Unexpected Freedom

Unexpected Freedomhabitually overdo it and interfere with everything thathappens. We often feel unable to simply receive a situationand gently apply will to direct and guide attention. If we findsomething we think is wrong we tend to automatically slaman opinion on it – that ‘it shouldn’t be this way’, and then weset about wilfully trying to fix it.For those of us who suffer this dysfunction, engaging thewill as the primary tool of meditative effort just doesn’twork. Whereas, if we disengage from willing and abide in amode of trusting in that which already exists, trusting inreality and truth, if we simply stop our compulsiveinterfering, then an accurate and conscious appreciation ofthat which already exists will reveal itself.If you follow a path of practice that is goal-oriented, youcan expect to have a clear concept of what you should bedoing and where you should be going. There will beappropriate actions to take for any obstacles that you mightencounter. But if your path of practice is source-oriented it isnot like this at all. Here you come to sit in meditation andyou might begin by checking body posture, making sure theback is upright and the head is resting comfortably on theshoulders, chest open, belly at ease; and then you sit there,bringing into awareness the sense that you don’t know whatyou are doing. You simply don’t know. All you know is thatyou are sitting there (and there may be times when you can’teven be sure of that). You don’t hang on to anything. But youdo pay attention to watching the tendency of the mind towant to fix things. You focus interest on the movement ofthe mind towards taking sides, either for or against.Usually when I sit in meditation I do nothing. I assume aconscious posture and simply observe what’s happening;maybe the mind is all over the place thinking about theliquorice I had the other night at somebody’s house, or about22