The Middle Ground There is a middle ground, a basic Reality embracing self and Self. It may be called my true nature. To discover what prevents me from the experience of it, I have only to look at myself, just as I am. It is so simple. At this moment, what is my state? I let my attention embrace the whole of myself, from the top of the head through the torso, solar plexus, the entire structure. I am very still in the body. I follow the breath. I watch the movements of thoughts and associations. The feelings become quiet, and the activity in the head diminishes. I am more. I perceive the whole of my world, just as it is. I remain very still, refusing the mind’s inclinations to reach for anything. Thoughts and feelings come and go like floating clouds. They are not me. The experience is at one and the same time, both active and passive. Through sensation of the body, I perceive that I am. Yet, I do not know who or what I am. I am witness to my existence. I am aware of a feeling which suffuses the interior of myself. It is a choiceless, an accepting awareness. With it comes a sensation that extends to and envelopes all the parts of the body. I am very still, relating to the silence that is both inside and outside. Nothing is lacking at this moment. –William Segal (1904-2000), painter and writer, met P.D. Ouspensky and G.I. Gurdjieff in the 1940s, and later spent long periods at the main Rinzai and Soto Zen monasteries in Japan. He is the author of numerous works, including Openings: Collected Writings of William Segal 1985-1997). This poem is from “The Middle Ground,” (Green River Press). ------------------------------------------------------------ Ack: Parabola Magazine
Posted on: Wed, 03 Sep 2014 10:00:14 +0000
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