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(The following is the second of a series of reflections on the various illusions, blocks, and barriers that keep us from spontaneously dissolving the past and creating our lives newly in each moment from our core wisdom.)
ALLOWING is the essential state of Being required if you are to experience life as it actually is -- as an opportunity to celebrate, with awe and wonder, the freedom, creation, love and joy that is this miracle of creation we call Universe.
ALLOWING is the essential state through which we become aware that life is always unfolding and reforming itself to be in BALANCE; always moving from the state of formlessness to form and back to formlessness through the steps of creating, forming, manifesting and dissolving in each moment of NOW.
ALLOWING requires no doingness, no effort, and no struggle towards "becoming." Yet, the state of ALLOWING has infinite power, able to dissolve and create whole universes of shifting, unfolding realities physically, mentally and emotionally in an instant.
What does it mean to ALLOW what is to BE?
ALLOWING is the natural capacity to welcome, accept, and embrace what is without adding anything to it or taking anything away.
ALLOWING what is to be fully presenced in each moment of NOW, and you experience the freedom to act in harmony with what is, spontaneously guided by the unerring clarity of your core wisdom.
ALLOWING what is = Creation, Freedom & Flow.
What is the opposite of ALLOWING what is to BE?
RESISTING what is.
RESISTING = Illusion, Striving & Suffering. If you resist what is present NOW; attempt to avoid it, ignore it, or invalidate it, you cease valuing and being present to reality, and become stuck instead in the dream world of past and future. This guarantees a life of effort and struggle in an illusion that is wrapped in a story about a false self called, "me." Resisting what is keeps that energy repeating itself over and over again.
ALLOW what is to BE, and you allow that which has taken form to complete its unfolding and flow naturally back to the formless. Allow what is to be what it is, and the energy of the dead past and fantasy future stop having power over you, dissolving naturally back to the infinite formlessness from which they came. ALLOW what is to BE, and you are free to create your life newly in each moment, trusting your true nature to bring forth actions that resonate with what is. The ability to rapidly let go of negative emotions, feelings, thoughts, and decisions is natural to all of us.
The illusion of the finite "me" whispers that ALLOWING is a threat to your existence.
"If you allow what is to be," it whispers fearfully, "you will be dominated, you will be controlled, you will be powerfless, turned into a doormat, unable to act effectively, and like a tsunami, chaos will overwhelm your need for control in your life!"
This is the opposite of the truth. It is only by fully allowing what is to be that you are able to relate to what is happening in each moment of NOW, creatively and effectively.
Four Practical Illustrations of the Power and Effectiveness of ALLOWING what is to BE:
1. Outstanding atheletes in every sport have one thing in common: they are able to be fully present in the NOW, and act in response to what is unfolding in the moment when it really matters. They do not have their attention on the last play or on the one that will be coming up next. The phrase, "being in the zone," refers to the state of being fully present to what is and allowing it to guide your actions. It has the qualities of inevitablility, connectedness, and effortlessness to it; the exact opposite of effort, separation, and struggle. The great football players, tennis players, golfers, and other atheletes who are able time after time to turn what seems to others to be the predictable results of a game around at the last minute, are able to do so because in allowing what is to be, they are not stuck in predictions or in projecting the present into the future. They know from direct experience that reality may be shifted at any time through intention and action that resonates with a new moment of what is.
2. Listen to a great Jazz musician or group creating their music moment by moment in a dance with what is unfolding. The best Jazz musicians are able to improvise creatively by being fully in the NOW, allowing themselves to surrender to the way the music is unfolding. One can't create great jazz by trying to replicate the previous night's performance or the response of last night's audience. The excitement is in allowing the infinite silence between and behind the notes to guide the new dance of creation each time.
3. Recall Chesley (Scully) Sullenberger, the pilot of US Airways Flight 1549, who successfully and safely landed his plane full of passengers on New York's Hudson River after a flock of birds disabled both of his jet engines shortly after takeoff. His actions were a perfect example of what it is to ALLOW what is to be, and respond with clarity and effectiveness to shift the predictable reality. Sure, Sullenberger had thousands of hours of flying experience. Certainly, he had also trained himself and others on what to do in various kinds of flying emergencies. But until that moment, NOBODY had practiced what to do if BOTH engines are disabled by a flock of birds moments after lifting off the runway. What was needed was both experience AND creativity based in responding perfectly to what is so right NOW, and that can only be done when there is a full embracing of all aspects of what is in each new moment of NOW. If you had been on that plane, would you have preferred a pilot who was resisting what is so even just a little bit? Would you have preferred a pilot who gave more than a nano-second to the internal thought, "Oh, no! This shouldn't be happening! I don't want to die!"? Every second mattered, every action counted. Go to the internet and listen to the conversation between the pilot and the air traffic controllers for a classic example of someone who is fully embracing and not resisting what is, so that his actions are absolutely spot on what is creatively wanted and needed in each moment.
4. In an emergency, would you prefer to have someone with you who is fully present in the NOW, or someone who spends their time engrossed in images of the past and future waiting for the NOW to fit their ideals or standards of what "should be"? One of the big lies of the mind is that if you are ALLOWING what is to be, you will be apathetic and ineffective. The opposite is true.
If a small child were crossing a street and a car or bus came speeding down the street, who would you want to be there observing it happening? A person who ALLOWS what is to be what it is, fully embraces what is so, and is able to spontaneously spring into action to rescue the child when every precious second counts, or a person who observing what is so, resists it, spends precious moments in thoughts of "Oh, no!" that paralyze them when the appropriate response in that moment is not fear or worry but focused, rapid action? People who freeze up in an emergency situation are the ones who are resisting what is unfolding, have retreated into past or future mental images, and are giving power to useless, insane thoughts such as, "This shouldn't be happening!" or "This can't be happening!" Resisting what is = fear + paralysis + ineffectiveness.
An emergency is not necessary, however, for you to embrace the natural state of ALLOWING what is to be, being fully present to and in the joyful, unfolding flow of life. Whether you are creating a project at work, at home and fully present in the NOW with your loved ones, or walking down the street, you can be fully present to life newly in each moment.
ALLOW what is to be, and you will be unstuck from the past and future, fully present to and embracing the miracle and mystery that life is, open to and in awe of the core wisdom that effortlessly and harmoniously guides and manifests your life moment to moment.
-- Hal Isen
From Core Wisdom On-Line Number 94 - March 21, 2009 | |||||||||||
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