Alive & Direct

A reminder to make the most of my moments:

“Though in the morning we may have radiant health, in the evening we may be white ashes.” – Taitetsu Unno

Your hearts know in silence the secrets of the days and the nights.
But your ears thirst for the sound of your heart’s knowledge.
You would know in words that which you have always known in thought.
You would touch with your fingers the naked body of your dreams.

And it is well you should.
The hidden well-spring of your soul must needs rise and run murmuring to the sea;
And the treasure of your infinite depths would be revealed to your eyes.
But let there be no scales to weigh your unknown treasure;
And seek not the depths of your knowledge with staff or sounding line.
For self is a sea boundless and measureless.

Say not, “I have found the truth,” but rather, “I have found a truth.”
Say not, “I have found the path of the soul.” Say rather, “I have met the soul walking upon my path.”
For the soul walks upon all paths.
The soul walks not upon a line, neither does it grow like a reed.
The soul unfolds itself like a lotus of countless petals.

- Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

As part of my magical journey and my exploration of conscious existence, I found a Buddhist temple in Berkeley that called me into its book store. I have always been curious about Buddhism and was living a day of swimming with The Flow (of The Infinite), so when I noticed the temple, I knew I was meant to explore it. Inside the library, I was introduced to a way of Buddhism called “Jodo Shinshu.”

The very generous woman, named Gayle, who I met that morning, nut-shelled Jodo Shinshu as an “everyday, practical Buddhism that meets people where they are in life.” Whoa. My mind relaxed immediately while my heart swooned. I have been told by people I’ve met along my path that my viewpoints on life, my mindset while self-healing and my articulations about living remind them of Buddhist tenets and philosophies. Each time I’ve poked my nose into Buddhism, though, I’ve struggled to feel comfortable integrating it into my lifestyle, into my everyday walk. So, when Gayle used these words to describe Jodo Shinshu, my delight was uncontrollable. What a magical day this is! What a gift this moment is!

I hardly ever invite books into my life. I’m not as voracious a reader as I judge that I should be, so I prefer to speak with people, experience the information contained in a book and enjoy the dance of engagement with teacher, channel, subject matter and story. As I integrate my work as Alive & Direct into my daily practices of mindfulness and creation, though, I have been inviting into my routine reading and research. A weaker, unfamiliar muscle for me, this addition to my day challenges, frightens and humbles me as much as it delights, empowers and informs me.

So, when I could hear my heart beating and my intuition making my scalp tingle, I stepped out a little further onto my personal edge: I asked Gayle to recommend to me a book that I could use as resource to learn more about Jodo Shinshu. I swallowed hard – perhaps to wash down my fear, self-judgment and discomfort in my new muscle – immediately after the words left my mouth. But Gayle is a great ambassador for Jodo Shinshu and model of the Buddhist practice. She generously shared with me two books – one more conversational in tone than the other.

I chose the more conversational of the two, called The Buddha’s Wish for the World, by Monshu Koshin Ohtani, to begin my exploration with. It felt good in my hands that day and continues to feel good in my hands now. I’ve spent the past few days with it, noticing my connection to its accessible, practically-minded messages.

Today, I connected with something in this book that invited me to sit down at my laptop and begin sharing these words with you. My resonance with it stems from my recent integration of a shift in my viewpoint of work, my work and my impact on the global community. As Alive & Direct, I’m inviting more conscious communities and businesses into my life and personal business model, with intention to help them develop sustainable habits and practices within themselves and their organizations to communicate effectively, passionately and with impact. I am in love with this moment of my life and energized about it. I would do it for free, but I cannot afford to.

The passages I read today in The Buddha’s Wish for the World helped me feel seen and supported on my mission, by whatever it is that continues to lure me to the right page, in the right book, in the right spot on in the sunshine on my stoop.

My decision to answer my heart’s call for integration of my longing into my lifestyle and profession yields, along with the unrelenting support of The Invisible, enlivened footsteps in the direction of my mission and embodiment of a quiet, expectation of everything I need, occasions of remarkable challenge, stiffening fear and significant self-doubt. I welcome all of it and embrace it as my work to do in order to live my answer to this call.

This passage I am about to share with you helped ground me in the bliss of what I do, as I geared up to spend the rest of today tweaking how I support myself doing what I love to do. Perhaps it will help ground you in some part of your process or speak to you as you takes steps along your own path.

The Buddha’s work is to rescue those who are suffering. However, the Buddha does not think, “This is something I must do.” It is rather a form of enjoyable recreation for the Buddha, with his heart already immersed in the work this requires. Thus, the Buddha is described as literally waltzing through his work carefree; nothing could be more pleasant.

Blessings,
Dan