In beginning my blogging adventure, I hope to look at life unmasked, sharing my experiences, and to learn from others experiences and insights. There is always the element of fear in being open about one's life. So like many of us, I too have wanted to cover it up by seeking positive experiences and pursuing goals that somehow mask my day to day realities and challenges. In being open about one's own life and its experiences, it is difficult to separate one's life from one's spiritual path. Yet I found in my case and that in those of many I know, that whilst the spiritual path gives us a sense of purpose to life, it also deprives us from the bare observation to our present state of mind.
We go through life developing a sense of identity with our work, our family, and our social and spiritual communities. These identities define our goals in life which in turn keep us away from learning to deal with our own mind and heart. With the spiritual practices of concentration and faith, there comes a certain skill in altering the state of the mind, atleast temporarily, to a more positive and hopeful state. This skill can help us in the short term to deal with life's trials, but in the long run keeps the deeper mental conditions carefully concealed....until the situations change to reveal these mental conditions in a greater degree.
As for my own self, "Coping with life" is the science and art which I have now chosen to study, learn and master. In my 20s and 30s, "being successful", "gaining knowledge" "realizing Self", etc. seemed to appeal more to me. For years my mind refused to accept such a simple concept as being my purpose to life. Diversions and amusements in life can keep us away from needing to learn this art, but eventually our circumstances will force us towards it.
When you take out the influence of religious beliefs and its definition on life and living, what we are all seeking at a deeper level is to understand how to "cope with life". It may seem that seeking happiness in our life, the blissful mental states, the merits for an afterlife, or eternal freedom, are all a more grandiose objective to work towards. Yet all these objectives are rooted in our desire to finding a meaning to present day life. So why not just "look at life unmasked", fearlessly and willingly, without escaping into the promise of a glorious future!
We would hope that Schools and Religious Organizations are there to train us in this art. But it is too big a curriculum for any school, and too presumptuous for any one religion to prescribe a discipline of practice that suits all individuals. So most of these Institutions, in their noble intentions, prepare us for "a better future", one where there is hope of least pain and most happiness.
In my case, I have found this kind of training has made me so conscious of constantly "working for the future". Ofcourse, in order to do that, I have had to "draw on the experiences of the past". As a result, I never quite learnt to deal with present day life without a sense of wanting to control it. All talk and practice of "surrender and faith" was always some kind of a divine state of mind which somehow had nothing to do with my present situation - atleast that was the attitude I lived by, unconsciously.
In my case, I have found this kind of training has made me so conscious of constantly "working for the future". Ofcourse, in order to do that, I have had to "draw on the experiences of the past". As a result, I never quite learnt to deal with present day life without a sense of wanting to control it. All talk and practice of "surrender and faith" was always some kind of a divine state of mind which somehow had nothing to do with my present situation - atleast that was the attitude I lived by, unconsciously.
In fact, when I looked around and listened to many who I thought were proficient in this art, I noticed that what those people had actually discovered in their journey of life was either a means to control life's experiences through certain practices or to passively resign to life's conditions with a sense of faith. They defined this to be their means of "Coping with life". Although this seemed a very effective strategy, it became obvious to me that this was another means of escape, rooted at a subtler level with the unwillingness to accept the conditions of life.
Obviously, this seemingly simple art seemed to have many layers. For those who are sincere in diving into the intricacies of this, the opportunities of discovery and freedom were greater! In our own life's circumstances, which seem to be customized to each one's state of mind, lies the one's own path of self-discovery. "Coping with life" is all the spiritual practice that one really needs. And for that practice, we don't need to run to the mountains or hide in the caves. It is the right attitude towards seeing one's life, right now and right where we are!
Obviously, this seemingly simple art seemed to have many layers. For those who are sincere in diving into the intricacies of this, the opportunities of discovery and freedom were greater! In our own life's circumstances, which seem to be customized to each one's state of mind, lies the one's own path of self-discovery. "Coping with life" is all the spiritual practice that one really needs. And for that practice, we don't need to run to the mountains or hide in the caves. It is the right attitude towards seeing one's life, right now and right where we are!
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