A State of Being

I had one of those ‘YES!’ moments while doing my gardening meditation and listening to Practicing the Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. I was listening to Chapter 8, ‘Acceptance of the Now’. Tolle said:

The happiness that is derived from some secondary source is never very deep. It is only a pale reflection of the joy of ‘Being’, the vibrant peace that you find within as you enter the state of nonresistance. ‘Being’ takes you beyond the polar opposites of the mind and frees you from dependency on form. Even if everything were to collapse and crumble all around you, you would still feel a deep inner core of peace. You may not be happy, but you will be at peace.

When a spiritual practice brings happiness, there is a compulsion to continue the spiritual practice for the sake of happiness itself. This is known as Spiritual Materialism, and is the reason why many spiritual practices fail.

Happiness is transient. However, a state of ‘Being’ is not. A state of ‘Being’ is your true existence. It always was and always will be. How could it be anything else? You exist because you exist; it’s as simple as that. It is this simple realization of your state of ‘Being’ that manifests ‘the vibrant peace that you find within you’; whether or not you are happy. I’m OK with that.