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Radical Awakening - An Adventure
Over thirty years ago, the noted Swiss psychiatrist C.G. Jung wrote that an
alcoholic’s “craving for alcohol was the equivalent on a lower level, of the
spiritual thirst of our being for wholeness, …(or) the union with God.” The
journey of the addict through addiction and into recovery contains lessons that
apply to all of us non-addicts and addicts alike. Many people describe an
unspecific yearning in their lives, a gnawing emptiness or homesickness that is
never satisfied.
One day in August of 1998, I left Toronto on a warm sunny afternoon on a plane
bound for Los Angeles. "Today is the first day of the rest of my life", I heard
myself saying. For more than a half a century I had felt a yearning for the
unknown. The fellow I sat beside was a Jamaican gentleman with his young son in
the seat beside him. Todd was the young boy's name and he wasn't ready to fly
now or ever it seemed. He kept fidgeting and asking his dad questions. While Dad
kept reassuring him that everything would be all right. Armed for the trip, he
brought snacks for his son, chips and candy, and even Pokemon cards to keep him
occupied. Todd gave in finally about an hour before we landed and fell asleep.
That was the first moment I had to think ahead about this decision to fly to Los
Angeles for two weeks. I'd never been to LA, but of course like everyone else
was quite familiar with the glorious city from television. Los Angeles, the City
of Angels, what would it have to offer me?
My partner Darryl and I had decided to fly down to see his friend George who
after many years of Transcendental Meditation and various other practices had
now finally met his teacher who would change his life forever. He wanted to
share this man and his teaching with Darryl and I and we were ready for an
awakening. We hadn't realized how ready we were, until we were actually
Radically Awakened by the Master. The Master and his awakening quickly became
everything that we could ever have dreamed It could be.
But most of all this Master made us realize that we have our own Master or Guru
within us. We do not have to go anywhere to find the unknown. In fact in Eastern
Traditions, it is well known and practiced that the essence of who we are is the
I AM THAT I AM.
All we need do is find our Guru within. Your Guru is the same as my Guru. It is
the I AM. The I AM has very little to do with our past or our future. It has
everything to do with our NOW, this present moment. Our I AM is in the present
moment all the time. To touch it and link with it all we have to do is to stay
in the moment. To stay in the moment is not as static as it sounds. It is a very
moving and enlivening space to be. It is be-ing in fully awakened consciousness,
pure awareness. It is an awakening from a dream of the ego. It is living in a
space of full knowingness and feeling alive every moment.
An extraordinary thing happened that day I was awakened. I realized that I would
never have to go outside of myself again for anything spiritual. Why would I,
after all I AM spiritual. I AM of spirit just as we all are.
It makes sense that the word 'breath' comes from 'spirare' meaning 'to breathe'
in Latin. Breathing comes naturally to us all. Be-ing is in breathing. We don't
have to learn to do it. It is effortless. Breath in fact is the connecting link
that connects us all to one another. Buddha has breathed the breath that you
breathe, as has Jesus, Mother Mary, President Bush, Gandhi, Saddam Hussein or
your Beloved. We are all one through breath. We cannot ever not be connected as
much as we do our best to stay separate, be independent, be better than.
When we do the independent separate thing, we always need or want more. This we
say is what separates us from plant life and animals. Our intellects (otherwise
known as and/or managed by our egos, unless we are awake) demand more. More of
whatever it is, you name it, starting from candy or Pokemon as a kid, to nicer
cars, bigger houses, or better relationships as an adult . We want and think we
need more and better.
In fact, all we need is to know that we already have it all. That is what being
awake feels like - not needing anything, being or belonging everywhere - in
peace and joy.
How do we become the I AM consciously and consistently? Even that is just a re-membering
of something we already know at some level. Some say a single breath is all that
is required for this Blessed State to return to our awareness. As with
everything, doing it consistently is important to getting the results we want.
The phrase 'Just Do It' has caught on in our society. But for different reasons.
We are a society of doers. Not a society of Be-ers. Many have chosen "Beers"
over being "Be-ers" with less effective results.
However, we are a generation of do-ers. How do we do the Be-ing on a regular
basis? How do we stay in the Now, in the aliveness, in the Joy? Do we have to
live on a mountain top or even simply just meditate an hour each day? And how
much of our time will it take especially since we're already so busy with our
fast-paced lives?
"The art of living is to gain this ability in life. It's very simple. Just a
skill: the ability to free your mind of the past, to free your mind of the
future fears, and to be able to play with every situation that is in front of
you. " - Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Simply put we can begin by becoming aware of our attention being in the past or
on the future. We notice when we feel well or when it is that we are not
counting the minutes: whether reading, talking to a friend, playing music,
writing a song or just out for a good walk. Then we can extend the same
expansive feeling to a daily activity by doing it a little every day. We become
familiar with that feeling. This is usually a core feeling of joy, love, peace
or freedom. We feel the feeling as often as we can. Eventually a feeling of
heightened awareness takes over. It has a life of its own and at some point we
live and breathe That all the time.
We become aware of where our ego is leading us. We notice our patterns of
reacting to situations; we acknowledge pain, sadness, anger or neediness as we
are feeling them. We allow interactions we'd prefer to change, to be as they are
and just become aware them. In time, with heightened awareness, our lives
change, our patterns dissolve, our relationships improve and we find ourselves
feeling joy more often.
"To Be or not to Be" is still the question in this age much as it was in
Shakespeare's time.
Awareness is not a gift. Awareness is a choice. A single breath could be all
that is required for you to return to your awareness. How will you choose?
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