CMSM | The Primary Misunderstanding About Spirituality
In this episode, Tiger Singleton invites us to see what the primary misunderstanding on spirituality is. A common theme of spirituality these days is thinking that our spiritual discovery is about other people which only leads to more judgement. It is also taken as a defense mechanism. So, we are invited to delve into the real meaning of the spiritual practice. Meditation: For these quiet minutes, we distinguish the presence, where breath, sensation and everything come from, behind all the noise. This presence is a more expansive idea than ourselves. We are called to allow this moment to be what it is, for life to be life. We let go of our fears and feel grateful for life. The humble presence that allows everything to move is being bowed to for all time. It is the sacredness of life and now is an opportunity to give life back to life. Just for a moment, we release the resistance that is a fearful misunderstanding. So, we recognize an openness to understand and listen. Tiger’s musings: It is wise to recognize that our journey on this path is not our own choosing. It is natural for us to live the unreal but when we realize the futility in holding on to illusion, we humbly submit to a deeper truth. There is a distinction between our life and life itself. When we say our life, it is a story about us, our past and future. They are ideas that are not actually happening but imagined. Life, on the other hand, is present and alive. The human struggle is finding our life but through closer examination, it is simply a story or an interpretation of our own experiences that is impossible to articulate. To be really with other humans without their story, we see they are always beautiful. They are amazing to just be alive. Ironically, when they interrupt the story of our life, we believe it is a big problem. We are disturbed when our wants or expectations are not met. Spirituality, then, helps us to a discovery to see all is one. The primary misunderstanding is believing there are two – life and our life. This mindset of two will always create a problem but life will always win in the competition. Our minds can project that life and our life are separate things. So, the genuine invitation of spirituality is only speaking to the one who is listening. It is intimate in this way where it only speaks to the one. We are invited then, to acknowledge that the real human failure is living up to what makes us anxious or fearful. It takes humility within us to make space for life to move rather than us, human beings, trying to get there. Embracing other people’s humanness is embracing our own.