JBI: Just Be It: This Precious Moment

By Randy Johnson

An exploration of insights into the relationship of language and how it facilitates our movement to the unified experience. In a day where we create violence from smaller circles of belonging and from desires to act upon an object perceived as separate from us, the 'felt' sense of our interconnection offers guidance in the face of impermanence. Using Just Be it as linguistic facilitator to the unified experience aims to assist others in the practice of increased awareness and gratitude for the opportunity to participate without harm.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Apr 9, 2011
• ISBN: 9781257497010

Book preview

Lao-Tzu

Introduction

This is a collection of writings from Somebody, assisted by Somebody Else. Somebody was raised on a small Midwest dairy farm with the support of a large extended family. As a young child it was very easy to feel like Nobody. Yet, Somebody’s parents needed help and participation on this farm. These parents fed the notion that achievement and accumulation were important elements to becoming Somebody, so great effort was put to this. A sense of being special grew with great recognition for achievement. The notion of success associated with being Somebody grew from high school through graduate school to professional career, successful business and solid family and friends. Yet, there were periodic moments of being Somebody Else. It was similar to being a very good caterpillar, doing everything as one should for the approval from others, yet knowing there was something else. Do you suppose the caterpillar knows it will eventually become the butterfly? Could it have dreams of flying, messages from Somebody Else, touching a deeper fabric of its being? This is what these writings are…moments caught after stilling the mind from early morning’s meditation. Moments where Somebody was trying to hear the voice of Somebody Else. You’ll probably notice where it was hard to let Somebody go. It somewhat feels like there’s a stage of awareness where we can recognize the movement from caterpillar to chrysalis, that transitory state between forms. We’re often confused about whether or not we’re Somebody or Somebody Else.

There seem to be people still in physical bodies, moving as butterflies amongst us. We often recognize them as the greatest Somebody in their particular area of interest. We classify them from our caterpillar vantage. Yet, they seem untouched by this as they humbly fly through us with their divine light. We refer to them as the real masters and may try to honor them for being a real Somebody. However, once fully surrendered to Somebody Else, these butterflies are completely in touch with the interconnectedness of all. It’s that awareness that every thought, emotion and action affects everything. It’s a movement that comes from the heart mind rather than the head. As Jimi Hendrix so aptly put it, the power of love has overtaken the love of power.

The words in this book are definitely not from a butterfly. They come from a Somebody at a stage of life clearly experiencing the transition to chrysalis, smelling messages from Somebody Else. It’s filled with insights continually moving in surrender to the peace that must be found in I don’t know land. These words come from a Somebody who has studied language and the communication process with deep passion, hoping to share linguistic structures that may help us better experience Somebody Else. They come from the honor and privilege of being in the presence of butterflies transforming our current war on terror to a war on violence. They come from masters who reacquaint us with the deep need to move from compassion, gratitude and forgiveness.

This book is dedicated to all who can smell the butterfly, who can hear the messages of Somebody Else. The intention is to assist one in always moving to realize our healing through the return to this precious moment…even through our deepest wound. And if we’re unable to release the past, to assist in aiming in gratitude for the gift given rather holding the pain for what will not be. Life is adventure in the moment, smelling the butterfly. Just Be It.

i_Image1

The ball….just be it!!

Orientation

When caught in notions of just have it we’re drawn to an identification with our stuff. When caught in notions of just do it we’re drawn to an identification with our actions. Both approaches to living are caught within the realm of time and carry an underlying fear that we may not get it and may not do it. The it for many of us simply isn’t defined, and when it is, the next question is, And now get what? or And now do what? In both instances, there’s a sense of separation from the universe. In Eastern spirituality, it’s the notion of small self and big Self. In Christianity, the larger Self would relate to the felt sense of Christ within and throughout, beyond any sense of duality. Teillard de Chardin referred to it as Christ consciousness. The Vietnamese Buddhist monk, Thich Knat Hahn, has called this experience inter Being.

This life approach of just have it and just do it appear to be framed in notions of time, fear and separateness. In A Course in Miracles, this push from the world to have or to do is explained as follows:

The learning of the world is built upon a concept of the self adjusted to the world’s reality. It fits well. For this image is that which suits a world of shadows and illusions. Here it walks at home, where what it sees is one with it. The building of a concept of the self is what the learning of the world is for. This is its purpose; that you come without a self, and make one as you go along. And by the time your reach maturity you have perfected it, to meet the world on equal terms, at one with its demands. Chapter 31, V, verse 1, p. 656.

We can see how we somehow step out of the present moment, take on a sense of lack-ness and then work from our sense of nobody to a sense of somebody. Yet, at some point we all come to face the reality that we’re somebody else. Within this realization we once again connect, touching the core of Being beyond any abstractions of time or space. It’s not difficult, and it’s why the just is in just be it.

The infant so easily rests within this dimension before embarking on somebody training. A separation begins with our acquisition of the illusion of object permanence and the consequent language skills that build linguistic thought. We start to loose our original face to fear.

i_Image4

The be in just be it is the stepping into Self, the experience that knows no separation. We literally feel our brother in us, our enemy as us, the elements as us, etc. There is no small self, no ego that has a notion of I-ness. There’s a tremendous felt sense of peace as one enters the land of I don’t know. This place of not knowing can cause great stress to those functioning from the premise of happiness and peace through to have and to do. Yet, when we go deep into the question of Who am I?, we find there’s no answer. In A Course in Miracles, perhaps the key lesson is:

I do not know the thing I am, and therefore do not know what I am doing, where I am, or how to look upon the world or myself. Chapter 31, V, Verse 17

The claim is that our salvation is born through this insight that our real peace can be found in our arrival to this space of unity as we let go all notions of identity, of small self. This happens when we step from the past or the future, fully home in the present moment. This is great adventure.

And what of the it in just be it? While just be says it equally well, the it is added from emphasis of arrival beyond notions of duality. In its most encompassing understanding, it can be the felt experience of union with God, love, or any other core delineation that recognizes the interconnection of all. When we touch the present moment with the core of our Being, we affect the universe in a different way.

So what of motivation? Where is our purpose to come from if it’s not from a path to accumulate or to accomplish? Wouldn’t we just die if all we did was just be it?

We most deeply encounter the dilemma of worth when meeting changing life situations. Whether it’s through job loss, injury, loss of a friend, natural disaster, or another event that shakes our construct of self, we eventually come to that place where we see we’re not what we have or what we’ve done. We arrive into the field of love, recognizing that actions motivated through love are divine, while those driven through fear only lead us to more pain. So much has been written on the power of intention, but so little seems to be written on what motivates our intention. Is it love or fear? Is it our felt connection with everything or our felt sense of separation? It seems to be that simple. We have the opportunity to participate in the healing (return to wholeness) of the universe through unconditional love for others as ourselves, or we can get in the way of this healing through our growing fear and sense of separateness. While just be it may at first appear somewhat weak and passive, it turns out it’s the highest level of participation, leading to the purest motivation, the place where we meet each unfolding moment with peace and courage, forever evolving our mindfulness…our awareness.

Just Be It…Mantra for a New Millennium

When surrendered into the moment’s unfolding, there’s a quality of appreciation for grace given, simplified down to each breath. The process of surrender into the moment releases attachment to suffering as smiles are discovered within the gift of our very being-ness. Moving beyond pretensions of accomplishments and our doing-ness, we discover our passions in humbly serving the universe through our gifted talents. With pure intentions to contribute to relief of suffering, we find our own happiness within the moment’s action. As we become the element, the instrument, the action…whatever our attention moves to…we travel beyond our separation. We fully surrender into each breath, released from notions of separation and duality. It becomes easy to see how what we put attention to grows stronger. It’s easy to see how intention to heal the universe through our gifted talents grows a happy heart through disciplined attention to the seeds of our passions. This arrival into presence is where we touch the rhythm and harmony of the universe; we surrender past notions of time and space, in full humor to ego’s tricks, judgment cast to the wind in discovery of our freedom to just be it.

i_Image2

‘Just Be It’, Surrendered Notions of Disunity

When we can let go of notions of birth and death, time and space and beginnings and endings we arrive into the wondrous world of oneness. Upon touching this being-ness, we literally experience the connection of all within the divinity of this very moment’s unfolding. From the death of each breath, we give attention and consequent gratitude for what is now, this connected fabric of life that knows no boundaries.

When we can experience our competitor’s pain as our own…when we can see our face within the face of our worst enemy…we’re filled with peace and happiness within the pulsing rhythm and harmony of the universe.

From ‘Just Do It’ to ‘Just Be It’

The key to the Nike ad campaign appeared to be its motivational power. We forever seem to be coming up with excuses to not do that which we know works. This seems to be most evident in the way we rise from our bed in the morning. The initial acts of the day or project seem to take the most energy, much like the main thrusters of the rocket need to exert the most energy to break the gravitational pull of the earth. Once the rocket has committed to its launch, there comes a wondrous moment when it merges peacefully with an orbital pattern, at one with the universe in its very being-ness.

When we listen to our heart’s pull, when we can hear the ancestral angels on our shoulders, we come to know what must be done. Within this space we find our resolve. Contemplating the direction of our life actions within alignment to what is heard, there comes a point of lift off. The first step has always taken the most energy and it’s helpful to meditate on this commitment to action. This seems to be what is called a sacred contract. These contracts are different for all of us, these divine promises we make with ourselves. We seem to rob our spirits when we break these contracts and we seem to feed the body, mind and spirit when we move from doing to incorporation of our being-ness. Through continual attention, we arrive into the moment where we surrender into the unity of the action and our being-ness, and where our doing meets our being.

That which we’ve committed to do is now effortless within the present moment’s unfolding. All notions of our separation from the event vanish as we experience ourselves being played in the symphony of the universe, engaged in the harmony and rhythm of the song.

Can we contract to care for our body through adequate rest, nourishment of the body and commitment to exercise? What about a commitment to meditate for the health of settling the mind? How about a commitment to write down daily insights when they’re given? This seems to better clarify what works and what does not work. How about an intention to lead a more grateful life, with insights shared with others, in our mutual desire to forever support the universe? It seems the body/mind/spirit welcome these routines, this contracted sharpening of the saw. As more and more attention is given to what we’ve committed to do, it becomes the fiber of our being-ness.

Within our discovery of this being-ness, we find our sense of life purpose and contribution. This dharma energy manifests most wondrously as we move from just do it, to just doing it to just be it, forever a creative artist of life.

There’s more than just a difference of tense. The phrase just do it implies lift off has not yet happened. We’re still trapped in the abstraction of time and separated from the present moment. Just doing it implies