Traceless Enlightenment

“Who has not sat before his own heart’s curtain? It lifts: and the scenery is falling apart.” – Rilke

We humans, and likely other sentient beings, have the capacity to see and feel and intuit large swaths of mulitiple dimensions, from the sorrow that flows like rivers through the hearts of humanity and sentience, to the bliss of perceiving light permeating through physical reality, to joyous love so big that nothing could contain it, to misery, fear, poverty, abuse, mental illness, the irony of evil masked as religious dogma, emanations in subtle realms, timelessness, the experience of emptiness and fullness as one,  and a point prior to the everpresent potentiality of creation. Mystical and transcendental realms astound and enlighten. They can bring both clarity and a new kind of confusion, both ecstasy in the face of the divine and intimacy with the burning fire of purification.

And still, no matter who we are, no matter what country we live in, no matter what color our beautiful skin or eyes, no matter what our beliefs are, we have in common our human heart. Regardless of our circumstances or experience, no matter how rich or poor, well-respected, accomplished, spiritually awake, intelligent or healthy, we remain connected through our shared human vulnerabilities and limitations.  At this time as through all time, many people are suffering, terrified, lonely, or coping with great loss. We are confused and angry. Our minds cannot keep up with the breakdown in thousands of obsolete systems, which keep each other in place through antiquated belief systems and also easily can disrupt one another like the fragile threads in a spider’s web.

How do we cope with our own pain and suffering?

How do we cope with our humanness and the overwhelming knowledge that much of sentience suffers – especially when we are in the midst of our own private pain or suffering?  How do we intuit and remain consciously aware of our limitations as humans while collaborating on the vision and intention of a healthier, more beautiful and more just future for all life? In the following several paragraphs I offer some simple exercises and perspectives which have helped both me and many I’ve worked with over the years. They are simple human practices which are available to everyone, but which often are overlooked or not enacted. Whether these are reminders, or new for you, may they contribute to the healing of our shared vulnerable and loving heart.

The Good, The True and The Beautiful – Benevolent Practices to Relieve Suffering

1. Drop your awareness or your attention into your own vulnerable, human heart, the area in the center of the chest.   Gently breathe into and through this area, bringing even more consciousness to it.  Likely you will notice a contraction or tension in your body, here, or perhaps nearby. Just become aware of what you notice. It could be tightness, pain, a physical sensation, a visual image or shape or an emotion.  As you inhale allow the details of this sensation or image to come more into focus.  As you exhale, allow the muscles in this area to relax and let go. Focus your attention here and feel what you feel as you inhale, let go as you exhale. Just relax into the sensation, image or emotion. Using your breath and your awareness, do this several times.  And stay there for awhile. Can you stay present to this sensation and breathe into and through it without bypassing it? Try it.
2. See if you can locate the felt sense inside yourself of your raw vulnerability and innocence, the you who does his or her best, the you who wants to love and be loved, the one who hurts, who is anxious or afraid, maybe even a version of you as a child. Just stay there and try to feel that part of yourself.
3. Now, imagine bringing tenderness, appreciation, compassion and care to this part of yourself. Imagine breathing tenderness, love, and acceptance through this part of yourself.  Can you love what is here? Can you be present with this part of yourself?  Listen to this one?  Feel the hurt or the fear? Make room for whatever is there? Say to yourself and feel in your body, “it’s okay to feel this way.”

Through embodied awareness practice and conscious breathing, it is possible to release unconscious assumptions, chronic muscle contraction, and habitual attitudes and behaviors which cause suffering in yourself and others. Relaxing into your own vulnerability and making room for it is compassionate, loving and kind. This self compassion is soothing and makes room for a felt sense of benevolence to enter. With intention, attention and practice, the defenses come down, anxiety is released, repressed emotion is freed, and life energy can begin to flow.

Looking all around you, what do you see? How did it arrive here? I don’t mean how was it manufactured or how was it delivered. Where does it come from? What is it made of? What is its essence? What is anything made of? Extending your awareness out beyond your physical surroundings, to the happenings in the world, what comes to your heart and mind?  Bring your attention to both the chaos, the conflict, the pain and to the order, the harmony and the joy.  These qualities have existed throughout time. How did all of this come to be? What holds it together? What keeps it going? What ultimately controls (creates, sustains and destroys) our existence?  Letting go into this Mystery and just standing in awe that anything and everything we experience seems to exist at all, can put us in touch with a sense of gratitude and appreciation even in the midst of suffering, our own and others.