What if fear
was NOT an indictment?
What if fear
was a natural function
of our brainstem?
What if the ideal
contemplative response
to fear…
was neither to repress it
nor to indulge it?
What if the ideal
contemplative response
to fear…
was first
to play with it
like a mischievous cat
with an unfortunate mouse
or like Darth Maul
toying with Obi-Wan Kenobi
after the murder
of Qui Gon Jinn.
Let us play with our fear
by noticing our circumstance,
where fearful situations
play out…
by noticing our bodies,
where we feel our fear,
by noticing
our communication…
verbal language,
body language,
facial expressions…
the way we communicate
to others
as well as our own
inner Rod Serling;
by noticing our minds’ coarse:
emotions, and intentions, and calculations,
and recollections and imaginings…
and also by noticing our minds’
subtle perceptions of: sensation,
and flavor, and scent, and sound,
and sight, and even mind itself.
Let us notice
all those things
NOT actively
but passively…
not analytically
for that is nothing but
our controlling tendencies…
masquerading
behind the camouflage
of our
pseudo-intellectualism.
What if the ideal
contemplative response
to these times
of real peril…
was NOT only
to notice
in harmony
with our inhalation…
BUT also
to physically relax
in harmony
with each exhalation
for that is the nature
of our factory-installed
programing…
a gift,
if you will,
of evolutionary biology.
For by cooperating
with our neurology
and physically relaxing…
even just a little bit,
in coordination
with each exhalation…
we could observe our mind
releasing its grasp…
as if our circumstance,
both actual and potential,
were a heavy bowling ball…
slathered in coconut grease
and slipping inevitably
from between our palms.
What if we played
with these contemplations
empowered…
by the whispered recitation
of the twelve syllable mantra?
And like an adolescent
on a skateboard
who after several pushes
coasts for a while…
likewise we could harness
the psychic momentum
of these relaxations…
to contemplate
how our fearful circumstance,
and our fearful emotions…
and our bodies
which feel these fears,
and our mind
which perceives these fears…
could seem even a little
non-graspable
with each exhalation.
We could continue
our mantra fueled
contemplations
and explore…
how although this adventure
could feel solid,
and permanent,
during each inhalation…
during each exhalation
this adventure
that we find ourselves in…
could feel
as NON-graspable
as a vast, empty, void…
like a paradise,
comprised only of light…
or like a buddha’s body,
comprised only of light,
or like a mantra,
comprised only of light,
of like a seed syllable,
also comprised only of light.
We could flow
with the stream
of these contemplations…
and indulge our mid-brains’
tendency towards empathy
and give ourselves permission…
to wish
with altruistic
abandon…
that for ourselves,
and our neighbors,
and all earthlings,
and all beings of all worlds…
that each of their circumstances
were as fortunate
as a buddha’s paradise,
that each of their bodies
was as blissful, and healthy,
and strong, and long-lived
as a buddha’s body,
and we could also wish
that all communication
was as peaceful, and as wise
as a buddha’s mantra,
and that each mind
was likewise
as joyful, and as loving,
as a buddha’s seed syllable.
After harnessing
all that neurotic energy
with the tools
of love and letting go…
we could shift gears
and enter into a silent practice
where we passively watch
the play of mind…
and actively relax
into its
NON-graspable nature.
We could do that,
and simply sit,
for ten, or twenty,
or thirty, or even forty minutes.
And then
we could rouse ourselves
by silently reviewing…
our minds,
and communication,
and bodies,
and circumstances…
through the lens
of love
and letting go;
like Han Solo
gently shuffling Sabacc cards
across the table
from Lando Calrissian.
Then having successfully
extracted our heads
from the warm, dark places
they sometimes wander off to…
we could open our selves
to comfort others
however we can.
This is why we explore
the Buddha’s
Contemplation and Compassion…
that we
like Obi Wan Kenobi
might meditate
like a jedi
Let us conclude
with a simple
call to action
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