14 Jun MONTHLY MEDITATION – April 2016
I AM!
Stop for a moment and be who you are.
It seems absurd, because one is already what one is but actually the greatest suffering we experience is the resistance to who you are in the present moment.
When I hear that we have to have positive thoughts, have to win the kingdom of heaven, have to make a living, have to outdo ourselves, have to pursue an ideal of beauty, have to be brave and overcome our fears, have to strive to be better etc … All that is fine because the desire improve ourselves and grow is part of our nature but most of the time we do not realize that in essence all we seek is already here in the mere act of being now!
In everyday moments, at work, when you are with your loved ones at any time of the day, stop for a moment inside yourself. Let go of your thoughts and feel your feet flat on the ground. Listen to the rhythm of your breathing, your heartbeat, expand your awareness of yourself and include physical sensations, emotions, thoughts, like the sky includes the clouds, without taking sides at all, embracing everything with love. Love is the force that binds the two qualities of life together, consciousness and energy. Feel like these two forces come together within you in the present time, in your body, embodied, manifesting in this particular life, yours.
Allow yourself a moment to appreciate this mystery and continue with what you’re doing.
If you feel overwhelmed by an expansive or painful emotion, or some fear or judgment, stop and let yourself be with what is.
Now I am: tinged with anger, fear, excitement, hope, sadness, joy, I am eternal and present, welcoming all states and thoughts that go through me, I welcome what is and I realize that I am now, just like that, nothing to change, nothing to hide, nothing to force … this allows you to love yourself and be rooted in the truth of what is, rather than what it should be.
When you feel “a should”, feel how it oppresses you, what it does to your energy and gradually open up to the awareness of what is, give it space and go back to rest on your permanent Self.
Being what it already is requires silence and honesty at the same time so as to confront your most impulsive, immature being and welcome it and not act on it. Act only when you are you Self again!
A hug from Self to Self,
Astiko