How to become skilled
What this exploration of life means I haven't found out yet. Maybe it doesn't mean anything. Along the way it appears like consciousness (which is us) becomes very skilled with tools.
1) The axe. I use this as a metaphor for the question 'who am I'. Is it always appropriate? Can it be used in an unskillful way?
2) The mind itself is a tool when we question our believes. If we're smart we can question a lot, but then our believes are also more sophisticated. tricky...
3) The body itself is a tool. It can be used in a clumsy or a sensitive way.
4) A teacher is also a tool or instrument. In a meeting there can be authenticity or dependency.
5) Our mouth is also a tool, it can express authenticity. (or not) This is also true when we put stuff in it.
6) Yoga is also a tool, which can be very gentle
7) We could expand this to nature, music, art, etc.
What's really interesting to me is: say I'm using a tool, like a scissor. When I'm stressed, or hasty, the cutting will be less beautiful. The most important part of the tool is how it's handled. (the quality of how it's handled)
Say I want to build a house. When I'm stressed, with the best tools in the world I could easily make something terrible. Also, in a very good mood, with some mediocre tools I could make a beautiful house.
Also, say I'm still building the house. I need to have some skills. For example: using a hammer, saw etc. But there's no need learn more skills forever. There's no need to know how to use a saw in 20 different ways.
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My first and only Guru taught me how to use a handsaw and be account-able for the "mess" of humanity as my self.
A handsaw should have sharp teeth at the right angle, and one should not force it through the wood. It is about the back and forth of the movement at the right angle without forcing it. The saw cuts on its own as long as we let it and keep its teeth sharp.
Keeping the teeth sharp seems to be an extraordinary skill?
Michiel: What's really interesting to me is: say I'm using a tool, like a scissor. When I'm stressed, or hasty, the cutting will be less beautiful. The most important part of the tool is how it's handled. (the quality of how it's handled)
Response: The quality of man's apparent actions depends on how much there is a sense of being the doer of the action. To have the sense of doership brings the ego between Life and the action.
The ego is based on the belief that it is the one who is capable of using a tool. This takes a lot of the life-energy of an apparent individual and binds it into thinking. And it somehow "disturbs" the flow of the action so to speak.
If the mind is seen to be illusory and the sense of doership is not present in the action, "you" are the action, you could not feel any separation between you, the tool and the action. This is happening to everybody in many situations, however not in every situation. If the ego comes in, there is "stress" because of expectations and thinking about how to do it and so on. If the ego is not there, Life flows as effective as possible by itself without any goal or purpose.
Don't try to reach this "state". This would also just be the ego trying to use the tool of understanding to improve its apparent actions. Understanding happens spontaneously. "You" will not be there, neither in the understanding nor in the apparent action. You are life, not somebody using tools!
And if life happens to you with this understanding, it is not you who chooses what you want to do in "your life". Life uses "you" as a perfect illusory tool, relatively speaking. An yet this is happening all the time to the whole manifestation, because "you" are Life and not separate from it. It is just the mind which is not aware of it.
And understand furthermore that in every apparent moment you are as effective as you could be in that moment. Only the mind's tendency to compare that which is with what should be gives you the impression that you are not using the tool effectively.
Have trust in Life. What is meant to be done through you will be done and nothing could ever prevent it, and what is not meant to be done through you, will never happen, illusory actions may be...
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Marcus Stegmaier