 Untitled ©2013 Rev. David Seacord 5" x 7" Acrylic on Canvas
Everyman's WEEKLY Journal # 44
©2013 Rev. David Seacord
October 6, 2013
"Meeting You on the Mountaintop"
I am on the emailing list of many spiritual teachers teaching a wide variety of approaches to 'the Path'. I love them all, I enjoy their views and their energies and having a clue or two about what they are up to, and receiving their invitations to come abide in the space of the unnameable with them. Sometimes I accept and when I do it is always a wonderful experience. Such was the case in going to LA to be with Ammachi in June, my several visits with Guy Finley during the summer, visiting the Northwest Sufi Camp in August, and attending the 3HO Summer Solstice. And, after the experience is over---no matter how transformational or life changing it was, or how many new spiritual tools I have gained…there I AM again, still hanging out with my Self. Familiar? How could it not be? None of us can escape ourselves, and even though we can use the illusions of the world to become lost in those illusions for a very long time, eventually we will all see that our only real option left is surrender. I am finding a growing opinion within me that this is when our real sadhana finally begins…
What is real sadhana? What I know of it at this moment is that it is the honest practice of going nowhere to escape nothing. What this means personally is that my sadhana is the inner work I do to give up the desire to be anywhere but where I am, including my circumstances.
Of course (in being indoctrinated by this culture) I have spent the majority of my life being oriented pretty much the opposite. I have been a bed of desiring this, desiring that, or resisting this, resisting that. I have developed a strong habit of adventuring, as you may have noticed. It's all great fun and a fun way to learn a bit too, but all of it---desiring, resisting, adventuring (and you can add in many more here of your own if you wish)… are they not all expressions of an unquiet mind in search of something other than what IS? Yes? You see this?
And do you see that in this way our unquiet minds drive the world? The desire for power, fame, money, success, stature, glory, uniqueness… they all arise from this same unquiet mind….yes? Is this not self-obvious… at least when looked at?
By the way, I am NOT saying anything is wrong with this. I am not saying that at all. I would not wish to have a single moment of my adventurous journey to THIS moment be undone. Until the snake is DONE with it's skin, it is not ready to molt. Likewise, until we are done with our desires, I would say it is a lie to 'give them up'. One of the teachings I received many years ago from Werner Erhard (in the form of an easily-remembered aphorism) is this: "Life is a game in which what isn't is more important than what is. If what is becomes more important than what isn't, the game is over. Let the good times roll."
This to me is interesting. It's interesting because it reveals that really, there is absolutely nowhere to go to get enlightened. All that is required to be fully enlightened is to never go out of the Now---no matter what. And because being in the Now FULLY is impossible without also first being fully in the heart, it produces a mysterious and great Peace to anyone who abides there. In this Peace there is no longer any 'seeking', there is just 'meeting' what IS. Being around enlightened people is useful in that their transmission of Nowness is always being broadcast ….that's what each of us is receiving from them (according to our capacity at that moment). In this, the more open the heart, the greater the reception of the broadcast.
That said, I will say that as I pass through life, my view of life slowly but inexorably alters. I simply realize that what I value has changed. And, right now, what I am discovering I increasingly value is the opportunity to develop a deep and rich sadhana, inside of and including all my remaining karmas and circumstances. This is, I am seeing, the 'slow enlightenment' of true growth… that as the rings of a giant tree clearly show, growing is a long-term process of continually becoming new… while at the same time, staying true to the foundation of who you have been. In other words, the tree is not only it's last year of growth (like the skin of a balloon), it is astructure based upon EVERYTHING it has ever been or experienced. I suggest that this principle also applies to we humans.
Surprisingly to some people, inside the Now there is still 'dharma', or the lawful working out of duties, responsibilities, and karma. So for instance, I have the karma of being my mother's son, and also of being my son's father. Both carry with them a socially-appropriate list of ways being whose foundational rule is 'Thou shalt not abandon this karma'. So I live within that understanding and I do actions in relation to them that reflect this.
One of my karma's right now it simply being in Yuma, Arizona. It's a passed-down family karma having to do with my father's former health issues and his need of a warm winter climate. That's why he and Mom first began coming here seasonally many years ago. When I arrived here it was supposed to be one of my temporary visits. But then my heart spoke and told me that my fathers transition was nearing, and my karma was to help. After that happened, again my heart spoke its message to stay and help Mom 'stay living independently'. And in doing that now for a good while, I have received much (as you have often read). But still, Yuma is NOT a place I would have ever chosen---without the karma. Well, karma fortunately sometimes includes 'good luck'.
Meaning, today I suddenly realized what a perfect place Yuma is for the practice of sadhana. How so? Because there is so little here to seduce me away from being focused upon my inner work. This is a bit paradoxical, being as it is the exact opposite of Santa Fe, Santa Cruz, Santa Monica, Ashland, Boulder, Bellingham, Eugene, etc etc etc. Whereas those (and many other) highly attractive new-age cultural mecca/mega-centers are FULL of growing conscious people creatively self-expressing in millions of yummy and cool and irresistibly hip ways, Yuma is basically empty of such charisma (and the exceptions to this only prove the point). In other words (and in terms of my personal interests), I could almost never go anywhere and not miss anything. In that way, living here is not much different from being a hermit in a cave. Life can (and has) thus become quite simple. This is obviously conducive to sadhana and contemplation.
Yuma also offers one other important yogic thing… the opportunity to be 'of service' (karma yoga) to the human community. THAT opportunity is everywhere here…. especially lonely old people needing assistance. Why is this of significance? Because selfless service to another that you are able to see is actually yourself in a different body is one of the most direct routes to being fully established in the Unity. As the 3rd Zen Patriach writing says: "When all things are seen equally, the timeless self-essence is reached."
Who would have thought that I would ever write in this Journal that 'when you are ready to give up the world and do sadhana, choose a place like Yuma?' But that is what is true for me in this Now, and thus it is my concluding thought in my offering today to you.
May each of you continue to be true. Trusting that there are no accidents, I will meet you on the (inner) mountaintop.
Namaste, & Sat Nam,
David
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Rev. David Seacord
Fine Art Painter / Sufi Cherag
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