Being This Whole Happening

No Other

wisdom is understanding
the nature of subject and object
that I am the ultimate subject
and the body, senses and mind
and hence the world
are my objects
and then to go one step further
and see the apparent subject
and the apparent object
are one

— Billy Doyle, from The Mirage of Separation

This sense of being here now, present and aware, is undeniable. This awaring presence is most intimate, closer than close, and at the same time, borderless and all-inclusive. It can’t be grasped or pinned down, and yet here it is, this boundless and seamless presence, all of it mySelf.

Look…

There I am showing up as a chair.
There I am showing up as a room.
There I am showing up as a tree.
There I am showing up as rain.
There I am showing up as an ant.
There I am showing up as a leaf blower.
There I am showing up as an asteroid.
There I am showing up as a galaxy.
There I am showing up as a quark.
There I am showing up as a virus.
There I am showing up as a serial killer.
There I am showing up as Jesus.
There I am showing up as a ham sandwich.
There I am showing up as an ego.
There I am showing up as a computer.
There I am showing up as a poem.
There I am showing up as Trump.
There I am showing up as Kamala.
There I am showing up as Joan Tollifson.
There I am showing up as the whole universe.

This unencapsulated, unbound “I” is the same for you and me. This infinite “I,” this aware presence or aliveness, is endlessly appearing in infinite shapes and disguises—one whole happening exploring, discovering, unfolding, celebrating and enjoying itself.

There is no other, no outside or inside, no place where “I” am not. As apparent individuals, we are all in it together, one whole symphony, each playing our different notes, in an ungraspable happening.

We so often try desperately to understand and explain this aliveness. We enter into a dream-like hypnotic trance, imagining a world and many others outside of ourSelf. We take positions for and against. We hate the apparent other or love them, fear them or long for them. We want to kill them or convert them, possess them or become them, save them or silence them. And then we remember, if only for moments at a time, that they are simply a momentary shape “I” am taking.

Whoever wins this election, it will be “I” appearing as that person, and no two of us will see that person in exactly the same way.

It does not matter much what happens, for ultimately the return to balance and harmony is inevitable. The heart of things is at peace.

—Nisargadatta Maharaj

Of course, relatively speaking, in the dream-like movie of waking life, it matters greatly what seems to happen, and the pain really can hurt. But from a larger, more holistic, more subtle perspective, it all goes together in ways we cannot begin to imagine.

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Yes, I voted. In spite of many disagreements with the Democratic Party, I voted for Kamala. Yes, I have concerns about her, but I have far more serious concerns about Trump. And since these two are the only electable choices, and it’s going to be one or the other of them, I chose the one who seemed to me least problematic. I know that many intelligent people are making different choices from mine, and that’s fine. I personally doubt that either of them will be the epic disaster that many on both sides fear about the other, although I could be wrong. I’m sure that whichever one of them wins will do some things I don’t like and some things I do.

Having lived now for over three-quarters of a century, my opinions on many issues have gone through numerous changes. I’ve witnessed many changes in the world, and I’ve lived through so many things just like the famous Chinese farmer story illustrates. As a result, I have more humility now and less certainty about what I think is “right” or what “should” happen. I have a greater trust in life itself, and a deep understanding that everything goes together in unfathomable ways and cannot in each moment be other than exactly how it is.

My work, as I see and feel it, is to point to a bigger perspective, a deeper truth. And that’s what I’ve tried to do in this article. But on the everyday human level, my hope is that there will be a clear winner, and that whoever loses will accept defeat gracefully. My hope is that we can all learn to listen openly to people who have different views from our own.

I wish you all a peaceful election day and beyond. Things may feel disappointing, unsettling or terrifying for some in the coming days or weeks, but remember that all things pass. When it invites you, give open to attention to the awaring presence that is most intimate, closer than close, and at the same time, borderless and all-inclusive. Feel the aliveness and the subtlety of it. Enjoy the miraculous display of present experiencing. Behold it all from the wholeness of unconditional love.

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Love to all…