Creative Guidance-IASbaba, Inspirational & Educative Articles
Finding Yourself:
Isn’t it kind of a revelation to know, “Wow, there is something real?” We don’t know it, because we’re distracting ourselves with so many other things. We can all get something from the beautiful passage … “You cannot find yourself: You’re not a ten-dollar bill that is lost somewhere in a jacket pocket to find.” You are already found. You only have to step away from the distractions.
We are the sky that is always cloudy; that is the human experience. It’s always filled with something. A cloud is filled with something – that is all a cloud is. If what it is filled with disappears, the idea of the cloud disappears, and the sky behind it will automatically reveal itself. If we are able to understand the nature of our identity, the identity of the body, the identity of the mind, and how we are using this identity to accomplish things in the world, then we would ask, “What is it that we are really trying to attain to?”
We are constantly thinking about tomorrow. We are reflecting on what has happened, we want to change a few things, we have certain desires, and we are projecting that into the future. That is the very nature of the mind, and that is how we have always been, at least in this life. That has been our life: Constantly keep thinking about something, and keep your entire attention and focus on doing those futuristic things. Once you accomplish that, you start dreaming about other things, and you keep on moving on.
If we can clearly understand: Is this the only process that we call life, or is there something more to life? Is the experience of life all about moving on, moving ahead, or is there something in reality? Is there something in this moment? We keep distracting ourselves because once the clouds have gathered, you look up – you’re looking for the sky, No matter how hard you try, you’re only looking at the clouds. Once thoughts have invaded us, we have chosen to attach ourselves to this world, this life, this thinking process. That itself is the distraction. There is no other distraction. In that sense, there is nobody who is not distracted. Even the most peaceful, relaxed, individual is still distracted by his thoughts, if you want to use the word distraction.
In a way, finding ourselves is going beyond the most basic assumptions that we have made about life. That requires a very strong will that requires consistent effort, consistent learning, and consistent understanding. We would not be able to just do it using a momentary thought. But what is a thought at the end of the day? All thoughts are connected to each other. When one thought is giving instructions to another thought, they’re still secretly conspiring to keep you blinded.
“This article is a part of the creative endeavor of Meditation Farm and IASBABA.”
