The Secret of Happiness

I was struck so much by Eckhart Tolle's words, that they're pretty much summing up the gestalt of this blog, where it's heading, evolving. I'm evolving. These are from the great sub-section "The Secret of Happiness."

"There are three words that convey the secret of the art of living, the secret of all success and happiness: One With Life. Being one with life is being one with Now [or, the present moment, or Presence]. You then realize that you don't live your life, but life lives you. Life is the dancer, and you are the dance." - Eckhart Tolle, The New Earth

We happen to be reading and applying A New Earth right now at the weekly Sunday night "Daring to Live An Authentic Life" group that meets at our home in San Jose (jointly hosted with my housemates).

I was about to write this paragraph: "Here are my favorite tips, also from the book, on avoiding tripping on the dance floor. (It does happens to the best of us. I sprawled face down big time this week. First, make sure you didn't take anyone down with you, then get up gracefully and keep dancing.)"

I'm looking over for typos before I hit publish. And it hits me, that can't be right: I am not the dancer. Holy shit.*

Here are my own favorite practices from the book anyway, sans commentary:

One day I will be free of the ego." Who is talking? The ego. To become free of the ego is not really a big job but a very small one. All you need to do is be aware of your thoughts and emotions - as they happen. This is not really a "doing," but an alert "seeing."

And...

In Zen they say: "Don't seek the truth. Just cease to cherish opinions."

p.s. & image one piece from the gorgeous artwork of Mindful One. Mindful One's, aka Kathryn Petro Harper, M.A.'s blog is at The Mindful Life, I found her blog because she linked to my ever-popular post (via Kathy Sierra it's getting a lot of traffic) If Not On The Day I Die, Then Not Today.

That post was written last August. And I'm not sure that I'd change anything on 43 Things list except the desire to do a documentary film has waned, I really am writing the book now, and understanding the nature of Enlightenment, I realize as this author has, that "Awakening is not an end in itself, but a doorway which leads to another segment of the spiritual process." Be kind, ouch, that one needs some practice 'cause it takes two to tango on that cosmic dance floor.

Actually my list these days pretty much comes down to loving whatever's in front of me.

* - Bonus: This reminds me, I've memorized this exchange quoted between a student and the mystic Ramana Maharshi to point it's nearly a mantra. Note: You can definitely replace Self with Dancer:

Ramana [Maharshi] is telling his student, "Every step that has ever been taken has led to me and was right."

Question: Good, then I'm not entirely off, then?
Ramana: There are only right steps and right effort. The Self knows one hundred percent what it needs to find itself. At every moment it knows that completely, and it always takes the right step toward itself.

Q: I believe it. But why am I sitting here now?
Ramana: Because the Self has placed you there. - from The Myth of Enlightenment, by Karl Renz

Comments

[Kathryn]

Thank you for featuring my blog and my art!

Your reminder to yourself to be kind brings to mind a quote that I cherish:

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle." –Philo of Alexandria

I used it in a post (written more for my future self than my audience), which you can read at http://www.kathrynpetroharper.com/mindfullife/2005/04/14/remember-to-be-kind/

[Kamal]

"Life is the dancer and you are the dance." Great quote, Evelyn. Thanks for that reminder.