I went running this morning. It was cool outside, I was breathing the crisp air and enjoying the autumn scenery. Then I asked myself, why is it that sometimes I can run for hours without any troubles and sometimes I am exhausted after the first kilometer? And the answer came immediately. It is a question of how I am running.
We often read and hear about the fact that we should be more mindful, we should meditate more and we should practice more BEING instead of doing. Being present. PRESENCE in the moment. And then we ask ourselves how this could be possible. We still have to work, we still have a family to take care of, we still have to eat, we still have to run some errands, we still have bills to pay. I cannot give up everything in life and just sit around and be like all these masters of spirituality. So what do all these spiritual gurus mean by “Being”?
First of all, I feel that those gurus are not embodying what they are speaking of. At least not in the world of today. It is easy to just sit and be, when you have an ashram or temple, with disciples that take care of everything. Or when you have people traveling around the globe, to pay a lot of money just to sit in their presence, listening to their wisdom and get a little piece of the light and wisdom they are sharing. It is not oneness embodied, it is just oneness in words. And a good business model, too. Anyways – I feel that we are headed into a paradigm of embodied oneness, not only with God/Source/The Universe but with everything and everyone in it. Living oneness experienced physically.
Okay, so what does it mean, to “BE” in a new, embodied way:
The English language offers us a fantastic explanation and expression with its present continuous tense. According to the grammar books it is used to talk about the present. It expresses something that happens in the moment of speaking.
Let’s go back to my running this morning. I thought: I am running. And then I realized, if I just emphasize the word AM instead of the verb running – I have the answer to my question. Expressing myself like this is like saying: “I AM while running”. There is nothing wrong with doing (in that case my running). The question is if I am running with my head – thinking about all the things I have to do after I get back, thinking about how many kilometers are still left and worrying about maybe not being able to make it back or keeping my last record, etc. etc. This causes stress and the feeling of lack of time or fear of possible failure and so on. This is, although not obvious at first sight, an ego and fear-based form of doing something, being in the past or in the future with my thoughts.
Am I running with my head or am I running with my full presence and full attention to the moment”
OR: Am I running with my full presence and full attention to the moment. Am I appreciating every step my body takes and every moment my foot touches the ground, am I listening to the birds and the wind in the trees, am I noticing all the beautiful colors in nature, am I smelling the fresh air of the forest and am I feeling the lush sensation on my skin, am I hearing natures rhythm? By running like this, only the journey is important, it is not about getting somewhere. This is running with your heart and with love for everything that you are connected with. This is a doing of abundance. In this moment I am enough, the world is enough, everything is perfect. This gives doing a whole new quality. No matter if we work, meet friends, travel, do the dishes, … we always have the choice whether to do this with our head or with our full presence. This is what it is when people talk about being in the NOW. This is what is meant by mindfulness. This is meditation. This is BEING while DOING.
The texts I share are always based in my own experience and observations. By no means I am claiming this to be the ultimate truth. I encourage everyone to find their own truth and to be open to it changing as new information integrates. As this is universal wisdom of us ALL, I do not claim any copyright. Feel free to utilize and share, as long as you keep the text complete as it is so it keeps its energetic signature.
Thank You,
Vera
