"Snakebite & Sweet Nectar"

Demonstrating the capacity to peacefully accommodate instances of non-compliance with our preferencing systems, for instance, is sign and token to the world that we have been deeply involved in Eckhart’s “process of subtraction.” It means we have begun to erase from our core beliefs the egoic fiction that contentment and satisfaction are possible only when “everything’s going my way.” It means we have put to rest the popular notion that frustration and satisfaction depend entirely on our ability to dictate life’s circumstances. As Eckhart encourages, subtracting that commonly held belief from our sense of “how life is” liberates us from the myth that the only way to alleviate frustration and achieve contentment is through change in the outer circumstances of our lives.

Eventually, letting go of all the spiritually uninformed thinking that turns the Garden of Eden into a rock and a hard place will let us see clearly the penetrating insight in the Third Zen Patriarch’s observation that “the Great Way is not difficult for those who have no preferences.”

There you have it. Like it or not it’s the only formula there is for an authentically contented existence... LIFE - CONDITIONALITY = CONTENTMENT. The ever-changing flow of form and circumstance we call our lives liberated from the bondage of unenlightened demands and expectations faithfully yields a rich harvest of serenity and lighthearted joy . . . the human experience Teilhard de Chardin called “the most infallible sign of the presence of God,” which is to say the presence of the divine attributes of peace, harmony and joy that flow from the human condition when it is attuned to the Truth and set free from the tyranny of spiritually uninformed thinking.

But, and here’s the rub, what exactly is this phenomenon called “spiritually uninformed thinking?” And, how do I know when I’m engaging in it? Answer the first question and you’ve solved the whole riddle.

The best I’m seeing it at this point understands spiritually uninformed thinking as any cognitive process that separates us from our “natural state” of basic contentment. Everyone of us is created in the “image and likeness” of peace and harmony. That’s the divine inheritance we’ve all been blessed with by Father/Mother God. Our natural capacity for peace and love and joy is an innate state of being that does not have to be learned. It is the eternal Reality of our natures, and the condition we manifest effortlessly and spontaneously in the absence of spiritually uninformed thinking.

For a moment imagine a quiet pond with a few lily pads floating on its still, placid surface. Not a breath of air is stirring and the surface of the pond is free of even the tiniest suggestion of a ripple. Then the sky darkens, thunderclouds roll in accompanied by heavy gusts of wind. Almost immediately the quiet surface of the pond is transformed into an agitated scenario of choppy waves and windblown whitecaps. As you watch, the storm passes as quickly as it arrived. The sun emerges from the clouds and the winds subside to a whisper. As you watch, the surface of the pond effortlessly and spontaneously returns to its original state, it’s natural state, of placid serenity.

The pond will remain calm and serene as long as it is not imposed upon by the wind’s disturbing force. Likewise, each of us will remain calm and serene as long as our inner sea of tranquility is not imposed upon by stormy gusts of spiritually uninformed thinking.

If you’ve stayed with my contention that we each have been blessed with a natural tendency toward basic contentment that is not dependent on any particular set of external circumstances for its existence, and that our basic contentment can only be disturbed by spiritually uninformed thinking, then it follows that we’ll know we are engaging in some form of unenlightened thinking the moment we find ourselves in any emotional state contrary to basic contentment... frustration, resentment, disappointment, guilt, hostility, anxiety, depression... take your pick.

What then can be done to extricate ourselves from this condition of self-imposed emotional bondage? The first step in developing a more spiritually informed relationship with the ever changing flow of form and circumstance we call our lives is to make a commitment to certain practices that will support our efforts to become far more “mindful” than we typically are. By “mindful” I mean the capacity to remain extremely vigilant regarding the specific content of that ceaseless stream of thoughts and images passing on the screen of your awareness. You might find it helpful to think of mindfulness as “paying attention to what you are paying attention to.”

The awakened Indian master, Krishnamurti, teaches that, “if we are to truly experience the peace that we seek so diligently, we would be wise to watch our minds like we would watch a rattlesnake.” How carefully would you watch a rattlesnake, coiled, three feet from you, rattle buzzing? My hunch is that you would give it your undivided attention. “More you should watch the mind,” Krishnamurti counseled, “The rattlesnake can only strike and kill the body, but the mind can strike and destroy your capacity to drink the sweet nectar of God’s cup of existence.”

Now we are on to something. Sparing your natural state of serenity and contentment from the venom of a spiritually uninformed mind requires a commitment to practicing mindfulness with a fierce determination. The ball’s in our court now. What can we do to enhance our capacities for mindfulness. For openers, it means getting our butt on the cushions for a twenty to thirty minute meditation every day. Nothing refines our capacity to pay attention to what we are paying attention to more than a regular practice of watching the breath rise and fall, rise and fall and noticing how often our attention gets lost in the free associative dance of our cognitive play..

Over time though the capacity to watch the mind at play without getting lost in its drama strengthens, gradually empowering us to monitor its ongoing commentary from the point of view of a dispassionate witness interested primarily in discerning the spiritual accuracy of its never ending stream of interpretation, prediction and analysis. In other words let us commit to becoming extremely adept at Eckhart’s “process of subtraction” and refuse to invest agreement in any thought or premise that contains the venom of spiritually uninformed thinking . . . the kind of thinking that turns the calm sea of inner tranquility into the turbulent maelstrom of emotional agitation.

To do otherwise is to forfeit the grace of drinking the sweet nectar of God’s cup of existence. Watch the rattlesnake and enjoy the grace!

--Chad

For some helpful insights into the specific nature of spiritually-uninformed thinking, let me suggest the AOM #1-#7 series of Sunday tapes available in our bookstore.

©2001 Rev. Chad O'Shea

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