The most important thing
has always been
doing what's called for
in the moment at hand.

The here, now is always
calling for something,
and we are always having
to rise to the occasion
with the right response
to meet the circumstances,
rhythm and flow
of the times 
that always "are a'changing.'"

"Wake up and meet the day,"
day after day.
is the way
of seeing how, 
and where,
it goes
everyday.

It is best to be "loose in the saddle
and light on our feet."

We don't need to know anything
that we do not already know.
Another Bible study isn't going to
make any difference in the way our life
is lived. 

Neither is another sermon.
Or another book.

It comes down to us and our intuition,
and the emptiness, stillness and silence.

And our being clear about our original nature, 
our inherent virtues--
what we do best and what we love/enjoy doing most--
and our inherent intuition.

We stand/sit between our wants/wishes/desires/fears/dreads/anxiety
and what our intuition is calling us to do
in response to what is happening
in each situation as it arises.

And we say/decide/determine when and where 
and how often to say,
(To our intuition),
"Okay, thy will, and not my will be done."

And. That. Is. It.

It comes down to nothing more than that
time after time.

We can believe anything we want/decide/choose
to believe as long as it enables us to do
what is called for,
when it is called for,
where it is called for,
how it is called for,
time after time.

We don't need more information.

We don't need to know something
We don't know.

We only need to establish and develop
our relationship 
with our intuition.

Understanding/comprehending/knowing
that we exist to serve our intuition,
not that your intuition exits to serve us.

We are Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden,
and Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane,
where the right relationship with our intuition
is simply, "Thy will, not mine, be done."

The plus in this arrangement
is that living aligned with,
in accord with,
at one with our intuition
is the best thing we can do for ourselves,
and our life will get a lift like that (snaps fingers).

And it will only ask us 
to do what is called for
in each situation as it arises.

It is the deal of the day
every day.

The key to a well-lived life
is learning to ride the waves--
to read the currents--
of life,
and comprehend the signs of the times.

It is all about the flow,
and the signs of the times.

You can be in accord with the flow,
or you can be swimming against the current,
your entire life long.

Intuition reads the flow
and goes with it.

The willful pursuit of success
is the salmon's return to the breeding grounds.
They get there and then what?

With the flow or against the flow
is the primary choice of life.

But first comes the ability to read the flow,
the knowledge of the flow.

We talk about flow all the time,
but there are few experts in the field
guiding people in the process
of alignment with the flow.

I'm thinking that is because
success, acquisition, acquirement, triumph
are all the rage.

Tevya (in "The Fiddler On The Roof")
was a master at being one with the flow.
And a total failure at mastering success
(Understood as being at the top
and retiring at forty).

Living well is about understanding 
what life is about 
and being in full accord with it.

No?

All the sitting, all the attention devoted to the dharma, all the talk, talk, talk… is not doing it the way the Buddha did it.

The Buddha saw what he looked at and did what was called for in each situation as it arose. Without consulting a manual of how to do it.

Seeing what we look at entails seeing HOW we are looking at it and HOW we have to get outside our own eyes/brain/experience in order to SEE what we are looking at without all of our expectations, assumptions, presumptions, judgments, etc., getting in the way.

Sitting is just sitting/reflecting/realizing/reflecting… There is nothing to know/understand beyond the eternal work of knowing/understanding. And that is nothing more than sitting/seeing/reflecting… Because of the projecting/denying/self-delusion/etc. that goes on within us 24/6/12.

And Buddhism continues the nonsense of projecting answers. There is no end to suffering, but Buddhism is always talk-talk-talking about “liberation” and “the end of suffering.”

There is only growing up and doing what is called for in each situation as it arises, where and how it is called for.

Then, sitting/seeing/realizing only to arise and do, only to sit and see, arise and do forever.

Buddhism ought to come clear about this and stop all of the rigamarole regarding how to sit, and how to think, and how to act like a proper Buddhist.

The Buddha never though about how to act like a proper Buddhist.

Just as Jesus never thought about how to act like a proper Christian.

Sit-see-arise-do-sit-see-arise-do… See?

We help each other the most,
I think,
just by keeping one another going.

An encouraging presence.
Listening to the other's stories. 
Sharing a meal.
Helping to bear a burden. 
A kind word.
A soft, safe, place to be...

Carry on, carry on,
we can do this. 

Being what the situation calls for,
reliably,
dependably,
over time.

Not much to it.
Anybody can do it.
Helping Sisyphus with his work
rolling that ball
up this hill,
then down on the other side.

Woops! Lookit! There's another hill!
Who would'a thought it.
Let's do it again!

Helping and being helped,
one hill--
one sunrise--
at a time.

We can do this!
Let's go!

We do not shape the world/life 
to suit ourselves.
We shape ourselves
to fit what is called for in the world/life.

The world/Life asks certain things of us,
we negotiate how much for the world/life,
how much for us,
but it is very much a negotiated settlement
and not something we can insist/demand/require
of the world and of life,
that they serve us and keep us happy.

Each situation as it arises
asks things of us.
What do we say no to?
What do we say yes to?

We have to be aware of our yes's and no's.
Of where we are pushing/forcing our way,
of where we are refusing to cooperate
with what is being asked of us,
of how we are negotiating our way
through the world/life.

We get up and face the day--
and then what?

We have to pay attention
to the "Then what?"

What is asked of us?
What demands are we making?
How aware can we be
of the situation as it is arising?

Of each situation as they all arise?
Toward what are we living in each one?
It only takes looking/listening
to see/hear.

Monitor the amount of emotion
in your tone of voice
as an indicator of the degree
of emotional reactivity in your life. 

Aim at neutral living
from the center
of all bell-shaped curves.

We can't live from the center
without being grounded in neutral
with our emotional responses to life.

The image of a spiritual master
screaming at their life
suggests one who is neither spiritual
nor a master of anything.

See if you can tell what is called for
in each situation as it arises.

NOT what you want to happen in the situation!

What the situation itself is calling for. 

Live to know what is called for
in each situation as it arises.

Practice, practice, practice
knowing what is called for 
in each situation as it arises. 

When you watch movies,
read novels, 
ask yourself constantly,
"What is called for here, now?"
"What does this situation call for?"
"What are the characters missing
about what is called for?"

Knowing what is called for
when and where and how
is the missing element
in human relations around the world.

We can begin to remedy the situation
by paying attention to what is called for
situation by situation,
beginning with the next situation
that comes our way.

When the New Testament writer (Maybe Paul)
said, "Christ is all and in all,"
he was saying, "God is all and in all."
Which is saying, "God is all there is--
so what's the point of all the divisions
and discord?"

"How can God be at God's throat?"

Look around.
There is nothing but war, contention, strife...

on all sides.

God at war with God.

This is ridiculous.
God becoming conscious hates God.
Humans becoming conscious hate humans.
What is one thing consciousness is good for?

I'll wait.

And, while I wait, 
I will drop back into emptiness, stillness and silence.
The Buddha's answer to everything.

"Just sit! It will all pass."

Or, "Denial is the solution to all our problems today."

Maybe the one thing consciousness is good for:
Unconsciousness!

Knowing what is called for--
and doing it--
is all there is to it
in each situation as it arises.

Never mind what you want,
or what is in your best interest,
or what you "ought to do."

What is called for here, now?

That is all you need to know.

And do.

Forever.

Think of all that is arrayed against
knowing what is called for and doing it.
That should tell you something--
like what a threat doing what is called for
is to the way things are
around the world
throughout time.

The way things are suits a lot of people
just fine.

A lot of people 
have a lot at stake
in maintaining the status quo
just as it is 
forever.

If we start doing what is called for
they will lose their minds.

The Mafia, for instance,
would be out of business over night.

Do you see what I am saying?

Are you with me or not? 

Our circumstances can sweep us away.
We have to be focused on--
and grounded in--
our intrinsic intuition
and the here, now and what is being called for
moment-to-moment
in each situation as it arises.

The focus and ground of our life
has to be on our intuition 
and what is called for
right here, right now.

What we want,
where we want to be,
and what is going to happen tomorrow
and what are we going to do then, etc.
cannot enter the picture.

Everything else has to wait
for us to consult our intuition
and determine the best response to make
to what is called for right here, right now.

That is the procedure for dealing with
every here, now that comes along
for the rest of time.

What is called for right here, right now?
Do that.
And then we will deal with what's after that.