Welcome to An Inner Walk-About

There is an inner landscape that sounds the wild call for stillness. It is both empty and cognizant at the same time. We may fall into its desert and become lost. Here, we may disappear, dissolve, die before we die. We are searching for a life, fully lived.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Invitation to the Dance

The subject of ATTENTION and how it operates has always fascinated me. Have you ever noticed how ego, or that Identity we call "ME" really has no attention of its own? It seems to simply get caught by what it likes or dislikes. These two poles seem to be the primary forces that propel it along throughout the day.
Can we observe how much of our attention is absorbed in this struggle between like and dislike? Here is the on-going life dance between Yes and No. In any moment I notice that I am either Receptive or Unreceptive. If I get very still, attention flows freely until it strikes upon something that either attracts it or repulses it - then it is caught again.
Becoming still seems to be the refuge. It allows me to notice how and when attention is caught. That observation alone points me back in the direction of freedom again.
I have been watching this inner movement closely over the years. We all appear to share the pain and the pleasure that are its effects. As we begin to see what compels our attention, the tyranny of this ego and its agenda to preserve itself becomes clear. And that clarity cannot become an opportunity to judge ourselves for its struggle. The moment we have an opinion about what we observe, we are again caught, and the painful cycle continues.
What an amazing dance! Can we empty out enough of our agenda to stop stumbling across the dance-floor?

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