Misplaced for Phrases: The poetry of mindfulness and non-duality

Misplaced for Phrases

by Martin Wells /www.mantra-books.com

The essence of mindfulness philosophy is that the whole lot in our universe is one. That is realised by the statement of not two, not separate, a non-dual perspective. In impact we’re not our ideas, our tales, our personalities or our our bodies.

In a mindfulness group lately a affected person who had suffered with persistent despair for over 25 years described a profound realisation: 

“Now I do know I’m not my ideas!” 

Her sense of liberation was life altering. She continued to have the outdated ‘I’ ideas however now not recognized with them and as such was free. The impact on her psychological well being was speedy. She started to be in contact together with her true nature past the story of her. Not solely did she realise she was not her ideas but in addition not her story. For instance on account of her childhood sexual abuse she had instructed herself, as many victims do, there was one thing fallacious together with her. After we cease figuring out with these ideas it results in the realisation that there’s essentially nothing fallacious with us.

Our ideas are nice separators, particularly ideas of ‘I’. We understand issues as separate entities. As topics and objects, together with ourselves. The fact is that the whole lot within the cosmos is related as one. That is confirmed by quantum physicists in addition to mystics over the ages. The thirteenth century Christian mystic Meister Eckhart stated that if we may actually see a tree we’d by no means have to go to church once more. As quickly as we are saying ‘a tree’ we have now separated it from the earth, the sunshine, the moisture, the birds and bugs with out which it has no existence. Apply this to ourselves and we could get some glimpse our elementary connectedness to our world.

In fact not solely mystics and scientists assist us to see issues as they are surely however this can be a function of nice artwork, literature, music and poetry. The capability to level to a deeper reality to transcend the veil of duality.

And the tip of all our exploring

Can be to reach the place we began

And know the place for the primary time.

T.S.Eliot

On a private degree this meant a dissolving of the phantasm that I used to be separate, which had fuelled numerous makes an attempt to slot in, into the realisation that this distinct type known as ‘me’ is merely a wave within the ocean of consciousness, fully one with the air that I breathe and the sunshine that sustains life.

This understanding led to a readability concerning the inter-relatedness of everybody and the whole lot. A radically new perspective on my work as a psychotherapist and mindfulness trainer and to my relationships with others and the world round me. It led to a deep acceptance of what life brings and falling away of resistance and wrestle. This transition additionally prompted an outpouring of poetry. It was as if this medium, which was new to me, – as I’d by no means written any poetry earlier than – got here into consciousness, every poem waking me earlier than daybreak, maybe, to remind my important being and others of our true nature. 

Photos arose about: the obligations of snowdrops, conversations between an ant and an ostrich. A park bench is given a voice, an olive tree a view on life. The elemental stillness of Nature emerged as a central theme. Every little thing merely being itself. Identification with the pure world then an invite to the reader to return to their important being, silent, nonetheless and free.

‘The background wants no foreground

Besides to know itself.

The silence is alone fulfilled

and doesn’t want the poet

Though it calls him residence

And again into the supply

His phrases then our reminders

Of this shared silent presence,

The beings that we’re.’

Misplaced for Phrases

We can not know who we’re whereas we’re nonetheless looking, nonetheless trying outdoors ourselves for the solutions, for self-improvement.

In my previous psychotherapy and meditation appeared excellent strategies of the self enchancment many people are looking for. It was solely many years later, after years of this looking, I got here to see that this was futile – a useless finish. I realised there was no progress to be made, no path to take, every step taken a step away from who I used to be.

This progressive path had change into increasingly irritating, jaded. In the long run the realisation arrived in a single second!

A French psychiatrist, who was giving a chat to the Royal school of Psychiatrists in London stated:

“Cease looking! Be who you actually are!”.

Though given to an viewers of over 100 folks these phrases felt directed at me. All of the power of my private search dissolved straight away together with the emergence of a profound sense of stillness and freedom.

I later learnt that the speaker, Jean-Marc Mantel, now a buddy and colleague, had been a pupil of Jean Klein who in flip had in been influenced by Krishna Menon all immersed within the teachings of non-duality – Advaita Vedanta.

For the subsequent two years or so I too immersed myself in these teachings to deliver an understanding to the expertise of that afternoon. I got here to understand to what we imply after we say ‘remedy with out the therapist’, ‘nobody instructing’, ‘nobody writing’ or with regards to sport ‘nobody enjoying’.

The trail (though now not a path) was then not about self enchancment or making progress – not about including something however extra the stripping away of the conditioned self and enquiring into who we’re past our ideas and our tales:

‘How did you sculpt the horse? ‘

Sculptor ‘I simply took away the bits that weren’t horse’.

Poetry can maybe problem these illusory views of who we expect we’re in a approach that prose can not, go away more room for the reader to search out their very own photos, to problem our mounted perceptions and level to the silence and the stillness that’s the infinite background to life. 

And within the land of no nouns

Would we see issues as they are surely?

The onerous edges dissolved

No separation

Nobody scripting this

And to nobody else

Simply life resonating

Say ‘I wrote you a poem’ and

The poem is useless.

Misplaced for Phrases

Maybe poetry is a medium that may additionally spotlight the paradoxical nature of this angle? ‘Misplaced for Phrases’ makes use of phrases to level to their absence. Suggests we lose one thing for one thing else to be revealed. Lose our grip on our perceived actuality, on our mounted views on what we name actuality, look past the phrases to the clean web page on which they sit, to a elementary spaciousness and silence. A silence that’s not simply an expertise however a mirror to the silent being that’s our true nature.

Misplaced for Phrases is a group of poems that speaks to that deep eager for union and freedom on the supply of every of us.

Misplaced for phrases is obtainable from wherever books are offered.

E-book Hyperlink: https://www.johnhuntpublishing.com/mantra-books/our-books/lost-for-words-poetry-mindfulness-non-duality