Be Ordinary

“As I see it, there isn’t so much to do. Just be ordinary – put on your robes, eat your food, and pass the time doing nothing.” -Master Linji, 9th century, Rinzai Zen Founder

Be ordinary, do nothing.

It’s when I am doing nothing that I seem to get the most done. Even in the midst of brushing my teeth or filing papers, I am often “doing nothing.” The body is acting, the goal is set, the task is being done, but within, nothing is happening.

It’s just ordinary living.

Fun Shoes

God says, “Cool it. What do you think you’re doing, trying to figure everything out with your busy, hard knot head?”

With an open, curious, playful persistence, answers flow more readily.

A careless, I-don’t-know breeze graces my inner sight.

God continues, “It all starts with fun shoes. Wear them to work…the kind that aren’t allowed.”

Precepts for a Neurotic Contemplative

• I don’t know anything about anything.
• I am not in control; I merely make choices.
• I do not attach to outcomes.
• I do not take the actions of others personally; their actions are all about them, even as my actions are all about me. (Don Miguel Ruiz)
• I allow Life to live through me; my job it to get out of Her way.
• I do not try to transcend my flaws; I manage them, and poorly.
• I wander aimlessly. This is my aim.
• I accept myself as I am, in this moment, without judgment, and accept others in the same way.
• I always move slowly, even when moving quickly.
• Spiritual Practice: Just sit. Do not think. Do nothing. Be nothing. (Eckhart Tolle)
• Daily Question: “God, what do you want me to do today?”
• Daily Prayer: “Thank you God. I know I’m a fool.” (Poe Ballantyne)
• Motto: Nowhere to get to, no one to become.
• Origination: men are from Mars, women are from Venus; I am from Pluto.

Eckhart Tolle on Frequency Holders

When I read this section in A New Earth, I thought, “Wow. Eckhart has just articulated exactly how I have been interpreting my place in the world for several years.” Within some religious traditions, there have been monastic type movements that have affirmed the validity of this Way, but it becomes a little more challenging to embrace when in the every day, secular world of work and general life, without a supporting body of people. It is not a greater challenge because it is any easier to be present to ‘what is’ in a religious community, but because, until I read this, I had not seen it described anywhere else as a validated way for a secular person to “be” in the world. I was simply amazed and grateful to read in words that which I have been moving toward in my own lifestyle. I was, and continue to be, very encouraged by these words. I sometimes wonder whether an “Order of Frequency Holders” might be, well, in order.

Here is the piece on Frequency Holders:

“Others, after the natural expansion that comes with growing up has run its course, lead an outwardly unremarkable, seemingly more passive and relatively uneventful existence. They are more inward looking by nature, and for them the outward movement into form is minimal. They would rather return home than go out.

“Some of them find it hard to fit into this world. Some are lucky enough to find a protective niche where they can lead a relatively sheltered life, a job that provides them with a regular income or a small business of their own.

“In past ages, they would probably have been called contemplatives. There is no place for them, it seems, in our contemporary civilization. On the arising new earth, however, their role is just as vital as that of the creators, the doers, the reformers. Their function is to anchor the frequency of the new consciousness on the planet. I call them frequency-holders. They are here to generate consciousness through the activities of daily life, through their interactions as well as through ‘just being.’

“In this way, they endow the seemingly insignificant with profound meaning. Their task is to bring spacious stillness into this world by being absolutely present in whatever they do. There is consciousness and therefore quality in what they do, even the simplest task. Their purpose is to do everything in a sacred manner. As each human being is an integral part of the collective human consciousness, they affect the world much more deeply than is visible on the surface of their lives.”

Weave

I’m amazed, yet not surprised, at how strands come together out of the dark, weaving themselves into a beautiful pattern, without any help or effort on my part. This is not to say that nothing is required of me. A listening, living faith, cleared of all agendas and intrusions, allows Spirit to express in my life, with a sense of completion. I abandon myself to the wild God. I don’t worry, or even think, about what I need to do.

I listen, but otherwise, do nothing.