To Be, or to Be Still

VERY QUICKLY AFTER I BEGAN MY JOURNEY on the spiritual path I came across the phrase “being”. Someone once told me, “it’s all about being”. I believed him but I didn’t have a clue what he was talking about. If you are reading this article, you too, have most likely heard someone say they are trying to “be”, “just being”, or some variation of being. You can’t go in to a new age bookstore without hearing it. I was recently talking about meditation with someone who had attended some yoga classes. I was telling her about the meditation I teach, when she stopped me mid-sentence. “Oh I know about meditation,” she said, “It’s all about being, right?” There would have been a time when I would have agreed with her. I would have said ‘Yes, it is all about being’. But I’ve come to experience more. There are many different catch phrases floating around the new age community these days. You’ve heard them. Besides “just being”, you could “just be present”, or “just be in the moment”. All of these are true to a certain extent, but I warn any serious spiritual seeker of the trap that a concept of being can...well, can be.

As an Ishaya monk, I will tell you, without hesitation that there is more than “being”. As my experience of the stillness has become more and more clear, I am moved to tell you, dear reader, that “just being” is about half way home. There is much more to be sought than a sense of being. What, you ask? How about a clear experience of the source of all that is, in every moment? A clear experience of the Divine inside your self at all times? Being, or being aware of the stillness and the peace that has never left you? This experience is much more fulfilling than a sense of being. Trust me. Practicing the Ishayas’ Ascension has made this experience my everyday reality. I experience more peace now than I ever thought possible.

Don’t be satisfied with being, or being present, being in the moment. Remember who you are. Cultivate your own experience of the stillness that you are, your own experience of the ultimate reality, that which lies just below the constant chatter of the mind. That which is ever present, and waiting, with infinite patience for your attention to return. When you know the Divine Presence and can put your attention on that all the time, you are just beginning to live life. Until then you are living life based on a mental concept of Being. Beyond all your ideas and concepts resides the infinite source of pure peace and joy, the Ascendant. Find that and you will find fulfillment. Find that and you will know the Divine outside of something you’ve read or heard. You will experience it for yourself.

Sleepwalking

The question still remains, who are you? Have you figured it out yet? Have you discovered the glory of being consciously aware of your divinity? Have you moved beyond your beliefs and perceptions? Probably not. Most people haven’t. Most people live their lives day to day, year to year trapped in a structure of limiting beliefs and ideas. People walk around in a daze, seeing life through a filter, distorting reality, living a lie, missing everything. Society is a mess, an absolute mess! We are so concerned with finding happiness. We are chasing the American Dream, houses, cars, husbands, wives, kids, pension plans, vacations, the perfect job. Do you really think any of these things will make you happy? We are so concerned with tomorrow’s security that we are missing today. Lives are lived entirely in the past and in the future, bouncing back and forth in mental anguish, missing the moment, missing the point. This is no way to live. This is not human. There is more to life than this. Happiness does not reside in the acquisition of things whether those things are relationships, new cars, or job security. Don’t you know this? Hasn’t anyone ever told you? You are living a lie a lie that your parents taught you, that society engrained into you. There is only one way out of the darkness and into the light. Rediscover your Self. Fulfill your hearts desire of desires. Live in peace and contentment. Live in joy.

Ask your self this question. Are you satisfied? Are you fulfilled? At peace? Why not? Will you be satisfied when you get that promotion next month? Will you finally be at peace when you find that special someone to share all you years with? No, you won’t. Take a second, reflect on your life experiences. Have you gotten something that you always wanted, only to come up with a new desire days or weeks later? That’s how lives are lived. Ignorance. If you read this and something clicks you are lucky. If you have already begun to pose these questions to yourself you are again, lucky. What a wonderful thing if you are not satisfied. It is a glorious day indeed when you begin to search for answers, to search for the Truth of who you are.

A young guy showed up at a workshop I was teaching the other day. He shared with the group that he was on the fast track. He was going to get it all, the job, the car, the family, the mortgage. He was going to vote republican and live a long, healthy life. Then one day he realized that those things weren’t going to bring him happiness. What a lucky guy. He knew he was going about life all wrong. So he shows up at this workshop, nervous and excited. He was given a simple tool to bring his mind inward, back to the present moment. He was a changed man. I saw it. He was at peace immediately. He was given a tool called an Ascension Attitude and he now has the ability to start to live life. Anyone can live life in the present moment. I strongly recommend it. Let go of the filter, of the conditioning and you will experience life fully, in peace and joy.

So how is this done? I only know one way. The path that I walked towards Freedom is The Ishayas’ Ascension, an ancient teaching. Ascension can give you your life back. It could be called a meditation, but I hesitate to use that term because of people’s conceptions of what meditation is or what it looks like. I prefer to call it a life practice. It is a simple tool that allows anyone, regardless of beliefs, or conditioning to step out of the darkness of ignorance and into the light of the Self. Lives are changed in a weekend. The Ascension Attitudes bring the busy mind effortlessly inward towards the stillness of the infinite. Little “Peace” seeds are planted that will continue to multiply and flourish. This teaching has the power to change lives. I have seen it and been privileged to help facilitate this flowering of human hearts. With infinite gratitude, I give thanks to this Teaching that has given me my life back.

© 2003 Ganesh Ishaya

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ganesh Ishaya is an Ishaya monk and a teacher of the Ishaya's Ascension. For more information about Ascension please visit our website, www.ishaya.org or call, in St. Paul, MN @651 290 0555 or in St. Louis @618 667 0263. E-mail: Ganesh@ishaya.org