Waking Up Now

Perhaps what we most deeply want is simply to be awake in this moment, not in some spectacular way, but very simply—hearing the birds or the traffic sounds, enjoying a cup of coffee, feeling the breathing, delighting in the visual world, feeling whatever is felt, not needing anything more or less—free from the illusion of separation, solidity and encapsulation.

Truly, we are like waves in the ocean—ever-changing, inseparable movements of a seamless indivisible whole. This one bottomless moment is ever-changing in appearance while never departing from the ever-present immediacy of here and now.

No separate, persisting "self" can be found at the center of present experiencing. Thought poses as "me" and claims to be the thinker-chooser-doer, but our thoughts and behaviors arise automatically and choicelessly. When we take it all personally and believe that we are small and separate, feelings of deficiency, anxiety, guilt, blame, confusion and dissatisfaction inevitably follow.

Is there any way out of these painful conditioned patterns? Awareness, presence and open attention are the transformative powers that can illuminate and dissolve habitual suffering and confusion and allow something new to emerge. They open us to a bigger context, the vast spaciousness and unconditional love beholding it all.

What is offered here invites firsthand exploration and direct discovery, not belief or dogma. There is no finish-line, no method, no future goal, only this ever-fresh aliveness. We habitually search for certainty and something to grasp, but in holding on to nothing at all, there is immense freedom.