The quieter you become the more you can hear.
—Ram Dass, Be Here Now.
Zen
/zen/ Zen; noun: Zen Buddhism
- A Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism emphasizing the value of meditation and intuitionOrigin: Sanskrit; dhyāna, meditation > Chinese; chán, quietude > Japanese; Zen, meditation
- Japanese, literally ‘meditation,’ from Chinese chán ‘quietude,’ from Sanskrit dhyāna‘meditation.’
The universe has been teaching me about silence as of late. Silencio.
A place that is simultaneously full and empty with creative possibility. A place of pure potential where all that has ever been brought into form is birthed. Birthed through sound, vibration, through thoughts, intentions, and our breath.
This space of stillness within each of us is ever present. By accessing it, we utilize its qualities to harmonize ourselves with the entire cosmos. We attune to the song of the universe. This is The Way of things, the eternal Tao within each of us that resides inside our breath. Breathing in and breathing out. Within our sacred hearts this stillness flows through us, allowing us to feel our connection to the eternal, the truth of Oneness, and to Love.
Go within. There is a door. A portal to a world that allows us to perceive many brilliant dimensions of reality at once.
It is here, within silence, that we are able to fully receive. By listening, we allow a greater wisdom to reveal itself to us. By taking the time and space to be still, we consciously choose to shift away from the external world, and we rise to meet our own true nature.
On an even greater level, we are saying to the universe we are open. Open to being guided.
It is a narrow bridge that connects our waking world and our internal one. And though the collective is very focused externally, cultivating the internal is nonnegotiable if we want deep peace and satisfaction in our lives. The deeper we connect in our internal life, the more present and real we can be in our external one.
We place a lot of emphasis on outside appearances, and things that really don’t weigh anything in the face of our deepest truth. We get caught in the trap of the world, when it’s more worthwhile to cultivate a deeply personal connection to ourselves, through our own daily practice, and carry it through to each moment of our lives.
What is most necessary is a deeply intimate connection to our own true nature.
Everyday we awaken with the precious gift of life, of another day on our sacred earth. And in very task and daily activity, in each situation and person that the universe brings before us, we have a great opportunity — to say, ‘Yes’ to it. Honor them all, for they are your greatest teachers on the journey. Be open.
There is a mantra I have recently fallen in love with, the meaning goes something like this.. “I honor the great teacher within all things. I bow to the threefold aspect of creation, Birth, Life, and Death. I honor all of existence, for it is my true teacher (greatest teaching).”
And in Sanskrit,
Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu Guru Devo Maheshwara
Guru Sakshat Parabrahma Tasmai Shree Guruvey Namaha
Here is a video of me singing this mantra if you’d like to learn it
The present moment has much to teach us. It is a wonderfully wise guru. In each moment, there is an opportunity. We have the choice to contract or expand. E x p a n d. Say yes to all of creation. All of the things that come across our paths, though we may be averse to them, though we may throw up blocks and walls and unwittingly argue for our limitations… in every breath, say yes.
But if the guru is within where do you bow? You have to surrender to your life as your teacher and as your teaching. And when we can surrender to that, and can accept responsibility for learning and dealing with life in a new way, if we can accept it as our guru, if we can bow to our life and everything in it, then we have begun to walk the path.
All the practices we do, meditation, asana, chanting.. all these practices help us feel the direction that we need to go in.
—Krishna Das
What if we all practiced opening, expanding and saying yes to every opportunity? Every word, being, or phrase that comes our way, trusting it was all sent by the Holy Spirit that is threaded through creation and exists within all things. The universe is generous, and it has more gifts and knowledge to share with us than we can know, and our job may be to just be open to it. To believe in the good that is vested for us spiritually. Trusting fully that our present incarnation can and will fulfill our desires. Trusting we will handle every challenge that we face in the name of growth, and trusting fully in ourselves to be open to every new learning opportunity. Trusting that we will expand.
We must give ourselves the grace and allow ourselves to be learning, to be learners, and yet at the same time not cling to being students —for any attachment can be limiting. But as we open ourselves we surrender to the process of undergoing a ‘bigger picture’ training. We acknowledge we are being honed for our work, our craft, and our calling in this present incarnation. There is no need to walk into life and already be a master of this world, and yet we place so much importance on having that status and recognition. We must have faith in the gift of life, which is to allow ourselves the unfolding process of becoming such a master. One with integrity and discipline, developing with continued progress.
The more I grow, the more I see that everything that happens is in life is divinely orchestrated, somehow (magically) perfectly in tune. Every mistake we imagine created is actually for the evolution of consciousness and ultimately life itself.
There is a symphony of existence reverberating throughout the cosmos and we are all part of it.
—Michelle Infinity
There is such power in rejoicing in this truth and celebrating our existence on this planet. Joy radiates outward, raising your vibration and the vibration others just by sharing in your light. We illuminate our world with every grateful smile we offer, in each calming breath, in every generous compliment.
Next time you are in the throes of the mundane, try shifting your mood either by going into stillness, or with music, song, or creative expression. Sing and dance! Breathe. Rejoice in the simple glory of just being alive. Use celebration to remember the miracle it is to just to be here, in a body, on this earth.
All of life is a sacred ceremony. Every moment, truly is a gift.
And we are part of it.
To speak for a moment as a cosmic weather reporter, I see a shift has just taken place with the spring of 2015 into what feels like the second Phase of Ascension. Phase II of ascension has truly just begun. New energy. We have stepped through a door, a portal, after a long transition between phases, a period of learning and unlearning.
And now, we must remember to do and be who we truly are, the person we have seen from our soul level, and have acknowledged ourselves to be in this world. Our future selves we are becoming have been shown to us and now we must make choices from our deeper, higher wisdom. In honor of our souls, and our highest journeys, we must also allow the space of stillness more permission into our lives so we can cultivate a deeper connection to all of life and create more of the life we want and are so eager to begin.
There is a space of stillness I am cultivating and tuning into. It takes tremendous focus to be calm and also to be clear about what you are doing. It takes being intentional. It takes releasing all expectations, all thoughts about the day, fantasizing about situations, and moves beyond all of that, past the dramas of life… till quiet waters rise up to meet you and show you the way. Beyond.
Personally, I have noticed the less connected I am to electronics the more easily I come into harmony with this space of pure awareness, as those frequencies greatly alter my vibration. Spend just even the afternoon away from the phone, laptop, Facebook, all of it, and you will notice the difference in your energy field. Tuning into the heart is much easier. You become a little clearer, softer… a bit lighter, and more open.
The nervous system seems to quiet down, and there is a blissful state that arises just from being in our own energy field without outside influences. As the Atman, our soul, which partly resides in our Anandamaya Kosha (which translates to, Bliss Body) recalibrates to it’s own radiance, we experience our natural state which is pure joy and happiness. All we have to do is give ourselves the space and time to soften, open up, and become it. We can let it unfold out of us and merge into it.
You need not do anything. Remain sitting at your table and listen. You need not even listen, just wait. You need not even wait, just learn to be quiet, still and solitary. And the world will freely offer itself to you. It has no choice; it will roll in ecstasy at your feet.
—Franz Kafka
Like a river of love flowing through us and connecting us to all things, the great web of creation can be tuned into. It takes a calm, quiet stillness to sense it, and be of it. In the stillness is grace and connection. It is from this space creative activities are effortless, and forgiveness is simpler and automatic.
In the quietude of Zen, we are able to let go of all that we hold onto so tightly when we are plugged into the world. We part from identification with our fears, our emotional, reactive tension, dramas, and egoic attachments.
I recently listened to Thich Nhat Hanh’s the Art of Mindful Living where he says something beautiful, “Breathing in, I see myself as a mountain. Breathing out, I feel strong.”
If our mind is restless, we can repeat this mantra as it emanates a peaceful equanimity to give our mind something to focus on as we are learning to be still.
“I feel strong.”
Just that mantra is enough to transform our internal state of being.
In our society, we put a lot of weight into our efforts to be constantly engaged in community. Whether at work, school, or through social media, we are encouraged to focus on our outward appearance when in truth, focusing on a deeper connection within would enable us to connect to each other in a more authentic and meaningful way. We often keep ourselves busy getting caught in the chaos and drama of life, which can be at times superficial.
For those of us who are mystics, it is important to give ourselves the freedom and space to integrate what we are learning as we continue to rise from one vibrational frequency to another. Take time away from constantly focusing on the world. Listen. Go within.
In our relationships, the same holds true. We have to trust that as we separate we will join back together strengthened, and the timing of which will be divinely orchestrated. We must have faith in our bonds and hold the vision we will connect deeper than before, because of the growth we are both doing.
In the Book of Runes, under the Rune Gebo, the Rune of Partnership it states, “Remember to let the winds of heaven dance between you.”
This takes lots of trust, learning to let go, and practice honoring the transformational process.
Though we must take time for quietude, and honoring the unique call of our own journeys, supporting each other is vital as we go through our evolution of consciousness. Especially for people who are highly attuned or emotionally sensitive. There is much value in having a Satsang, or Sangha, a closely-knit spiritual family that empowers and walks beside you on your path.
This is a great benefit of social media, as we of the Web of Light are stationed (spread out) across the globe, and it is easy to find and recognize each other from the vibration of our profiles. Those of us more sensitive can even recognize each other from other lifetimes.
It’s also important for those of us who are continuously working with subtle energy to extricate ourselves from the collective so we can return to our own natural rhythms and be in harmony and peace in our center.
Additionally, each of us has guidance from astral planes of consciousness in the form of Angels, Guides, Ancestors, and helpers on our path. As we clear our space, and cultivate silence within our own being we are able to easily meet their frequency and be more available to guidance. We can then fuse with their wisdom and really learn what it is to co-create our lives in alignment to the highest truth available to us at all times.
The universe, our Sangha, our planet, and our guides are all on our side! It is important for us each and every moment to really be attuned to that. Sharing in their wisdom makes our collective stronger. And being a unified force for positive change, we are pioneers of a greater world consciousness and the evolution of our planet, Mother Earth.
This is why we came here. We must lead the way.
“Cultivating Silence — A Doorway to Zen”, by Michelle Infinity, May 7, 2015 at https://www.shift.is/2015/05/cultivating-silence-a-doorway-to-zen/
Original link: Cultivating Silence — A Doorway to Zen