Tagged: change
The beauty of Change
We all know that change is “the only constant in Life.” Change is one of those paradoxical facts of life which we could mentally understand, but yet most are afraid of experiencing it fully and want to delay it as much as possible.
As we do everything in our power to delay the inevitable, and hold on to the “status quo,” our fear increases as well as our anxiety for we refuse to change.
Life has many forms of change, which we label as “good” or “bad,” but nevertheless, those labels only represent transitions for further change.
Our society in general has many taboos which will be challenged in the upcoming times such as our ideas behind death and dying, suffering and one of the most detrimental purposes ever invented in this society: “Success” based on economic status.
Going beyond those old paradigms will be of paramount importance for a new beginning, a new change of perspective for the end of something old, is the beginning of something new.
Life could be described as a roller coaster. Our perspective is what makes the difference. The roller coaster is fun for the child inside, but dreadful for the grown up who only dreams of going up all the time, forgetting that going down brings the necessary force to go higher upwards. That is the game of Life. Have you noticed?
Don’t we want to play that game? 🙂 Then, we learn to fly.
What do I mean? To explore the depth of Life, means to observe it from a high point, like a mountain. To climb that mountain is tedious, tiring, a very challenging task, but necessary. That is the spiritual journey. The mountain is what we call “self.” Flying means to go beyond that “self,” that “personality” in order to be able to see and feel Life from a different perspective.
The roller coaster will make us cry or make us laugh. But when we know that there cannot be an “up” without a “down,” then our perspective changes and then we will smile the whole way until we reach the mountain top. At that point, we may shed some tears of happiness. Crying will be the same as smiling! We have gone beyond duality.
Therefore no matter what Life brings; keep smiling!
Please note: From now on, I will only post when there is the feeling to do so. Therefore, this could be my last post or maybe not. It is that uncertainty, the one keeping things new and fresh. Certainly, this is a change! 🙂
The comfort zone
As soon as we become comfortable with a situation, Life will change it. Have we noticed that?
It is as if living in a continuous challenge. That newness will take us away from our comfort zone. That forces us to meet a new setting with new tools. That is to allow ourselves to learn from Life itself. We could meet that newness with rejection, trauma and bitterness or we could appreciate the new challenge and adapt with flexibility.
As we adapt, we learn. As we learn we move onto another challenge.
Comfort is the preamble for a needed change in Life, although; many expect a daily routine that will last forever, eventually that will break apart and then that person will meet his own attachments.
Life is unexpected. The comfort zone will be continuously challenged. Any artificial control to keep things unchanged, is surely an utopia.
The way of change
It was a beautiful afternoon. The Sun was about to set. Vivid colors appeared in the sky. There was a shade of bright red mingling with a burst of orange, mixed together with a shy hue of yellow at the foreground. A blue background, was still visible while white and gray clouds were moving slowly south east. Darkness appeared little by little from the right side of the horizon, insinuating a close take over.
The master and his disciple were looking at the sky from the rooftop of the master’s home.
The master asked: “Do you see how subtle and almost imperceptible is the change of colors in the sky?”
The disciple said: “Yes, master. You really have to look carefully to catch up with those changes.”
The master replied: “ Are those changes too quick for you?”
The disciple responded: “ No master, quite the opposite. It is hard to keep my attention in those changes.”
The master said: “ I see. You are not looking. You are expecting for some outcome to occur. Your mind understands that darkness is about to come and that expectation does not allow you to look.”
The disciple felt awkward with that reply and said: “No, master. I am looking.”
The master continued: “ Do you feel nourished by that scene?”
The disciple said: “Master, I am looking, seeing the sky. Where could I possible get nourishment?”
The master sighed and said: “ When you look and become delighted with such spectacle and put all your senses in attentive mode, there is no interference from the mind. Right there, a sense of well being, peace and tender solitude invades you. That is nourishment for the soul. That is to look. On the other hand, when the mind interferes, it only looks to analyze, dissect, label, compare and expect. There is no nourishment there.”
The master took a few seconds to continue: “There is a lesson to learn there as well. Did you learn something?”
The disciple didn’t respond. The master said: “ You mentioned about change of colors. The change of light into darkness is very smooth. Most, probably haven’t even looked at the end of a delightful afternoon and do not know about this lesson from Life itself. Observe: For any change to be non-contentious, it has to be very smooth. It is not quick. It happens little by little. This holds true for any change in society, as well as consciousness. When offering change to another, keep his attention in the colorful parade, for otherwise he will not be able to stand the sudden change from darkness into light. Respect his process and move slowly to avoid any hue of violence. That level of care is in synchronicity with the laws of Nature.”
Words don’t bring inner change
I have been sharing some quotes from J. Krishnamurti for the past month.
I consider that J. Krishnamurti had deep insight into human nature and what we know as “spirituality.”
Krishnamurti transmits through his own words, a description of what is like to observe and experience from a different consciousness. Reading his words may bring agreement, it may bring intellectual understanding; but there is no practical change in consciousness that could be experienced by the reader.
In short, Krishnamurti truly expresses “truth,” but that is unreachable for those who do not share the same consciousness. That is why, Krishnamurti is not “practical” at all, for the immense majority.
It is important to understand that words cannot bring change in a person. I am not talking about change of behavior, which is superficial. I am speaking about “true” change which is consciousness.
Little Carlos may not hit his dog if he “understands,” that this is a “bad thing to do and that God will punish him.” The elements of moral standards and fear are there to induce change of behavior. However, Carlos’ violence is still there and he may not hit his dog anymore but he may hurt himself or others in different ways.
“Little Carlos’ consciousness” is the collective consciousness in society. The concern of the machinery of society is to change behavior through “practice,” or through “effort” to reach an objective. Religions operate in the same way.
Reading and understanding words in “spiritual” topics are only meant for us to look deeply at the self. To resonate with the words so they bring a different way to look at Life. Intellectual understanding is futile, for we will not be able to “put them in practice” in real Life; for Life is not a “recipe” that fits all. Life will bring “tailor made,” unique experiences in which we may not be able to recognize the words or the examples used by Krishnamurti, thus; we will not be able to “apply them” as we use a mathematical formula. Through that “practice,” we have no chance to know who we truly ARE.
Consciousness is gained through the experience of the “yes” and the “no.”
In a religious setting, I was taught to reject and suppress anger. Although my behavior was as if I had no anger in the eyes of others; due to the commending comments of those who observed my lack of reaction; I too believed that I was “anger free.”
To my surprise, I had plenty of anger inside stuck as emotional traumas which only needed a greater trigger to be displayed. Thus, “I tricked myself” for years.
Nevertheless, anger needed to be displayed so I could be free of it. Emotions will need to be displayed to be free from them. Through Observation of my own violence, anger diminished.
Through that full experience of anger and lack of it, a new consciousness appeared, which is now able to understand anger without rejection. I could not learn that by simply thinking: “Anger is bad. Don’t show it” or by believing that “God was going to punish me for being angry,” or by reading Krishnamurti’s words about anger and having a solid intellectual understanding of what those words meant.
Change of consciousness occurs when we assimilate Life experiences while we are AWARE of it. Without awareness there is repetition of experiences and through that vicious repetitive cycle, a dull feeling of bitterness mixed with apathy until a compulsive need to change occurs through the experience of suffering.
The “good news” is that eventually we will change; not because we understood some “words of wisdom,” but because Life will give us the complete experience. The “yes” and the “no,” that is a new consciousness.
Gradual change is the law
In Nature, we can observe a variety of flowers: Colors, shapes, sizes, etc.
We could observe new born buds, full grown flowers and the ones decaying. Life will allow us to see the full range of experiences as an observer.
Is a decaying flower worse off than a new born bud?
Observe the range. Every flower will go through that range of experiences.
We say: “Young and old.” That distinction, that duality is a seed for suffering, for a traumatic experience when we imbibe conditionings beyond the label.
Labels allow us to make distinctions. When we give to a label certain value as in good/bad, right/wrong; we will create a trauma.
Life will show us the full range at any given time. Today, “you” may be the representative for young. Tomorrow, it is certain that “you” will represent old. What is the trauma? To identify with a particular, transient state. We cannot fully observe when we identify ourselves with something. We are biased.
To live on Earth; means to experience duality at every step. Our “choice,” our attachment to one side of a duality creates the trauma in Life. That trauma will not allow us to evolve for fear arrives.
Fear brings a mentality of continuous fight to live, a mind conditioned to compete for ideals, or an obsession to maintain something unchanged.
To enjoy Life with that conditioning, with that program; is impossible.
Gradual change in Life is the law. Humans do not respect that. We want for things to change “now.” The consequence is violence. What happens when violence increases? Look around you.
The quest of identity
Who am I?
There are many answers, depending on our level of consciousness. Thus, all good.
If we try to define and identify ourselves, what we obtain is entertainment and empty reassurance for the mind.
“I” am a human being, a lawyer, a parent, a spirit, a soul, or simply, “I” am John Doe. Many labels that “I” can be! But… I am not the label nor the idea behind it.
Consider this “secret.”
Any question is already defining the scope of the answer.
Why does the Sun set? The Sun does not set in the horizon. It only appears to us that way. Many things that we consider “realities” in Life, only appear to be that way. Even though we know through science that is the Earth moving, our experience does not agree with that. Can I deny my experience to embrace a belief even though labeled as “knowledge”?
Enjoy the sunset! That is fulfilling. That is what truly matters.
Let us go back. Who am “I”? It appears that there is something static to call “I” to hang onto; but there is nothing static in a changing Life. We heard “Life is change” but we cannot easily accept that Life is uncertain, mysterious.
“I” was 5 years old. That “I” is nothing like the one living “now.”
Am “I” the same? Not a chance, but my mind believes it through dead memories.
The word “I” must be used to make sense in language; but we believe that there is something static which we call “I.” However, that does not agree with what IS.
Then…what IS? Change, uncertainty, everlasting movement.
Can we confine everlasting change into an “I”?
Only in our conditioned “reality.” It is a core belief which has lived for centuries in our human psyche; coloring religions, philosophies, educational systems, etc.
We cannot understand Life until that primal conditioning is uprooted, for we see Life only through that lens.
When we are at peace with change, uncertainty and unpredictability, we ARE living Life. We ARE “spiritual.”
Fake “spiritual” Change
Jack IS gentle, egotistic, compassionate and he portrays an addictive personality. Did he “practice” anything to get this way? Did he learn any “techniques” or followed instructions to BE that way?
If another person has observed compassion in Jack, and she wants that compassion that Jack has, how could she get it?
She can only “practice” those actions that she recognized to BE compassion. However, are ACTIONS by themselves compassionate? A compassionate person, one who IS compassionate, will ACT with compassion. BEING expresses naturally into ACTION.
If the above paragraph has been understood in depth; then we could observe how any form of spirituality or “sacred” sexuality made from “techniques, methods and the practice of those;” is fake.
“Spirituality” made of rituals and practices only focus on the ACTION, the external element observed by all. But Love is not a ritual. Love is not a method. Any action coming from BEING Love, will have that perfume in it.
We may ask, how can I BE Love? That question shows that we don’t understand. BEING is not dependent on external actions or behaviors made purposely to change something in us. It does not depend on our will power or a “new year resolution.” For what we believe to BE love is merely an idea. We say:
“A loving person is understanding. He is compassionate. He is gentle. He is willing to sacrifice for another. He speaks sweetly, etc.”
The above is not Love. The above are just words defining our idea of love. We believe in “practicing” those ideas to have love as the result.
The reality of love is a mystery. Others may recognize that quality in us. There are no actions or specific words that we could express in order to BE Love.
BEING Love brings its own aroma which is very hard to put in words.
“OK. So much for explanations. where do I start then?”
Obviously in recognizing those things that we ARE NOW. If we are AWARE, those things will come out through the mirror of relationships with others and within. What we recognize out of that deep look within, is not an exercise to label what we see as a virtue or a sin. What we recognize are triggers: Sparks of anger, elation, violence, compassion, disappointment, hope within us. True recognition IS without using those labels. Just feel them and recognize the origin.
“Now I get it!! “I” should not create any sparks or triggers at all…”
NO. We can fake our reaction and believe that we have “healed.” We can fake our feelings with a theatrical performance, like an actor.
Our only “job” is to BE AWARE and to trace back in our lives, the origins of that situational trigger. That is all. As the AWARENESS deepens, then inner opening happens, emptiness arrives and through that emptiness there is newness…. CHANGE.
We’ve been taught to DO things to Change! To take prescribed steps to achieve some sort of change, as if we could control consciousness and Life itself!
As we become AWARE that Life experiences are not separated from what we call “I,” then we could start perceiving the limitations of DOING things to “achieve” something, that we believe will make us “better.”
CHANGE is a natural process, it is not a forced activity based on learned conditioning.
CHANGE IS NATURAL in LIFE. Humans make it “unnatural” through methods, practices and different types of control.
Exploring the Depth of Living 