Hi Folks,
The dates and locations of my July events in the UK are now set. I’ll be in London, speaking on the evening of the 7th followed by a daylong retreat on the 8th. I’ll then be traveling to Bristol for an evening talk on the 10th. For details, click on the upcoming events link below.
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THE EVER-PRESENT FLOW OF EXPERIENCING
As humans, we long to experience a sense of fulfillment and well-being that we can count on, one that is stable and reliable, that is not constantly coming and going. And while we imagine this enduring well-being will somehow be found in particular types of inner (experiential) or outer (circumstantial) weather patterns, the problem is that no pattern of experience or circumstance ever endures. And so our efforts to secure any sort of lasting well-being in phenomena that are by nature unstable and impermanent is doomed to failure.
Experiences appear for a flash instant and then vanish, becoming something else no sooner than they seem to take shape. What is being seen, heard or felt is in a state of constant flux. This is the dynamic, non-static nature of everything. And so given the inconstancy of experience, the natural question arises: “is there any constancy or stability anywhere to be found?” Well, the answer is yes, for while experiences never remain, the flow of experiencing itself is constant. Experiences come and go but the experiencing does not. It is ongoing. Perceptions are forever changing. But the perceiving never stops. It is stable, even in its instability.
While our tendency is to emphasize the content of our inner or outer weather (e.g., is it cold or hot, sunny or cloudy, stormy or calm), for the next few moments, I invite you into another experiment and that is, rather than orienting to the content of whatever is being experienced—how it feels, what it sounds like, the particular shape, color, texture, flavor and so on of it—simply appreciate the fact that anything is even happening at all. Notice that something is present, that something is undoubtedly being perceived. But don’t worry about what that something is nor how it is being labeled or described. Instead, just revel in the fact of its existence. The fact that it’s even here at all.
Let your emphasis be on the sheer presence of whatever is appearing rather than trying to figure out what or why the appearances are (which we can’t really do anyway!). Feel the constancy of the appearing even if paradoxically, it’s changing from moment-to-moment. While experiences are impermanent, here and then gone in a flash, notice that the flow of experiencing itself never comes to a stop. Feel its constancy, the relentlessness of experiencing, how it never turns off, even if the content of what’s being experienced is forever in flux. See that nothing need be done, that no effort is required to make the flow of experiencing constant for that is its very nature, to never cease.
Revel in this ever-changing, ever-present flow.
I'm experiencing what's here now, therefore...?
Your observations of experiencing in your life are helpful to me as I continually exploring my own.
The Infinite - Always Here 💜