Hi all,

Sorry it’s taken me me so long to write a new post. I’m currently in Nigeria and the internet has been a bit erratic. Nonetheless, it’s a beautiful place. Lagos has got a buzz to it like no other and I’ve been inspired by the wide range of organisations which I’ve met out here-engaged Nigerians working hard to bring about change under tough conditions.

I spent a lot of my younger years (not that I’m particularly old now :-)!) searching for a path that would lead to pure enlightenment, or uninterrupted bliss.  There always seemed like there was something I could do-move into nature, meditate more regularly, obtain deeper insight, master a new yogic breathing technique or find a new guru who really understood ‘the truth’ of our existence.

Easier said than done…….

In doing this, I forgot some of the wisest words of the Buddha. He reminds us that everything in this world is impermanent, constantly evolving and changing.  We have a tendency to grasp things which bring us pleasure, wishing they will stay forever and to push away things that bring us pain. In doing so, we can never be satisfied. Instead of living in this very moment in all its rich beauty and splendour, our minds spend the majority of the time dwelling in the past or fantasising about the future. We nostalgically pine over the moments past in which we felt more in tune, desperately trying to reignite that moment’s indescribable bliss we obtained in this retreat or that workshop or we frantically chatter to ourselves about how things may have been if we’d only taken up that one opportunity that passed us by. Or we while away hours unconsciously planning our future. ‘I’ll be happy once I earn more money or once I fall in love or once I obtain my degree or move to the countryside…….’  Have you ever found yourself falling into any of these trains of thought, spending large chunks of your life half asleep, going through the actions of your day in autopilot, never fully present as your mind is elsewhere?

These patterns are far easier to spot with material or superficial things. It still takes time, but somewhere along the spiritual path, many people realise that it’s not money or success or somebody else that will make them happy, it has to come from within.  But do you treat your spiritual endeavours in the same manner?

Are you still busy searching for that one course that will transform your perspective or do you believe that if you only found the discipline and motivation to practice daily meditation you would achieve the mystical and all powerful enlightenment you’ve read so much about? Do you look around festivals or spiritual retreats feeling as though everyone knows something which you don’t or that they have created a life more in tune with the Universe than you have?

Let me ask you this: is that not merely feeding the same craving and dissatisfaction that the spiritual path aims to move us away from in the first place?  Is your search for inner peace actually taking you further away from it?

Have you ever had a moment in meditation when your body becomes so light that you feel like it has transformed into pure energy (I guess in its essence it always is pure energy but we rarely experience it as being so)?  A moment where you feel no separation between yourself and the Universe. There is no you nor I, just pure Oneness, basking in the profound knowledge of all that is and a sensation of unadulterated bliss.  If so, have you noticed what happens the second you try and capture this moment, cling to it in any sort of way? Kaput, it disappears in a flash!

My spiritual path transformed when I truly realised, in the words of Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now!  Or in the words of Zen masters, nothing special. There is nowhere to get to, nothing  to strive toward, nothing you need to seek or obtain. Your spiritual awakening and that vast expansiveness, that nascent intelligence, that magnificent splendour is present now, in every single precious moment. You just need to be aware enough to experience its glory. With every breath, we can appreciate the glorious gift of life we have been blessed with and be truly present in this moment. Fully alive, open and spacious.

It’s present in the bird flapping its wings as it flies overhead and in the smell of a spring flower or the crashing of the waves against the shore. It’s also present in the moment you’re washing the dishes or cleaning up the sick of a loved one or in a moment of intense physical pain or in the face of an agitated stranger.

In living in the present moment, it doesn’t mean that we become passive or apathetic.  Nor does it mean that we will no longer grow or evolve. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.  For when we are truly present, when we have a one pointed focus in this very moment, NOW, it is then that we can move away from our habitual tendencies and respond creatively and appropriately in every moment-without striving or grasping, every moment fresh and nascent, viewed through the wondrous eyes of a child. It is then that we can respond truthfully to ourselves and others and that the inner beauty present in each and everyone of us can truly shine.

It’s not that I no longer attend workshops, or seek out new lessons or guidance on my ever evolving journey. And it’s not that I no longer meditate or practice yoga or read books from a range of spiritual leaders or inspiring individuals who can reignite my passion or help me see things for a new perspective. I do all these things. But I am no longer searching. I am no longer seeking to feel, achieve or experience anything other than things as they are, right now in this very moment. I am still constantly learning and evolving and transforming. I become aware each day of new insights or things which I could do differently.  I still get continuously positively challenged and shift my perspective as I’m nudged to see things in a new light. But instead of searching for a higher state of consciousness, striving for a deeper truth, grasping onto a state of everlasting bliss, I focus on experiencing life with all its ebbs and flows, all its tragedy and magnificence, pleasure and pain, guises and flavours, textures and tastes,  moment to moment, fully present (at least as much as I can be). I love both my shadow and my higher self equally, treating them both with the loving kindness that they rightfully deserve. And in doing so, that little bit of magic I spent so long searching and striving for resides a little closer to home every hour of every day.

So does this resonate with your own personal experience on your spiritual journey? Or do you see things entirely differently? Either way, I’d love to hear from you.