Today in the shower I was pondering the responsibility I have to care for my machinery... it's like a car. We get oil changes for the car and take care of it so it will last (or one should). We need to do the same thing for our bodies.
Our body is a temple for the holy spirit - is this God's spirit or mine, or where they meet and have intercourse? And perhaps what is borne of the union is the Light of the world?
I AM.
I loved this man (Tyler Small)'s post today in the Eckhart Tolle School of Awakening. I thought it was a good summary:
"If you're still on the spiritual search, please read this as I think it will help some of you.
About seven years ago, I experienced a brief awakening, which lasted about three months. During this time, I didn't think much; however, I did have thoughts that perhaps I had become enlightened. After the three months, I slowly fell back into thought. Looking back, it appeared that my consciousness was simply not ready to recognize itself - and that is what awakening is, simply consciousness recognizing itself.
What I was left with after my initial awakening was an ability to easily access the sense of I AM, or "Deep I" as Eckhart calls it. I always knew that there was something special about this sense, yet I always took it for granted. It was only until recently, as I began listening to more spiritual masters, that I realized... this sense of I AM IS God. It is Being, the Self, Presence, Stillness, Emptiness, Completeness, Awareness and all the other words spiritual teachers use. This sense of I AM is what we all are looking for. And the beautiful thing is, most of us can access it already - even in this very group.
The sense I AM is not a hard sense to become aware of. It is simply that part of you which is aware of itself, or it could be said that it is the part of you that is "looking out." Some spiritual masters point towards I AM by asking their students "Who are you?" This answer cannot be found on the level of the mind. It requires you to sit for a moment and really get in touch of that part of yourself that recognizes its own awareness. As one spiritual teacher pointed out, you can be aware of a flower, and you can be aware of your shoes, but what does it feel like to be aware of awareness itself?
The sense of I AM is not somewhere in the mind, nor is it somewhere deep inside you. It is in fact you - it is simply the feeling of Being, here and now. That is the secret. And when you find this, you stay with it. That is all that's required. You don't have to sit in meditation to feel Being - you can feel it while you walk, and you can feel it while you type. At first, your mind will put up a lot of resistance around the sense of I AM, and it will trick you by playing games. You may even experience headaches or other bodily pains. The good news is, it's not hard to beat the ego because you don't have to do anything special - you just have to continue practicing staying with the sense of I AM.
If you're still having trouble accessing the sense of I AM, or Being, you can try this exercise. Lay down, close your eyes, and simply state "I" on the in breath, and "am" on the out breath. Keep repeating these words, until the sense of your own Self becomes apparent to you. Alternatively, you can close your eyes and ask yourself "who am I?" or "Who is the one who is looking out?" Don't over complicate this feeling. It is not some magical feeling, it is simply the feeling of your own existence.
So when the ego comes at you and starts making you feel bad, or doubtful, or any other word you can conceive of, all you have to do is simply continue remaining with the sense of I AM, continue asking "who am I" and noticing that, continue becoming aware of the awareness itself - which is the real you. It is all the same. And gradually, your ego will stop being resistant, and you will develop a peace of mind. Things will stop bothering you so much because you need an ego for things to bother you. Then, you will start to feel joy and peace and all the other benefits the spiritual masters talk about. But don't get hung up waiting for this to happen. If you have been unconscious for most of your life, there will be a certain part of you that remains unconscious even after you "wake up" or realize the Self. But gradually, as Eckhart put it in the power of now, the emotional wheel will stop spinning and peace will follow.
Despite having an intuition that this was the way, not long ago I would not have posted this. I simply didn't have enough "spiritual evidence" to be convinced that it was this simple. But I am confident enough now to say that this is the way - and this is what all spiritual teachers are pointing towards.
I wish you all peace and love, and I hope that this post helps you realize the simplicity of who you are, here and now in this moment."
I also re-loved this song on the radio coming back from Wendy's birthday dinner at The Laughing Owl yesterday.
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