Inner Work

For the week of: November 3, 2003

Emerging from the Stream

If we wake up in the midst of our life, we see that we have been carried along with our inner stream of thoughts and emotions, hopes and fears, daydreams and opinions, reactions and disconnection. This swiftly flowing stream enthralls us and provides us with a false identity: "This is who I am. This is what I think. This is what I feel. This is what I want."

But it is all a sham nevertheless, a hoax perpetrated on us by a culture that knows no better. Our real self does not lie in the swirling, foaming surface of life. To approach who we really are, we need to open to consciousness, to the depth of the stream, to the silent, contextual awareness that we share with all.

This may sound far away from our daily life, but it is not. It is right here, now, surrounding us and penetrating our every cell, supporting our every perception. We may glimpse consciousness in the gap between our thoughts, in our quiet moments. Through meditation we can steep ourselves in the stillness, so that we may recognize consciousness and live in its peace throughout our days. In consciousness, our narrow, false sense of self dissolves and we open our hearts to the great world of which we form both part and whole.

For this week, work to extricate yourself, at least momentarily, from identification with the stream of thoughts and emotions continually flowing through your awareness.

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