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Once a basketball commits to drive to the basket, thinking does not play a role in slipping through the defence and dunking the ball.   This act of inspired phyiscal performance comes from ‘the zone’. 

Creative solutions to really tough problems -  our A-Ha! Experiences  - come from a moment of stillness, prior to thought – perhaps while taking a shower, or out for a walk. 

The brain can help us put creativity into action, or translate it into speech, but Stillness, is beyond its reach.

I had the great fortune to be with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in France when he was asked, “Where does an enlightened person go when they die?” I’ve always loved his response. Maharishi explained,

“Like a glass of water in the ocean. When the glass breaks, where does the water go? It doesn’t go anywhere. It simply ceases to be located.”

Of course, you Are enlightened, Whole, you simply have a strong habit of dreaming that you are not.   And You are pure consciousness expressing in a unique way, spiritualizing matter by existing in a body here.  Thank You for that !

So, you  are not going anywhere.  You already Are Everywhere.

Most regular thinking is daydreaming.  Most of the thoughts are repetitive, and have nothing to do with the present moment. As a result they produce anxiety and stress.   Know that you are not your thoughts. Thought are optional and simply not always necessary.

When you wake up from a thought stream, who is it that notices this?  It is You, as pure consciousness.  This is your Awakening.  Choose to be awake rather than following the next thought stream.  Value these moments and you will see that thoughts will have less ability to make you unconscious, and veil you to the  present moment, the fullness of life and inner peace.

Eckhart Tolle says, “Karma is your reaction to your life situation”.  The reaction is resistance. Resisting current reality does not lead to right action.  It leads to stress and suffering.

He continues to suggest that rather than react,  simply respond.   This is Grace. Take action if action there is something to be done in the present moment. If nothing can be done, then simply allow it to be what it is, and relax.

Stuck in a traffic jam?  We all know what ‘reacting’ looks like.  Exasperation, tightness in your breathing or stomach, and even rage in extreme cases.    What does responding look like ?    Take a few easy breaths. Notice that you are simply sitting, probably very comfortably.  Not that bad, really.  If you need to let someone know you will be late and are able to safely call,  then you can do that.   Breathe, look, listen, feel.

Accept what is before you in the present moment.  If action is called for, your authentic response  (not a reaction) will be more creative and intelligent.

What people really want is to be fully themselves. They want the sense of aliveness, of being myself fully. But they want it through this, that, or the other. They don’t realize that nothing can give it to you because you already have it. And not only do you have it, you are it, you are what you’re looking for already. You don’t know that because you’re always looking somewhere else. You can only know that in the Now by aligning yourself with the Now and with the power that is there within you.

Consider this…    expectations about people, places, jobs, situations,  are a mental projection  into a thought stream about what might or should happen.   

He should call me this evening.   The door should be unlocked when I arrive.  My paycheck should be in the bank on Friday.  Etc.

We can’t have an expectation in This moment.  All we can do is be aware of what Is.     What Is, is real , right now.  What we expect can never be real.  It can only exist as a thought.

For greater peace, let go of expectations when you realize you have them.  You will be able to act when the moment calls for action,  without the distortions that prior expectations can cause.

Even at our most creative moments, we could go further if it were not for that little voice inside our head.

And that little voice puts up roadblocks. Sometimes those roadblocks are real, but more often those roadblocks are completely constructed from nothing but irrational fear or the most basic of actions. Perhaps knowing that other people share many of the same silly roadblocks–and even knowing what some of them are–will help us all move through them.

So today’s post is simple. Let’s put it out there. Just complete the sentence “I’d be more creative if…”

I’ll start us off. I’d be more creative if I more regularly created the quietness in my life that creativity requires.

And as for the coyote.. well,  it is their nature to hunt.  Like the fable about the scorpion and the turtle.  The scorpion promises not to sting the turtle if he will give him a ride across the river.  The turtle finally agrees.  The scorpion stings him sealing their fate.  When the turtle asks the scorpion why he stung him, the scorpion replied “its my nature”.