Beyond Emotion

image: Lisa Wilson

This We Have Now

 

This we have now

is not imagination.

This is not 

grief or joy.

Not a judging state,

or an elation,

or sadness.

Those come and go. 

This is the presence that doesn't.

From Essential Rumi

by Coleman Barks

There is a state of being to which we have constant access.  One that Rumi speaks of perfectly, a way of being that simply is.  It can be experienced, though almost always in a fleeting manner.

image: Lisa WilsonI find this way of being quite often when immersed in creating.  Whether that is actually the experience of applying melted wax or paint or when in devoted reflection of the process itself, there is a state of being that exists beyond words.

We still experience traffic and chores, bills and relationships, but there is a peaceful presence in which we can exist.  It is an awareness beyond emotion, the reader of the story, the audience to the play.  We are fully present for the experience yet not entangled in it.

Right now, place one hand on your stomach.  Feel it ever-so-slightly expand and contract with your breath.  Become aware of any tension that is held in there (perhaps over an upcoming deadline or an ongoing relationship struggle).  

Now become aware of your hand.  It is noticing, feeling the breath, the rising and falling stomach.  It is part of the same body in which the tension resides...and yet, very likely it is peaceful.  The hand simply is.  (If you feel tension in the hand, move to the fingernails.)

When you are done reading this paragraph, allow your eyes to focus on something off of the computer screen.  Whatever the object is, and no matter how silly you feel doing it, send that object love.  Allow it to temporarily hold this peacefulness you found in your hand and your breath.  

Later, when you notice this object, allow it to return the love.  Allow it to re-mind you of this awareness, this presence, this presence that does not come and go.

Namaste.