Thursday 7 June 2012

But Had a Rougher Task in Hand Than to Drive Liking to the Name of Love.

 
So many paths, so little "time".  What to do next?  Meditate?  Achieve stillness?  See the absolute and attain "continuous nondual perception"?  All of those simultaneously?


Nondual perception is this perception.  There is no other perception.  You are already there, you are already that, this is it, etc. etc.  Maybe the thoughts coming up and what they are saying about This is what you are mistaking for This, although those thoughts are also seamlessly This.  There will be many people who write about this stuff - me included, occasionally - who recommend methods for clearing the thoughts up, or for not believing the thoughts.  The thoughts come.  Just try to stop them.  But just as the images of the film happen on the still screen, the still screen is there no matter what nonsensical plot twists and turns unfold on it.  You don't even particularly have to tune out the movie and sense only the screen.  It's there. No matter what.  You can believe it, or not.  It's there.

Nobody believes that this ordinary, everyday perception is what Enlightened Life is.  It must be more special, more perfect, more blissful, more loving, certainly with fewer thoughts and even less judgement.  Whatever reality seems to be, and whatever thought judges and interprets it as, is yet another face of love, or of God, or of the Absolute.  It just is.  It's doesn't get any better or worse than what it is.  What it is, is miraculous, by virtue of its mere existence.  Sometimes this seems more obvious than at other times.  All times are one.  All states and interpretations are equal.  All acts, happenings, feelings, sensations and thoughts are love, playing the duality game so that they may be manifest; so that they may be something, rather than nothing.  Perhaps it is problematic to have certain expectations, and narrow definitions of what life must be like.  On the other hand, perhaps suffering due to these expectations and definitions are exactly what must be.  If it is, it must be.  Often, those who have the memory of suffering would not trade it for anything.  It seems precious, and is often seen as the story of a springboard.  Suffering, then redemption.  Hard work, then rest.  However, it doesn't matter what the story seems to be or how it is retold with hindsight.  All stories are told now. 


While waiting for enlightenment, if you don't believe enlightenment is already the case, perhaps it's a good idea to do the best possible job you can do, however that is defined at the time, with the task in hand - whatever it seems to be. If it seems to be bridging the gap between "me over here" and "you over there," don't be afraid to judge that noble.


Ah, the task in hand.  Phil Connors gets ample time to explore several tasks as he relives the same day over and over in the classic film Groundhog Day.  There are many estimates as to how long Phil relived February 2nd:  anything from 8 to 50 years, with 10,000 years mentioned on one site! A representative estimate is here.  I always thought it was interesting that Phil managed to achieve intimacy in his relationships without the usual facility of memory and continuity (on everybody else's part anyway).  Maybe it takes time to learn to play the piano, but perhaps bridging that imagined gap between people is always already done.  Working on a relationship in time is also worthy.  Both are possible.



11 comments:

Anonymous said...

OH...Dear Suzanne...this is beautiful...Thank you xo

number7 said...

Great piece as ever. Love the clip.
If there is a God it's Bill Murray.

number7 said...

oh shit..... I thought I was submitting wrong... must have done that like 10 times... I'm tires. My bad. ahem

an3drew said...

reply as alink again

No One In Particular said...

Hi anonymous, thanks.

No One In Particular said...

Hey About Me, God is definitely Bill. Just see his performance in Caddyshack for proof of faith.

No One In Particular said...

Hi an3drew, I haven't read your reply to the previous post as I was out of town and only had an oldish iPhone to keep me connected in a technological sense. Will do soon. As to this reply, the point of the blog is to state the same damn concepts over and over with different words. It has changed in tone from confusion over percieved incongruities, to insistence that there is nothing that can be done that makes one's true nature more true or evident, to currently forget about enlightenment - just live. There is no point to the clips except I like them, and they are available to embed. I have to work pretty hard to integrate them thematically to the blog entry! And my art is quickly Photoshopped photos, with some original collage and opaque marker works I've scanned in. The writing may be inferior, but it's what seems to be most enjoyable. Really love the editing process, honing and perfecting. Lastly, just to wind you up and keep you amused with things to refute, the de Vere Society seems to think they have the better argument for Shakespeare authorship. Here's a review of The Truth Will Out that you've probably read that puts forward a few factettes reinforcing the notion that the Earl of Oxford is a better candidate: http://www.shakespeare-oxford.com/?p=102
Happy refuting Dude!

voice said...

What a line ... "miraculous, by virtue of its mere existence" wondeerful expression. - Deon

Bernard said...

I had a "vision" this morning in the train. I saw everything and everyone in the crowd of passengers as a play of sparkling energy with no meaning at all, just pure creation. It was not an "eye" vision, just a beautiful sensation-comprehension of the true nature of 'things'. Maybe I should just stop reading you and any other of these nondual freaks that keep showing themselves and talking on conscioustv. What do you think :-) ? Bernard

an3drew said...

de vere is not a viable canditate from my research and the case for sir henry neville is overwhelming

bernard , "pure creation" is meaning

was it really a vision or something else?

should we all be wishing ourselves "happy groundhog day" for the ten thousandth time and it's not very different from the first?

Mary said...

Loving the energy and wisdom Suzanne, thank you !