During my years of Zen training I learned that no matter whether you are in a good or bad situation, your true self is always free. Many wisdom traditions point to that realization—regardless of anxiety or fear, we are always substantially free and complete. If you know how to reach that potential we all have inside of us, you can then face any challenge in life.
Your true self is always free
Where do you go when you are stressed or fearful? Do you have practice, a ritual, a faith? Some of my students use alcohol or drugs, others use food or sex to remove themselves from feeling the emotions they can not control. But teachers, mystics and poets throughout millennia point at simply reaching inside of us to realize our true self. Mechthild of Magdeburg describes it as “a fish cannot drown in water. A bird does not fall in air.”
How about your daily life? Do you know your true self? Where do you go when you want to be in touch with who you truly are? Meditate on this questions:
- In your life, do you give yourself time to practice meditation so you can realize your true self?
- Do you have the tools to go deep inside and discover the untapped spiritual potential of your life?
- Can you connect with the part of you that is always solid and free?
- After that, do you know how to use your life to help others? Let your true self guide your life.
Peace,
Juan