Paradox

The most beautiful thing in the world is space. Space is the defining characteristic of every successful relationship. In the moment we’re aware of space, the mind goes, “Ahhhh.” And sinks into subservience.

The witness

We go to the movies to be, well, moved. To have a sensory experience. To feel, in orderly sequence, mad, glad or sad. To identify with a hero, repulsed by a villain. A soundtrack carries us along, like leaves on a river. When the movie ends, we leave the cinema and go home. Where the movie continues but the sense of watching it disappears.

The true and the false

So then, how to tell the difference between the true and the false, the real and the unreal? Whatever has a beginning and an end is false. All else is true. From A Course in Miracles: “Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists.”

Doing and undoing

Doing is easy. Undoing requires skill and deliberation.

Pain and pleasure

When pain arises, don’t shrink away from it. Move toward it. Invest all your awareness in it. Pain is our best opportunity for spiritual growth. Compared to pain, pleasure is a stalling tactic.