Perception

We all have past problems or traumas we need to address. When we began recovery, we became aware of shortcomings in our character and how we reacted to life. We had been harmful to ourselves and others, needing a substance or behavior to mask our underlying problems. We learned we needed to rely on programs, the experience of others, counseling, prayer and meditation to finally begin laying a solid foundation for ourselves. 

With work and time, we began to understand that we are related and responsible to all life. We began to have a broader view and we learned acceptance, patience and awareness. We need to continue these healthy, growth-promoting connections, with all the joy of finally breathing fully and seeing clearly, for our lifetimes. 

At some point, each of us will find we must believe ourselves to be a vital part of all that is, and begin living an honest, honorable and decent life. The only way we can be properly aligned with the fullness of life is to truly believe in our basic goodness, our spiritual connection. To not permit old or outside experiences to continue mis-guiding us. We don’t deny any past experience that was a difficulty, but we do deny giving the past power to demean or belittle us today.

Learning that our happiness isn’t derived from external conditions, we begin disassociating the cause of our happiness from any external conditions, and discover that we can be happy no matter what is happening outside of us. We find a wellspring of happiness that bubbles up from the I AM, without cause. We need only to let go of resisting it to experience it. This is a great discovery. We find we’re no longer dependent upon external situations being a certain way in order to find joy. We’re no longer addicted to our sources of entertainment as if our joy depended upon them, and thus those attachments progressively fall away.

“He who binds himself to a joy, Does the winged life destroy, But he who kisses the joy as it flies, Lives in eternity’s sunrise.” — William Blake 

“When we cleanse our perceptions of grasping and attachment, we experience a universe that is infinite, awake, and full of delight.” (Source unknown)

Grasping is both internal and external. Internally, it creates the sense of unchanging “I” (ego). Externally, it projects the concept of “Other,” seeing everything as a challenge to its existence; either a threat to be overcome (aggression), an object of desire to be seized (passion), or something to be ignored in the hope it will go away, (aversion).

In Buddhism, Passion, Aggression and Aversion are known as the three poisons.

“We empower ourselves when we become clear about who we are and live accordingly. And that is our only touch on the world.” — Jan Watterman

 “There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance—that principle is contempt prior to investigation.” — Herbert Spencer

“We don’t know what we see; we see what we know.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Quit knowing anything, start just simply seeing.

There are attractive and alluring features of any object. Frequently giving irrational & unwise attention to them will always result in suffering.When we meditate, we start to see how often we identify with the contents of our consciousness—the thoughts, feelings, and emotions that pass through us. And we start to stand back from those thoughts, feelings, and emotions, and to have a less “joined” relationship with them. No longer attached to them, and no longer identifying with them, we start to see them as simply experiences that are passing through. And this is enormously liberating. 

“Then you comb your hair, shave your face, Tryin’ to wipe out every trace of all the other days in the week, you know that this’ll be the Saturday you’re reachin’ your peak.
Stoppin’ on the red, you’re goin’ on the green, ’cause tonight’ll be like nothin’, you’ve ever seen. And you’re barrelin’ down the boulevard. You’re lookin’ for the heart of Saturday night.” — Tom Waits

“When seeing, hearing, or sensing something and considering it as the only thing that can bring comfort and advantage to self, one is always inclined to get caught in it and rule out everything else as inferior.” — Thich Nhat Hanh

Once we free our joy from the world, we’re free to experience it in the world as much as we want. We begin finding the always-available joy within and, interestingly enough, noticing that it has a natural tendency towards wanting to express itself in life. Joy naturally wants to be expressed. Once we discover this, we’re free to reengage with our previous activities, from which we had been detaching  We no longer need to do certain things, and in this there is freedom.                                                                                                    

We have all experienced a time when we did something that we felt was right and done well. Perhaps we felt like it was an adult decision, well-considered and balanced. This is the feeling we have when we are in sync with our spirit and our felt bond with life and Big View. This right perception, innate in all of us, is uncovered when we release ourselves from bondage to outside influences and external graspings.

It’s okay to play. It’s great to have fun. It is good to feel good. And we feel good when we do what is right and in tune with our spirit.

How do you fill your bucket? One drop at a time

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step

The great arises out of small things that are honored and cared for

May you be well. May you be happy. May you find peace. 

Heart Of Recovery web site  — fcheartofrecovery.com