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Illusion and Emptiness
This life is an illusion.
When we live our lives from the established beliefs and facts that we choose
to invest our energies in, we create karma and illusion. We do this by
establishing a fact in our mind that gets energized and animated by our
actions, emotions, judgments, projections and defenses in the name of our
belief. As a result, the opposing belief that we have judged as wrong
becomes disowned within ourselves. A split is born and we have aligned
ourselves with one aspect of that split. The more we create splits and
judgments, the more karma we incur because the more the universe will then
reflect and offer situations based on what we have said we believe. As a
consequence, we find ourselves continuing to engage in the wheel of
suffering. The illusion is that the reality that we have created and are
living is solid, real, and true. The disowned aspect of this split is being
called to be embraced and accepted within us in order to no longer create
suffering for ourselves.
In truth, everything we
project, judge or establish as belief is only resonant and indicative of how
we, in fact, feel about ourselves. That fact or judgment that we make about
someone else is a creation that we establish based on our own level of
consciousness and awareness. As a result, everything we have created in our
world is only an illusion based on how we relate to ourselves. The limiting
thoughts, the beliefs about time and space and what is possible within this
physical world are all indicative of our relationship with ourselves.
Karmically, the energies will return to us as teachers and mirrors
reflecting where our consciousness is. After realizing this fact, this is
truly liberating as we can then proceed to own and integrate all of the
constructs, judgments and energies that we have put out into the world.
For example, if one says,
"I do not want pain," they have established a belief, fact and energy within
their psyche and Being. Spirit does not hear the "not" in that sentence and
will deliver to you situations where you experience pain. You are being
given situations by the Universe through your own established contract with
yourself based on what you said you desire and believe is true. That
statement of "I do not want pain" establishes the energy within you of
resisting pain. And what we know is that what we resist will persist. The
attachment to a certain state of being such as pleasure, not wanting pain,
or judgmental attitudes, for example, only begets more attachment and karma.
In order to get off the
wheel of samsara and suffering, we must be absolutely aware of the
judgments, thoughts, emotions that we have. As people, these thoughts and
emotions may arise. The key point is whether we choose to attach to it or
not. We can watch the energy of the thought form arise such as "I do not
want pain" and without reacting to it or acting it out, we can experience
the thought as pure energy and sensation. What does it feel like in your
body? Observing what arises in your emotional body and mental body as that
thought form arises. Be with whatever is arising, as you witness and watch
the energy. There is no need to run away, no need to judge yourself, and no
need to attach to your thoughts. As we watch and are truly accepting of what
is arising, you may find that the energy begins to shift on its own. The
shift happens when we declare within ourselves that we no longer want to
suffer, cause harm to others and create more karma because every judgment,
harm done to self or other comes back to us fully and completely as it is
awaiting integration and acceptance into the whole of our Being. We find
ourselves in a place of surrendering and letting go of the constructs we
have created seeing how they are truly empty and only a reflection of us.
Mindfulness meditation is
an excellent practice for learning how to sit with yourself and observe your
inner state of mind. If one is open to it, I recommend doing mindfulness
practice for at least 10 minutes every morning and evening. It establishes
consistency with the practice and entrains the mind to watch the world
around you dissolve. Spirit Rock Meditation Center in the San Francisco Bay
Area is one of my favorite meditation retreat centers. If you feel called
to, find a meditation center in your area and explore the nature of the mind
and the liberation that comes from this level of surrender.
Pema Chodron, one of the
first western Buddhist nuns, has wonderful books about meditation and one of
my favorites is called When Things Fall Apart which is about watching our
reality dissolve and fall away. As well, Michael Singer is another gifted
writer who wrote the book The Untethered Soul. I highly recommend these
books to anyone interested in experiencing self-liberation and joy.
Spiritual Medicine for Healing