A beach story

2008.07.21 13:00 - Natural Rest 

A moment of peace at the beach could open us to our fundamental nature.

Caledonia Heron: I thought I would tell a little story about something that happened a couple of days ago
Caledonia Heron: I spent the last week lounging at the seashore
Caledonia Heron: I was sitting back at the beach, eyes closed, not really thinking about anything really
Caledonia Heron: I was listening to the waves, big loud crashing waves
Caledonia Heron: over, and over and over
Caledonia Heron: for how long I don’t really know - it could have been quite a while
Caledonia Heron: it was like it was floating on the sound of it
Caledonia Heron: not really thinking of anything I suppose
Caledonia Heron: then all of a sudden I realized I wasn’t thinking of anything and it was …poof….back to normal, talking to my friends
Caledonia Heron: what was that?
Stim Morane: what do you think?
Caledonia Heron: other?
Caledonia Heron: not dream
Caledonia Heron: not sleep
Caledonia Heron: not present
Caledonia Heron: somewhere else
Caledonia Heron: it was nowhere
Stim Morane: or maybe just more Here
Caledonia Heron: I wondered that
Stim Morane: did it seem unusual?
Caledonia Heron: it had a very here and not here kind of feel
Stim Morane: Yes
Caledonia Heron: not while it was happening
Stim Morane: Yes. That suggests it’s natural rather than exotic
Caledonia Heron: and when I broke the silence it seemed pretty natural
Threedee Shepherd: while it was happening, *IT* was
Caledonia Heron: but after I thought of it moments later I wondered, what the heck was that?
Caledonia Heron: lovely really
Stim Morane: So are you headed back to the beach, Cal?
Caledonia Heron: lol, in my mind :)

Stim Morane: a natural setting can invite a natural presence
Caledonia Heron: yes, I agree
Stim Morane: but habits usually override quickly
Stim Morane: we are a bundle of habits, of mind, body, perception, etc
Stim Morane: but these habits are not necessarily grounded in our more fundamental nature
Stim Morane: Anyway, a nice example of encountering one’s self more directly
Caledonia Heron: yes, indeed, very enjoyable

Caledonia Heron: maybe the continued 9sec is a prompt for a special kind of habit :)
Stim Morane: the 9 second format, and I think it is just a format, can help “come back”.
Stim Morane: But as you say, it could just be appropriated within our usual complex of habits.

Caledonia Heron: strange and interesting that during the event there was no noticing of enjoyment or feeling…..it was only when the mind kickstarted again that the analysis was available
Stim Morane: Cal, I think natural contentment is subtle and not accompanied with any fanfare
Caledonia Heron: I would agree Stim — have you had an experience similar in nature?
Stim Morane: sure
Stim Morane: the point of contemplative training is to find what was essential in your experience, without the dependency on special circumstances.
Stim Morane: But the context does help.
Stim Morane: By “essential in your experience”, I meant that even what you can remember about the natural peace you describe may not be its essence.
Caledonia Heron: yes, understood
Caledonia Heron: I have been probing it a bit like an alien with a corn fed farmer :)
Stim Morane: There is a profound and sneaky distortion in memory.

Caledonia Heron: I think contentment is a good place to start…..content was a present state
Stim Morane: contentment is different from a hyped up pleasure.
Caledonia Heron: yes
Stim Morane: I just used that word as a way of guessing what you were reporting.
Caledonia Heron: it fits as does at rest
Caledonia Heron: I had no agenda, no needs, no wants, just sitting there
Stim Morane: And I think both contentment and “rest”, natural rest, are related to the subject of this PaB orientation
Caledonia Heron: yes, my thought also and why I brought the story
Stim Morane: Yes, my “getting back to the beach” joke was intended as a comment on the way we try to make natural rest be an object of acquisition
Stim Morane: and of wishing, grasping
Stim Morane: Anyway, thanks. Great story!
Caledonia Heron: sure - like you have to “go somewhere” to do it
Caledonia Heron: or “do something”
Stim Morane: Yes, that is exactly the way the ordinary grasping mind reaches for and misses what’s most important about us

Caledonia Heron: some of the richest things I’ve experienced come when I’m not really paying attention so much
Caledonia Heron: hilarious really