Buddhist monk and author, Thich Nhat Hanh, has expressed, beautifully, what occurs when one lives one's life with the expansiveness of the world close to mind. In his book, The Miracle of Mindfulness,
he describes how our human lives are present within a "multitude of phenomena" and that our interactions are based upon a deeper interdependence than our surface minds may be aware.
In, The Miracle of Mindfulness, Thich Nhat Hanh writes, "Perhaps one can say that we are only alive when we live the life of the world, and so live the sufferings and joys of others."
He speaks of the interdependence of all events that occur in the life of the world. Thich Nhat Hanh teaches that our attention to this interdependence will determine much about not only our present life on Earth, but also about the continued life of our eternal Spirit.
To contemplate all "other" as illusion is an exercise of very high vibration. When we remove other from our consciousness, the lifeblood of the world is suddenly contained within our own heart. To know this truth, one must practice. I believe that what Thich Nhat Hanh teaches is not that practicing mindfulness will teach us about living, but rather that to truly live is to practice mindfulness.
We may practice in walking, in breathing, in speaking. We may practice in practicing itself, in gazing at the morning sun, and taking in the late night moon. The Truth is everywhere. The mind of the soul knows this Truth. The practice helps us to open our eyes wide onto it. How it must feel to behold this truth! Have our eyes yet witnessed this brilliant a color?
The Moon Between Us by Tigris Powers
She is not she
I am not me
and there is no line between us
If there must be a line
make it a circle
with no corners behind which to hide
no harsh edges that feel unkind
as I follow the contour
of this circle divide
it will always lead me to you
on the way to myself
