Waking Leads to Waking
It is unwise to walk with an eye always to the sky, always looking for that holy escape hatch that pulls us to the immortal plane. Still, to keep the ears tuned to the things of earth—the breaking news and the commodification of anxiety—sets the human brain on fire. At least, it does mine.
Throughout this Dry January, I’ve cut out the news (please don’t pull me into the impeachment spin cycle until February). I’ve avoided the opinion snipers on Twitter. I’ve turned off my Medium notifications. I’ve unfollowed people on Instagram who twist it into something political. (I go there for beauty, not opinion.) This is not to say I’ve entered into anything like silence. I’ve not. But I have silenced the spitfire incivility of our current cultural moment.
In this piece of quiet, I’ve woken to a few truths. These are among those truths:
The world moves on, even without my anxiety over the crisis du jour;
My heart rate is demonstrably slower, three beats a minute according to my Fitbit;
Uninterrupted by the breaking news of broken political systems, I’m more focused;
There is an underground conversation beginning to stir among the people, one about searching for joy;
This underground conversation is spoken in whispers, and I’ve heard those whispers only since silencing the churn of news;
Though I’ve not found absolute silence (who would want it?), I’ve found something like an inner-quiet;
The world is a beautiful place if we keep the Powers from outshining the sun.
In The Book of Waking Up I wrote, “Waking gives way to waking, which gives way to waking, which gives way to waking.” In this Dry January, I’ve found this truth again. In your own practice, have you woken to new truths?
***WAKE UP WITH ME***
THE BOOK OF WAKING UP —a book on addiction, attachment, and the Divine Love—launched TUESDAY so order a copy or ten at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookish (my favorite indie bookseller). Then, forward this post to a friend and ask them to read along.