The State of Being Human or “Show Bliss” (Aug. 2004)
What is it that we all have all the time, no matter what? It’s that feeling of being something or someone, no matter how faint. We all have it as in this is me, or I feel this, or there’s more than just this body walking along. It’s an indefinable something which is simply the state of being human. For many, unfortunately, it’s not an easy state. A lot of people have some difficulty with being here and now, with being happy or feeling all right at this moment and the next moment, and on and on. And that’s not taking into consideration those who are born into hellish environments and families, or no family at all – there are a lot of children in orphanages. But even those more fortunate in this life have to deal with the awkward state of being human. It prevents us having more ease in life than we would like.
So what’s to be done? What can we do to overcome this human state, something we are born with and trail around with us all our lives? One thing to do is simply to realise that whatever you feel or do in any given moment will become part of your wonderful tapestry to look back on and thus at the same time you are adding more threads, the threads of good memories interwoven with the threads of present action and thoughts and feelings.
The main lesson here is the state of being human is not an easy one, and not surprisingly it gets more difficult with age. Fortunately, experience, wisdom and good memories are great companions to nurture over the years to guide and sustain you later as your life shortens inexorably.
Why do people divert or attach themselves in so many ways? I am thinking of work, sports, entertainments, being with others, family, friends, having a glass, travel and shopping. It’s simply to fill the void, to avoid being human, being with oneself, being alone. I well know from years ago, it’s not much fun being alone or doing nothing much, or not being diverted – the reason is it puts us too close to that very ordinary state of being human. Then, strangely, the more we avoid that state and the more we seek distraction, the more we need them and the more we become dependent on the external thrill. It takes a power of will and a lot of practice to be with yourself, indeed with your Self! That’s why carrying devices and looking at screens are so ubiquitous. It’s called distraction in which people are making their lives more interesting than simply walking, looking around, having a chat or making a phone call.
If we had been constructed differently, say with more immediate and more natural access to satisfying our desires, then I would liken it to something akin to improving on watching movies, indeed better than. Take it step by step: we used to watch a movie only by going to a cinema, some effort required. Then we got televisions with a couple of films on to interest us. Later we got videos and we were able to choose the film we wanted to watch by going to a video shop, or later by buying DVDs and watching them anytime we wanted to.
The next step in modern living was that the effort became simpler, so that now we can watch something at the flick of a switch (Yeh, the “flicks!) without having to go to a shop. However, I still see that as clumsy, not unlike the state of being human. Why not smooth the whole process of watching a film? It’s something that takes you out of yourself, makes you forget that you have to lumpenly exist in time and space, takes you to the space of your imagination, free view inside your head. You could have hundreds of your choice. Images and stories inside the viewing box of your mind. You would be born with this beautiful package. No more trips to the video shop, no more time spent choosing, no more paying rental fees, no more stabbing at switches on a machine you had to buy. A long example, perhaps, but the point is improving on the state of being human. We have the power not to take ourselves out of ourselves, but simply to be in ourselves. We actually have the wherewithal to view life differently outside ourselves right within right now. We just have to access the bliss. Let’s call it showing the bliss to ourselves, or simply “show bliss”.
When we meditate or experience deep rest without being asleep, we can feel very calm and peaceful, not heavy and human. For good reason, Milan Kundera called his book, “The Incredible Lightness of Being”. We’ve all experienced simply being without the human heaviness: winning a game, succeeding in a test, going on a trip, achieving a goal or laughing with friends. We’ve all had the positive stress, the adrenalin rush, the high. You feel very good, but it does not last. We become ordinary again. What if we were able to feel great at the flick of a mental switch, able to watch any movie we wanted at the turn of our attention without great effort?
Well, the state of being human is too jarring. There’s a tension between thoughts, feelings and physical movement. For some people movement is difficult, they’re poorly constituted, their feelings have been tampered with, their minds corrupted. Sorry if this sounds like a church minister of old doing a bit of a preach. A great book by Bill Bryson is The Body, where he advises the way to deal with ageing is to keep moving. We can do stuff to help ourselves in the march of time, but really it’s all about genetics.
So how do we get the personal movie show, the inner light thing to deal with the awkward condition of being human? Sitting still is one of the first requirements. It seems to me that a lot of children today don’t know how to do that, perhaps never been suggested to them that it is a possibility. Without stillness there can be little chance of concentration and focus. Without concentrating there can be little learning or deeper thinking. I used to be told as a child to sit still often, to stop fidgetting or moving unnecessarily. Fair enough, I was a physical child preferring to run and climb than sit around contemplating. The point I’m making is that another way was suggested to me, and kids need that. Otherwise it’ll never make it into the cortex of their brain.
It’s very important to find some stillness through doing it, being it. It’s also worthwhile to feel the calm after a lot of physical effort, but the great thing is to nurture stillness for its own sake, finding a meditation technique that suits, then wait for the internal movie show; it’s there, we just have to give it a chance. What does it feel like? What does it look like? First there’s total calmness, all is well, then there’s a blueish whorl perhaps, then a moving light either going away to a point or coming towards your eyes. When it starts, you know that some picture will not be far away. Sometimes a picture of a face or a room will just occur suddenly. No big deal, just let it be, and marvel at the clarity and the possibility. It’s like an awake state of dreaming. You are in deep peace. Do not expect it to happen all the time, once in a while is enough. Mostly it’s just a blank black screen as your thoughts go hither and thither warming up for the curtain to rise on the stage of your mind play.
Watchfulness is the thing. The Japanese Zen masters advised watching every second of the day. Watch every move, every thought, every feeling. It must have driven them nuts, but it’s supposed to work a treat later. I once saw a Zen monk on a subway train in Tokyo, a location hard to imagine finding peace in, all the crowds and hubbub stirring the senses with their diverting and thrilling feast for the senses. He sat staring straight ahead, distracted by nothing, looking at nothing, probably thinking nothing, too. His eyes open reminded me of a Zen teacher I went to one time – she said their meditation involved keeping the eyes open – not for me! The train monk’s empty mind was probably the price of mind control, or the beauty. I was caused to think that perhaps it was time for me to procure monk’s khaki clothing and step out in gold braided sandals.
I recall a great Newsweek article on an aeroplane trip many years ago, perhaps in the 1990s, about some American writer on raising the quality of life by enjoying the best things of life: yourself (possibly your Self), nature, the air, beauty, smells, friendship and poetry, just sitting peacefully watching your breathing, or not bothering with that kind of effort. You’re simply waiting for the “show bliss” to start. Anyway, the Newsweek writer sounded like a wise one!
June 23 ‘05
We have to deal with a lot of stuff as human beings. Birth was tough for a start, messy. Then having to spend at least the next 18 years with a few others, some of whom you may not really get along with and would never have chosen as friends. Then there is the detailed stuff like yours and others’ feelings, your senses, surroundings, living conditions and nature to contend with. It’s a wonder anyone turns out all right, able to achieve anything, able to relate to others, able to make decisions, able to communicate well. Maybe the trick is to try to have something good to say, to be interesting.
Speaking well
One sounds the way one feels. That is why TM’ers have soft and gentle tones, why so many o them construct good sentences. It’s called coherence. We speak as well as we feel. Our tones signal our inner peace as humans.