Commentary by MARTI 

OPEN HEART & DISCERNING MIND

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How we see the world determines who we are. What we think has the power to change the world around us. Our minds can master matter and we can live with the sublime consciousness of our own existence. This is the ongoing process of creation. It never stands still. Astrophysicist Stephen Hawking has said, 

“The boundary condition of the universe is that it has no boundary.”

Change is an inherent part of the natural order. It can take time or occur with lightning speed, like a comet hurtling through space. Sad over his mother’s death, the Tibetan thief and murderer Milarepa saw into the mysteries of the universe and defied his dark past to become a great yogic master. This is said to have happened in a matter of days.

When we move like true warriors, something powerful happens and our obstacles become the vehicle for the immeasurable power of change. Clarity is one of the keys.

AMBITION OR SELF-MOTIVATION

We owe it to ourselves to always ask whether our acts come out of ambition or inner motivation. Ambition comes from the me, myself and I and is sparked by what others see and expect of us rather than what feels like our own genuine self-expression. Ego and ambition have nothing to do with true consciousness. Ego thrives on competition and fears. And in the end, this causes harmful rivalry and destructive conflicts. Life is then a game rather than a gift.

Motivation is part of remembering who we are. It comes from an integral place where each act in our lives unfolds out of our own experience and spiritual practice. It is about self-evolution, not self-importance. With true motivation we aim to live consciously in a balanced world where our lives touch our cosmic potential and we enjoy the pure act of existence.

SOLITUDE AND BELONGING

Solitude is about the necessity of taking time apart and centering our energies so that we will be able to share the beauty of our own revelations. This happens when we have connected deeply to our own inner being. It is based on quiet mind, listening and caring for the Earth, developing a passion for living and a compassion for others. From solitude we learn who we are and that we are never alone. 

Solitude is worlds apart from loneliness, which is a feeling of isolation from others and a sense of need. Solitude does not need; it is not about seeking; it is about receiving and giving to nature. It is elegantly described in Dogen’s Shobogenzo:

 “ They passed eons living alone in the mountains and forests; only then did they unite with the Way and use mountains and rivers for words, raise the wind and rain for a tongue and explain the great void. “

With solitude we refrain from judgement. We expand our consciousness and with practice, obtain clarity of mind. We learn to acknowledge that a sparkling treasure may lie hidden in any given place in time. Antoine Saint Exupèry’s Little Prince revealed this when he said:

“ What makes the desert so wonderful is that there’s a well hidden somewhere.”

Solitude brings a sense of wonder and self-discovery. We are not above the circle, but within it and it is endlessly changing, infinitely complex, but with the same deep inner sacred pulse beating in each one of our hearts.

THE EARTH IS CONSCIOUS

Our planet is conscious. It works on frequencies. In a cosmic sense, the Earth knows our names, who we are and what we think and feel and do. We can expand our deep connection to the Earth and develop great clarity of mind with practice. When we visualize that we are loved beyond measure and that we have a natural spiritual ally within, we will begin to radiate the light of the distant stars. The universe is generous. It doesn’t just shower the gift of consciousness on a few privileged enlightened souls. It is there for everyone. Listen and hear. As the music of the spheres unfolds we experience powerful waves of light energy and the overwhelming awareness that we are one. 

SUPREME LOVE 

Someone once said that hate is love that gets stuck like a caged bird that can’t spread its wings and fly on freedom’s winds. Love is such an abstract word, yet spiritual love can break through separation, unite and create mutual goodwill, cultivate wisdom, humility, perseverance, and pure mind. When we think with the heart, we are free to develop a discerning mind and body and a healthy psychic spirit. It is about partnership, not adoration and illusion. The German poet Rainer Maria Rilke has said :  

“ Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but looking outward in the same direction.”

We are partners in a great unimaginable pattern of existence that is conscious and this pattern provides us with supreme love and a unique spiritual dimension.

A DEEP SENSE OF GRATITUDE

Gratitude is one of the most profound gifts we can share. Understanding what a great privilege life is, how fragile our bodies really are, how infinitely boundless and flawless the universe is, and how evolution embraces and devours everything, gives us a heightened sense of awareness.  

Gratitude kindles the very heart of life. It is our ally within.  It is knowing there is far more to our existence than random, chaotic particles moving at the speed of light. We are spiritually aligned beings in a unified energy field and it is accidentally no accident. 

As the Chinese Huayan Sutra says, 

“ Within an atom of dust appear all the phenomena of all the worlds in the cosmos.”

A star falls from the sky like a leaf through space. An ancient tree is felled and the Earth gasps. When we open ourselves to acknowledge all of life, including pain and suffering, we become the conscious messengers the world needs.  

Each snowflake is a unique and miraculous mandala of crystals, yet packing them tightly together over time makes a stunning glacier. Our lives on Earth are but a glimpse of the totality of who we are. And all our collective human efforts throughout eons is not even an eyeblink in the life of our universe.

The existence of Planet Earth and our very presence here is itself a miracle. As Stephen Hawking says of our unique place in space and time:

“ If the early universe had expanded at a slightly different rate, it would have ended up very differently: a fraction slower and it would have rapidly collapsed in upon itself to form a black hole; a fraction faster and galaxies would never have had the chance to condense.”

Our presence here may well be due to a fraction of a second. And yet we are here. The pulse that breathes in each one of us is the same powerful mantra and yet we are all different. The universe is illusive in nature, but every moment is packed with significance. 

--- Excerpts from MARTI’s book, Indigo Spirit Towards a Child-Friendly Planet