“If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?”
~Dogen
Sometimes we make this path of inner peace way more complicated than it needs to be.
- We think we need to try hard to get rid of the thoughts and feelings that bother us.
- If we keep getting caught in programmed patterns, we assume we’ve made no progress.
- If we struggle, we conclude that we’ll never be happy and awake.
We have all kinds of ideas about attaining peace—and they’re just not helpful.
These ideas are products of a mind that take you away from what you really want. They hijack your attention from the sacred unfolding of this precious moment…as it is right now….
The only time you’re suffering is now, and the only time you can find peace is now.
You won’t rest in your true nature by hoping the past will change or by wishing for a better future. These are movements of mind away from this now moment that will keep you feeling like you’re lacking what you need to be happy.
Instead, we start the inner revolution—one moment at a time.
It takes just a second to invite in a slow and conscious breath when you realize you’re swirling in a conditioned pattern.
It takes no time at all to turn inward toward yourself with openness, kindness, and care.
This is being awake in your life, and it takes place one moment at a time.
You don’t need to be concerned with changing who you are or figuring out how to solve all your problems. The true path to peace is so much simpler—and it boils down to the moment.
Right now is where we:
- Stop feeding agitating stories about ourselves and others;
- Open to physical sensations and energies arising in the body;
- Check in with our five senses to orient our attention back to the present;
- Relax into the still, endless space of being aware that holds everything in love.
This is what changes everything. We now have a new relationship with the moment that’s authentic and real.
Your mind will tell you that finding freedom now isn’t enough. It will criticize you for not practicing diligently or doing it right. But none of this is true.
Just turn inward for a moment. Then another…and another… Start the inner revolution by turning within whenever you remember.
It’s as simple as that…finding inner freedom…one moment at a time.
Lu Ram says
Hey Gail! Thank you very much for sharing, your writing style comes from the heart, the body and mind. Very sensational way of thinking positive and point out the true meaning of being at the fullest!