Beneath the Bodhi Tree
the Buddha reached a state of being
beyond Fear, Desire, and Duty,
and was unmoved by anything
that appeared before him,
and available to everything
as being on equal footing to him.

Degree of importance disappeared.
Preference no longer existed.
Bias and prejudice,
racism and sexism,
were nowhere to be found.

The Buddha was "as one thus come."
As one just born.
With no opinions, judgments or expectations
to cloud his perceptions.
He saw with right seeing,
knew what was what
and what was called for
and was able to respond spontaneously,
in the moment
with the gifts of his original nature
and the innate virturosities 
(The things he did best)
that were his to share
in doing what needed to be done
where/when/how it needed to be done
no matter what,
from that point on.

Being enlightened
is being intuitive
and allowing intuition 
to lead the way
without concern for any of the things
that produce attraction or revulsion
or "tilt the table" in favor 
of certain outcomes.

What needs to be done
from the standpoint of "disinterested"
intuition alone?

How do we become disinterested enough
to engage our intuition on those grounds alone?

That is what the Buddha did under the Bodhi Tree.

–0–

We grow up quite at the mercy
of our own perspective/perceptions.

How we look determines--or strongly influences--
what we see,
and what we see determines--or strongly influences--
what we do in response
throughout the entire course of our life.

If we would only look at our seeing,
at the way we see what we look at,
with an investigative mind,
asking the questions that beg to be asked,
and saying the things that cry out to be said,
what a different person we would be!

But no.

We are who we are because we refuse 
to examine how we see,
to see how we see,
and how it is a function 
of what we expect to see,
and not an accurate representation
of what is actually there.

We are such jerks--
and "jerks" is a wonderfully
more accurate description of us all
than the word "sinners" is.

"Sinners" is the description applied to us
by those who are trying to sell us "salvation."
And we rid ourselves of that designation
by "accepting Jesus as our Lord and savior,"
but no one can relieve us of being jerks,
which is clearly a residual moniker 
of those who would save us.

We have to do our own work
in ridding ourselves of that.

That work consists of seeing how we see,
and all the alternative ways we might see it,
and how what we see depends
on how we look,
and what we are doing to ourselves
and others
by not being deliberately objective
and astute
in our work to say what's what
and what it means
and how we might best respond to it.

And allow that to create within us 
an abiding sense of kindness and humility
so that we become a source of grace and mercy
in a world dying for the experience 
of those things,
ending our jerk-hood forever, and ever, Amen!

–0–

Kara Lawson's "Handle Hard Better"
YouTube speech was an instant hit
because we all knew it
but hadn't put it together
the way she did.

Her saying it enabled us to recognize it
as an "Aha! Moment,"
because we already knew it
and did not have to be talked into it,
or have it explained to us.

We knew it instantly, 
because we all had known it intuitively.

That's enlightenment.
Knowing what we have always known intuitively,
and recognizing it instantaneously
when we hear it, or think it: "Aha! Of Course!"

Enlightenment is not knowing something we don't know.
Enlightenment is knowing what we know.
What we have always known.
Intuitively.
Not rationally.
Not logically.

Right Brain stuff.
Not Left Brain stuff.

–0–

Nature at its best. 
Nature is always at its best.
The way nature is is the best nature can be. 
Not so with civilization.
Civilization is rarely--is NEVER--at its best.

Sunrise at the Tetons for the natural world
is much the same over time.
The seasons change, but not much else.
And everything in this photograph
does pretty much what it does everyday
all the time.
Nature's way.

And if we were primal people,
we would fit into this scene
along with everything else in the scene.
And we would rise from sleep
and carry out the business of the day,
and fall asleep to do it again tomorrow.
With very little that could come along 
to disrupt the flow.

Until Columbus brought Civilization to life
in the natural surroundings of this land.
And with Civilization came anxiety and uncertainty,
and wealth and poverty,
and life as we know it to be.

As a primal person before Columbus,
if something happened, 
we would fold our life around it,
deal with it as best we could
and go on, if we could go on,
in a world that could sustain us
because it didn't take much to sustain us.

Now, we need 10,000 kinds of insurance
to help us sustain ourselves if "something happens."

The natural world is always just what it is.
Civilization is always what it is--a trip through
uncertainty and insecurity 24/7/12. 

–0–

What chain of associations
can you create from this photograph?
Spend some time
seeing what comes to mind
as you consider the image.
Try for 3 to 5 links.

Then bring your present state of being
into your consciousness.

Ask yourself what the links
that came to mind regarding the photo
might bring to bear 
on your present state of being.

What do they have together
that might be usefully applied
to how things are with you at the moment?

How can they be of help?

As you work with this exercise,
you are strengthening your creative imagination,
your intuitive capabilities,
and your ability to access/engage
your Right Brain--
as well as giving yourself
an opportunity to help you
in a round-about, indirect,
kind of way.

All of which may prove to be useful
in the work to navigate your path
that lies ahead.

You will be inviting reflection to 
lead you into new realizations--
and who knows where that might take you?

–0–

There is the intuition 
to sense/realize/know
what needs to be done,
where,
when
and how--
and there is the will to do it.

And that is all there is to it.

To know,
will,
and do
what,
where,
when,
how,
through all of the circumstances
of our life.

Makes living attentively
from the heart,
in service to our heart
situation by situation
the greatest work of humankind.

Requiring us to empty ourselves
of all desire,
fear,
ambition,
duty,
obligation--
of anything and everything
that would interfere
with our tending the matters
of what,
where,
when,
how,
so that we might
see,
hear,
know
and do
what is called for
here and now
through all that remains
of our life on earth.

Which makes our relationship
with here and now
the most important thing
forever.

–0–

What do we spend our time thinking about?
What preoccupies us?
Absorbs us?
Consumes us?

What do we dwell on?
What can we not stop thinking about?

Think about that.
Meditate on that.
Explore that.
Turn that over and over.
Reflect on that.
Ask all of the questions
you can imagine about that.

Then interview that.
Ask questions of that.
How did that become the most important
thing in your life?

Pursue that without pause.
See how many new realizations
you can come up with about that.

–0–

Going through life in a semi-trance state
is the way to stay in touch
with our Right Brain
while remaining tuned in to our Left Brain.

Doing so requires us to be somewhat distant
from the distracting noise
of life in the ordinary world
of normal, apparent reality.

And we may look out the window a lot,
and write ourselves notes
when reflection sparks realization
and we don't want to forget it.

There is a lot going on between 
Right and Left Brain,
and the work to be aware of that
while responding to traffic signals
and highway construction
requires us to attain a high degree
of acumen and aptness 
in navigating daily life
while maintaining our balance and harmony
on all levels.

If we pause to think about it,
we lose our place in all we are doing
to keep pace with everything that is going on,
and develop the art of laughing a lot
at our close calls and near misses.

Musing becomes amusing after a while,
and we wouldn't revert to our old way
of living for fame or fortune.

Being at one with the flow of life and being
beats anything the old world has to offer,
and the new world keeps getting increasingly
wonder-filled by the day.

–0–

I'm thinking what we are looking for
is peace and contentment,
a sense of satisfaction 
with our life,
and a "happy to be here, now" orintation
throughout each day,
being comfortable with our surroundings
and with our prospects,
and at one with ourselves
and the time and place of our living.

And I'm thinking we are never more
than a perspective shift
away from being at home 
in that kind of place.

"This is the way things are,
and this is what we can do about it,
and that's that."

What's keeping us 
from being okay
with that realization?

If we can't do anything more
than what we are doing
to make things as good as they can be,
what's the point of stewing about it?

This is as good as things can be!
Why not make our peace with it?
Why make it worse by hating it?
makes it better or worse.

We only have to change our mind
about our relationship with how things are
for things to be as good as they can be.
And, that's as good as things can be!
Fuming about it makes it worse.

How we think/feel about how things are
when nothing we can do will improve them,
determines how things are.

Changing our mind about how things are
always improves them.

–0–

Every living thing,
every sentient being
(And sentience may be a quality
of rocks and soil and grains of sand,
light rays and lightening bolts,
who is to say?),
experiences, or engages in,
slack times as this Mallard duck is doing
afloat on the still waters
of the Bog Garden pond on a cloudy day.

Slack times are important times,
crucial times,
and we must see to it 
that we participate in them
more often than we do.

I have been looking out the window
all my life.

Some people call it "woolgathering,"
others say they are "musing,"
or "talking a walk-a-bout,"
or "reflecting,"
or "seeking clarity"...

Whatever we call it,
it comes down to entering a trance state
in which our Right Brain is communing
with our Left Brain,
resetting our internal clock,
or reorienting our internal direction, 
or getting us back on the path...

So that whatever is in charge
of guiding our boat 
on its path through the sea
is able to clear its desk
and put us on course again.

Slack time is the pause that,
not only "refreshes,"
but also recharges and redirects
us on our way.

So don't be ashamed of "checking out"!
Do it deliberately.
Call it taking a coffee break,
and do it looking out the window.

–0–

Wholeheartedness is the measure by which
we are to gauge the worth of our options
and choices.

Can we do it wholeheartedly?
Is our heart fully in it?
Does it make our little heart sing
and our little toes dance?

If not, steer clear!

Avoid all things we are iffy about!
Time is too short
to not mean it from the start!

I have an order of the day 
that I carry out wholeheartedly.

Other possibilities regularly come along.
I could give up This for That any time.

I have learned to say no with aplomb.
And if the person who initiated the invitation persists,
I, laughingly, reply,
"Why would I want to spend my time
with someone who can't take 'No' for an answer?" 

That nearly always leaves me with
having my heart in what I do.

If the other presses their point,
I repeat my previous statement
without laughing. 

–0–

"Being political" is getting what we want
and avoiding what we don't want.

Everyone has their own idea
of how things ought to be.

"Politics" is where we strive 
to have our idea implemented
and to prevent not-out-idea
from being forced on us.

"Politics" is the battle field
for having what we want
the way we want it
without actually going to war
and killing each other
over our preferences.

Although people still die
over how things are done
and not done.

Slavery and the genocide
of indigenous Americans
attest to that.

Why can't we just live together
in ways we all can tolerate?

Why can't we all just like 
the same things?
Why do some of us have to hate
others of us?

Why does intolerance
have such a hold on us?
Such power over us?

Where and how do we draw the line? 

–0–