Good morning! Welcome to the DKos Sangha weekly open thread.
This is an open thread for members of the DKos Sangha and interested visitors who happen by. Each of us has our own path; we come here by way of many different traditions, and of no particular tradition. While the language we use may differ depending on the traditions, teachers, practices, and teachings that have shaped our journeys, we find in common, generally, a search for who we truly are, our true nature, and to bring the peace and compassion born of that search into the greater world of which we are a part. If you wish to share, or if you seek support, or if you simply want to say hello, please do; this space is for you.
Sitting by the window, watching clouds move in from the west, a patchwork quilt of blue, white, and gray, a moving canvas for the bare trees of late winter. Cloud shadows and morning sunlight chase each other across the far ridge. The caw of a crow and then the sound of a passing car on the road down below break the silence.
There is still some warmth in the room from last night’s fire, and I am warmed as well by the morning’s first cup of coffee.
The mind is quiet; the peaceful stillness of awareness is pervasive.
When we sit in a busy restaurant, waiting for our food to arrive, that same awareness is present. We see people moving about, hear snatches of conversations; the grain of the wood table, the feel of the chair, everything arises within the stillness of awareness. The mind is quiet and at peace.
For those on a spiritual path, what is sought is already here; what is sought is always here. It is identification with egoic separate self that obscures from the direct experience of now. It is this identification with, constantly caught up in, the stories and dramas, the conditioned thought patterns, born of separate self, constantly running in mind as they are fed attention and deemed important, it is this self-identification that covers over abiding presence, prevents the direct experience of this present moment just as it is.
It is that simple. When identification with the idea of separate self falls away, there is a subtle yet profound shift in moment to moment, day to day experience.
Everything just is.
And who we are is not other than that.
~~
The patchwork clouds continue to move across the blue sky. A few snowflakes have fallen, and the room feels a bit cooler. The coffee cup is empty, and it’s time to head for the kitchen.
Just this.
~~~
Namaste