Memories
In the interview with Julia I touched on the importance of
the present moment in finding the peace that we all desire. There are many different ways in which one
can “find” the present moment, which is the only moment there really is. One of the chapters in the book talks about
the use of the past to access the present moment, which seems contradictory,
but I have found it very effective.
Though the book covers several other teachings and pointers that I have
found effective, I have decided to share that chapter because I feel like it is
one of the key pointers that can be readily picked up by everyone. You are welcome to read more about me and
access my blog on my website (http://www.treycarland.com). I hope you enjoy :)
Chapter 45 - Memories
I know by now you are well familiar with the idea that the
present moment is all there ever is, has been or will be, but I wanted to use
memories as an example of how one can touch that which is always present. Think back to your earliest memory. Visualize it as if you are reliving it. For me this was when I was two years
old. My mom was going into the hospital
to give birth to my brother. I was in
the car with my uncle Bill and I had a can of peanuts between my legs. As we were pulling away I spilled the peanuts
between my legs. As I was trying to pull
them out from under me I realized that they had slid so far up under me that I
couldn’t reach them. So I lifted my butt
up and as I did the peanuts went sliding back under the seat and into the floor
board (the back of the seat had a gap where it met the bottom seat). I also remember my uncle being a bit
flustered by this.
When I think back on this memory, I look at what has not
changed since then. The one who
witnessed it all happen is the same one who is witnessing these words being
typed on a screen. It is the same “I”
that has witnessed all of my life situations and will continue to witness all
of my life situations. It has not
changed through out my entire life. My
physical body has changed, my thoughts and ideas have changed, my likes and
dislikes have changed; but that “I” that has witnessed it all has not changed. That is the ever present awareness of what
goes on in daily life. Everything we
experience happens in the space of that awareness, which is untouched by the
mental interpretations of those experiences.
The mind labels, judges and learns from these experiences, but the
awareness behind it all has no stake in the outcome. It is simply here.
When you look back on any of your past experiences you are
“seeing” them Now from that same awareness.
Focusing your attention on that awareness is how you can “see” that
which you really are, underneath the thoughts and mental labels. Asking yourself, “Who am I?” or “Who is this
“I” that is witnessing all of these things happen (past or present)?” is a very
effective way of turning your awareness back on itself, or becoming aware of
awareness.
This awareness, which is the only thing about us that is
real, is not ours alone. In fact, that
awareness is what we all have in common.
We are all that same ever present awareness beyond thought. That is what makes us all one.
Once you have become aware of your own awareness you can
then look at others with that awareness and see them as that same
awareness. They may look and act
differently, have different life experiences, but deep down they are nothing
more than that same pure awareness. You
can, in effect, look through the eyes of another and see that there is a
background of awareness behind everything they say, do and see.
It’s from this space of recognizing all as awareness where
true compassion arises. Ultimately there
is no difference between me and you. We
are all just conscious awareness. This
is what all of the spiritual teachings are pointing toward. They all provide pointers to going beyond
thought so that we can view the world as this awareness, and, in so doing, Be
that which we already are. Interacting
with life situations from that space is how we can achieve a state of
peace. A peace that most of us have only
briefly glimpsed in our lives.
There are many practices that assist in disassociating with
thoughts so that we can rest in that spacious awareness, but one of the most
simple (other than self inquiry) is one that is mentioned in The Power of Now
by Eckhart Tolle. Ask yourself, “I
wonder what I am going to think next?”
Then focus your attention and wait for a thought to occur as if you were
a cat intensely watching a mouse hole.
When a thought occurs, let it go and ask the question again. Then go back to waiting for the next thought. While in that state of waiting, without
thought, you are completely present as that awareness.
There are many other portals to connecting with awareness
and I recommend you try them all. Don’t
just try them once. Engage in them on a
regular basis throughout your day. It
will become easier and easier to go deeper into self awareness. Just be still.
In peace,
Trey Carland
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