Witness To The Crime

Lately the news is all about what people witnessed. In fact who we actual are is the witness. We are witnessing our thoughts, our bodies, life outside the windows of our eyes.  So in meditation as we meditate on the breath, the simple rise and fall of life itself right where you are, we begin to witness several things happening, the thoughts coming and going, the body itself, and so it continues.  Yet as the witness we  engage the thoughts or body and make declarations of who we think we are, because we identify with the body or thoughts and declare this is who I am.  Yet we are negating who we really are to play a part for a little while.

For example, in the witness, you experience a hurt foot, so rather than saying the body is experiencing pain in the foot, and giving distance to what is actually happening, we become the pain, by declaring, “I am hurt and in pain.”  When in actuality there is distance. In meditation when you can allow the quiet in the mind, you will see who you are, a witness, with space. Now in terms of life here on the planet, it may help to call the mind, the criminal.  Now I am not suggesting anything here, other than to get your attention in the movement of the mind. Because if you are reading this, then you know that you are not your mind or body, you may identify with them but you are not them.

So the criminal takes you way from your home which is peaceful, vast, wonderful, and has you engaged in an identity.   So you are always witnessing a crime, for some it is a crime of passion, the thoughts race in and they seem to be energized by excitement and you announce, “I am limited, I am not enough. I am corrupted.” when two seconds ago, you were everything, So it gives us an opportunity, to ask ourselves, “What disturbs our peace?”  “Is it the outside or inside?”  This is the importance of understanding your self.  Because if you see yourself as the witness and see the inner world as it is, then you will see the outside world as it is. Then you will stop taking others so seriously when they call you names, and you may finally understand what was meant by “Forgive them they know not what they do”. And frankly either do we, if we are open and honest.  Especially in a world that throws around accountability so much, but mostly in a sense of judgement. We are accountable for our inner world.  So witness and be gentle with the self. See how much you become identified with the thoughts in your mind, by resting in the breath, you will begin to sense the space between the body, and the thoughts.

I was teaching the other day and a student asked, “David this feels wonderful, but won’t people feel like there is no compassion?” No actually they will feel compassion from you and sense the love you are giving them. The difference is you won’t become engaged in their story.  I have had several people want to get a rise from me, because they are used to being around others who engage with passion their stories.  Passion is not presence.  Presence is aliveness and aliveness is quite a different energy from the mind created passion.