responsiveness is aliveness
When difficult life experiences can bring the best out of ourselves, expands our mind and heart, it shows we are the leader of our life.
On the other hand, if life challenges turn us sour and hard hearted, CONTRACT our mind and heart, we can easily get into "narrow mindedness". We then put filters and boundaries for safety. We will not be touched by life then. We are not alive.
If the weak fearful person is power hungry, they get into all kinds of deception and trickery, very dangerous, harmful to self and others.
💥Only a strong person has the capability to use life challenges to make themselves sharper and finer human being. Such a person is very powerful, uses power for right purposes.
To be responsive to life, one needs to be flexible, tolerant, adaptable... able to survive and thrive even while living outside the comfort zone. 𝐈𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐩 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐞.
A DEVOTEE: "What is the vision of God like?"
MASTER : "Haven't you seen a theatrical performance? The people are engaged in conversation, when suddenly the curtain goes up. Then the entire mind of the audience is directed to the play. The people don't look at other things any longer. Samādhi is to go within oneself like that. When the curtain is rung down, people look
around again.
Just so, Each individual experiences life in two worlds. There is the outer world and there is the inner world. One is the realm of the effect while the other is the realm of the cause. When we surrender to the sensory impressions of the outer world, then life is in the realm of effect, and we continually find ourselves in situations and predicaments that feel beyond our control. However, if we live from the inside out, we then live as masters. The interior, inner world, is the essence and the cause of the outer."
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us"..
"'Slow' and 'down' are modes of the soul; they are connective modes, ways of keeping connected to oneself and to one’s environment. 'Slowing downwards' refers to more than simply moving slowly, it means growing down towards the roots of one’s being. Instead of outward growth and upward climb, life at times must turn inward and downward in order to grow in other ways. There is a shift to the vertical down that re-turns us to root memories, root metaphors, and timeless things that shape our lives from within. Slowing downwards creates opportunities to dwell more deeply in one’s life, for the home we are looking for in this world is within us all along. The lost home that we are seeking is ourselves; it is the story we carry within our soul."
Michael Meade..
“The fish trap exists because of the fish. Once you've gotten the fish you can forget the trap. The rabbit snare exists because of the rabbit. Once you've gotten the rabbit, you can forget the snare. Words exist because of meaning. Once you've gotten the meaning, you can forget the words. Where can I find a man who has forgotten words so I can talk with him?”..
