ennar’s blog

The Present can be the chance we need to connect with ourselves, only if we take the time to ‘ stand and stare ‘.

The Popular belief goes that our mind and our material surroundings are impediments to self discovery. But I have found the opposite to be true. That’s a modest seeker’s perception. The crucial point is that mind and matter - when deeply touched by a moment as it unfolds - reveal our experience of connection with our true selves. The obvious question is how to go about finding spiritual experiences in our daily lives ? The answer lies in just one word, replacing the ‘how’ with ‘when’.

Let’s take a few examples. How many times do we wash our hands in a day ? Perhaps many times and usually with soap & water. It is a spontaneous and repetitive part of our daily routine, which goes unnoticed as we move from morning to night. But then, if the mind is brought suddenly to connect with the touch of ordinary soap and water on the hands,it becomes still. There is a sudden awareness about the feel of the soap, the washing away of dirt from the skin and the clean touch of flowing water.

In a traffic jam,we fret about getting late for meetings. Great believers in advance planning even work out the shortest route to our destination. It’s natural to feel frustrated but just look at the map lying on the passenger seat and it can be a moment of awareness because a map can plan the journey for you,not drive you to your destination.

Translating the magic of such moments into words creates a dilemma. Verbalization is a poor substitute for discription because part of any experience is also a moment of pure awareness, which remains indiscribeable.

But there is another part of such experiences that is easier to share, watching the spontaneous action of washing one’s hands with such care can make one aware of one’s personality. It can make a person realize how much he or she values hygiene and health. One can even wonder if one keeps one’s mind as clean ? If only we could wash our minds with soap and water every few hours.

Sounds simple and easy. Then’ why does this experience escape us much of the time ? The fact remains that we all live in successive units of present moments, but not with experience of the same. Our minds are permanently preoccupied with past and future thoughts.

Through our awareness, ordinary moments of life transmit deeper messages, which guide us to introspect on current paradigms and prejudices. These experiences may change our attitude and personality.

Meditative experiences may involve the good, the bad ,and the ugly in our daily lives. We can start by observing what we have in the given moment, then go on to embrace and amalgamate with the humour, the tragedy, the challenge, opportunity and learning hidden within each moment.

We can go through each moment with a new reverence, almost a romantic anticipation.