on racism and expect to summon energy to acceptance, honor and respect.

You get the point.

So, what is the quickest and most effective way of shifting your focus from what you don’t want to what you want? 

Appreciation

Stop.  Breathe deeply and gently.  As you breathe, appreciate this marvel that is your breath.  Appreciate the fact that your breath breathes you even when you are not paying attention to it (which is almost all the time). 

Appreciate the wonder of your being.  

Your aliveness.  Your sight.  Your hearing.  Your taste.  Your touch.  Your sense of smell.  

Wow, what would life be if you didn’t have these faculties?  Not half as good as it is with them, right? J

Appreciate the power of your mind to summon things into being. 

You want a coffee.  You think of a coffee.  Next thing you know, you’re making a coffee or buying one…

It’s as simple as that.  Really.

What gets us confused is that sometimes, we find ourselves doing other things before we get to that coffee.  Someone rings.  Or the dog needs her dinner.  Or the kids want some help with their homework.  Or you remember you have an email to send….

And when you finally get to that coffee, it may not be exactly as you’d first imagined and intended it.  It may have a bit more froth.  Or a different blend than the one you usually have. 

Then again, it might not even be a coffee.  By this time, you may be feeling like a hot chocolate or a cup of tea or even a gin and tonic…

(Think of the coffee as a metaphor J)

But, there it is – the power of your mind to summon things into being, to create…

You can appreciate that!

And from there, there is no limit to what else you can appreciate and before you know it, you’re feeling good because you’re feeling good-ness J

And in case this point eluded you, let me state it now:

You cannot be in a state of appreciation and not feel good and attract more goodness to yourselfJ