Accepting What IS

The philosophy of Non-doing can be a tricky one. It is enticing because in one sense it gets us off the hook, as it means if there is no doer, there is no one there to be held accountable for anything. It means that life is not our responsibility and therefore, nothing to feel guilty about. It means that there is a Divine Order that runs the show and that all is taken care of within that scheme. There is nothing we need to do, and we are free to just be.

The slippery slope of truly understanding the philosophy of Non-doing and ultimately realizing it, begins with the mind. The mind seems to be the problem. As seductive as sounds to be free of the feelings or responsibility, guilt and shame, it is just not that easy. It is dangerous to assume we are not responsible for anything when we still feel a solid doer present. Non-doing is never an excuse for acting out of alignment with Divine Order. To use Non-doing as an excuse for our actions as result of fear, jealously and greed only shows our investment in doership. A mind that refuses to accept it experiences fear, jealously and greed is a mind that cannot accept it is not the doer.

When life is beautiful it easy to accept Divine Order but when life is ugly, we cannot understand how Divine Order can be so cruel. There is suffering and rest assured, we will experience it. It is impossible for the mind to fully grasp the mystery of Divine Order, and even more impossible for the mind to believe it is not the doer. It's not just you. No one wants to suffer, and everyone wants to be happy. Our suffering and unhappiness is not God's fault. It is the result of our unmindful, unconscious living... yours, mine and theirs.

The realization of Non-doing happens through observing the mind do what it does, not controlling the mind doing what it does. Any controlling going on is going on in the mind, not by Divine Order. In becoming more conscious of the antics of our mind, our emotional body, our personality, our ego, we begin to notice how fickle and fictitious it actually is. When we catch how ridiculous we are, how fearful we are, how jealousy and greedy we are, we don't want to accept that is who we are. So, we either make up a story of an image that is more acceptable to us, or we realize that just can't be who we are. When we no longer believe the mind, we collide with truth of our self.

I have seen many a "non-doer", including myself, throw the philosophy out the window when the going gets tough, and start grasping for control trying to uphold the house of cards we've built. It is in these times of suffering, when we are absorbed in our fear or utterly fed up and disillusioned with life, that we are given the opportunity to break the mind's clutching to a reality that does not exist.

It is in this breakdown, we accept the mind, the ego, the individual "I" in all it's mucked-up-ness... in all it's insanity, with all it's fears, jealousies and greediness. It may or may not happen over night. It may or may not happen even in this lifetime, but eventually we realize the truth. Eventually, the mind merges into the background of existence. Eventually, we are free.

May we always remember... "Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the peace of God."