Part of my prayer/meditation every morning is to seek support for my intent to choose to be one with Buddha/god/the Universe every moment of every day, to be one with the child of the Universe within me. To invite him into my subconscious, to be my subconscious.
The reason why this is in my daily prayer is that if I am not one with the Universe, I am not at peace because I am subject to the control of my ego-mind, to the assertions of the devil. And it is clear from my life that no matter how far I've come with my practice, unless I am in fact one with the Universe every moment of the day, while generally in a peaceful state because of the depth of my practice, I am still subject to the assertion of the five skandhas in a weak moment, subject to fear, anxiety, pride, loneliness, etc.
And so I must ask the question of how I can be one with the Universe every moment of every day. One thought that has obvious merit is to be aware every moment of the existence of the Universe all around you.
Regardless whether I am in nature, in a building, regardless what I am doing, the evidence of the force of the Universe is omnipresent if I choose to be aware of it.
If I am in nature, the evidence is clear. If I am in a building, the evidence is in everything used in the construction of the building, for it is all a function of the miracle of the Universe. And I'm not just talking natural products like wood. Even man-made products like paint, a refrigerator, or a light bulb are a product of the Universe because it has provided the building blocks that man has used to create the product. Also, the very creation of man-made product is evidence of the force of the Universe, since these discoveries were not the result of man's mind—much as he would like to think it is—but is the result of the guidance of the Universe.
In short, if I am aware of the miracle of the Universe all around me every moment of the day, I will be with the Universe/god/Buddha every moment of the day.
But easier said than done. As I have attempted to put this into practice, the problem that I've had is that I am not a monk devoted to spiritual activity throughout the day. Instead, between my being focused on my work and this contact with the universe being so foreign to my daily, hourly, experience, I have not been successful in being aware of the universe around me throughout the day,
The answer is that spiritual awareness doesn't just come to someone, even if you have a deep spiritual practice. Somehow I must come to see all my work as a spiritual exercise, my every action, my every thought as a spiritual exercise. Everything that I do must be seen as being an expression of the child of the Universe within me, and so being part of the Universe's grand scheme.
As a step in that direction, I sat down and reviewed my activities during the day— everything from the moment I waked to going to bed, whether I was eating, driving through the countryside, interacting with colleagues and patients at work, going food shopping, reading.
While all my activities were done from a place of peace, some of them were more spiritually infused—such as interacting with patients— than others. But I clearly saw the potential for all my activities and thoughts being an expression of the child of the Universe within me. It didn't seem like a stretch at all.
Stay tuned.
The reason why this is in my daily prayer is that if I am not one with the Universe, I am not at peace because I am subject to the control of my ego-mind, to the assertions of the devil. And it is clear from my life that no matter how far I've come with my practice, unless I am in fact one with the Universe every moment of the day, while generally in a peaceful state because of the depth of my practice, I am still subject to the assertion of the five skandhas in a weak moment, subject to fear, anxiety, pride, loneliness, etc.
And so I must ask the question of how I can be one with the Universe every moment of every day. One thought that has obvious merit is to be aware every moment of the existence of the Universe all around you.
Regardless whether I am in nature, in a building, regardless what I am doing, the evidence of the force of the Universe is omnipresent if I choose to be aware of it.
If I am in nature, the evidence is clear. If I am in a building, the evidence is in everything used in the construction of the building, for it is all a function of the miracle of the Universe. And I'm not just talking natural products like wood. Even man-made products like paint, a refrigerator, or a light bulb are a product of the Universe because it has provided the building blocks that man has used to create the product. Also, the very creation of man-made product is evidence of the force of the Universe, since these discoveries were not the result of man's mind—much as he would like to think it is—but is the result of the guidance of the Universe.
In short, if I am aware of the miracle of the Universe all around me every moment of the day, I will be with the Universe/god/Buddha every moment of the day.
But easier said than done. As I have attempted to put this into practice, the problem that I've had is that I am not a monk devoted to spiritual activity throughout the day. Instead, between my being focused on my work and this contact with the universe being so foreign to my daily, hourly, experience, I have not been successful in being aware of the universe around me throughout the day,
The answer is that spiritual awareness doesn't just come to someone, even if you have a deep spiritual practice. Somehow I must come to see all my work as a spiritual exercise, my every action, my every thought as a spiritual exercise. Everything that I do must be seen as being an expression of the child of the Universe within me, and so being part of the Universe's grand scheme.
As a step in that direction, I sat down and reviewed my activities during the day— everything from the moment I waked to going to bed, whether I was eating, driving through the countryside, interacting with colleagues and patients at work, going food shopping, reading.
While all my activities were done from a place of peace, some of them were more spiritually infused—such as interacting with patients— than others. But I clearly saw the potential for all my activities and thoughts being an expression of the child of the Universe within me. It didn't seem like a stretch at all.
Stay tuned.
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