Story of Self 1

(2013-12-11)

Let's come back to an oft-told story,
the classic that children and adults and other people
find fascinating when it is well-told.

The theme for today is "Story of Self"

The other day I went into a bookstore
and was interested to see a new self-help book
"How not to be yourself"

along with the others
on how to find oneself
how to be authentic
and how to be one's true self.

This is not contradiction, it's variety,
different aspects of "self"
different ways of talking about them,

different concerns
and aspirations
that we like to name and present
in the stories and ideas we speak here.

Talk
is a code
coming from secret or hidden realms
of thinking and being.

Most of the time
it just appears

luckily
because we have no idea, really
where it comes from.

The name of this group is Original Face
but the group itself is
Who is here

and the Guests we bring,

Some we carry within us.

Some we invite
wondering if they will show up,

some are attracted
gathering around a happening place
a place of listeners

We meet
we talk
or sit silent

on a stage
we carry with us and unfurl
laying it over the other stage that is always already here.

On one end of the stage there's old Lao Tzu

He says, can you believe it
that a Sage has no mind of his own
and because it is empty
he takes as his own mind, the mind of the people.

Those who are good, he treats as good
and those who are not good, he also treats as good
thus creating, and stepping into, goodness

those of good faith, he has faith in
and those who are lacking in good faith, he also has faith in
thus creating and stepping into, good faith.

In the pursuit of learning one knows more every day
but old Lao pursues the Way
and does less every day
until one day he knows nothing at all
and nothing is left unknown

So says old Lao.
There are days we go along with him.

Since there's nothing to say
we don't entertain discussions
we're not here to figure anything out

we're not trying to define anything
or learn anything.

We say nothing
but find that many things are said

hear more in what another said
than the sayer knew they were saying.

Gathered round old Lao on the stage
are jugglers and thieves
acrobats and soothsayers
gentlemen, damsels, stalwart henchmen, ladies in waiting
storytellers and prognosticators
cooks and cobblers
strange animals and flying birds

These, naturally, have a lot to say
faces to make, dances to do,
figures to draw, stories to tell.

As we recall
these are also the mind of Lao Tzu
his empty mind is full with them.

Being personal
speaking from the "place of I"
is like this

To open the mouth to speak
is to open oneself
to many voices

Like a chorus
or parade
a funny thing happens
the "place of we" also is spoken.

To make a long story short,
we live in a story-saturated world

where the Me-self is the story that is told
the I-self is the storyteller and the storylistener

and "selfing" is the telling
or the acting out of the ongoing story.

Is I-self developed, or lost
liberated, or crystallized
in the telling?

Let's start at the beginning again.

What do you notice about the Me-self?

What do you notice about the I-self?

What do you notice about the telling and acting?