It’s possible to become aware of a ‘flow’, a movement, a natural rhythm to life. This rhythm is self-evident in your body; your beating heart, the inhalation and exhalation of the breath, the cycle of waking and sleeping, natural cell replacement and DNA repair, the involuntary adjustment of body temperature, the automatic release of chemicals to sustain your body’s health, and more.
You don’t consciously will these things to happen, for they are part of the body’s innate wisdom, examples of how Life’s intelligence functions by nurturing your wellbeing.
These natural movements or physiological rhythms are not restricted to humans, because they take place throughout the natural world. Take photosynthesis for example; the organic process through which a plant transforms light into energy. Does a plant worry about its purpose? Does it push itself to carry out the process of photosynthesis better than other plants? No, of course not, it does it all quite naturally without comparison, anxiety or envy. It’s just itself, it’s simply being. And yet photosynthesis not only permits plants and trees to heal, nourish and mature, it also delivers a gift to the wider world, supplying the necessary oxygen and energy for life on Earth.
So what about human consciousness? Consciousness (or what in times gone by was referred to as Spirit) has an organic way, a universal flow, and you can uncover this flow, align with it and harmonise with it. It’s a choice. You are free to choose because human beings are sufficiently evolved to do so. Owing to the wide vista of choices available, people only tend to seek the serenity of this organic flow when we can no longer cope.
If you’re reading this, it’s quite likely you’re experiencing the suffering and bewilderment of being disconnected (either mildly or acutely) from the natural flow of consciousness, and have a burning desire to reconnect with the flow of Life, and the sense of wholeness it offers. Perhaps you don’t see it that way or can’t quite put your finger on why you feel disconnected or incomplete to some degree, but the reason you are seeking in the first place, is because you have a deep sense it can be found. There’s a knowingness telling you that something’s missing. What’s missing is your connection to, or awareness of, this organic flow.
As your spiritual practice matures, so the connection to this natural flow expands and deepens. The more you realise this free-flowing consciousness, the more obvious its presence becomes, until one fine day, when you’re ripe and ready, the most empowering and freeing thing that can take place in human life happens; you surrender. You surrender to Life. You realize that contrary to all you’ve been told, being you doesn’t need an immense effort, it happens, and Life is not limited to an ego, but interconnected and universal.
Waking up to the wholeness of what you are is as natural as a ripe fruit falling from a tree. When you’re good and ready, a natural awareness of allowing, trusting, and acceptance arises, life moves away from struggle and image, and just flows. As you continue to relax into this flow, to feel it and be it, you sense an enormous relief, a sense of lightness and freedom similar to the depths of meditation.
As consciousness expands or broadens, the awareness of your relationship to others transforms too, as does your approach to, and perception of, human suffering. If at any time in the past you have followed a specific school, belief system or religion, you may well have teachings, words and ideals floating around judging what this free-flowing consciousness is called, or what it should be. But it’s not a confined to any one school or a religion, it’s universal.
You might also have inherited concepts of who you are, what you are not, what you should do, or what you could be and all the accompanying names and labels, but feeling and being whole doesn’t require any of these.
What I am describing here is far more simple and direct, for it is the freedom that naturally arises when you flow with Life. It is paradoxically solid, unfixed and ever-present. It is not an idea, a concept, a belief system, a business plan or a profitable opportunity, it is manifested by freeing you, being you and flowing as you in organic relationship with existence.
Freedom is not a commodity. Rich people are no freer than the less well off in society, in fact, ownership often can become an obstruction when you use things to justify who and what you are. And neither do you need to take the altruistic route of giving everything away. Whatever you have, however much you own, be it a lot, a little or nothing at all, kindness, compassion (to self and others), contentedness and a willingness to openly express the presence of this organic flow, are natural consequences of spiritual awakening and enlightenment.
When you are one with the rhythm of Life, then the spiritual search has ended. You are whole. Old ideas of disconnection dissolve, and being neither perfect nor imperfect, you continue to infinitely awaken, just like the universe.
Article by Jonathan Harrison
Read more from Jonathan Harrison
Article published in Edition 61
