For survival, the human mind craves certainty. We strive to understand, categorize, and control. Our minds, desperately scratching through all of the noisiness in the world for a shred of certainty, is often the biggest source of our anxiety. Because life, in all its beautiful complexity, often presents us with the unsettling truth of not knowing. Can you tolerate this truth?
“It only takes a few minutes of meditation to directly realize we are a river of sensations, feelings, thoughts, perceptions. How can we navigate this evanescent river of life wisely? With mindful awareness and love it becomes clear. You can fight against the river of change, or use its wisdom to teach you how to graciously move and create and flow with the full measure of joy and sorrow, gain and loss, praise and blame that make up every human incarnation.” – Jack Kornfield
How do we navigate all of this wisely? Our outer world is a constant barrage of noise, and as the quote above mentions, our inner world is mostly really noisy too. Where do we find the wisdom to graciously move and create and flow through this human experience?
“Built on the foundation of concentration, is the third aspect of the path of awakening: it is clarity of vision and the development of wisdom.” – Jack Kornfield
“The development of wisdom” – where is it that we find this wisdom?
We are, each of us, connected to source, what flows through me flows equally through you. If God is to be found in any place, then you will have to explore your own connection to that place and that can only be found within you. Your own eternal soul.
Is it necessary that we have complete knowledge in order to access wisdom? Is it necessary that every time we ask we get a clear answer? No. Real wisdom understands the very real human condition, and perhaps the biggest gift that wisdom gives us is how to deal with the reality of not knowing:
“The wise heart is not one that understands everything, it is the heart that can tolerate the truth of not knowing.” – Jack Kornfield
In summary the message from Jack Kornfield today is:
The river of life is filled with sensations, feelings, thoughts, perceptions – joy and sorrow, gain and loss, praise and blame that make up every human incarnation, and we only navigate it well when we develop wisdom. And that the foundation of wisdom lies in coming to terms with the truth that there is SO much that we will never know…can you tolerate the truth of not knowing?
Today’s meditation is a journey towards your own inner wisdom. An opportunity to become quiet enough to hear your soul speak.
Join us on this journey of inner exploration. Here are some mantras to guide your reflection:
- I am a river of experience. I can choose to fight the current or learn to navigate it with grace.
- Wisdom lies within. I can access this wisdom through introspection and self-compassion.
- The truth of not knowing is liberating. It allows me to be present and open to the unfolding of life.
- I trust the process. Even in uncertainty, there is growth and learning.
The wise heart isn’t one that possesses absolute knowledge, but rather one that can embrace the mystery. It accepts that there will always be questions without definitive answers. This acceptance allows us to flow with the river of life, experiencing both its joys and sorrows with equanimity.
– pierre –
Today’s LIVE meditation is: The serenity prayer.