Find The River Within

Last night I attended a satsang. I would imagine that most of you reading this know that a satsang is a gathering of people around a teacher, usually of Eastern thought, to listen, meditate, chant or whatever the teacher guides the group to do.

Although I left euphoric and feeling a bit like a hog after soaking in the beautiful vibration I experienced there, I also left a bit disappointed. It seemed many people there were looking for a way to carry that peace found in the satsang into their daily lives.

The disappointment was not in their question but rather in the teacher's patient but repetitive answer. His high vibration, that he freely shared, clearly set him as a teacher. However, he chose to repeat the answer of "be your authentic self" rather than answer the question in daily, practical language or steps.

Rather than presumptuously interrupt his gentle and patient focus in addressing the question, I left a bit early. Yet when I left, the group seemed a bit frustrated and not fully understanding. Perhaps they found their answer after I left.

However, I awoke this morning wondering whether I was right in leaving or whether I could have shared a more practical perspective on authentic living. Thus this article.

This article is dedicated to all of you who, like me, forget how to live in a peaceful and even joyous vibration and fall prey to daily activities that often jar us into a "funk." Here are a few mindful things you can practice to live authentically.

Step one:
When you find yourself caught up in the daily grind, stop and focus on each one of your senses, hearing, smell, taste, sight and feeling. This is mindfullness. (I use two "L"s on purpose.)

Breathe deeply and fully, hesitating with full lungs and visualizing a beautiful vibrant blue light in the area of your solar plexus. Visualize that light until it is necessary to slowly release the breath. Do not try to hold your breath. Just allow it to be a natural, round flow.

Step two:
Once you have centered yourself, remember the flow of a river. It does not attach itself to the rocks along its banks nor fear what is ahead. It does not try to slow down because of the pleasant sun it passed through a while ago or try to stop itself from jumping over the cliff into the freedom of the fall.

Instead, the water simply flows, sometimes fast, sometimes slow. It never looks back nor forward. It simply is. It basks in the warmth of the sun, frolics as it jumps over rocks, finds power in its depth and volume as it grows larger and creates a beautiful rainbow in its cool mists as it flies over the cliffs without fear of what is below.

The water is "its authentic self" in each moment of its journey. As we traverse through life, it is up to us to connect with our "authentic self" by staying present in each moment.

It is not possible to "find" that authentic self because it simply is, just like the water does not "look" for itself. It simply exists in all of it forms: fast, slow, rough, gentle, cold, warm, inviting, threatening. It does not judge itself.

So, as humans, by staying exactly where we "are," without judgment, without fear, without looking back, without anticipating what's to come, we approach our authentic selves. "Masters" live in the authentic self.

Until we become Masters, be patient and enjoy the journey. Stop trying to capture a feeling or a moment of peace from the past. Accept each moment and then move into the next. Do not compare. Do not mourn the moment's passing.

Remember the river that flows in each of us.