Get out of that dilemma

I am sometimes asked why share Zen stories as part of my workshops and group sessions. In a nutshell, Zen stories may confuse or leave one hanging, yet they do not impart information or knowledge. They are designed to to get rid of something, to get rid of a false problem with which you are wrestling so that the problem will disappear as the result of understanding the story.  In this way, they invite joining the dots like stars into constellations and evoke eureka moments.

There was a Master walking, engaged in forest meditation with a group of his disciples.  Suddenly, he picked up a tree branch and said to one of the monks, "what is it?" As the monk hesitated , did not answer immediately, the Master hit him with it.  Then, the Master turned to another monk and asked, "what is it?" That monk said, "Give it to me so I can see."   The Master tossed it and the monk hit the Master.  The Master said, "Well, you got out of that dilemma." 

When we look for the mind that seems to be giving us so much trouble and realize it cannot be found, this is a pointer to the solution to our perceived problem. A dilemma is like a physical stick that many people hold within themselves, dwell on, discuss or allow to fester. Focusing on dilemmas harms ourselves. Letting go, going with the flow, acting spontaneously, implies less thinking, and more savouring this moment as it is. A dilemma is a state of mind. Albert Einstein echoes we cannot solve a problem with the same level of consciousness that creates it.  We can always tune in, and allow the rhythm of the breath to guide us. The power resides within.

Timing speaks

Perfect timing is all there is. Everything flows like a river running downstream unless the mind gets in the way to stifle momentum. Allow yourself to feel the synchrony among all your life choices. Watch what happens as you only see connections, only allow yourself to think and feel that you are doing your best.  You no longer focus attention or thought energy anywhere else.

Notice how you allow time to speak to you. Notice that when you are grateful for the time you give yourself, and how you use time, that life gives you more reasons to feel gratitude.  As you detach from distractions, watch body, mind and perceived conditions. You no longer think or experience things you do not like.  You are always in the right place, right time.

As you respect and value yourself, its amazing how you recognize timing is always perfect. As you choose to see value in everyone, that is what you look for and see, and this is what they show you back. Allow yourself to see something lovable in every other person.  

Drop everything. Be in harmony. See through a lens of equality. Suddenly time is silent.  As you recall you are an unlimited being, its no longer relevant to focus on past or future.  From the moment you have no point of reference in time, you recognize what lives eternally.

"The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once." -Albert Einstein

Make every moment count

Through humble surrender, each person is invited to open the heart to the deeper truth. As our self-worth increases, we let more love in and let go of suffering.  Notice what is happening as you let go of beliefs about what is right and wrong, let go of desires, ambitions and be an empty cup. We step in and out of dimensions based on where our energy vibration aligns. To grow more conscious is to open the mind to possibilities and clear cellular memories.  The universe reflects whatever you believe. 

Making every moment count means knowing everything that unfolds invites you to learn something.  Allowing yourself to feel negative feelings is a step in letting them go. As a momentary reaction, you can see everything through the lens of love and embrace all parts of yourself.  Comparisons, judgments, and memories prevent you from releasing your personal stories. Feel what you feel without focusing on it or allowing it to control you. The feeling leaves your energy field and reveals the timeless being that is you.

"Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count: everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted." - Albert Einstein

What is before human being?

Questions arise that beckon you to explore deeper.  You may have asked what came before the chicken and the egg? What is before the human + being? Is it all simply Oneness?

You broadcast the answer in every breath. It flows through you whether or not you exert effort. What is the nature of silence? Does it only speak through emptiness, timelessness and unseen energy?

Something you come to find is human identity is not what you think.  Something comes to know itself through you so that it can tap into and expand knowing about everything. 

Consciousness is expressing itself as a human being.  In this moment, what it develops is a fascination with itself.  The human never acts independently from its source.  What do presence and true nature reveal about "you"? Notice subtle nuances.  Feel that you embody the past present and future in this moment. How does it feel to be a stargate, a porthole to infinity?

"Human beings must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it. " - Albert Einstein

Reframe everything as love

As events unfold in your life, the ego mind prompts you to interpret in ways that block the message of love.  To reframe, step back from what the ego tells you and consider the frame, or 'lens' through which this reality is being created. Understand the unspoken assumptions, including beliefs.  Consider how your perspective is enriched as you reframe everything as love;

1) View everything as useful lesson. The universe presents energy in such a way as to encourage you to create more loving relationships. This includes learning to view every person with compassion.  Through apparent joy and pain, you actually learn about love from many different sides.  It expands you.  

2) Reach out with understanding. Regardless of the magnitude and nature of experience, faith and non-violence are key. Reacting with fear, sefishness or other negativity, misses the point of why you exist now. Useful growth occurs through facing obstacles.  As one becomes aware, one has occasion to recognize and unlearn undesirable traits.

3) Recognize love as dynamic energy. This is reflected in the flow of giving and receiving.  Unconditional love is here whether you are open to it or not. Love goes beyond what you read. Love is felt by attuning to intuition, opening the senses and permitting all experience to touch the heart and expand you. It is about dissolving fear, feeling the bliss that echos everything and being that.

“A problem can not be solved from the same logical level it was created.” -Albert Einstein