July 8, 2006

Fraudulent?

Do you sense wholeness in Being, just feeling Presence, like a lover, near and within? I do. This fullness is so lovely. I have a stong desire to share this sensation, to offer it up it again and again. Yet often my imagination is spotty, and all I can seem to do is pull fragments from nowhere. These small bits are mottled, like sunlight through the trees, of no substance, fleeting. Still, these fragments are what I have, momentarily floating through my fingertips, and I love to share them.

A few days ago on this blog, an anonymous responder wrote that holding presence is fraudulent, just like the water drop in the graphic I posted on the Simple Meditation - recreated and false. I scrapped the comment, but it has been lingering in my psyche. I asked Aki what he thought about it, and he responded:

“Spiritual imagination is lovely and delightful and sorely needed in this world, which is often degraded by the relentless striving and suffering of ego-fixation. With love we bring beauty to life - in poetry, photographs, painting, or prose. We are love and the expressions of love are many and varied. No one can stand in judgment of authentic expression, but the mind will try. It will comment and critique, praise and blame. This is what mind does.

Pulling fragments from nowhere is inspired - without the commentary of the mind; it is fresh and beautiful, like mottled sunlight. The best we have in this human life is "of no substance, fleeting."

Expressions of love are flowing, always flowing. We try to share this flowing presence as best we can, and it always falls short. The finger pointing at the moon is not the moon. But what are we to do? We have to point! We want to share this flowing presence, and however inadequate our sharing, however misunderstood, we still share our love and our joy. There will always be those who see only the static, the frozen drop and miss what it is pointing at - the flowing river. Words and pictures are after all only snapshots, and language falls short of describing the dynamic quality of presence. You see a photo and you see what it is pointing at. Another looks at the photo and they see only a frozen image, fraudulent, the same fraudulence and frustration they experience about themselves, living as a self-identity. They miss it again and again. They are telling you about them, about where they are living from.

Your life is an expression of genuineness and generosity. Holding, not holding - these words mean nothing to authentic presence. I realize who you are. I am not confused by your fingers pointing, always pointing at the moon, at presence, at love. You are living presence, living presence, so alive..."

***
Thank you, my dear Friend.

11 comments:

anonymous julie said...

Words do not substitute for experience, it's true - but they can be wonderful, wonderful reminders. Keep pointing, friend...

christina joy said...

"Another looks at the photo and they see only a frozen image, fraudulent, the same fraudulence and frustration they experience about themselves, living as a self-identity. They miss it again and again. They are telling you about them, about where they are living from." ~ I love this... and how true!

Point taken and point on!
in the presence,
cja

Anonymous said...

Greetings of Peace:
The Oneness of being is the entirety of the lessons, or steps, on the Sufi path as well. And CJ is right, some see one what they observe through their self-indentity, which is what the Sufi struggles to overcome, to look at God with God's eyes, so to speak.

A wonderful post nonetheless :) I am adding you to my blogroll.

Meredith said...

Julie: Thank you. Let's both keep pointing. The moon was so beautiful last night. Must be all our precious attention reflecting right back at us, yes?

cj, dear One. Thank you. We are in the Presence. Yes, indeed.

Irving, thanks for coming by. We do see one another in the Oneness of Being, which is none other than peering through God's eyes.

isaiah said...

M-

I, too, have a strong desire to share this sensation, offer it up again and again. Your generous giving knows no limits drawing from Source inexhaustable.

Source gives us what we need- sometimes it is disquised by our own inability to see. I believe anonymous is drawing from Source the same "fragments"- only they seem foreign and unwelcoming to him.

Aki's words can be offered up to anonymous as well.... "I realize who you are. I am not confused by your fingers pointing, always pointing at the moon, at presence, at love. You are living presence, living presence, so alive..."

Meredith said...

Dear Tommy,
Thank you for this. I have come to so appreciate all your comments. It is like looking in a mirror of sorts, a comfortable familiarity with One.

I appriciated what you say about turning Aki's sentiment back onto the naysayer, who said, " Just like the photo-shopped water drop on the computer enhanced photo of the leaf, the attempt to recreate and prolong the brief moment of the glimpse of enlightenment is a transparent bit of fakery." He has glimpsed, but does not hold the realization. But we can continue to realize who he is.

I realize who you are, dear friend.
M

Anonymous said...

I'm glad we have identified this anonymous commentor as the unenlightened outsider who does not dwell in the enternal bliss we experience here. How dare he bring his ego-mind suffering into our palace!!! We have separated him from us and he is not included in our world of love. Let us leave suffering behind and return to perpetual peace. Poor Meredith acted quickly to delete the original annoying comment, but was forced to suffer for over a week. Imagine! She had too face and experience spiritual angst and examine her own beliefs!?!? But lo! She has triumphed!! Now, we are all unified in our dream of spiritual enlightenment. Some only see the pointing finger.

isaiah said...

Dear Anonymous One-

Your attempts at conveying anything less that your perfect being are simply an exercise in futility.

You are blessed, here and now, with another opportunity to know who you are...don't waste this one-such opportunities only come along every second, available to us everywhere.

You can't say anything here that can lend comfort to your disguise.

We know who you really are, even if you don't.

Namaste-

anonymous julie said...

You guys rock. Really.

Anonymous said...

Let go of and drop all your beliefs; especially those of spirituality and enlightment. Leave them behind. Fully experience the vacuum that remains, without words, stories, interpretation, etc. Do not move from this place. The mind wants comfort, a story, anything to fill the void. Do not move. Experience whatever is seen fully; be it suffering, judgement, love, or joy. The world of imaginary spiritual enlightenment has it's place and time but it is no different from any other creation of the mind. Go beyond the mind.

isaiah said...

Dear Anonymous One-

Now........you're talking! :)

Yes, even give up the desire....for enlightenment. The truth is- it doesn't matter. Here, now...we are as perfect as we're ever going to be.

Yes, go beyond the mind. What is beyond the mind?

"Rain falling on the temple roof."

Now you're talking!

Peace an blessings Anonymous One.