Exploration into Being and Doing

My life is an ongoing journey of inquiry and practice, unraveling understanding of my personal process and integrating new growth into existing forms of expression. A place of learning that I continuously visit in my merry-go-round-the-spiral is the relationship between being and doing and my own personal means of manifesting this interplay.

When I am balanced and resting in acceptance of what is, I am Being. From that centered state of being, that which I need to do naturally emerges. Doing arises through Being.

Often I wake up, noticing myself in a state of imbalance: In July I wrote:

I am a very responsible Doer. When something needs to get done, I'm quick to figure out what action needs taken to accomplish the task. A mission of mine is to allow Doing to arise from Being. If I Am, then that which I need to Do becomes self-evident and unfolds in my life in a fluid manner. When I'm focused on doing, taking care of business, making things happen, sometimes I forget to fully Be. My attention is split between what is occurring in the present moment and what I need to do; my Being is more sporadic, coming in crisp moments and then fleeing to the background.

A couple of weeks ago I noticed:

I'm doing laundry, dishes, making coffee and listening to my new play list of music....

As I whisk around in these various places I feel the pour run through me... noticing what is, I feel how thankful I am. How blessed I am with this life and how much I adore it. I see how I get stuck in a roll of taking myself too seriously, believing this story that I tell myself that I have to be DOING so much in this world, manifesting all that is burning with passion inside of me. I don't have to do anything... and everything that I do (with authenticity and awareness) is a blessing. Stop taking yourself so damn seriously, she says to herself!!

And yesterday:

I'm in a constant practice of cleaning and clearing and decluttering the junk. It amazes me how often I find habits or contractions sitting upon my heart space, engaging my energy in ways that shut down life's potential for flourishing. And yet for me, finding them, noticing those distractions and contractions that are present is such a blessing. It's an opportunity for me to dive into the clutter, opening space for healing and greater awareness. Recognizing the junk gives me an opportunity to choose how I want to respond to its presence. Sometimes it just gets thrown away, sometimes I don't know if it's junk or if it has value. I have the opportunity to relate to the clutter and see if there is essence beneath the surface, see if there is growing and development that could unfold if I offer attention to this contraction.

The passion I have for this process, however, gets in my way also. I am learning how to rest and simply accept my observation that something could be more authentic, that something could be more full of life, and that right now, it is what it is. I am trying to calm my Doing tendency to jump right in and take action to 'make it better.' I am practicing just noticing. I still have a long way to go in this practice!

At this moment, these precious stones that mark my pathway fill me joy. I smile at this view of my own unfolding. I feel the deliciously familiar spread of bliss that emanates through me in the presence of expanding awareness to include greater wholes.

Quotes from A.H. Almaas have helped to guide this morning's reflective journey

When we are simply being, our experience of ourselves is direct, immediate, spontaneous, and natural, free from the influence of the thick veil of accumulated memories, ideas, ideals and images.

The process emerges if you allow it, give it the space to emerge. Your most important work is to understand the barriers you have against the unfolding.

Three elements need to be balanced or need to stay in balance as a person is engaged in the process of development. Basically, the three things are understanding, being, and doing.