“True Dharma is the Dharma of as-it-isness, where not even a thought
of consciousness is working. It is ‘it’, or the truth that transcends space and
time” – Zenkai Shibayama
The other day I came across a
powerful 4 step process created by Buddhist Teacher, Tara Brach, which I see as
a simple yet valuable form of self inquiry into any state or blockage we may be
journeying through, to come to clearly see what is true. Brach calls this
process - RAIN: An acronym for - Recognise, Allow, Investigate, Nurture.
Brach invited her students to first challenge the underlying
belief that's creating the tension ... and come to see that the belief or
pattern is "real" as it certainly does exist, but is it true? Funny
but in one of Joe Biden’s gaffes I noticed recently, he said “I don't follow
the truth, I follow the facts”. I laughed at it, but I remember thinking, wait
a minute - there's something in that ... facts are not necessarily truth. For
example, the fact that I sometimes feel limited, diminished or less than, doesn’
t
mean it’s the truth of who I am.
So, it all comes back to not believing our thoughts to be
truth ... they are certainly real enough as thoughts or ideas ... but are
they truth? Not necessarily!
***
Every moment offers its very own unique truth or reality. There is
nothing more thrilling, worthy or noble than seeing the moment for what it is,
as it is. As it vibrates into Presence, this moment has an offering … our purpose
is to recognise it. If I were to apply the RAIN Process to this, let’s see what
happens:
Right now … I RECOGNISE … OK … I feel an appreciation being
presented, an appreciation for the gift … this gift right now … how blessed I
am, alive, looking, listening, opening up … and immediately I am in the next
phase:
ALLOW … I
feel this radiant beauty, see it with all my senses, no wanting anything else,
just This, just as it is. As I “allow”
I gently slot into the vastness of it all … no efforting involved, simply “seeing”
this, as it is, for what it is.
A heartfelt sense of openness and
connectedness begins to happen … not “me” trying to be open and connected,
simply openness and connection taking
place, no separation, “me” as This …
allowing is not an action, I do not “do” the allowing, I simply relax into what
is … the traffic noise in the distance, the clothes dryer whirring, the rainbow
lorikeets in the back garden screeching, the crow in the distance cawing … all
is, as it is … how sweet, how perfect … allowing this allowing to happen all on
its own.
Immense freedom in this “just being”,
no impulse to become … just this.
Now there’s a natural curiosity
which leads to the next phase: INVESTIGATE,
which seamlessly happens as I stay in the moment, this natural curiosity gently
explores what is so evident, so available. It’s innate within awareness, when
our preoccupation with time and self diminishes, the world and all its radiance
flowers and opens up to all our senses. With it comes a sense of awe and a
sense of joy.
Right now, the clarified insight
is: It’s all a profound gift, and by simply being here, we become available to
it, the world is seen truly as our oyster. A clear unobstructed view of what is
deepens and broadens our perception in all directions … north, south, east,
west, up down, out and in … the final frontier.
Now we come to see that all and
everything “sits” within me … there is no “outside” as such … all this is here within me and a sweetness
keeps tugging at my heart leading to the very natural next phase: NURTURE.
Sitting here in this deep
appreciation for all life I simply breathe and love, ever more deeply. This
leads to soft landing into our heart where the One who sees resides…From this
vast and infinite Heart space only love remains. This precious nectar of the
gods, right here, right now, in this moment just as it is.
Nurturing this is a gentle letting go, a sweet continuous allowing for it to
be, just as it is, moment to moment.
As we sit in our hearts, the
nurturing happens of its own accord and unfolds into deeper, wider and richer
levels of awakenedness … and it’s all here … in this moment, as this moment!
