The point of no resistance between fate and destiny, between a life and a story, is zero.
As a source of expansion and expression, zero is an everfresh starting point for activity.
Zero also has many nuances of depth, typically described in Sanskrit terms, but for our purposes here, we can simply refer to them, with ever increasing layers of depth, as sensorial presence, subtle awareness, causal emptiness, and absolute coherence. At whichever level you usually feel most comfortable, zero is your gateway through which space and time can be both transcended and included.
With this in mind, I invite you to settle yourself inside this hallowed space, at whichever level of depth feels most congenial to you at this time, with no resistance whatsoever to not knowing and not caring what comes next. Stop your reading, and find your place in zero, inside the elimination of stimulation. Turn off your device and close your eyes; follow your breath into the depths of zero.
I’ll be here when you come back …
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Hello again, and welcome back. I trust you found your place in zero.
I must admit, it does seem rather odd that I would place such emphasis on zero. I mean, who does that? You certainly didn’t learn to do this in school and you probably won’t learn to do this from mainstream media sources, so what gives? Why this strange emphasis on zero?
Before I answer this question, let me briefly share what came up for me when I took my own advice. Upon entering the depths of zero, some curious notions arose for me, notions like sedation, distraction, and addiction. Also, the following schema arose, seemingly from nowhere:
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contentment … xxxxxxxxxxx … < 0 > … xxxxxxxxxxx … enchantment
contentment … involvement … < 0 > … engagement … enchantment
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But I am getting way ahead of myself here.
Again, why the strange emphasis on zero?
First, with all due respect given to the popular notion of heroes and zeroes, I find it most unfortunate that zero carries a negative connotation, but with enough thought, I think that any emphasis on zero can be rescued with and by a healthy and vital infusion of positive connotation.
How so?
Allow me to wax poetic without exaggeration or verbosity: when I slow down and take a pause, I invite the heart of my soul, bringing stillness upward and forward, front and center, into awareness, allowing the emergence of thought and feeling without any sense of attachment.
From a witness perspective, in the depths of stillness, I take note, without resistance, trusting, based on experience, that I will have what I need when I come back to the surface. Feeling calm and relaxed on the surface is a bonus, but the real prize is found in the offering …
Consider …
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contentment … xxxxxxxxxxx … < 0 > … xxxxxxxxxxx … enchantment
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This spectrum is book-ended by contentment on one side (with a soul at peace) and enchantment on the other (in a spirit of bliss) on a pivot point identified as 0 (zero), leaving open other possibilities for exploration, for expansion and expression, for cultivation and celebration.
In contentment, a soul at peace is a very pleasant experience, but let us never forget: am I purchasing this experience with sedation? Is my contentment a false contentment? Likewise, with enchantment, a spirit of bliss is also a very pleasant experience, but again, am I purchasing this experience, not with sedation, but with distraction? Is my enchantment a false enchantment?
In a world of go, go, go, these questions are by no means irrelevant or insignificant.
These days, when I think of sedation, I think of cannabis, and when I think of distraction, I think of social media, but I’m sure you can come up your own examples of ways in which people sedate or distract themselves from uncomfortable or distressing feelings, urges, or impulses.
Where a cannabis addiction might offer momentary yet welcome relief from feelings of distress, a digital addiction might offer momentary yet welcome relief from feelings of boredom, but where the former could not compare to a green smoothie, the latter could not compare to a leisurely stroll in nature. In light of these examples, consider the following questions along a spectrum:
The notion of addiction features prominently in this set of questions. Curiously, in Roman law, addiction was the justification for slavery. In a manner of speaking, this same justification is used in subtle ways today by those with the power to compel those who succumb to addiction, and here, I am not talking only about the most obvious addictions to tobacco, drugs, and alcohol.
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addiction, n.: an abnormally strong craving; a state of being abnormally dependent upon (or tolerant of) a substance (or activity) that is physically (or psychologically) habit-forming
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Those with the power to compel others to do their bidding are themselves susceptible to addiction, most notably to power itself. By definition, an addiction is an abnormally strong craving, but it is far more useful to view and treat addiction as a disposition of dependence or tolerance, one that is unusually susceptible to anxiety and depression, which in turn feed the addiction.
Generally speaking, addiction can be usefully divided into two categories: (1) addiction to sedation by way of substances (tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, painkillers, cocaine, and heroin); and (2) addiction to distraction by way of activities (shopping, gambling, gaming, texting, browsing, watching porn, having affairs, voyeurism, sex with prostitutes, and compulsive masturbation).
Unfortunately, these lists are by no means comprehensive.
People have product addictions to food or drink that contain sugar, salt, fat, or caffeine in a bid to sedate and find contentment, or else, they have process addictions to such basic activities as work, study, or play in a bid to distract themselves and (eventually) find enchantment.
We’ve all experienced moments when we felt “less than great.” Loneliness, boredom, fear, anger, grief, insecurity are normal, human feelings; they come and they go, but with sedation and distraction, they stay, and have a lasting, undermining impact on quality and vitality of life.
At this point, we might be curious enough to ask: what healthy, vital substitutes for sedation and distraction are available to us as we continue to negotiate and navigate “the slings and arrows of outrageous misfortune”? Let us revisit the questions posed above along the spectrum …
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1
Sedation or contentment?
Contentment is proximal to peace; must we sedate our feelings in a bid to find our peace?
2
Addiction via sedation?
Let us prefer to have meaningful involvements with a purpose, with an emphasis on quality.
3
Addiction via distraction?
Let us prefer to have meaningful engagements with a purpose, with an emphasis on vitality.
4
Distraction or enchantment?
Enchantment is proximal to bliss; must we distract ourselves from our feelings to find bliss?
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In light of these answers, let us view this spectrum in a new light …
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contentment … involvement … < 0 > … engagement … enchantment
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As a pure and positive tool of contemplation, this spectrum (which I call the zero spectrum) has much to recommend it, but it might better serve its purpose if it could be elaborated and utilized as follows …
Of course, we realize there is more to life than contentment and enchantment. There are many lenses through which to view the comings and goings of life in love and light. What about discernment? What about improvement? What about achievement? What about attachment?
What about fulfillment?
These puzzle pieces deserve attention, too. In view of the zero spectrum, where would you place them? Or, if you see no placement for them along this spectrum, where would you incorporate them into your worldview as you go about living and loving the story of your life?
Loneliness, boredom, fear, anger, grief, insecurity ~ these are the feelings in need of pondering and processing if we are to have any hope of replacing addictions to sedation with meaningful involvements and of replacing addictions to distraction with meaningful engagements.
If normal, human feelings like loneliness, boredom, fear, anger, grief, and insecurity cannot be given their due by being properly pondered and processed, how is it even possible for us to like and love who we are in our stories in a bid to live and love the stories of our lives?
At the heart of releasing feelings of loneliness, boredom, fear, anger, grief, and insecurity is a sovereign presence, a sovereign “I know best” presence that can stay the course in the midst of these feelings so as to call them out (“what is my now feeling?”) and bring them into the fold with such questions as “could I allow this feeling to be, just as it is?” and “could I let it go, just for now?”
If such feelings are too intense, a spiritual bypass is possible with enough sovereign presence from a witness perspective; simply keep asking this question of yourself for as long as it takes to release the chaos: “could I welcome a profound and pervasive feeling of lasting peace?”
Could I allow myself to partake of the peace that passes all understanding?
A sovereign presence at the point of zero resistance between fate and destiny is vital and can be cultivated and consolidated in many ways: through prayer or meditation, through uplifting music, through words that inspire, through leisurely strolls in nature, through daily mindfulness.
With enough sovereign presence, not only will you be able to process or bypass your feelings, you will also come to realize that your notion of God speaks through everyone and everything, to you and through you, alone or with others, in each and every one of your encounters.
Here, for a time, your point of no resistance between your life and your story is wholly realized.
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Suggested Reading: The Sedona Method