6-106 Alignment of the Doing | Meditation Forest

Not Avoiding and the True Art of Alignment

Todays challenge is: to not avoid what you are avoiding
But what actions, and how and why to go headlong into what we are avoiding…?

This is the Living Meditation– aligning with doing.

In life we all avoid. Lots of things. Some stand out. Some are imperfectly walled off and so not quite standing out. Some have high resistance, even if they are easy. Some are hard.

Sometimes the normal life-story thoughts and persony talk are enough to “motivate” us (as in, scare or shame us) to stop avoiding something and get through it. Sometimes that’s not “working” to get us going.

If you’ve been avoiding some things, chances are the persony thoughts have not been sufficient.

Find some things that you’ve been avoiding — maybe not too “IMPORTANT! SCARY! YOU BETTER DO IT! stuff” and without thinking too much about it, just do what you feel like doing, within the limited options of it has to something that you’ve been avoiding.

As you do it, this is a practice in allowing things to be the way that they are. You may have unpleasant feelings– you might squirm– you’ll probably have persony thoughts. Allow all that but keep the eye, in little moments, on the impulse to do, on the doing, on feeling that this is what you chose, right in the moment. Practice the meditative attitude of allowing things to be as they are while you do it. Resistances, persony thoughts, “your life,” these are not your concern– allow them to be the way that they are.

It’s a practice with your spontaneous impulses and active dynamic nature expressing itself, with attention looking away from “I should” and “You better or else” and looking into what other wordless motivation and pulse of life might be animating the body and mind into action.

HOW TO DO IT:

Can you resist the temptation to act on something you are avoiding because the mind says “You better or else?”

Can you move headlong into avoidance, with some other spirit motivating you?

This Living Meditation is an inquiry, it’s an exploration and adventure.

And like all Living Meditations, it has a strangely tricky side to it. “Stop Avoiding This” is one of the most persony thoughts we have.

Can we use the frame of meditation to go into avoidance with a spirit of meditation, exploration, discovery, rather than “stop being a wimp, suck it up, and do what you’ve got to do,” or whatever?

The impulse to do and act is strong and emanates directly out of the beingness. While we may naturally lose energy in ebbs and flows waxing and waning, much inactivity and passiveness is due to the tyranny of the personyness. It becomes unbearable and things shut down.

On the other end, violent over-drive can also be geared by the personyness, and drive the body mind harshly. Still, someone can be motivated into overdrive-like levels of activity propelled by joy or a wordless impulse. Or a smoother version doingness might emanate from the source.

Within the Living Meditation frame of “something you’ve been avoiding,” do that thing with an inner mental posture of allowing things to be the way that they are. Whatever din and racket is there, allow it to be there. Just do.

Lean as little as possible on “you should or you better or else”– even if avoidance is it’s favorite arena!

That’s the challenge. That’s the meditation. That’s the inquiry. What wordless motivation is here?

You look, but the answer doesn’t come in the form of a thought. It comes in the form of doing.

Keep your eye on the ball — on the doing — be with that and allow everything to be the way that it is in the midst of action.

TIPS

TIPS :

1. This is a practice, so no need to choose big super important ominous things. It’s a game. Just pick the first thing that comes to mind.

2. One trick that can work when you are highly uncertain what to do (otherwise known as leaning heavily on the personyness to decide), is always pick the 2nd thing that comes to mind.

3. Along with the inner attitude of allowing everything to be the way that it is, you might have an attitude of being along for the ride. You are here while the body mind is doing and various things are happening– squirming with resistance or having fun, whatever, and you along for the ride the same way you are in a 1st person novel– you are the consciousness that is the same while everything is happening in front of it.

4. If you lose the will to do something, allow that! Who knows why, and who cares. Maybe it’s not really aligned with your source (but don’t let the mind decide that– just be open to that possibility). Whatever. Do something else. Keep going until you find something where you can feel that the doing can take over and you can be along for the ride, allowing things to be the way that they are, even with the squirms. If absolutely necessary, abandon the frame of “avoidance” and just watch the body mind do anything.

5. An attitude of play combined with an inquiry will get you through just about anything!

The child doesn’t want her play shovel taken away when she’s deep in the dirt.

And the inquiry side of it is even more powerful: what is it that moves in this life, where does the energy and impulse to do come from? Does the impulse and energy to do really come from the ideas and thoughts we have about our life situation? Or is there a deeper source? Where is the doing coming from, really?

It’s something you can sense in the doing.

These are worded questions, but the answer is wordless and only you can sense it. It’s natural– it’s you nature to do. So, go out there and sense it!

Go to the Hearth and report your observations for the day. Then come back here and mark as done!

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