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inSOUL is a regular email alert offering short inspirational meditations and reflections to people of all faiths, or none.  

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Beginner's language  (20 February 2012)  'Beginner's mind' is the Zen practice of experiencing everything as if for the very first time - like a child - and without any pre-conceptions or evaluative judgements. It is accompanied by something we might call 'beginner's language'. The child knows this language well: it is the language of the heart. The heart recognises, knows and appreciates things through love, nurture, mystery, uncertainty, enquiry, generosity, unknowing and paradox. Yet as we grow from childhood into so-called maturity and adulthood, this wonderful heart language is overtaken by the voracious language of the mind. The mind's primary concern in all situations is control. Its language is fear, anxiety, understanding, rationality, independence, preservation, possession and scarcity.

The whole human being needs both aspects to be in proportion; all too often we have substituted the language of the mind for that of the heart.

Reflection: Where do I still use the beginner's language of the heart?

Beginner's Mind  (13 February 2012)  You cannot reach the level of the soul through the mind. Mindfulness is not about using the mind, but about emptying the mind, in order to discover what lies beyond the mind. You can't think your way to God; which is why God cannot be explained in words. We have become so accustomed in the West to graphic depictions of God in human form that we assign human rationality and understanding. Other paths do not fall into this trap. Islam forbids any attempt to depict Allah. Mystic traditions use words such as Mystery, Creator and Unknowing to refer to the Divine around us. Buddhism refers to Right Mind.

We need to cultivate the Zen practice of 'beginner's mind' in which we seek to experience everything that happens to us in each moment as if for the very first time. This is the same instruction as Jesus used when referring to children and saying "unless you become like one of these children, you cannot enter the mystery / heaven".

Reflection: Let me start to see with Beginner's Mind.

The three modes of knowing  (7 February 2012)  We each live in one of three 'states'. Far and away the most common is the 'non-conscious mode'. This is the state of existence, sleep-walking, and survival. It's where most people live. Its most common characteristics are blindness and ignorance with a constant focus on knowing and understanding.

The second mode begins when you start to awaken. It is the 'conscious mode'. Here you start to develop awareness and mindfulness. It is characterised by periodic insights and (excessive) thinking. You begin to know that there is a very large unknown.

And the third mode begins when awakening shifts into internal and external contemplation or prayer. This is the 'unconscious mode' and is characterised by inner wisdom and trusted intuition. It has no character: it is simply being, in which the mystery of unknowing is always present and welcomed.

Reflection: May I become more un-knowing.

What is presence?  (30 January 2012)  The word has attracted several meanings deriving from 'the state of being present', often shortened in a spiritual context to simply 'being'. It is that state in which you are consciously aware of what is happening here and now in this moment and which is often different from the last moment or the next moment. That awareness encompasses sounds, body sensations, sights, emotions, thoughts, intuition, external circumstances and more. It is the awareness of all senses and all events currently affecting you. All forms of prayer, meditation and contemplation invite you simply to notice - without changing, judging, disregarding, omitting, holding, justifying or denying. So simple, and yet so apparently hard.

Reflection: Let be what already is.

Being noticed or Being present  (23 January 2012)  There is a world of difference between being noticed and being present. To be noticed is to attract attention to oneself in the external world. To be present is to pay attention to one's Self in the internal world. All great spiritual traditions teach the importance of being present. Whether you call it prayer, meditation, contemplation, awareness, stillness, inward-looking, mantra, observing or yoga, being present is the recurring practice.  Each Biblical reference to 'awaken', 'eyes to see', 'wake up', 'be vigilant', 'see here' is this reminder.

Reflection: Can I be present, here, now?

Being un-noticed  (16 January 2012)  Most responses to the question 'Who Am I?' tend to draw attention to some aspect of our physicality, status, achievements, character or behaviour. This contrasts sharply with the simplicity of presence in the Divine name 'I AM'. In our cultures, we invest value and merit in all the busy doings; and we give little attention to the underlying being. We are so invested in doing that we try to record, capture and publish all the details in words, pictures, films, blogs, and other media. We clamour for attention and historical legacy.

Yet notice how the most influential people who have walked this planet - those who are most able to answer the 'Who Am I?' question - have had no need or desire to draw attention to themselves or record their life story for posterity. Lord Buddha did not need a Twitter feed to bring inner peace to countless millions. Jesus never arranged for any of his teachings to be written down. Ghandi disdained physical effects. The Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi are not maintaining personal Facebook profiles.

Reflection: Am I more authentic when I am noticed less?

Who are you?  (9 January 2012)  Any resolution to 'simply be me' inevitably invites the question: So, who am I? This is one of the fundamental and recurring questions in life. We answer it at the physical level (I am this body), and we answer it at the intellectual level (I am this age, this job, this status, this characteristic) yet such responses provide a transient answer usually about ephemeral aspects of the persona. Who are you at the soul level?

When Moses first asked this question of God, the reply came: "I am that I am". Moses is told to tell his followers: "I AM has sent me". It is a profound name, a name and a description without qualification. Whilst we add an object to every description, this is a sentence without an object. It is used by Jesus at crucial points in his teaching, including, most tellingly: "Who do you say that I am?"

This is a soul question inviting deep reflection: Who are you?

Resolving to simply be  (2 January 2012)  At this time when people are making resolutions and stating intentions, what is it that we should work for? The wish for a peaceful year establishes a context for our lives. The desire for improvements in prosperity or status or health or romance is attractive yet self-centred and often materialistic. If we are not to be selfish, what is the resolution that others would most welcome by our adoption? It is simple: to give up our 'acts'. To let go of the striving and pretence to be other than we truly are. To cease those actions and behaviours designed to satisfy others. To stop the self-defences and self-justifications.

This resolution is to return to authenticity and integrity; to rediscover who I am; to be just the person I already am.

Reflection: This year, can you simply be you?

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