Wednesday 17 October 2012

On Impermanence


... from Chapter 3 Reflection and Change of The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rimpoche

Usually we assume we must grasp in order to have that something
that will ensure our happiness. We ask ourselves: How
can we possibly enjoy anything if we cannot own it? How
often attachment is mistaken for love! Even when the relationship
is a good one, love is spoiled by attachment, with its
insecurity, possessiveness, and pride; and then when love is
gone, all you have left to show for it are the "souvenirs" of
love, the scars of attachment.

How, then, can we work to overcome attachment? Only by
realizing its impermanent nature; this realization slowly releases
us from its grip. We come to glimpse what the masters say the
true attitude toward change can be: as if we were the sky looking
at the clouds passing by, or as free as mercury. When mercury
is dropped on the ground, its very nature is to remain
intact; it never mixes with the dust. As we try to follow the
masters' advice and are slowly released from attachment, a great
compassion is released in us. The clouds of grasping part and
disperse, and the sun of our true compassionate heart shines
out. It is then that we begin, in our deepest self, to taste the
elating truth of these words of William Blake:

He who binds to himself a Joy,
Does the winged life destroy;
He who kisses the joy as it flies,
Lives in Eternity's sunrise.

Friday 13 April 2012

Perspectives

The more I reflect, the more I realize how many perspectives there are in a dialogue about maturing, aging, dying, and making meaning out of our lives in the sunset of our years.  Truly, it is our perspective on what is happening that shapes our experiences rather than the events themselves.  So I have been looking at more worldviews than I  originally started to explore.  I have also recently begun to focus more deeply on the worldview that we create our own reality. While there do seem to be limitations posed by nature, how we position ourselves within nature makes a difference in how creatively we work with our consciousness and whether we identify with nature's limited templates or whether we identify with the Spirit and God and the many possibilities inherent in spiritual consciousness.