Focus your life in the PRESENT
As I have written about on one or two occasions, I was 12 years old when I was diagnosed with an incurable disease. Spiritual practice and being present has given me the strength to have a positive outlook on my health. With practice and realization, I no longer look to use modalities as a mean to an end.
When following teachings of spiritual gurus, I very often look to the spiritual gurus who do not give answers to questions. Sounds odd I know. Let me explain. Those who are looking to ask a spiritual question often don't like asking their spiritual question unless given an answer. However, some of the wisest will simply take the question given and not answer. It's like the question fell into a void. You know why I'm drawn to this? NOT ALL QUESTIONS REQUIRE ANSWERS WE ALREADY HAVE WITHIN US.
Sometimes, the ego of the questioner didn't like that. It felt offended. "Is my question not important enough to carry an answer?" However at other times it happened that spaciousness arose in the questioner-sitting in that spaciousness that came through him/her and the question dissapeared in it and an answer arose out of the questioner out of space. Usually those who come to understand it say, "I didn't know it was that simple."
Diseases and/or illnesses do not define you
This may be an important topic for quite a few of you. Diseases- fatal or non fatal are just perhaps concepts or beliefs attatched to conditions. It is very easy for what we call a disease to immediately become another concept in the mind. This is especially true with a more serious disease. It becomes incorporated with a sense of who you are and it happens very easily. You may also have observed that some humans who have had a disease for a long time. That disease becomes almost apart of their central selves.
With an egoic sense of self that is always looking to enhance itself, it can easily happen that the ego will use a condition or illness in order to gain more of your attention and a deeper sense of self (trying to define who you think you are) because this sense of self is always deficient. It turns into I am a sufferer of this illness. When I speak of surrendering which means acceptance of what is, I am not speaking of acceptance of an illness or acceptance of yourself as someone who has the illness. That would be strengthening the mind made sense of self and strengthen the concept of the illness.
Acceptance applies only to this moment, not to some situation in your life. Only this. Whatever may manifest in this moment as an illness like a disability, pain, discomfort, or weakness-the condition of this moment is as it is. That is what you bring acceptance to- that space that arises. Acute pain is not easy. Acute pain seems to fill up the entire state of your being, but what else can you do except allow it to be there because it is there.
It has happened in quite a few cases where pain has burned up the conceptual structures of your mind. Pain burned up the ego - became a fire in which the egoic sense of self became consumed. This does happen for some people.
There may be a disability in movement. You may have an illness where you know you're ill, but there may be no particularly serious symptoms. You just know that it's there.
Whatever the illness, it is very important you do not make it a means to an end which is the practice of accepting the "is-ness" of now in whatever form. Not in order to achieve something in order to get better or it's NOT complete acceptance. Surrender to this. Let the illness help push you into the present moment. That is a beautiful thing! However, the illness becomes the teacher. It forces you particularly if it is a serious illness. We all know the fact of mortality could serve the same purpose if you could remember it everyday.
In some Buddhist countries, they regularly visit the morgue. They are let in and sit with the deceased for a few hours. That forces you into the now. That's an amazing thing. So whatever the condition is, allow it to force you into the now. If not, the illness becomes unhappiness. The illness becomes the unhappy self when you leave the now. That turns into, "me that is ill, me who has an illness who is an ill person."
If this doesn't force you into being present, nothing will
I have known many people who have been told they have six months to live. This is the worst thing in the regular state of conciousness. You go to the doctor and they give you an amount of time to live. They are basically telling you there is no future for you. However, these people have been pushed into the present and it seems as if an enormous, accelerated transformation has been happening inside of them. They are on an accelerated course of realization.
Ultimately, none of us have that much time left. Many of us look past the fact and assume we have plenty of time, maybe twenty, thirty, or forty years? However, time is a strange thing. It's very fleeting. Before you know it, your life experience here is coming to an end. "Is that it? I've been waiting for life to start and now it's coming to an end?!" The amazing thing is healing is much more likely to occur in the state of acceptance. There is an energy field there that is very healing in that space. Miraculous things have happened, but that is not why you accept.
This is why in the beginning of this post, I mentioned the spiritual guru and questions. If you're hoping for healing, you're not totally here because in a deeper sense when there is complete alignment with the suchness of this moment, you are healed already in the deepest sense!
Remember
- It could be an illness that forces you into the present. It could be some other unpleasant condition.
- Any condition can push you into the present.
- You can even be more in the moment watching someone you love go through suffering - if they're not ready to surrender, be there as support without allowing to be pulled back into suffering yourself.
💞 Love to all you beautiful beings of love and light. Stay positive and keep smiling!
💞 Kristan
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Hi @kristyyd,
Yes, I believe that knowing that we have 6 months left has a potential to make us realize how fast is time going and push us to do much more things that we've always wanted to do but never found the time or courage.
I've also recently written how much showing compassion and love for ourselves, including our flaws and imperfections, is important for happiness. I see that we like similar topics, I've followed you.
Cheers and happy New Year!
Oh thank you for reading! I'll be checking out your content for sure! 🙃 Thanks again !
I really got inspired by your way of mindfull thinking.
See https://steemit.com/mindfulness/@futuredigicoin/do-you-feel-ennorme-pressure-to-finish-work-start-mindfulness-what-a-blessing
thank you very much. ill be sure to check it out and thanks again for stopping in!
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hey kristyyy
wanted to wish you a happy 2018, a year full of mindfulness, happiness, and success :)
Thank you @mcfarhat. Happy 2018 to you and your family especially your little one! Happiness to you always!
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