Lines

Lines

“All the principles of heaven and earth are living inside you. Life itself is truth, and this will never change. Everything in heaven and earth breathes. Breath is the thread that ties creation together.”

–Morihei Ueshiba, Founder of Aikido

I think about human consciousness in terms of vertical and horizontal lines. We are multifaceted, unique for sure, but we also all share a common set of planes of existence. In other words, we are all playing the same basic game on the same game-board. Our strategies for playing are what vary. Unlike other beings, however, we have the ability to play this game very strategically—perhaps each of us is playing an entirely different style.

What all humans share is a basic grounding in Earth and suspension from Heaven. Imagine a string that is tied around the Earth’s core on one end and to the sun on the other, and we reside in the middle, and this string is pointed vertically. This is a very limited metaphor, but hopefully it illustrates the vertical line I am talking about. In reality, this line is infinite, and it encompasses each of our beings by their very essence.

What do I mean by being grounded in Earth? Well, to begin, we are all already very wise in this way. We all stand atop the ground; we all experience pleasure and pain, attachment, joy, suffering, as we are all human beings! This is all I am referring to – the inherent physical reality of our human incarnations. We share this ground with all other sentient beings.

And what do I mean by “heaven above.” With this I am referring to the potential of human consciousness. We are vastly expansive beings with brains capable of incredible scientific and mathematic understanding. We have hearts capable of transcendent love and connection. In this way, we have the uniquely human capability of looking up at the sky with curiosity. Again, we are already very wise in this way – it is natural wisdom within every one of us.

These two qualities work together as the yin and yang of our beings. However, we are the masters of this domain. We can choose how we spend our conscious lives. We can choose to spend our lives in the depths of hell—entrenched in the suffering of the physical world. Or we can float up into the bliss of heaven and bask in its warmth only to return to a crumbling world or decaying body that we are unprepared to address. Or, of course, we can establish a balance between the two. We can exist planted in all of the suffering on this Earth and, simultaneously showering in Astral bliss. Establishing this balance is the embodiment of truth – it is a point in which we are free of attachment and aversion, and there is no longer anything to push away.

We are all capable of progressing towards this, should we dedicate ourselves to it. The greatest hindrance is what, metaphorically, I depict as the horizontal line of our consciousness. This is the line of distraction and ignorance.

While we are foundationally connected to both Earth and Heaven, we are also fundamentally ignorant. We have thinking minds that project all sorts of illusions onto our “truth” channel. We are willing to buy into the projections because, well, they seem to make sense. We are willing to believe that we are separate from each other and the world or that this external world can provide us with lasting fulfillment. We are willing to believe that some people are naturally evil, or that money equals happiness. We chase after life and avert death until our last breath. What are we doing?!

These are all examples of delusions that, simply put, waste precious time in our already time-constrained lives. They are not even worth dignifying. They are completely self-manifested distractions to avoid doing the work towards truth and progress.

It is hard to blame our society for this, though. We are the beneficiaries of a governmental and societal model intent on maintaining and promoting ignorance. We spend hours watching mind-numbing screens and talking about what we watched. And for the rest of the time, we should ask ourselves, are we being even somewhat present with what we are doing?

This is the horizontal line I am referring to. It is that which we spend lifetimes following without ever realizing the futility of our pursuit. Breaking away from this line is the first step towards awakening. Realizing that every bit of this line manifests from our own delusions and that the only game we are really playing is that which seeks freedom and truth.

All it takes to join the game is a willingness to settle into ourselves; A willingness to be still, to rest in love, to practice compassion for self and others. Most of all, a dedication to freedom. There is no reason this cannot become the paradigm of society, and freeing ourselves from institutional ignorance will only clarify this further.