Awareness or Blindness?

"Remember the entrance door to the Sanctuary is inside you." Rumi

Are we looking inside? Is there a curiosity? Bringing curiosity to our experiences, we become Aware. Our eyes are open and notice stuff we haven't seen before. We learn to recognize what's true and false, and refrain from getting caught up in pain producing, untrue thoughts.

Not looking within, we stay ignorant (and blind) to what's true. We are walking around with "eyes wide shut". We live from unexplored beliefs created in the past, which may no longer have relevance. We may continue to bite our nails, think of oneself as a "Type A" person, be anxious, and unable to relax.

We will continue to think the same way, unless we stop and consider the connection of our feelings and experiences to belief. It is important to wonder about the beliefs behind our behavior.

In questioning belief, we uncover mistaken habitual beliefs. With open honest exploration directed within, asking, "What is this?" we find what is true. Confusion disperses in a moment of seeing what's true. A feeling of freedom remains. And no one else can give us such a feeling. The true Sanctuary lies in seeing and knowing what's true for oneself.

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an excerpt from Nina Livingstone's forthcoming book Let's Not Call It Meditation:Practical information for people who think they can't sit still and quiet the mind. I saw a bumper sticker once, which read, "Curiosity explores magic. So ask questions!" The "magic" is what happens when we are open, and actively curious! Watching a child explore the garden soil demonstrates this perfectly. Anything found is a treasure. All of it is as it is, and the moment-to- moment detailed looking is enough! Curiosity fuels the whole exploration. There is nothing to judge as good or bad. Everything discovered is perfect, just as it is.Wonder-full!

When we bring an open curiosity to our confusion, and our painful experiences, we allow a kind of magic into our lives. Curiosity allows us to explore without knowing how things will work out. Feeling the body's experiences, noticing thought, and not doing anything to resist or hold on, we discover the cloud-like qualities of our feelings and thoughts. Fears dissipate. We notice physical sensations and/or hear thoughts passing through. There's nothing else for the mind to do. We're simply noticing what's happening in the moment.