Part of Rumi's quote, "none of this is outside you" comes to mind, vividly. To follow up on many of the previous reflections here, stillness and quieting are important components to really seeing. For me, it is cultivating daily, and especially in difficult relational situations, what is true for me: the most exquisite interconnectedness on this precious orb. A person wrote to me recently that the trouble with me is that I don't really see her. Disturbing as that is to me, when I quiet myself, and set aside ego, who I see is not the person who wrote that, but the essence within. Until our language with each other shifts to it's less about me and more about us, what she expressed will remain true for her.
I remember the first time I 'heard' the quote about being placed on this earth to be in dominion over the plants and the animals on earth and in the sea, and not connecting completely with it because already at a tender age of five I knew deep within that we can not exercise control over what seems to be a part of us. Now that I have been privileged to live longer than five, I understand deeply this to be true...
The story of the raven is beautifully written and shared. Seeing is an act without expectation, judgment, nor assumption. While it is wonderful to live being able to use our five senses, it is by trusting many of the other senses that our existence is enriched here. Many times the head (the thinking brain) steps in to dismiss what our body is telling us in those quiet seeing moments, and many times this action of rationalization overrides our experience in that moment. The thinking brain makes judgments, has strong opinions (who really is thinking here?), and makes decisions for us based on our very limited experience in this life. What may actually help is stepping back for a moment, pausing for that magnificent inhale, allowing the exhale to fully release, and begin to allow the senses of the ages that lie deep within our DNA to surface and live from that deep inner knowing about how none of this is outside us. Witness this radiant energetic expression of seeing arise. Let go of reaction, and embrace action.
Each of us is blessed with gifts of all sorts. And, we have the remarkable ability to learn, and apply. Many of us lack the confidence to do so, and thus miss out at times on seeing opportunities. Many of us have eyes, and do not see. Many of us have hands and do not see. Many of us have fully functioning bodies and do not see. We admire how people who are blind or have bodies that are not to the standard we expect rise above these conditions to inspire us and overwhelm us with their gifts.
I know when I really see. I tear up. I also have given up apologizing for this action, and am grateful that my body helps remind me that I have seen.
On Jun 26, 2012 Ricky wrote :
I remember the first time I 'heard' the quote about being placed on this earth to be in dominion over the plants and the animals on earth and in the sea, and not connecting completely with it because already at a tender age of five I knew deep within that we can not exercise control over what seems to be a part of us. Now that I have been privileged to live longer than five, I understand deeply this to be true...
The story of the raven is beautifully written and shared. Seeing is an act without expectation, judgment, nor assumption. While it is wonderful to live being able to use our five senses, it is by trusting many of the other senses that our existence is enriched here. Many times the head (the thinking brain) steps in to dismiss what our body is telling us in those quiet seeing moments, and many times this action of rationalization overrides our experience in that moment. The thinking brain makes judgments, has strong opinions (who really is thinking here?), and makes decisions for us based on our very limited experience in this life. What may actually help is stepping back for a moment, pausing for that magnificent inhale, allowing the exhale to fully release, and begin to allow the senses of the ages that lie deep within our DNA to surface and live from that deep inner knowing about how none of this is outside us. Witness this radiant energetic expression of seeing arise. Let go of reaction, and embrace action.
Each of us is blessed with gifts of all sorts. And, we have the remarkable ability to learn, and apply. Many of us lack the confidence to do so, and thus miss out at times on seeing opportunities. Many of us have eyes, and do not see. Many of us have hands and do not see. Many of us have fully functioning bodies and do not see. We admire how people who are blind or have bodies that are not to the standard we expect rise above these conditions to inspire us and overwhelm us with their gifts.
I know when I really see. I tear up. I also have given up apologizing for this action, and am grateful that my body helps remind me that I have seen.