More writings from John Astin which rings with clarity --
We could say that awareness has two different aspects or
expressions. In one, it is the space that makes room for
everything, the emptiness which allows what is to simply be as it
is. In this aspect, our sky-Like nature is passive, unmoved and
untouched by whatever clouds appear within it. It is the still and
formless background against which the world of form appears and
moves. In this aspect, the Sky is not really involved or engaged
with the myriad forms that appear and then disappear within it. It
is simply the silent witness of all comings and goings. Here, the
expression is a silent one for the Sky really has nothing to say
about any thought, sensation, feeling or experience that may be
present. It is simply that boundless space that contains them
all.
We could say that in this aspect, the sky-like nature of mind or
awareness is a kind of disinterested observer or witness. You can
maybe sense this aspect right now, the simple and effortless
knowing or registering of whatever sounds and sights may be
present, much like a movie screen passively registers the multitude
of images that flash across it. Regardless of their content, every
thought, image, feeling, and sensation is effortlessly known by
this empty, awake, sky-like presence that we are.
But there is another more dynamic aspect or expression of this
presence of awareness. And it is that dimension that becomes active
when the container in a sense becomes interested in that which it
contains. Yes, there is something – call it awareness - that
silently registers the sound of the bird or the traffic outside or
the colors and patterns of light that appear before its
ever-watchful gaze. But what happens when the silent awareness
becomes interested and curious about the sounds that are appearing
within it? What happens when the still and unmoving witness becomes
curious about that which it is witnessing? There is the sense here
that the mystery that is awake (our true nature) has this natural
interest and curiosity about everything. In its more active aspect
or dimension, the mystery seems to live in a state of child-like
wonder and innocence, a kind of quiet fascination, even awe, in the
face of the utter miracle that is everything.
As the screen of presence-awareness or Being that simply
registers what is, what we are is this deep and abiding peace. All
is still and unmoving. But as the screen becomes interested in the
images that are moving across its face, so begins the dance of the
unborn and the born, of formlessness loving form, the boundless
wonder of what is…
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It’s not possible to run from
the only Thing there is.
It’s not possible to uncover
the only Thing there is.
It’s not possible to approach
the only Thing there is.
It’s not possible to forget
the only Thing there is.
It’s not possible to see
the only Thing there is.
It’s not possible to miss
the only Thing there is.
It’s not possible to draw nearer
to the only Thing that is.
It’s not possible to be apart
from the only Thing there is.
It’s not possible to be other
than the only Thing there is.
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It’s so easy
to let go,
every moment
vanishing
without
effort…
It’s not you
who is searching -
it is Life.
It’s not you
who is struggling -
it is Life.
It’s not you
who is dreaming -
it is Life.
It’s not you
who wakes up -
it is Life.
It’s not you
who is thinking -
it is Life.
It’s not you
who’s confused -
it is Life.
It’s not you
who understands -
it is Life.
It’s not you
who remembers -
it is Life.
It’s not you
who forgets -
it is Life.
It’s not you
who believes -
this is yours,
it is Life.
It’s not you
who stops
believing -
it is Life…
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When attention begins
to lose its fascination
with the story called self,
what remains is the
simple wonder of this -
a crack in the sidewalk,
the paper clip on my desk,
a speck of dust on the floor,
the rush of wind
through the trees -
everything ablaze
with this quiet,
heart wrenching beauty,
simply because it is…
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In spiritual, non-dual circles we often hear the instruction to
stay with the sense of “I AM,” to simply notice the undeniable
feeling that we exist. But rather than focusing on the “I AM,” here
is another invitation. Drop the “I” altogether and just notice the
“Am,” the sense of existence itself. Not my existence. Not
my being. Just BEING. See if you can find a beginning or
an end to this sense of aliveness. Notice how it is without edge or
boundary, how there really is no “my” in it anywhere.
Now, for a moment, as you look out upon the world, observing
whatever is in your visual field, just feel that you are gazing at
it from some reference point, call it “I.” Feel that you are a
separate self, a subject looking out upon the world of objects. Now
simply feel into this reference point called “I.” What is it
actually made of? Isn’t the reference point we call “self” really
made of nothing, a nothing that moves as everything, a nothing that
is Life? Isn’t it all made of Life - the search for an
identity, for some point of reference, the fixation upon that
point, and the falling away of all points of view - all of it, the
expression of the boundlessness that is Life?
This grasping after pleasure,
the search for happiness,
the effort to escape
all the suffering,
none of it is yours.
Neither the bondage
nor the freedom from it
belongs to you…
You are not the owner
of anything. Everything
belongs to Life.
Everything is
the expression of Life,
the mysterious Source
that gives rise to everything
you think of as “you.”
Even the sense that
this is yours
is not yours.
Here’s a little experiment…
The experience you are having right now - thoughts arising,
feelings being felt, sensations dancing. No matter whether or how
the experience may be being judged - as pleasurable, painful,
boring, exciting, hazy, clear - the question I would pose to you is
this: What is at the center of the experience? No doubt,
something is happening, something is being experienced. But what is
at the center of this that is being seen, this that is
being felt, this that is being heard? Feeling happy and content?
What is at the center? Confused and struggling? What is at the
center? Calm and at peace? What is at the center? Is anything
there?
Now, the mind may answer, “Well I am there, I am at the
center.” Okay, so you are the center. If that is your experience,
fine. No sense fighting that sense. Go ahead and feel that you are
at the center, feel that you are there, right in the heart of
whatever is being experienced. But now I would ask you to look once
more: “What is at the center of that feeling called “me being at
the center?” What is there, in the center of this sense called
“me,” the center of this experience you are calling “I”?
Anything there?
Thought is not the enemy,
it is simply part
of the symphony of sounds
that is life,
no more significant,
or less beautiful
than any other sound
that is heard…
How could we ever point to the Truth when the Truth is
everywhere and everything?
Every love song we hear, every cry, every longing of the human
heart - these are all the voice of God, the voice of Being in
search of Itself…
But you are nowhere to be found in any of this - this is simply
Life’s love affair with Life, Love’s longing for Itself.
I met God
on the road
today.
She asked
me if I knew
where She
might find
God.
I didn’t know
what to say…
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Others:
What appears is at the same time disappearing, the arising and the
passing away, a single movement, without beginning or end. This is
the preciousness of life, this amazing constellation of feelings,
thoughts, sensations, and the mystery of wakefulness that
illuminates them all, here and then gone in a flash.
And the extraordinary paradox is that this which is ever changing
is, at the same time, changeless. A bird, a tear, a star- all the
movement of a single life, one ocean dancing as a thousand
different waves and yet always remaining itself.
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http://www.integrativearts.com/writings/Pathless%20Path.html
Pathless Path
The path to God, the path to ultimate reality is as Krishnamurti
said, a "pathless path." In the end, there is no path to the
ultimate because there is only the ultimate. Everything is made of
That, the source and suchness of all things - every tree, every
person, every flower, every atom, every star - all of them made of
the same ineffable mystery, the wetness in every wave...
We may imagine that we are on a journey back to God, but how can
there be a journey to something that is everywhere and everything?
We walk to our temples and mosques, our churches and synagogues,
our yoga centers and meditation cushions, to find God, to find
Truth, but what is sought is already present, present before the
first step is ever taken, and present as that very step. What is
sought is here before the first thought ever arises to seek It, and
It is here as that very thought. Truth is present, before the mind
ever imagines it has been lost. But Truth is also the imagining,
God seeking God...
We seek God but there is no escaping God for there is only God,
only Spirit dancing as everything that is seen, everything that is
touched, everything that is felt. We search for something else that
will make us happy, some other experience or moment, but the
happiness and freedom we seek is already here as this - this
experience, this state of mind, this moment. Every breath, every
sensation, the clarity, the confusion, the seeking, and the end of
seeking, all of them God, all of them the Truth, all of them,
enough.
©2007 John Astin
