Silent Musings

Just for fun, OK? Don’t take it personally.

awakening = sudden realization that i’m better than other people.
present = thinking that being here is a special achievement.
namaste = i’m too cool to say “hello”.
mindful = trying too hard to impress.
manifest = take credit where no credit is due.
spiritual = has a hardened belief system.
advaita = replacing your version of duality with mine.
ego = my excuse for acting like an a**hole.
karma = justification for my failures, and retribution for my enemies’ failures.
practice = getting high on the cheap.
God = someone please give me the answer.
enlightenment = fantasy meets reality.
heaven/hell = country club/prison for those who agree/disagree with me.
divine = that which truly is better.
guru = someone whose wisdom I exhalt and whose faults I ignore.
devotion = begging at the feet of my lord and/or guru for spiritual goodies.
om = the first and last symbol of hypocrisy.
tantra = ecstatic union of eastern mysticism and western indulgence.
zen = too cool to make sense.

It’s ironic how truth operates. When one has no clue what it is or how to find it, there seems to be no trouble telling great tales of false notions so firmly believed. Then, as truth is approached more closely, suddenly the ability to speak about it seems to disappear completely. There comes a realization that there is no way to state the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, and one must be satisfied at best to point in its general direction. Even then there is a certainty that some, if not most, will misinterpret what is said. It has to be this way.

Fortunately, with this realization comes the knowledge that all is well and as it should be. The compulsion to be heard is so closely aligned with untruth, that it is likely impossible to have one without the other. And so one is content to speak only when spoken to, and to allow the quest for truth drive the need to communicate it. No quest, no communication.

And so it appears that there is nothing left to say, at least for now. It’s not so much that the end of the path has been reached as the path has dwindled into nothing. There is surely somewhere to go from here, but there is no idea as to where. And “I” am no longer the guide on this journey. Okay, so I never was the guide, but I did believe I was.

Therefore the future is now left in the capable hands of the universe. If questions come to “me” to be answered, I may answer, if so compelled. No promises. But you, dear reader, are certainly welcome to ask if you have any that surely need answering. From where the answers may come, I cannot say.

Perhaps without prompting something will arise spontaneously that wants to be written, but I wouldn’t count on it. I used to wonder when the sages that I knew would say that nothing in their interactions was as important as the questions being asked. Now I understand. To reveal itself as any kind of manifestation, the truth needs to be sought in earnest. Otherwise, it simply rests as it is.

Man: God, if you can hear me, please answer my prayer. I’m desperate to discover your true nature.

God: …

Man: Please, God! I don’t know how long I can take this. I’ve meditated for over 30 years, and still, nothing. Can you please show me a sign?

God: …

Man: God, why have you forsaken me? You reveal yourself to others, but not to me. Can you please show me, just this once? That’s all I ask.

God: …

Man: This is hopeless. I need a drink.

God: (thinking to himself) How much more clear and obvious can I be?! This is hopeless. I need a drink.

I keep noticing lately all the attention being paid to “being present”, “living in the present moment”, “being in the now”, or however one might phrase essentially the same notion. Once Oprah gets into the game, you can be sure to find it becoming ubiquitous within pop culture. While it is a positive sign that the nature of presence is gathering such attention in the search for essential truth, there is also a fundamental yet common misconception at play in the mix. Namely, that there is any possibility one could be anything other than radiantly present in this moment.

I’ll make this as simple as I possibly can. There is only the present moment. There is no other time and no other place (in fact, there is no time or space at all, but that’s another topic). So where else could one be but here and now? That’s right, it’s impossible. The troubles begin when one thinks there is an alternative (i.e. past or future). It is precisely the concern over the past or future that we label as “not being present”, when in fact, this phrase is an oxymoron. And so to summarize, the key to “being present” is to understand deeply that you already and always are.

If you don’t believe what I’m saying here, try this little experiment. First notice in any moment that you are aware. Then ask yourself the question, “does awareness require any effort at all, or does it occur naturally without intervention?” Then notice whether awareness occurs in the past, present, or future. You should be able to see clearly that awareness is as naturally occurring as a heartbeat, always there, always in the present. The past and future are made up of thoughts (within present awareness) and nothing else.

Also, I should point out that I’m not writing this to be a smart aleck or wow you with my logical brilliance. There is a tremendous benefit to really getting what I am saying here. It is precisely what is needed to actualize the teachings of all the sages and authors who speak of the benefits of being in the present moment.

So congratulations! You’re present, always have been, always will be. Just don’t think otherwise.

It is difficult to write when one has no frame of reference from which to speak. No map, no truth, nothing of which to be certain, no experience that connects to any other in any logical way. There is a distinct connection in every moment, but it is perplexingly self-referential, yet simulaneously all encompassing.

What else can I say? You had to be there? Except that there isn’t any “there” there. Maybe one day I’ll have something more to say, or maybe “I” will simply disappear into the Beautiful empty pages that emanate from the Heart.

What kind of work
Can I do in this world?

Who would be kind enough
To hire an old holy Bum,

One with a great reputation
For loving the charms
Of the lawless
And the wild artists and the lewd?

Maybe I could become a poet.

Maybe the Beloved
Will make my love so Pure

That He will come to sit upon
All my Beautiful empty pages.
And when you come to look at them,

He might kick you
With His Beautiful Divine Foot.

- Hafiz