Buddha Face, Multi-Dimensional and Martha Beck
September 1, 2024
8 min read
•
Newsletter
{Body}
Buddha face
Whenever you see a painting or statue of the Buddha, what does his face typically look like?
He displays calmness, stoicism and serenity – the external representation of an equanimous and non-reactive mind.
This is not for show. It is an honest reflection of what happens to the forehead, cheeks, lips and eyes when one enters deep, blissful states of consciousness.
Amazingly, by artificially recreating such a pattern on your own face, you help your mind access similar states.
In other words, it’s much less likely for negative thoughts to arise when your lips are upturned into a faint smile and your eyes tilted up.
{Mind}
What does it mean to be a spiritual being?
Just as a lightning bolt plays out on multiple levels of reality (the flash happens before the thunder clap, which happens before the smell of charred wood), you, too, are multi-dimensional. You, too, express at different speeds and frequencies.
You exist on the physical plane (obviously) with your bones and tissue and blood vessels.
But you also exist on the energetic plane with your transfer of action potentials across neurons, life-force conducting through subtle energy channels, and excitement sending chills through your spine.
And you also exist on the social plane with your commitments to others, agreements to society, and trust in the network of cargo ships and trucks hauling goods across the world.
And you also exist on the mental plane with your societal opinions, memories of the past, and story-telling abilities.
And you also even exist on the spiritual plane with your ability to Know, to psychically and instantaneously communicate ideas to others, and to see the phenomenal world as of One substance.
In other words, being “a spiritual being” means you recognize that you are not limited by just one level of reality. It means you understand that you are simultaneously an atomic structure, the energy coursing through an atomic structure, the thoughts directing that energy, the cross-pollination of interactions between you and other beings, and the Knowing behind all of that which can be perceived. It means you see that no one expression of you is more or less real than another.
{Soul}
Why do spend our lives chasing trendy things, lavish lifestyles, and status bumps if not for the feeling of joy we expect them to bring?
And yet, what if something as simple as this moment — the mere reading the words on this page — could create the same high?
Better yet, what if you could achieve this end goal in every moment, no matter how ordinary, awkward or terrible that moment seemed to be?
The way there is surely through the perpetual reframe of gratitude, for it is the basis of all happiness, now and forever.
All happiness? Forever!?
Yes. As you become more and more present, you will begin notice how every single moment of joy in your life (without exception) is preceded by at least a nano-thought of appreciation.
(1) “I’m going out of the country on my PTO — hallelujah!” → (2) feelings of joy.
(1) “Oh my gosh, this food is incredible!” → (2) feelings of joy.
(1) “I can’t believe I’m watching my favorite band live!” → (2) feelings of joy.
Similarly, honest observation will also teach you that all your feelings of dissatisfaction — even the slightest annoyance — lack such a thankful mind.
The ultimate practice, then, is to bravely allow your mind to turn towards gratitude again and again, disregarding the cries of the ego asking you to wallow in self-pity.
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