Do you ever wonder who you really are? The answer is quite simple. You are that which is reading these words right now. Simple aware being – looking. You are that which is hearing the sounds around you. The same simple aware being – listening.
This simple aware being that you are lends itself to all the ways you perceive yourself. Man, woman, old, young, good, bad, attractive, unattractive, wife, husband, son, daughter, introvert, extrovert and so on. The ways we identify ourselves are very complex and assumed to be true and yet the nature of our very existence is simple. We couldn’t imagine ourselves to be any of the things we identify with if it wasn’t for our pre existing nature.
When we are identified with and living from a sense of personal identity we suffer. We have to work hard to maintain our identity and the way the personal identity lives in the body creates all kinds of constriction, bracing and tension. Can you almost feel it as I describe it. It’s painful and it’s always out of sync with reality or in other words; it’s not in alignment with the way things are.
When I talk about the way things are I’m referring to what is actually happening right now. A very simple example of this would be; it’s raining outside and I want it to be warm and sunny. That is out of sync with reality and leads to suffering. It’s not wrong to want it to be warm and sunny it’s just simply not the case. You might be able to identify something in your experience right now where you are suffering over the way it is. Don’t judge yourself for it simply notice it.
Our nature of simple aware being is always in alignment with reality. Our nature doesn’t argue with reality it simply allows things to be as they are or in other words it is one with the way things are not in opposition with the way things are.
That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t act but we don’t need to react from our resistance. Action from the place of non resistance is intelligent and clear. When we are coming from a personal identity we are always reacting to something because our identities are false, fragile and easily offended. They aren’t sustainable. I hope that makes sense. It’s not personal because it’s the way all human beings are conditioned. It starts in childhood and continues until it is seen through as being entirely made up and ultimately non existent. That doesn’t mean that you are non existent. You are entirely real. It means the made up you is non existent.
We are here to wake up from these false identities that keep us bound, suffering and at war with each other. We are living on a cosmic playground where everyone is competing to see who has the most marbles in their pocket at the end of the day. If you have ever sat with someone at the end of their life you already know that it doesn’t matter.
There are many ways that your physiology will let you know that you aren’t able to sustain a false identity any longer. That is such good news. Maybe you’re exhausted or suffering from anxiety, depression, chronic illness, chronic pain, body aches, difficulty sleeping, loneliness, addiction or a compromised immune system. These are all symptoms of trying to sustain an unsustainable identity.
The first step is always awareness. Simple and compassionate noticing of all the ways your life is providing you with cues that it’s time to turn back towards yourself and your true nature of simple aware being. The dial is turned up right now as most of us are already aware. It’s becoming more and more difficult to maintain identities that are no longer relevant to the times we are living in.
This isn’t a quick fix. It’s a cosmic shift that has implications for all areas of your life. It’s a new way of being. In my experience it’s essential to have company on this path of awakening. If you are interested in joining a group of like minded friends you are welcome to check out my upcoming event: The Sacred Simplicity of Right Now. We have a space just for you.
“I am so deeply grateful to have found these practices. I wish they had an icon for jumping up and down and clapping your hands. Maybe doing cartwheels.
Thank you, Candace, for this simple, gentle way of feeling safe in my own skin.” ~ Participant
All of Candace’s services are Trauma, PTSD, Complex Grief, Chronic Illness and Benzo withdrawal symptom sensitive.