Waking Up

     "... more and more your life emanates from this place of clear awareness. When the seeing gets very clear and still, it is because 'you' disappear. The great Chinese poet Li Po expressed this beautifully:

          The birds have vanished down the sky
          Now the last cloud drains away.

          We sit together, the mountain and me,
          until only the mountain remains.

     Li Po did not rise up and leave the mountain scenery. His self-conscious mind has left him! He is describing a mind that has stopped churning out ideas, thoughts, feelings, and images. In his case, you might say that he no longer exclaims, 'Look at that gorgeous view. I'm so happy to be here. I can write a poem about this scene, and it will be remembered forever. Perhaps even anthologized.'
     None of that chronic mental activity remains. His poem implies that self-cherishing has fallen away, and what remains is simply clear seeing."

       Larry Rosenberg. Three Steps to Awakening. A Practice for Bringing Mindfulness to Life. Shambhala, Boston, 2013.

Nicolas Le Boulanger, National Geographic   http://photography.nationalgeographic.com

and www.nikcorbleau.fr