HSEP23: Seeking for the REAL in the UNREAL?

The confused mind seeks to find the REAL in the unreal, searching for real love, real connection, and real freedom in the dream-like existence they only imagine to be happening. The craving for what is Real, including the craving to discover what you really are, will never be found in the imagination of your mind.

I am so excited to explore this topic of how as human beings, we often look to connect with something real and authentic, but end up searching for it in places that are not real or authentic. It's truly mind-blowing and profound.

Recently, I dove deeper into this topic with the inLight Connect - Group Coaching and Deep Divers, and for this upcoming episode of "Holding Space for Love to Be Seen," I want to share some of that exploration with a playful intention of finding humor in the adorably insane human experience, while also bringing a more practical and direct approach for connecting with what you actually crave (more love, compassion, and freedom).

Spirituality has forever been an invitation to connect with the sacred. The sacred speaks to what is REAL. And what is REAL speaks to what is TRUE. In the human experience, this is where the major confusion lies. We assume that the content in our mind is real, when in fact, the content in the mind is imagination. The mind produces images, and we see those images and think they are reality, but they are not. They are paintings of reality. Just like I can create a painting of the sunset, the sunset is real, the painting is not. The painting attempts to point towards the reality of the sunset, yet the painting is far removed from the reality. The painting is unreal and not the point; the painting is not ALIVE.

The challenge and confusion here is that the human being clings to the mind's images, the unreal, and it presents a whole host of issues that become barriers to connecting with reality. We become lost in the mind's content, scrambling around trying to manage 10,000 thoughts and images, while missing the REAL opportunity.

As it relates to the human experience, every human has a fundamental craving for what is real, which is also a craving for what is true, and what is authentic. This is the spiritual impulse.

Spiritual traditions, in a thousand different ways, invite people into the real, into the sacred, into presence. This is also an invitation to see and connect with LIFE beyond the mind; to see and connect with reality beyond your ideas about reality, and to see and connect with what you are beyond your thoughts and ideas about what you are. Naturally, this includes connecting with other people beyond your thoughts, opinions, and beliefs about other people.

Here's a quote from the group coaching session that I feel really illustrates this point:

"The mind hears the Truth of Life and then the mind thinks the truth of life is some sentence about life. The truth of life isn't a sentence, it's a profound depth of presence where the mind cannot go."

In most cases, the listener thinks the words are important and clings to the words, which presents a whole host of issues that become barriers to connecting with what I am pointing to. In the same way, the human being clings to the mind's images, the unreal, and it presents a whole host of issues that become barriers to connecting with reality.

Let me give you an example, let's say you are feeling lonely, and you go to a party to connect with others, but you find yourself in a corner, feeling disconnected and alone. You might think the problem is that you don't know anyone at the party, or that you're not good at socializing. But the real problem is that you're clinging to the mind's image of what you think a party should be, and what you think connection should be. The reality is that the party is a gathering of people, and connection is a feeling of acceptance and allowing for it to be what it is. You're clinging to an image of what you think a party should be, and missing the opportunity to connect with the reality of the people at the party.

The same is true for spirituality. We cling to the mind's image of what we think spirituality should be, and miss the opportunity to connect with the sacred. We cling to the images and ideas of what we think spirituality should look like, and miss the opportunity to connect with the reality of spirituality.

So, how do we connect with the reality of spirituality? How do we connect with the sacred? The answer is simple, yet not always easy. It requires letting go of the mind's images and ideas (which is also what you only "THINK" you want), and connecting with the present moment. It requires being present and aware, and not getting lost in the mind's content. It requires being open and receptive, and not clinging to the mind's images and ideas.

Additionally, it requires a deep self sincerity about what you really want NOW, while releasing the ego's attempt to capture what it wants in the future.

In conclusion, the human experience is often filled with confusion, as we search for something real and authentic, but end up searching for it in places that are not real or authentic. But the truth is, the reality of spirituality and the sacred is always present, right here, right now. It's a matter of being present and aware, and letting go of the mind's images and ideas. It's a matter of connecting with the present moment, and connecting with the reality of spirituality and the sacred.

Okay, I think that's a great introduction, a pre-broadcast reflection, that sets the tone for today's episodes of "Holding Space for Love to Be Seen."

SEE YOU SOON!