How We Look and What We See

     We have ALL EXPERIENCED the day-and-night, or heaven-and-hell difference between looking at anyone or anything - with loving, trusting eyes INSTEAD OF fearfully, competitively or aggressively.

“So long as one is
merely on the surface of things,
they are always
imperfect, unsatisfactory, incomplete.
Penetrate into the substance and
everything is perfect, complete, whole.”
Philip Kapleau

“There are only two ways to live your life.
One is as though nothing is a miracle.
The other is as though
everything is a miracle.”
Albert Einstein

 
    "Life only makes sense when you perceive it as mystery and it makes no sense to the conceptualizing mind.” Anthony de Mello SJ

    What takes us far too long to realize is that BEING in a loving, trusting state, is what allows us to perceive the Divine Nature of everyone, everything, life itself. Namaste! This - our True Self - is what all the shamans, mystics, saints, poets & other deeply spiritual people throughout history keep telling us to remember & live from, in 'languages' most understandable for their times, philosophies & cultures - hence the term "perennial philosophy" http://www.johnlovas.com/search?q=perennial

    “Many people have intimations of their true nature in childhood – the sense of a benevolent presence guiding their life, a radiance that shines forth from all things, or a current of love that unites us all. …
    But we lose touch with this luminosity as we age … we forget who we really are and succumb to the way others see us...
    By adulthood we've more or less forgotten who we truly are, and have passively absorbed the current cultural fad of being frozen in the armor of materialism, meaninglessness & cynicism. Not surprisingly, something in all of us 'continues to weep over the barrenness of modern life.'"
    Stephan Bodian. “Wake Up Now. A Guide to the Journey of Spiritual Awakening.” McGraw-Hill, 2008.

    Indeed, under conditions when we feel safe, relaxed, "at home" in our immediate surroundings, perhaps even feel generous, our eyes become relaxed, softly-focused, taking in a wide field of vision. We can feel peaceful, trusting, loving, open and connected not just to whom or what's directly in front of us, but our wider surroundings, perhaps everyone, everything, to life itself.

    However, too many, even in objectively safe situations, are always anxiously ready to deal with impending trauma assumed to be lurking just around the next corner. PTSD & its variants are a terrible drain on individuals & society, crying out for healing with expert professional help. 

    “IF you feel safe & loved, your brain is specialized in exploration, play, & cooperation;
     IF you feel frightened & unwanted, it is specialized in managing feelings of fear & abandonment."
     Bessel Van Der Kolk. “The Body Keeps the Score. Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma.” Penguin Books, 2015. 

    But well beyond even what's generally considered normal & well-adjusted ie "ordinary unhappiness," we CAN learn to recognize, & remember to embody our True Self and thereby ALWAYS feel safe, relaxed, peaceful, open, loving, connected, generous, "at home" INDEPENDENT of our objective circumstances.

    "It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society" Krishnamurti 

        "The whole trick is keeping the truth up front in daily consciousness."
    David Foster Wallace 2005 Kenyon College Commencement Speech http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CrOL-ydFMI

    It's becoming increasingly clear that a key spiritual practice is what has long been called "self-inquiry" (also spelled "self enquiry"). Whenever we find ourselves unhappy, sad, down, ie suffering, we are called to ask ourselves, "WHO is suffering?"
    Initially we give our society's typical description of our identity: name, age, gender, address, education, job, hobbies, relationships etc. Gradually we realize that this is just summarizing our tiresome "story of me" and is nowhere near adequate!
    Our most basic, unchanging True Nature, is timeless, formless, loving, awareness - a mystery beyond description & labeling. Nevertheless, it's been referred to as Spirit, Source, Force, Soul etc.

    So, 1) repeatedly notice the unhappy / anxious / angry / fearful story & assumed identity we continuously tell ourselves in our heads, 2) examine these with curiosity, without judgment, and realize how these have NO stable reality, then 3) let them go, and repeatedly RETURN HOME to True Self which is LIBERATING!

“In this choiceless, never ending flow of life
There is an infinite array of choices.
One alone brings happiness -
To love what is.”
Dorothy Hunt

SUPERB, CONCISE 14-minute video:

Rupert Spira "How Do I Practice Self Enquiry?"