This Matter of 'Taking It Easy' - Why Does it Become Difficult?!

       

Often our friends and relatives tell us to 'Take it easy' when we are in difficulties or in sorrow. It is good advice, no doubt, but people may come up with the jocular statement, "Yes, but taking it easy is not easy."! It is good to explore into this matter as it would open a doorway into ourselves.

People try to reach a state of peaceful mind through practising a method or a system, religious or otherwise. If it were to happen that way, there will always be the fear of losing what is gained and so continued stress will be felt in order to retain that state. It will be a matter of constant struggle to ensure that the peace is not lost. However, many people hope that they can reach permanent peace through adopting that approach. They are unaware that the psychological 'reacher' himself is impermanent! Even though it is a simple fact, many people are unwilling to acknowledge that fact. This is because the thought created 'I' has no intrinsic substantiality and so it is constantly in fear of being dissolved. That is why it is always moving out to hold on to something giving it a feeling of permanence. The fear of death also arises from the same cause.

If  some people rebel against the established systems and style themselves as non-believers, they make the mistake of over-emphasizing the rational mind’s ability to judge.  They remain unaware of the power of intuition. So they too alienate themselves from the abiding peace that is naturally there in us.    

When one sees the truism behind the above statements, one wonders, "How then does stable peace come at all?" Stable peace is our natural state and chasing it through thought projected things is what takes us away from it. UG Krishnamurti says, "Your attempt to become peaceful is creating the disturbance." Another Master asks, "How do you find a way to the house in which you are sitting?" Obviously, every way you take would lead you away from the house. People who have come that far know that the peace reached through a thought projected goal is false. That insight helps them to be free of all chases and there is a natural self-abidance - a state of falling into oneself through non-dependence. It augments an intrinsically peaceful mind because it is not based on a projected point of success through a method or a belief system.

As of now, only a small percentage of people seems to sense the above state of affairs and have the boldness to stand alone, free from all dependence. That aloneness has a purity and the associated peace that is self-sustaining. Then we can 'Take things easy' and apply ourselves to life passionately. Evolution on this planet is bringing more and more people into that awareness, though the process seems to be very slow. The current trend in the majority is still towards relying on sectarian practices that promise peace here and heaven after death. When the trend changes into one of self-abidance through inwardly directed awareness, the society will change to be one where there is unqualified love and all-pervasive camaraderie - no segregation whatsoever through nationality, religion etc.

Now, you can take it easy because you don't have to chase anything! 

Knowing how to take things easy, we would also know the seriousness with which we have to apply ourselves to our practical responsibilities.  Reflecting on the above, you will be able to strike your own trail towards the inner self and the abiding peace that is there naturally in you – like the deep ocean waters.   Related matters are covered in the website http://spirituality.yolasite.com

                          

The Value of Spontaneity in Holistic and Vibrant Living

The conventional neurology with which human beings live is characterized by a shield of thought between them and their lives. Such a shield is made up of the residues from the past which in turn sustains the ‘I’, the ego. This means that we are not directly in contact with life but through a corrupting interface – corrupting because everything is judged based on the self-importance of the ‘I’. Understanding the value of spontaneity can bring about a change in this unfortunate state of affairs.

Spontaneity arises out of being alive to the ‘Now’. Self-awareness forms the basis for its genesis. Understanding how the habitual shield comes in and corrupts is part of that awareness. Spontaneity cannot come through the practice of any system since all systems rely on the past and so the ‘Now’ slips by. That gives the chance for the shield to come in and let the ‘I’ rule the roost. Being a conformist sustains the slavery to a system and so blocks spontaneity from streaming in. So, if not by adopting a method, how does spontaneity come about? Applying ourselves to this puzzle brings in the required awareness and the associated clarity; the shield starts dissolving. Very soon we see freshness flowing into our lives.

Once we understand the beauty of spontaneity, there is a feeling of moving closer to the soul. We see its intrinsic ability to preclude the problem-creating tendency of the mind from indulging in its habitual ways. The mind falls quiet and a strange confidence flows in. It creates space in our minds and augments stable mental peace. Abundant feeling flows towards everyone and everything. There would be the unqualified love towards all, as reported by those who go through a near death experience.

Living with spontaneity clears away many unnecessary fears that trouble us. There is the readiness to face life without the conventional armored approach. In this connection, we are reminded of a statement by J. Krishnamurti: To be vulnerable is to live, to withdraw is to die. It helps to reflect and understand the content of that statement.

We may consider three types of couples: Type 1. They never argue, never quarrel. Type 2. These people argue, quarrel, feel hurt, don’t talk to each other for some days and then gradually come around. Type 3. This set of couples argue, quarrel but laugh it off at the end; no residues. Peace returns almost immediately.

If asked which of the three represents the healthiest kind of relationship, most people - if not all - will point to the third set of couples. This is because people know intuitively that it is the residue from an event that destroys, not the event itself. Once we understand the value of spontaneity, residues cannot form and trouble us anymore. No doubt, all these are easier said than done. Nevertheless, it is a challenge that can be interesting. Meeting it squarely helps us move into happy and vibrant living.

The New Age Spirituality is related to these matters of universal goodness and so it would not be supportive of conformism and sectarian practices. You may ponder over these matters and also let your friends and relatives reflect on them.

Related matters are covered in the website http://spirituality.yolasite.com

The Intrinsic Impropriety Behind Opinion Mongering – Are We Aware of This?

Many quarrels arise on account of insisting on one’s opinion being accepted or on demanding the approval thereof.  It cannot be solved by controlling oneself but only by understanding the whole gamut of its genesis and expression.

It is common experience that most of us, if not all, treat our own opinion as the final judgment on an issue and be ready to take up the cudgels if it is opposed. Many relationships are damaged by this neurological habit and have even engendered fist-fights between individuals when carried too far. There was an occasion, way back in the sixties, when one of the writer's friends was sitting in an evening club in Chennai (India), playing carom-board. Others were engaged in card games, chess etc. Two people were conversing about cricket, analyzing the England team in particular. One of them was in favor of Colin Cowdrey and the other opined that Ken Barrington was the better batsman of the two.  At the beginning, the debate was innocent enough but soon it gathered momentum along the wrong lines. It became hot and they began to exchange blows!  The onlookers had to abandon their games and rush to separate the two opinion mongers. One of the Good Samaritans passionately asked, "While Barrington and Cowdrey themselves are friends, why are you doing this?"!

Now, we all sense similar trends in our opinion mongering but, perhaps, are wise enough to veer away from the hot avenues at some point. If we look into the matter in order to get to the bottom of this black business, we begin to wonder how this monster of a habit arises and keeps us under its thumb. Self-awareness sets in and the exploration into ourselves begins to tell us the whole story behind the neurological process underlying opinion mongering. The thought-running habit is primarily responsible for sustaining the 'I', the image about oneself. From our young days, we groom this habit and the 'I' gets tougher and tougher as the years pass by. The 'I' is built around one's conclusions which give a sort of identification to it. This includes the emotional attachment to those conclusions too. By the time we reach 25 or so years of age, this 'I' strongly influences our neurology and the monster becomes uncontrollable. Because we are interested in understanding this process, the awareness takes us to the bottom of this issue and the monster begins to shake in its foundation! As it is no longer supported by the unawareness that gives it its life, the monster has no alternative but to dissolve. Watching it dissolve can be fun.

What is purported above can be considered a matter of oversimplification. Yes, it is true that the matter is not so easy. Nevertheless, with patience and sustained interest in that direction, the hard ice begins to melt. When we see this happening, we sense the power of self-awareness and how it can dissolve centuries-old neurological habits.

The deeper the self-awareness flows into us, the more peaceful we begin to feel; the calmer we are in our interactions and opinion mongering no longer figures in them. For purely practical purposes, however, exchanging opinions has a rightful place but it will not involve the ego, especially if we are alert about how the monster can take charge and vitiate the harmony. We would no longer indulge in converting others to our view points, religious or otherwise. All these transformations pave the way to living a naturally spiritual life; we would be deeply passive inside but be very active in our practical life.

By the way, we are reminded here of the Shakespearean lines:  "Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice; Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment." Though this advice can be considered to belong to the realm of Dos and Don’ts, understanding the essence of those words is what brings about the transformation and not the conformity to a bunch of instructions.

Related matters are covered in the website http://spirituality.yolasite.com