We all have a tendency to some degree to look outside of ourselves for answers. We think that someone is going to swoop into our lives and save the day—leaving us free from our problems. I remember first meeting David Nichtern, who is a senior Shambhala teacher and also one of my mentors. He said to me, “Johnny, no one is going to save you—you have to do the work yourself”. It was a sobering thought, and in some ways, it was a slap in the face—an invitation to sit up straight, be responsible for my life and begin doing the work.
Guru is a Sanskrit word that means “to bring light to darkness”. Our darkness is our delusion which creates confusion within our lives. Spiritual practice is meant to bring light onto our darkness and lift the veil of confusion. Seeking out a spiritual teacher is very popular in the east and it is becoming more popular in the west. When I asked David what the role of a teacher was, he said it was to hold up a mirror unto the student. His answer reminded me of an expression, “The ball is in your court”. The teacher simply aids the student in seeing themselves in a clearer light by continually helping the student understand their experience. The teacher simply keeps throwing the ball back into our court.
This weekend I had a pretty powerful experience early Saturday morning that fully brought home why the ball has to be in our court. I was reading Big Mind, Big Heart by Dennis Genpo Merzel and I experienced Big Mind. I have had several glimpses of Big Mind before, yet this weekend it was particularly powerful. I dropped into a whole new level of understanding. I cannot write too much about this experience because there are no words that can describe Big Mind. What I can say is that there was a knowing beyond anything I have ever experienced. This knowing was accompanied by a deep sense of peace. I just sat there for a while on Saturday and well, I just sat there.
The only thing that holds us back from experiencing our fullness is ourselves. When we bring our attention fully to this moment and stop striving, stop wanting it to be different, and simply be with our experience, we experience our light--darkness fades and we realize that the ball has always been in our court. If we can simply just see that we are the ones we are looking for. Within us is everything and outside of us is everything. There is only separation within our mind's perception. This is the experience of Big Mind.
Guru is a Sanskrit word that means “to bring light to darkness”. Our darkness is our delusion which creates confusion within our lives. Spiritual practice is meant to bring light onto our darkness and lift the veil of confusion. Seeking out a spiritual teacher is very popular in the east and it is becoming more popular in the west. When I asked David what the role of a teacher was, he said it was to hold up a mirror unto the student. His answer reminded me of an expression, “The ball is in your court”. The teacher simply aids the student in seeing themselves in a clearer light by continually helping the student understand their experience. The teacher simply keeps throwing the ball back into our court.
This weekend I had a pretty powerful experience early Saturday morning that fully brought home why the ball has to be in our court. I was reading Big Mind, Big Heart by Dennis Genpo Merzel and I experienced Big Mind. I have had several glimpses of Big Mind before, yet this weekend it was particularly powerful. I dropped into a whole new level of understanding. I cannot write too much about this experience because there are no words that can describe Big Mind. What I can say is that there was a knowing beyond anything I have ever experienced. This knowing was accompanied by a deep sense of peace. I just sat there for a while on Saturday and well, I just sat there.
The only thing that holds us back from experiencing our fullness is ourselves. When we bring our attention fully to this moment and stop striving, stop wanting it to be different, and simply be with our experience, we experience our light--darkness fades and we realize that the ball has always been in our court. If we can simply just see that we are the ones we are looking for. Within us is everything and outside of us is everything. There is only separation within our mind's perception. This is the experience of Big Mind.
2 comments:
Your blog reminded me of a great quote (cannot find author) "Hint: The cage is not locked". We can always choose to just step outside. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Cara I beleive it is Rumi who said, Why do you stay imprisoned when the door is wide open"
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