The Way To Do Is To Be

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The Way To Do Is To Be

“Always we hope someone else has the answer, some other place will be better, some other time it will turn out.

This is it. No one else has the answer, no other place will be better, and it has already turned out.

At the center of your being, you have the answer: you know who you are and you know what you want. There is no need to run outside for better seeing, nor to peer from a window.

Rather abide at the center of your being: for the more you leave it, the less you learn. Search your heart and see the way to do is to be.”
— Lao Tzu
 

Presented in this poem by Lao Tzu is a koan for us to ponder between "to do" and "to be" – as they are both movement and stillness, each in their own way.

 

Doing And Being

Do you ever find yourself running after a better place as mentioned in this poem?

Do you find yourself searching for something else out there, not even sure what it is?

It's tricky, because we want to plan and prepare for things, such as going to school, working on a project, planning a trip. These are all with a future event in mind – school graduation, project completion, a place experienced. These are good and lofty goals.

Yet, our planning and projects co-exist with our challenge of being present while we're doing all of that.

In this very moment.

So easily said, and not so easily done.

Inner Heart Guidance

He writes: "At the center of your being, you have the answer."

Perhaps this center is our Inner Heart. When we are guided by our Inner Heart, our steps of doing are taken from an interior reference point. But how do we "hear" the guidance of our Inner Heart?

Students of The Radiance Technique® (TRT®) have a simple way to support themselves to access their intuition. Use of the TRT® hands-on connects us consciously to universal, supportive energy that allows us to better "hear" our inner heart.

When we are guided from within, and not from outside of ourselves, our doing reflects our being; the two are in alignment.

 

A Butterfly In Your Radiant Hand

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The Fluttering Of A Butterfly's Wings

 
“Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which,
if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.”
— unknown
 

Sharmon Davidson, artist

 

Butterflies Inspire Our Imagination

The metamorphose from wiggly caterpillar to cocoon to "flying flower" enchants us. 

Butterflies flit about our gardens, sipping from flower centers, in the intricate dance of pollination. 

Is that a smoldering tango that we see between butterfly and flower? Or an airy waltz?

Our hearts smile as we watch a butterfly's crooked flight path on the warm air. These tiny creatures fill our sense of sight, but what if we could perceive them at a micro-cosmos level?

What if we could actually hear their feathered wings in flight, beating upon the air, just as we can hear a bird's wings?

What if we could hear the siren song of a flower as it calls, coaxing the butterfly to take a delicate sip?

What a melodious mini-duet that would be.

A Butterfly In Your Radiant Hand

To enjoy a butterfly, stomping and yelling are not terribly effective. Rather, focus on moving gently or holding still. "BE the flower," I can hear the Zen teacher intoning.

Imagine yourself sitting in a meditation. You radiate such stillness and peace that even a butterfly feels safe to rest gently in your Radiant Hand – like the first image above.

You may not actually have butterflies landing in your hand (although you never know), yet this is a lovely image for our meditations. It supports us to remember the energy of stillness and goodwill to all creatures of this Earth.

 
“Only your surface is disturbed; in your deepness there is stillness and total tranquility.”
— Bryant McGill
 

Butterfly Spiral In Your Heart

In this artwork a thread comes from another level and then turns in a counterclockwise spiral within the heart – imagery that reminds me how The Radiance Technique® (TRT®) gives us access to universal energy. The use of TRT® hands-on allows us to go deeper, to become more aware of the loving energy in our hearts and in existence.

Stillness Within Us

Exploring the energy of stillness we see that it can be found within us. The world spins ever faster, we, ourselves, are running madly sometimes, yet this stillness continues to bear silent witness.

Are we aware of it?

 
“When you gaze out on a quiet, peaceful meadow, next to a still pond, under a motionless blue sky, you wonder how the noisy, busy cacophony of life could have arisen from such silent, motionless beginning. ”
— M..
 
 

Happiness In Balance

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Happiness In Balance

A fellow meditator on Insight Timer shared with us:

“Happiness is being free from Anxiety, Depression, Loneliness, Grief.”

Immediately upon reading this, questions started to percolate inside me. I launched an exploration of ideas.

Happy Or Sad

Happiness is part of a pendulum that swings from happy to sad, always in motion, always with the knowledge that no matter where you are on the pendulum of happy, sad is on the other side, waiting for you.

The same is true when we are in sad, but from that perspective, it is sometimes hard to remember that happy is also waiting for us.

As long as we are in a human form, we are never free from either sadness or happiness. These feelings are conditions of the emotional body. If our emotions cease to exist, so too, will the human form.

The fact that we are here on this planet, means we are going to experience happiness as well as anxiety, depression, loneliness and grief. It's all part of the package.

We seem capable of getting stuck on sad for a long time, but it's interesting to note there are not so many reports of getting stuck on happy. 

The Story Of A King

The idea of impermanence and the pendulum of our emotions is often captured in the Zen phrase "this, too, shall pass."

Sufi and Zen stories, and biblical parables as well, tell of a great King who was given a ring with this phrase inscribed inside. In either moments of joy or sorrow, he would look at it and be reminded of impermanence.

Here is a link to one version of the story:

“According to an ancient Sufi story, there once lived a king in a Middle Eastern land. The king was continuously torn between happiness and despondancy. The smallest things could make him really upset or give him an intense emotional reaction, so his happiness easily turned into disappointment and despair. One day the king got tired of himself and started seeking a way out.

He sent for a wiseman living in his kingdom. The wiseman was reputed for being enlightened. When he arrived, the king said to him, “I want to be like you. Can you bring me something that give balance, peace and serenity in my life? I will pay whatever price you like.”

The wiseman replied, “I may be able to help you, but the price is so great that not even your kingdom would be enough payment for it. Therefore I will give it to you as a gift, if you will honor it.”

The king gave his assurances, and the wiseman left. A few weeks later he returned, and handed the king an ornate box carved in jade. The king opened the box, and found a simple gold ring inside. The inscription on the ring read, This, too, shall pass.

”What is the meaning of this?” asked the king.

The wiseman replied, “Wear this ring always. Whatever happens, before you call it good or bad, touch the ring and read the inscription. That way, you will always be at peace.”

Balance Between Happy And Sad

With ongoing use, The Radiance Technique® (TRT®) provides a supportive tool for deepening and expanding your awareness. 

Whatever you are experiencing – happiness or sadness – TRT® is there for you. With your use of TRT® hands-on, you access universal energy to apply to your own personal situations. Use of TRT® helps bring balance to your emotions, helping you to center yourself and see the bigger picture.

Use of TRT® provides you inner support and balance whenever you find yourself in a position that you need to say, "this, too, shall pass."

This, Too, Shall Pass

Walking carefully, we realize that enlightenment does not eliminate our human daily life. Someone may be enlightened, and yet they still have a human form and still experience the wide range of human emotions. 

All of our emotions, however, are not who we really are. They are something happening, almost accidentally. They are on the periphery. We are in the center, the observer.

"This, too, shall pass" is a bridge to higher wisdom. It can take us to a point of transcendence in our awareness.

We may even find that happiness embraces sadness and sadness holds within it happiness.

 

Bring Mindfulness To All That You Do

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Ajahn Chah On Meditation And Mindfulness

 
“Sitting for hours on end is not necessary. Some people think that the longer you can sit, the wiser you must be. I have seen chickens sit on their nests for days on end. Wisdom comes from being mindful in all postures. Your practice should begin as you awaken in the morning. It should continue until you fall asleep.

Don’t be concerned about how long you can sit. What is important is only that you keep watchful whether you are working or sitting or going to the bathroom. Each person has his own natural pace. Some of you will die at age fifty, some at age sixty-five, and some at age ninety. So, too, your practice will not be all identical.

Don’t think or worry about this. Try to be mindful and let things take their natural course. Then your mind will become quieter and quieter in any surroundings. It will become still like a clear forest pool. Then all kinds of wonderful and rare animals will come to drink at the pool. You will see clearly the nature of all things (sankharas) in the world.

You will see many wonderful and strange things come and go. But you will be still. Problems will arise and you will see through them immediately. This is the happiness of the Buddha.”
— Ajahn Chah
 

Meditation In Your Daily Life

This is what we seek.

To bring our meditation, our mindfulness, to all that we do. No separation.

Reading this passage by Ajahn Chah, I was struck by what he said about bringing mindfulness to everything. "Why, that is what you can do with The Radiance Technique® and it's so easy!"

This is one of the simple, yet profound, gifts of The Radiance Technique® (TRT®).

Mindfulness In Your Activities

Once you have studied The Radiance Technique®, you are able to use TRT® hands-on in all of your activities. Beginning with The First Degree of The Radiance Technique®, you have access to universal energy. You can integrate mindfulness into your daily life – as soon as you get up in the morning, at work, at home, whatever you may be doing.

What a delight to be able to bring increased awareness, to all that you do. Whether it be glorious moments of great joy, or aching times of deep sorrow, or tiny moments of quietness, whether you are well and healthy or you have an illness – The Radiance Technique® is there for you to use in all your activities.

I simply cannot express in words the fullness of this easy-to-use technique – TRT®.

You really must experience it for yourself.

Experience The Radiance Technique®

I invite you to experience The Radiance Technique® and to go deeper with your meditations and mindfulness.

You're invited to grow, to thrive, with your use of TRT® and to integrate your meditation and mindfulness throughout each day. Explore and discover this vast universe that extends out to the depths of galaxies and returns, yet again, to a raindrop on a flower.

It's your precious life.

It's all there for you.

 

(The Radiance Technique® is not associated with any religion.)

 

Your Spiritual Journey

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Traveling On A Spiritual Journey 

Do you view yourself as someone who is traveling on a spiritual journey?

Perhaps you are already using techniques to support your illumination.

The Radiance Technique® (TRT®) can be combined with any other relaxation technique you may already use such as massage, acupressure, or yoga, just to name a few. There is no conflict.

Combining TRT® with these techniques allows you to promote even deeper levels of relaxation and balancing.

The Radiance Technique® And Meditation

TRT® can also be used along with any other meditation technique. It always moves in the direction of greater light and expanding love. Use of TRT® by itself, or with other meditation techniques, helps you to illuminate and deepen your meditations further.

A Little More Light

Each and every time you use TRT® hands-on, you access healing, universal light which promotes increased clarity. TRT® is easy to use, yet profound in its depth of healing and relaxation because it interacts with all levels of your being.

With the clear light accessed by TRT®, your spiritual journey becomes lighter and brighter.

Discover for yourself the light and the beauty of The Radiance Technique®.

 

The Winding Road Of Life

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Heading Down The Road Of Life

On the "long and winding road" of life... we often find ourselves launched on a discovery process of personal growth.

The further we go into our awareness, the more we start to experience a shift of our focus. Instead of looking only at the minute details of every particular situation, our vision widens to a more inclusive, all-embracing view.

It's that common saying: you can't see the forest for the trees.

In this case, instead of seeing the trees, you start to see the forest.

Our perspective becomes more universal, like broad brush strokes sweeping through the inner landscape.

From Doing To Being

So much of our lives is about doing.

Doing, doing, doing – it becomes a chant of our daily lives. Accomplish this, finish that. Naturally, that's just what we do.

But over time, the accomplishments start to lessen. After all, we have already accomplished so much. It becomes less about the things I do and more about the steadiness of I am.

We shift from the I, and even the you, to a more inclusive state of being. A broader awareness emerges like widening ripples on an infinity pool.

As we move from doing to being, so does our love. Love that has been driven by accomplishment, love that has had to achieve love, now relaxes into simply being love.

Being Love Instead Of Doing Love

On the meditative journey, a shift begins.

The emphasis on doing transforms to a state of being.

Our loving is not so much something we attain and hold forth for all to see, but rather something we are. It's no longer based on the people or circumstances surrounding us.

You're not doing love. You are being love.

The object of your love fades away into pure love. The *I* and the *you* drop off and all you're left with is love.

I love you, I love you, I love you

I love, I love, I love

love, love, love

LOVE

For travelers on this winding road of life, the use of The Radiance Technique® (TRT®) is supportive of your discovery process. As we access universal energy, we expand the qualities of wholeness in our lives, such as real love.

Simple to use, TRT® widens your perceptions and expands awareness. Use of TRT® hands-on deepens the energy of loving in your life.

 
“Eventually you will come to understand that love heals everything, and love is all there is.”
— Gary Zukav
 

I couldn't leave you without sharing The Beatles song I think of every time I hear the words "long and winding road."