The words “I
am” have continued to roll around in my head for several days now. Apparently,
I have commenced another walkabout. This particular walkabout began as I watched
and listened to a well known conservative spokesman on television. During that
program, he spoke a two word sentence that resonated deep within me. The sentence
was “I am”. For some reason, which is still not clear, what he said after that
did not seem to matter. His voice faded to silence in my head and I turned off
the television and turned inward in search of those two words.
Almost
immediately I recalled a quotation that ended with those same two words. The
Rene Descartes quotation “I think, therefore I am” seemed to be a path to
follow and I began to walk. Any further exploration of Descartes is not in the
cards for this essay. However, I encourage you to take some time to explore a
little of his life and works to remind yourself of what you already know or
discover him for the first time.
My daughter
listened carefully when I told her I was busy thinking about ‘I am’. She
quickly gave me four suggestions and because she has a degree in comparative
religion and has published many books, I listened too. Her first suggestion was
to read Impermanence and Love written by Elias Amidon. He is an author and has
been a student of Sufism for over 40 years. Join me here in watching an image
he clearly described. A child runs to “her mother’s waiting arms” and you view
the shared communication of parent child love and then you watch as the child
returned to what children do. The author, a new name to me, then continued with
“That was many years ago. Now the child no longer exists; a grown up person has
taken her place. The mother child image no longer exists because the mother
also no longer exists.” What happened to the child and mother can be explained
in a single word and I will make it a point to remember it clearly. The word is
impermanence. Look closely and you will see that “Each moment yields to the
next and never returns.” This is impermanence. Impermanence often brings us sadness and a void. It can also be a path to joy. My past image of ‘I am’ has moved forward and yet it can be remembered and experienced even as my future ‘I am’ appears near. You and I can experience what we
all recognize as love as it connects us to a reality which no longer exists.
Try it out. Let us continue this walkabout together. Presume your parents are no longer alive (mine are
not). Simply state I am the son/daughter of (insert the first and last
names of your parents). Now then, you do sense their presence and their
humanness. Don’t you? Given time you will also recall the existence of many other things that are gone but still remain real and present. So where are they? I
really like the idea that they have become part of a whole and they are what we will
become.
Her second
suggestion was to create a self ‘I am’ list as long as I could and then cross
off any of the roles I have played and identities I have given to myself and
those given to me by family, society, faith tradition or nationality. Her point
was none of the labels answer the question of Who am I? Why? It is because the
answer itself is not verbal but a felt sense in your heart center. Anything
that can be said about my ‘I am’ is merely symbolic.” Her third suggestion
pointed me in the direction of jnana yoga. (See location 1 below) This branch
of yoga focuses on using the mind to transcend the mind. Lastly, she introduced
me to a past master of self-inquiry named Ramana Maharshi. It was in the words
of a brief Maharshi biography See (location 2 below) that I found my walkabout
affirmed. “Being is something that all humans share with the creator or
ultimate reality.” Remember this and who said it? “I am that I am.” “Being is
primary.”
I learned
something new at each and every suggested guidepost. Each was worth the visit
and I finished this walkabout comfortable and refreshed.
Now would be
a good time for you to begin and enjoy your own ‘I am’ walkabout.
No comments:
Post a Comment