in the body

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I love my body! Do you love yours? Look. I get it. There is pain, and trauma, and illness, and injury. Looking in the mirror, it's hard not to judge, compare, or criticize. Some part of your body may seem misshapen, too big, or too small.

But here is the basic truth of Ram Dass' profound teaching. To BE HERE NOW means to BE IN THE BODY. How could it not? You and I are embodied consciousness. And that consciousness is not just in your head. It imbues every bit of your body, from head to toe, from molecule to organism.

Three years ago, I was involved in the co-creation of the following video, which is a meditation on the fundamental truth that the one light of awareness called the Creative Spirit is embedded infinitely upon itself throughout the universe. Everywhere you turn, you will find the Creative Spirit--starting with your own body. That is why the soundtrack of the video repeatedly states that "there are no boondocks." Nothing is devoid of the Creative Spirit. Absolutely nothing.
 
Try this simple meditation: Take in the video without trying to judge or analyze its message.

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When you arrive at the realization that physical is spiritual, that changes everything. This body that I occupy is not MY body. I had nothing to do with creating it and play hardly any role in regulating the myriad events that take place in that body every second, from the firing of neurons to the formation of new cells. Neuroscientists say that my conscious mind is an epiphenomenon, meaning that it's more of a passenger than a driver.

This body belongs to the entire universe. It is layer upon layer of lila, the divine play of the Creative Spirit. In moments of inspiration, I embody the Creative Spirit at play so fully that there is nothing else to be. As I said yesterday, Victor ceases to exist. I am utterly lost in the moment, in this bodily experience of the here and now.

​Somehow, spirituality has become disembodied for many of us. The body is often seen as a source of guilt and shame. I heard a Hindu swami refer to it as a "sack of stools." And make no mistake about it: this kind of dismissal of the body has had an influence on all of us. Even though we are living in a supposedly materialistic society, many of us are disconnected and dissociated from the bodies that we inhabit. Comedian John Mullaney captures this state of affairs perfectly: "I don't know what my body is for, other than taking my head from room to room." It is time to find out what the body is really there for, so that we can experience the joys of living in a body to the fullest extent possible. For me, that is the true meaning of BE HERE NOW.

Yesterday, I posted an image of a glass dildo that you might have found inflammatory. My intention was not to shock. I see this type of sex toy in the same light that I see the temple bell Maria and I were given as a wedding gift. Both can be extraordinary tools for inducing the bodily experience of inspiration. Every morning, I ring that bell before stating the following invocation, which you might want to try for yourself:
I LOVE BEING ALIVE!
I AM BEAUTIFUL. AND GRACEFUL.
AND VITAL. AND PERFECT.
I AM FREE TO LIVE IN THIS MOMENT.
HERE AND NOW, BABY!

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In 2020, my year of BE HERE NOW, I am happy to offer a brief daily meditation on this theme, exploring the different tools and techniques I have found for inducing and enhancing the bodily experience of inspiration. But I need to know that you are genuinely interested in this topic. Rather than posting to this blog, I will send out a short daily email that includes something you can try for yourself. There is no cost to sign up for this email. I will only send it out when at least 50 people have signed up.

HERE IS MY SPECIAL OFFER: Sign up for my FREE email list by clicking on the image below or sending an email to: vastucson@yahoo.com. Just write the words "BE HERE NOW" somewhere in the body or title of your email. Then you will receive a daily meditation from me in your inbox once enough people have signed up. I promise to keep it short and sweet!