Are You Too Busy to Awaken?

Photo by zoetnetWe live in a world where doing is king.

Doing is equated with happiness. How often do you hear the greeting “How are you doing?” Or the response “I’m great. So busy!” It is as if to say that because one is busy, one is happy, but in fact there is no direct correlation between the two. Rather, often when we have a lot to do, stress can easily build up.

‘Busy-ness’ is really just an escape mechanism, because in reality we cannot be busy, we can only do one thing at a time.

Have you ever basically done more than one thing at a time in any given moment? Ok sure, you can for example, watch TV and eat a meal at the same time. Or you can be listening to music whilst jogging. So yes, granted, we can do maybe 2-3 things at once. However even in these situations, if you pay close attention, is not your focus in any given moment on one thing at a time?

We can have a busy day doing many activities and rushing here, there and everywhere, but as stated above, the physical body can really only do one or two things at a time. We may have the feeling we’re rushing about all over the place, but in reality we can’t be rushing to two places at once can we?

So reality would tell you that a human being does one thing, or very few things, at a time.

This then begs the question, where does that feeling of busy-ness come from?

Simple: It is the mind that produces this feeling or belief.

Busy-ness is really just a state of mind. It is this feeling of lots to do that we are really seeking when we speak about being busy. It is the mind that seeks to be busy, and even where you are not really that busy you can often get a feeling of being busy. Why? Because the mind seeks to escape.

Perhaps it is more than a habit of escape, it may be more like an addiction. That’s why redundancy where one suddenly has a lot less to do or illness which confines one to a bed can be such challenging times. Challenging, because a different experience comes into play, one where the mind, by dint of circumstance, has to slow down. This slowing down is not what the mind ordinarily likes.

Of course, it goes without saying that since we have children, spouses, homes, work, businesses and problems to sort out, we obviously need to carry out our ‘To Do’ list and fulfil our responsibilities. But the point isn’t about doing something or not doing something. This is about who we are being in the moment of doing. When the two merge – being and doing – all comes right, life occurs naturally and with a spontaneous flow which is in and of itself fulfilling. If they are not allowed to merge – ie if there is a disproportionate focus on the doing – then we will keep on craving the next thing, and the next, and unconsciously create scenarios and events to feed this need / addiction for mind-escape.

In the end, human beings – however dysfunctional, destructive or misplaced their actions – want to be at peace. It is the erroneous belief that through doing things we will become happy that leads to a lack of peace. In seeking that which we seek through external means we will not find it. The seeking of exciting and happy experiences will always be an anti-climax. This is because we’re chasing an idea, an intangible, whilst reality – our being – goes largely unnoticed.

This is what spiritual awakening is about. We are it already, so why seek it externally? How much more enjoyable can an activity be if we realize that we already are that which we seek through it? How much freer will our experience be if we simply let go of the control and manipulation? We can then simply enjoy doing things spontaneously for what they are, without needing to make them something better, or not as good as the next thing that hasn’t yet arrived – and will never do in the way that we crave? To live in hope of the next thing is to live in false hope and as such, our hopes will continuously be dashed. It seems to me that people learn early on life to accept this ongoing disappointment as part of life. But the answer is staring at us all the while. The four-leaf clover of happiness and fulfilment only grows in the mind of one who will not let go of control.

Yet the three-leaf clover of happiness is perfectly satisfying.

Happiness cannot be found or achieved. It is who we already are.

Sri Ramana Maharshi said, “If a man thinks that his happiness is due to external causes and his possessions, it is reasonable to conclude that his happiness must increase with the increase of possessions and diminish in proportion to their diminution. Therefore if he is devoid of possessions, his happiness should be nil. What is the real experience of man? Does it conform to this view?

In deep sleep the man is devoid of possessions, including his own body. Instead of being unhappy he is quite happy. Everyone desires to sleep soundly. The conclusion is that happiness is inherent in man and is not due to external causes. One must realise his Self in order to open the store of unalloyed happiness.”

We need do nothing to be happy. After all, we are called human beings, not human doings.

So how does one stop hiding from oneself in all that busy-ness? Well it would be easy to say that you simply stop hiding, and that really is the meal ticket.

The first step is to slow down and begin to see how we are always wanting to escape the moment. To ponder ourselves is the first step in becoming aware of our mind-addictions and becoming real. This is what it means to become more conscious. As we become more aware, the need to always be occupied with something outside of us in the moment becomes healed and we regain a sense of presence, alertness and satisfaction.

It’s necessary to rise above our self-centeredness and self-obsessions. The regurgitation of the details of our lives is a waste of energy and leads to negative scenarios. There is something much wider occurring than the intricate details of our own individual, dramatic lives, for we live as a collective. And this is the wider good. Better stated, the wider good and our own good are intrinsically linked.

We are no more removed from the problems of the world than we are removed from our own personal problems. Living a life of personal goodness, taking care of our loved ones and nearest and dearest is not enough. Everyone is our nearest and dearest. This is what we all know deep down in our hearts albeit unconsciously, for there is Oneness at play. You cannot be happy in isolation, or as a recluse, or in an ivory tower. The world calls for your care and attention through your own conscious growth. Through a whole-view the fragmented world is made one. The world exists in each one of us. We are Wholeness. As Jiddu Krishnamurti said, “In oneself lies the whole world and if you know how to look and learn, the door is there and the key is in your hand. Nobody on earth can give you either the key or the door to open, except yourself.”

There needs to be a shift from the personal to the collective, from separateness to oneness. The me-attitude comes from rigid thinking, a sense of superiority and judgement of others. Such negative ways of thinking do not lead to unity and nor do they provide unity within one’s own life. Responsibility must be taken on an individual level for these ways. We all partake, or have partaken in these judgments and we are all responsible. If we are human, we are responsible. No amount of escaping into busy-ness will take away this responsibility. And for all of us, at some time or other, the wake-up call must arrive.

If we consider the evolution of mankind, we may be led to think that emotionally and intellectually, we have matured. But this is highly debatable. Rather, human beings have become more and more materialistic, and in taking this road, have arguably regressed both emotionally and intellectually. Money and power have become everything. But status and privilege are not everything. The way that we have been, we can no longer continue to be.

So in this blog I have gone from discussing the individual who is caught in the trap of believing ‘busy’ is the way to go, to talking about the evolution of mankind. Seemingly a big jump. But the moment an individual awakens to the fact that this in fact is no big jump but rather the two are one and the same, the world transforms. Step by step, person by person. Moment by moment.

Transformation only ever occurs now. Never in the future. How could it occur in a ‘time’ that never actually occurs (the future)? Just like our cravings for the next thing, the next moment, the next angle, the next fad, the next relationship, the next event.

The task then is to slow down the marathon in your mind so that you can come to enjoy and know this moment now. In this moment lies all understanding, and all is shown to be just so.

Reena Gagneja is the founder of SoulAlert, http://www.soulalert.com, a new spiritual community for truth seekers and practitioners. She is also a Spiritual Counsellor and Soul Contract Reader. Her website is http://www.reenagagneja.com. She offers a free 20 min phone consultation.Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/self-help-articles/are-you-too-busy-to-awaken-1577297.html