transfer this approach onto spirituality – making a path of God, creating conditions and steps to reach the summit in some future time. As noble as this seems, at a certain stage this becomes just another subtle strategy for further embodying the mad idea that what would make us whole and happy is in some other time, state and place. Perhaps you are tired and disillu-
sioned by the search for God, the search for wholeness and freedom. Despite the feelings of despondency this may initiate, this as actually very good news. Only when we begin to drop the search for anything,
to relax our grasping, can a
depth of awakening that truly delivers on its promise really occur. Then our lives can become a living testimony to real love. Awakening to a deeper truth may mean that one day, for no logical reason, you simply know that you can no longer play by the rules you may have lived by for years; the unwritten rules of a relation- ship, the beliefs you have been condi- tioned to accept as fact, the script you have written for your own life, even the ‘rules’ of a cherished spiritual teaching. Ulti- mately, we are asked to step out of line and rest truly open, available to let the mystery of life usher us into new depths. Initially this can feel terrifying, but also thrilling. This is what it means to stand at zero
– the space of deep openness and receptiv- ity. Zero is the cosmic porthole through which the new can emerge; new freedom, new awareness, new love, new possibility, new peace, new life. It can only emerge when we find courage enough to embrace the empty space, even though it might ask us to face the fear of the void. When we stand at zero, we live magically with the joy and aliveness of little children, who learn so easily because their minds are truly open and uncluttered by fixed ideas. Any authentic movement requires a
break from the past – not because the past is inherently bad, but because it is difficult for a deeper truth to emerge amidst old habits. Often, we are not even aware we are living from habit. However, we notice there has been a dulling of our aliveness, a cynical edge that has emerged in our heart. We recognize that some vital part of us has gone to sleep, we have become closed, and the juice is gone. A radical openness to life is one that asks you to risk feeling everything: moving
through life minus the usual insulation that we have been taught we need to survive. Living this alive asks us to meet our own experience more defenselessly, and then to learn to meet the totality of the collec- tive experience defenselessly. Commonly this feels scary because it inevitably in- volves experiences of contraction, and we have been led to believe this is bad, but it is not – it is natural. Pain is part of human life, but suffering
is optional. Most, if not all, of our suffering is caused by resistance and defense of pain. Our fear of experiencing heart-break ironically leads us into a living experience of a mild background broken-heartedness. This need not be. Any painful experience met with deep acceptance inevitably finds release into grace. Any positive experience met and lived fully expands into further grace. When we learn to embrace per- sonal pain, sadness, loss, not getting what we want, we can then come to embrace the broader pain of the world with an open and compassionate heart. If you are willing to experience everything with a soft, open curiosity, you discover there is no need for defense. You have no need of anything but surrender, deep honesty and being your- self. This is freedom. Could you dare to show up to life
radically open? Could you find courage enough to be spontaneously available to the present moment? Could you be willing to feel what is here, and dive even deeper to what is beyond all feeling? Could you risk stopping your strategies of chasing after fulfillment even if only for a moment? Could you stand at zero?
Could you allow yourself to be free? Would you?
Miranda Macpherson founded the One- Spirit Interfaith Foundation in London where she trained and ordained over 600 ministers. She is author of “Boundless Love”, “The Heart of Being” mantra CD and countless articles. She offers extensive online programs through The Shift Net- work, and holds in-depth retreats interna- tionally. She lives in the San Francisco bay area with her husband Bob Duchmann. For more information, visit www. mirandamacpherson. com
MARCH 2017 37
Imagine your life without the burden of your past or the anxiety about your future...
I can help. Donna Burick RMT, CBP, Par BP, BCC
Board Certified Holistic Life Coach Energy Therapist
Advanced BodyTalk Practitioner
CALL TODAY for your FREE 15 minute consultation 336-540-0088
donna@donnaburick.com www.donnaburick.com
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