The common thread

I have read all sorts of books on spirituality over the years: The Power of Now by Ekhart Tolle, Awareness by Anthony de Mello, How to Know God and The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra, The Wisdom of Insecurity by Allan W Watts, The Tao of Pooh by Benjemin Hoff, The Art of Living by Osho and Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch, to name but a few. I’ve also read books on Buddhism and Hinduism, I’ve read the Baghvad Gita and the Tao Te Ching and I’m quite familiar with the Bible.

All these books seem to be saying the same kind of things. Different metaphors and different styles, but they all contain a few basic ways of seeing the truth, waking up, becoming enlightened, whatever.

One is awareness of the present moment. Meditation is a way of focusing on the present moment in a very intense kind of way, and the practice of mindfulness is a way of being present throughout the day. It just means watching yourself, being a silent witness to your own feelings, thoughts and reactions so that ultimately you can see that everything you do, feel or think is a choice or a creation. Through unconscious repetition of conditioned responses we fail to see this, but it is true to say that everything in one’s life is exactly the way one has intended it to be. We have called our own experience of life into being. Indeed, the purpose of life is to create or intend.

We are not here to discover the truth of who we are since we already know it (though we’ve covered it up with all sorts of clutter and it’s our purpose to remove the clutter and see the magnificence of what we really are). We are here to experience ourselves as we wish to experience ourselves. That’s it. The way we do this is though intention. The universe is our extended body – not in an allegorical sense, but in reality – and it does our bidding. Whatever I say to the universe comes to pass.

If I say that I want something, the universe responds and gives me ‘wanting something.’ To want something is to say I lack it, and if I say I lack it, then I lack it. If I intend something, if I know something will happen, then the universe makes it happen. The energy which supplies this creative process comes from the present moment. Most people who dream about their future never have their dreams fulfilled for two reasons. Firstly, they are making a statement of lack, that they do not have what they want. Secondly, their energy is wasted by focusing on the future.

Be aware of the present moment as it is, accept it fully, for this is where your life is. There is only the now. Intend the future, choose the future, accept that the universe is already working to make that future happen, then sit back, relax, let the universe do the work and go with the flow. Don’t keep pushing and trying, this will get you a bad result. Let the universe take care of the details, and accept that things might not end up exactly as you planned, but if they are different, they will certainly be better. We’ve always been taught to strive, to fight, to work, to battle against the odds. That’s all nonsense. Relax.

All this creating is just a game, of course; it’s what we do with the raw materials of our surroundings and circumstances. We can have whatever we choose, just choose it and it is ours. But beyond this game, there is the eternal, blissful now, perfect in every detail.