Our True Nature

Recently I watched a documentary on the oneness of mankind. Dozens of people from many different faiths (or absence of), walks of life, colors and viewpoints, came together to share their views on some of life's deepest questions...What is the meaning of life? What does God look like? What do you wish for the world? While listening to various responses I was struck with a startling realization. It was all about my true nature....our true nature.

You see, I realized that I have spent much of my life in denial. Denial of who I truly am. What my nature is. Then it occurred to me that man is the only animal that does this. It is quite remarkable. Think of any other living thing...a deer, a dog, a butterfly, a fish or a snake... Any living thing. Does a deer try to be something it is not? Does a dolphin say to itself "Gosh, I wish I could be more like a shark!" The answer is clearly "NO."

Animals simply be. Other living things do not deny what they are. They are perfect in their acceptance of their true nature. They don't even question it.

So why do we, with all our intellect and spiritual growth, wisdom and enlightenment do this? Is it fear? Is it blindness caused by what we were told as children? Is it striving for something that we perceive to be a better existence?

In my limited thinking I have come to the realization that I believed I was doing the right thing. Seeking growth, knowledge...having goals and aspirations. Now don't get me wrong. I do not believe broadening the mind or aspiring to achieve is denying my true nature. What I do believe is that somewhere along life's journey we get caught up in what we THINK these goals SHOULD be. We get confused by the very aspirations we thought were great and worthy of all our efforts.

The result of all of this is often anxiety, confusion, a sense of failure or a cloudy view of our actual self...our true nature. To define our true nature one need only look at what we are not. We are not what we do, that is, we are not our jobs. We are not our goals. We are not our fears. We are not our pain or our joy or our suffering. We are not what we possess and we certainly are not defined by our actions or even what we believe or have faith in.

My true nature is simply the basic understanding that I am one with all life. I possess truth, love, Spirit and all answers and always have. I have told myself and have been told my entire life that I am not perfect. I am not whole. I am not "there yet." I must kick, fight, climb and suffer, if need be, to achieve these things.

The truth is I am perfect. I am whole. Being unified with God, the Divine or Eternal Mind is not something I acquire or learn. I have always had Divine nature. I have always had love as my core. If I can find ways to still my mind and be present I will have clarity and understanding of the Ultimate Mind that I am one with. I can rest in the vast, infinite space that possesses all knowledge, peace and truth. My Spirit is the Spirit of the Divine. We are One. Father Richard Keating, the leading figure in Christian contemplative thinking, states that if one truly comes to an understanding of a Higher Power or God or Other (with a capital O) he will realize that the Other does not exist alone. The Other exists in unison with each and every one of us. The Other, God, is my Eternal Living Existence. All I need do is learn to take the blinders off. Believe and accept the fact that I already have Buddha Nature. We all have Heaven within us.

Is it easy to take the blinders off? To come to this understanding and convince the ego or our self that we are not limited, that our nature is infinite and in perfect oneness with the Divine? Well...yes. Meditate. Pause. Find the Still Point. Allow yourself to rest in the breath, the clarity of thought. Do not struggle or work the mind. Simply be. You will find that you have always possessed the answers...the true nature of the Spirit of the Universe.

We can learn so much from animals. A fish isn't confused by the current that carries it along a stream. It naturally accepts the flow of the precious life force it is part of. They are one. No one taught the fish how to swim or told them there is a better way to get around in the water.

We all share Nirvana.

I bow to the Divine in all of you.