Silent Musings

The title pretty much says it all. Lately it seems I’ve been on a long, strange trip, and the more certain I am that I’m headed in the right direction, the more it seems that the path disappears and leaves me without any reference points. The only certainty is that the Heart remains, Still, and yet so full of Fire and Tears.

As I look at the world around me, I see people living in a dream, and inexorably I realize that I am the Dreamer. The only apparent reality comes in the form of indescribable expressions of beauty that I see, hear, taste, touch, and feel from every direction. A Union with the Mystery, with the Divine. I don’t know if I know, or if I don’t know, of if there is even such a thing as knowledge. Certainty herself flees me as quickly as she appears, as does her constant companion uncertainty.

One thing I can say, is that this dream world is so beautifully full of shit. We think that we have discovered a special secret, that if we can produce some mystical state and Merge with the Universe, that we’ll finally Arrive. Whether it’s in samadhi, kensho, satori, a kundalini rising, the perfect tantric lover, a sudden flash of insight, the fire of deep devotion, finding Jesus as your Savior, or whatever. There are a million descriptions of the Divine. All so, so exquisite… and all bullshit. Life doesn’t mean anything. Nor does Enlightenment. There isn’t even any such thing. Life simply is what it is. Spendidly so.

Go and spend some time with your Lover. Or walk in Nature. Or just Listen. Feel the bittersweet pangs of the Heart as she wails in the suffering of Division. Life will show you what Is. Where and when if not Here and Now? The Laughter will show you the Way. I recommend you leave behind all the crap you know. It isn’t as easy as it sounds, but you can do it.

What is the difference
Between your experience of Existence
and that of a saint?

The saint knows
That the spiritual path
Is a sublime chess game with God

And that the Beloved
Has just made such a Fantastic Move

That the saint is now continually
Tripping over Joy
And bursting out in Laughter
And saying, “I Surrender!”

Whereas, my dear,
I am afraid you still think

You have a thousand serious moves.

-Hafiz