Nothing to Believe In

We often live several lives, intertwined.

We have a work life and stories that we tell ourselves that are associated with work. Stories about our capabilities for the job, whether we like what we are doing, how our career is going, whether we are looking for "something better."

We have a home life. We have friends and a spouse or partner. We have kids. And we tell ourselves another set of stories about all of that. Are we with the right person? Do our kids do what we want them to do? Are our friends supportive? Are we meeting our own expectations about what we should or should not be doing in all those roles?

Often we have a third, more personal life that we call spirituality or religion. This generally revolves around a belief that we are more than our bodies. That life continues after our physical death. Sometimes, there are particular behaviors that are linked to this promise of life after death, and if we don't comply, we believe we'll miss out.

This work is not about any of those things. This work is about the place where those stories and beliefs arise. This place is not a place at all. It cannot be defined. It is beyond anything that could be said about it. To even say it is nothing, or everything, is to completely miss the mark.

To see this, one must be outside of concepts. Outside of time. Words can only point. But it is here right now. You are never apart from it. It is your very essence. We try to find it by asking about it in words--is it this, or that? Because most of the time, that's what the brain does. It tries to figure things out, instead of just seeing. Or just being.

Take a break from thinking about this for just one second. Stop trying. You are still here, still in the silence. But when you're not thinking, even for one second, you're no longer a biography or set of beliefs.

That vast silence (not the concept, the silence itself) is what you are. And it never ever stops.

Jeff