Spiritual Commuters
Presence if effortless.
Effort always originates from the belief that we are a fragment, a fragment that wants to become the totality, which is impossible for a fragment to achieve: no end in view for the efforting entity.
Effort is noticeably different from an action we accomplish out of interest, love, or celebration. Such a deed stemming out of interest may be taxing for the body or the mind, but it is accompanied by joy and perfume. Whatever we do on the spiritual path should be effortless. Our meditation, our investigation should arise out of an invitation from the Ultimate—out of interest and love for the truth. In this way it is never mechanical, but always new, always different.
If at any moment we feel that we have fallen into the “efforting” trap, that our investigation has become a practice, automatic and therefore meaningless, we should clearly become aware of it and stop it. Practice always originates from the belief in a separate entity who wants to achieve something, personal happiness.
There is always a personal goal attached to the practice I am talking about. This very practice towards happiness separates us from the happiness of welcoming, of effortlessing. The divine way of living, the way of living in the company of the divine is a big vacation. It is the real retirement. Forget about thinking that you have to spend time and sweat in order to retire spiritually in the future. Retire now.
There is nothing to do, nothing to be done in the future and, moreover, there is nothing we can do because as a person we can do nothing. Our doing as a person is only an illusion, a mock doing.
When we understand this, everything changes. What we do for a living becomes creative. We don’t need to change anything, or at least right away. We can allow for things to change. Everything will realign itself with this new perspective. Everything will fall into place as we are ready for a new direction. The change comes from inside out, like a ripple. The origin of the ripple remains forever unknown in the blinding light of Consciousness.
At home when you meditate, don’t make a duty out of it. Wait until you want to do it, until you are interested. Make it part of the vacation, part of the retirement. Wait for the invitation and if it loses its perfume, stop immediately. In this way you preserve the quality of the enthusiasm for the search and you will be invited again.
As it is the case with children, that which matters here is quality time. Give yourself quality time in your meditation. Be good to yourself. Hold yourself in high regard because yourself is really your Self and our Self.
We have to understand that no matter how smart the mind is, in the end it cannot understand Presence. Only Presence feels Presence. Having gathered here, we have this extraordinary opportunity of Presence feeling Presence in each of us, as each of us, as all of us. What we do or don’t do while holding Presence in our minds and in our hearts doesn’t matter. It will always find its way to perfection. The brightest of minds is a limited tool, extremely limited. Without the intelligence of Presence, the mind is as lifeless as a corpse. As we seek Presence, as we hold it in our minds and hearts, we are invited by the perfume. We leave the corpse of the body and the mind and we discover our freedom, our eternal youth in this Source.
Then, in coming back to the body/mind, there is a new beginning at every moment. In this way we become effortless commuters between the Source and the world. This commute doesn’t take time. It is the easiest.
Francis Lucille
Ottawa, Canada
September 7, 2003
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