Imagine that the very first essence of ‘you’ has just been conceived in your mother’s womb, in the stillness of the present moment.
Very gently an awareness begins to stir in you, this is the first movement in you of ‘the mind’, you experience an awareness of a presence that seems other than you, an exquisitely pure and beautiful presence, magnificence beyond belief!
You begin to notice that when you move, it moves and when you are still it is also still. The mind in you, becomes enthralled, it needs to verify it, to touch it, to feel it, not realising that it is only a reflection in the still ‘Pool of Life’, of who you truly are. The mind in you, cannot realise that you can never touch, feel, know who you truly are, you can only be who you truly are!
But the mind in you persists, moving irresistibly closer and closer to the still surface of the ‘Pool of Life’, wanting to verify, to prove, to know, moving closer and closer until finally it happens, it touches the magnificent reflection, immediately sending a ripple across the surface of the pool, distorting the magnificence. The mind tries to stop the ripple, to smooth it out, to fix it, to bring the pure reflection back, but it’s hopeless, it just creates more and more ripples, more and more feelings, and thus begins the suffering.
And now, in the far reaches of the mind, there lies a memory of the first reflection, the pure original Magnificence. This is the yearning that motivates the continued existence of the mind, and the continued suffering. It is a paradox because it is these very yearnings, that cause the ripples, that distorts what the mind yearns for.
We need to understand that the only way we can once again be who we truly are, is to stop trying to fix the ripples, and have the courage and self trust to just watch the ripples until they settle allowing the pool of life to become still again, like the mirror its meant to be. This is when the mind will once again experience who you truly are and it is at this moment that you can become the master again, simply by being gratefully still in your Magnificence. You may notice a pure clarity arising within you and what needs to happen next will become so obvious you may smile. Peace!
Oliver Brady
