It's Not All-Or-Nothing

Most of us don't realize that the state of enlightenment is either possible or desirable. You may believe it requires a level of heroism and sacrifice that is beyond you, that it's reserved for people, who, like the Buddha, renounce everything, who leave job, home, and family to spend years practicing fearsome austerities, meditating for long hours, cutting themselves off from ordinary life.

This all-or-nothing notion of enlightenment is deeply rooted, and insiduous. - Sally Kempton, "Seeing is Believing", Yoga Journal, July/August 2005

I can't believe I stumbled onto this article yesterday after my recent post, When's The Last Time You Paid the Rent With Love? (which, by the way, if you've not read it is basically a synopsis of "my story".)

Sally Kempton's Yoga Journal regular articles are themselves worth the price of the entire magazine because she speaks about applications in real life, not just the yoga studio. Here's how an example on how the author applies her quest for enlightenment (yoga means union) in the workplace:

Perhaps the most dramatic experience of this happened one day at work. I was anticipating a wrangle with a colleague who was doing everything possible to nix one of my projects. She was the first person I saw when I walked into the office. I looked at her, noticed my automatic negative reaction, and countered it with the thought, "This person is part of my own consciousness. She is an aspect of my own Self. We are one."

As I held the thought, I felt an inner softening. Suddenly, our eyes locked, and we both smiled. Then she said, "I thought of something that could make your projects work." Later, she told me she'd had no intention of sharing her idea with me, but when our eyes met she'd felt an unexpected wave of affection for me and had to tell me her idea.

Since I've been doing these practices, I've had this experience again and again. When I pause to remember oneness, knots and difficulties tend to disappear. The recalcitrant computer and the short-tempered store clerk become more helpful when I remember that they are part of my Self. People are nicer. I'm nicer. This simple application of enlightened consciousness dispels negativity like almost nothing else. And then there are the times - sometimes for hours or even days - when remembering oneness stops being a practice and becomes a natural awareness that infuses my life. - Sally Kempton, "Seeing is Believing", Yoga Journal, July/August 2005

p.s. This article is much longer and not online. Again, I really find her stuff useful, Kempton's gathered a list of previous articles here.

Comments

[Jille]

When I'm mindful enough to do this - which means occasionally and from time to time, I've found it really does work.