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Teachings

| The
Freedom of the Unknown
Will James
We are all very comfortable with the familiar and a little
uncomfortable with the unknown or uncertain.
We have this habitual tendency to interpret the present
with the constructs we have built up from the past. We
carry over our impressions and overlay them onto what
is happening now, thus interfering with the natural spontaneous
flow of life. In looking for the familiar there is a tendency
to distort the present experience, for the ideas and concepts
of the known, which are always carried over from past
experience, cloud the mind and limit the openness to any
new experience.
We also bring from the past experience our fears and anxieties.
This inhibits and restricts our willingness to be open
to new experiences. We narrow and fence ourselves into
a restricted area of the familiar by imagining all the
possible harmful outcomes that may arise. We are talking
here about the psychological fears and anxieties, our
imagining what might happen and the uncertainty that goes
with that. We are not talking about the learnt survival
responses that protect us from physical harm.
Facing the present moment afresh is a challenge for all
of us, can we recognize the uncertainty of each and every
moment and still remain open to each new experience.
All these behavioural patterns arise as some form of protection
mechanism for the self, for the construct that needs continual
reinforcement and affirmation. The self is inherently
insecure for the very reason that it exists as a separate
solid thing only in our imagination. The more fears and
anxieties we have the stronger our sense of a separate
self and also the more restricted and controlled we become.
Is it possible to live free of this conditioning, this
construction?
We don’t need to practice extreme sports or to be
constantly putting ourselves into dangerous situations,
actually every situation is uncertain and at any time
anything could happen.
Are we taking each moment for granted, feeling a false
security that today will be just like yesterday? Can we
be open to whatever arises without feeling we need to
be prepared or protected by our knowledge and our concepts.
With the understanding of the fear of uncertainty comes
a freedom that is not imprisoned or restricted by the
known and opens the unlimited possibilities of the unknown,
the full expression of just this unfolding life.
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Insight Meditation Australia
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Insight teachers hold the intention to:
Share the wise, compassionate and liberating teachings of the
Buddha Dharma
Provide teachings that offer healing of the body, heart and mind
of the individual and wider community
Embody the teachings and integrate them into our daily lives
Hold a vision of sustainability and healing for our planet |
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