A Metaphor For Life: THE JAPANESE TEA SERVICE

By Beauregard Detterman

 Very few people like themselves, and even fewer trust themselves. We look outside to fix ourselves. People, clothing, music lessons, trips and money. Go within, be with yourself.

That is what meditation can accomplish. God is within you, in fact, you are God. You should be happy with yourself. When you do not know yourself as spirit, your mind reaches out to complete itself. Your body follows, thus karma creation... Your individual soul wants reunion with your universal spirit.

 In the formal Japanese tea ceremony, after all are seated, a sweet cake is offered, before the bitter tea. In meditation we bring the sweetness of the meditation out of the Garden within and carry it with us throughout our daily activities as we enter the bitterness of life; Starting and ending the day with a higher vibration, grace. Grace will proceed you everywhere you go. But first you must find yourself within. Self effort winged with grace will carry you across your pain. Replace pain and struggle with inward self effort. Constantly remind yourself.....I AM SPIRIT, I AM PURE, I AM PERFECT, I AM LOVE. Go within and ask questions. What is SPIRIT? What does spirit mean to me? What does pure mean to me? What does perfect mean to me? If I AM truly perfect how can I identify with my body? The mind will not accept this new awareness if you first do not put forth the effort. When I began telling my mind and ego I am spirit, my mind and ego were resisting completely. Both informed me that they have done well in taking care of me, so why rock the boat?     

My quest began each morning, before leaving the bed: I stated, I am spirit, and that my new role in life was SPIRIT based. At first I started reminding myself of this every few minutes, but after a few days I realized my mind and ego were very powerful, and greater effort was needed. So I began, again, but this time I began repeating I am spirit every moment. I did not give the mind or the ego the time and space to battle back. Be practical, start at the beginning. Know it will not be easy to take control back, but with persistence, you will succeed.

I cannot stress the difficulties of old age if you do not start to reclaim your true nature back. The meditation I teach is destination meditation: A place within that is inviting, your true home here on earth where you can restore the body, restore the mind and restore the ego. If you do this (I am living proof) your mind, body, and ego will become like a puppy curled at your feet, ONLY wanting to serve and thus they become your best friends. Instead of creating pain and sorrow, instead of creating obstacles, instead of creating judgements, your mind and ego begin to align with their natural state as servant and helper. When this reunion begins all of the self jumps with joy. 

Live life alive with refreshed spirit. Do not wait until the last breath to realize the perfection in life was always here. You just did not know your true nature. What a divine incarnation, the human body. Please do not waste this moment in time. Begin now. Start anew, pick up the role as spirit and wear life, do not let life wear you. 

I leave you with this insight: Without looking within there cannot EVER be any Peace of Mind. Nothing ever happens on the outside of you that has not already happened inside of you. 

When you start to complain about life with cynicism and anger, you should go beyond the mind. 

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