"This Week" by the Bahrain Meditation Centre
6th March 2007

Paradoxes on the Path

If you are receiving and reading Clear Thinking each week it means you are interested in self-understanding, self-change and self -empowerment. These are the foundations of self-mastery. They are essential aspects of the journey back to being spiritually whole and complete. They are necessary steps on the path to being your authentic self. You will likely have noticed that on your journey 'home' to your authentic self, the path is riddled with paradox. Paradoxes are statements which appear contradictory but hide a deeper truth e.g. the paradox that standing is more tiring than walking.

The seeing and the realisation of paradox can set us free from the constraints of what appears to be illogical thinking. It seems illogical to think that standing is more tiring than walking, but it's true. Behind what seems illogical lies a truth that if unrealised and not integrated into your life will result in the creation of tension, confusion or an imbalance, while never really knowing the reason why. For example we may be aware that our relationships are defined by a dynamic of giving and receiving at a variety of levels (things, ideas, attention, time etc) but the inherent paradox in this dynamic is that giving is receiving and receiving is giving. In order to receive you have to give, and in order to give you have to receive. At first sight this can appear illogical but behind the illogic there lies a deeper truth. At the dualistic, material level if you don't give it means you will be 'busy wanting'. It means your thoughts and your attention are trapped in what you want, and you are therefore closed to the possibility of receiving anything other than the object of your desire. The only way to open yourself to the infinite possibility of receiving is to place your attention, your thoughts and action, into giving.

At the spiritual level of giving and receiving the paradox takes a slightly different form. It is only when we give with love that we feel
the love that already lives within us. In essence, only by giving love can you know and receive the love that you are. By giving to others you are receiving from yourself. And conversely, to be fully open to receiving the love of others 'gives' them the opportunity to receive and feel and know themselves as love. No surprise then that someone once said, "Through the gates of paradox you shall find the truth". Paradox lies in wait at every turn.

Staying in the territory of relationship another paradox shows up at the level of understanding. In order to know and understand others it is first necessary to know and understand your self. Often we demonstrate our perplexity when we claim, "I just don't understand them. I thought I knew them, but now I realise I don't". What we don't realise is that the underlying cause of our inability to connect and resonate with others is our ignorance of our self. You cannot read and understand the emotions that others are feeling until you learn to fully feel and identify the emotions that you feel within yourself. The psychopath has no ability to empathise with others because they have spent their entire life avoiding their own feelings. People are like books but we cannot read them until we learn to read ourselves at all levels from intention to belief, from emotion to attitude. Which is why the best way to get to know and truly understand others is to spend a lot of time with yourself. But this has always been the way on any authentic spiritual path. Which leads into yet another paradox that further perplexes our rational, linear thinking. It is this idea of unity. To create unity in a gathering of people you have to first be completely comfortable and united within yourself. You often see in a group or community there are those who are always calling for unity. They say, "We should be united and stand as one on this". And yet they themselves are not in unity with everyone as the 'react' to the reactions of others. It means they are not united within themselves, they are not 'at one' with themselves. And this means they are not able to be a catalyst or facilitator of unity in a group. Paradoxically we are all already united, we are all already as one, but we have lost our innate awareness of that oneness.

We cannot see or feel unity and oneness in the world around us because we still 'believe' in division and separation. And that is because within our self there is fragmentation and division. When you resolve your inner fragmentation (the voices of many identities) you will see and know the underlying oneness of 'us all'!

A similar paradox exists within the intention to raise your consciousness, which is not possible unless you remain grounded! Many make the mistake of isolating themselves from the world and putting all their time and attention into mystical and meditative practices with the hope of simply 'rising above it all'. They then wonder why progress is fleeting and slow. Then one day they realise that the real lessons that need to be learned and integrated in order to 'rise above' lie in everyday places, everyday interactions with people, and the everyday practicalities of living. When people, places and practicalities are not dealt with accurately, and with love, they become a burden carried by our consciousness, a form of 'unfinished business' which weighs us down making it impossible to raise our self above the mundane. You cannot check out of the supermarket without learning the price of each item and paying the bill. Only then are the groceries fully owned by you, and only then can you choose to where and when to set them down, thus relieving yourself of the burden that keeps you grounded.

Question: Which of the above paradoxes did you find most relevant to your life now?

Reflection: To resolve a paradox you need to go beyond thinking about it to 'see' it. Hence the purpose eof meditation is to quieten the thinking mind and watch what arises from the heart

Action: In what ways could the seeing of each of the above paradoxes
change the way you 'live your life?' a) giving and receiving b)
understanding others C) unity and oneness d) rising above

Om Shanti
(I am a peaceful soul)
 Tel: +973-17-712 545, meditate@batelco.com.bh, www.bahrainmeditationcentre.org
Bahrain Meditation Centre is administered by B.K.W.S.U. (visit: www.bkwsu.org.uk)