The Way of the mindful lion-heart
I am a big fan of Alan Watts. When I read his work I realize that he came as close to grasping and communicating the workings of the Way and Zen philosophy as I probably ever will. What made him special though, he introduced the wisdom of the east worldwide to a skeptical audience while all I currently have is a handful of Facebook followers. Maybe Alan had a price to pay for being in the limelight. He had an alcohol addiction and presumably died from it.
Can a spiritual traveler have indulgences like alcohol, drugs or having affairs? Well, of course, we are also human like everyone is but the question is what to do when we realize that what we say doesn’t measure up to what we are talking about. A spiritual journey is a mission to awake to the workings of the ego-mind and—eventually—to leave them behind. All compulsive habits and addictions are a message of the ego-mind, ‘look here my friend, you are helpless!’ it’s human to have afflictions, but it’s our mission to tackle them. That’s what the journey is all about.
When I was in Germany I quizzed my smoking family about their habits. My mother who is a lifetime smoker said that she had quit smoking for eight years in-between but then she started again because she minded that she merely compensated cigarettes with food and sugar and hated the extra weight. While the path of mindfulness would have demanded to tackle the food addiction next, she had other fights to tackle in her stressful life, so she just accepted that she would be a smoker for life. I have stopped complaining about this fact of life a long time ago.
My sister-in-law quit smoking when she felt that her health had suffered, while my brother tried quitting multiple times but always backtracked in the end. I asked my brother why his significant other has more stamina than he does and he responded, ‘I am still fit. If my health was on the line, I would probably quit too.’ He then added that he thought that if I was in his shoes I probably would muster the will power to stop smoking. Who knows whether I would have but I know for sure that I would be fighting it to the best of my abilities. That’s what a spiritual path is all about, tackling our ego-mind, being mindful of our actions and cutting out inconsistencies to the best of our abilities.
When spiritual newcomers tell me that they want to go all the way in their spiritual journey I applaud their boldness and conviction. Yet, the mission is similar to the fish’s quest to explore water, it’s a hopeless endeavor without some guided advice how to leave the water and staying alive doing so. The advice I give everyone who wants to go all the way is to face life to the best of their abilities and do the homework they are given to awaken to their true nature. Enlightenment will come naturally because it’s our birthright. Any inconsistencies and compulsive habits are merely signposts that there is still a little work ahead in the spiritual transformation.
I would call our quest ‘The Way of the mindful lion-heart’. We are embarking on a soul mission and put our heart and soul into it. Whether we succeed in the end or not is not even that important, what matters is that we give it all and are mindful to the workings of the ego-mind while facing our life mission to the best of our abilities. So what’s your soul mission? Is it being with the love of your life? Do you have a family to raise? Or is it this professional mission that you feel called to do? Following our soul mission is the calling of our heart, and anyone who signs up for a spiritual mission will have to discover the heart of a lion. That’s the only way to awaken to the working of our ego and God’s Kingdom. It’s only by staring in the abyss that the invisible bridge appears. There is unfortunately no way around it. Enlightenment is not for the faint of heart.
It’s a passion of mine to connect with every spiritual friend wherever I go and I remember a deep conversation with a friend who travels the way of the shaman. As I had my beer with my vegetarian dinner he told me that he abstains from sex and alcohol but I saw him munching on a giant steak and asked him whether that wasn’t an inconsistency. ‘Death is part of life’, he answered, and though born in Romania he is a big advocate of the Native Americans. Sometimes he goes hunting, he added, and shooting rabbits and deer is part of our natural life. There is no wrong or right, there is only your expression of your divinity. I never question my choices of the past, and I have stopped judging other people as well for the simple reason that I now know how hard it is to live an authentic life myself.
I am in awe of Alan Watts and his life mission, and I have no idea where mine takes me. The nice property of ‘The Way of the mindful lion-heart’, half of the world population could be embarking on it they wanted, and what a wave of enlightenment would follow. Follow your heart in what you do and be mindful of the games the ego mind is playing. One day you will reach an authentic self expression when finally everything clicks, and if at the end of days there is still a little pernicious habit remaining like having a beer and steak for dinner, then so be it.
I am a big fan of Alan Watts. When I read his work I realize that he came as close to grasping and communicating the workings of the Way and Zen philosophy as I probably ever will. What made him special though, he introduced the wisdom of the east worldwide to a skeptical audience while all I currently have is a handful of Facebook followers. Maybe Alan had a price to pay for being in the limelight. He had an alcohol addiction and presumably died from it.
Can a spiritual traveler have indulgences like alcohol, drugs or having affairs? Well, of course, we are also human like everyone is but the question is what to do when we realize that what we say doesn’t measure up to what we are talking about. A spiritual journey is a mission to awake to the workings of the ego-mind and—eventually—to leave them behind. All compulsive habits and addictions are a message of the ego-mind, ‘look here my friend, you are helpless!’ it’s human to have afflictions, but it’s our mission to tackle them. That’s what the journey is all about.
When I was in Germany I quizzed my smoking family about their habits. My mother who is a lifetime smoker said that she had quit smoking for eight years in-between but then she started again because she minded that she merely compensated cigarettes with food and sugar and hated the extra weight. While the path of mindfulness would have demanded to tackle the food addiction next, she had other fights to tackle in her stressful life, so she just accepted that she would be a smoker for life. I have stopped complaining about this fact of life a long time ago.
My sister-in-law quit smoking when she felt that her health had suffered, while my brother tried quitting multiple times but always backtracked in the end. I asked my brother why his significant other has more stamina than he does and he responded, ‘I am still fit. If my health was on the line, I would probably quit too.’ He then added that he thought that if I was in his shoes I probably would muster the will power to stop smoking. Who knows whether I would have but I know for sure that I would be fighting it to the best of my abilities. That’s what a spiritual path is all about, tackling our ego-mind, being mindful of our actions and cutting out inconsistencies to the best of our abilities.
When spiritual newcomers tell me that they want to go all the way in their spiritual journey I applaud their boldness and conviction. Yet, the mission is similar to the fish’s quest to explore water, it’s a hopeless endeavor without some guided advice how to leave the water and staying alive doing so. The advice I give everyone who wants to go all the way is to face life to the best of their abilities and do the homework they are given to awaken to their true nature. Enlightenment will come naturally because it’s our birthright. Any inconsistencies and compulsive habits are merely signposts that there is still a little work ahead in the spiritual transformation.
I would call our quest ‘The Way of the mindful lion-heart’. We are embarking on a soul mission and put our heart and soul into it. Whether we succeed in the end or not is not even that important, what matters is that we give it all and are mindful to the workings of the ego-mind while facing our life mission to the best of our abilities. So what’s your soul mission? Is it being with the love of your life? Do you have a family to raise? Or is it this professional mission that you feel called to do? Following our soul mission is the calling of our heart, and anyone who signs up for a spiritual mission will have to discover the heart of a lion. That’s the only way to awaken to the working of our ego and God’s Kingdom. It’s only by staring in the abyss that the invisible bridge appears. There is unfortunately no way around it. Enlightenment is not for the faint of heart.
It’s a passion of mine to connect with every spiritual friend wherever I go and I remember a deep conversation with a friend who travels the way of the shaman. As I had my beer with my vegetarian dinner he told me that he abstains from sex and alcohol but I saw him munching on a giant steak and asked him whether that wasn’t an inconsistency. ‘Death is part of life’, he answered, and though born in Romania he is a big advocate of the Native Americans. Sometimes he goes hunting, he added, and shooting rabbits and deer is part of our natural life. There is no wrong or right, there is only your expression of your divinity. I never question my choices of the past, and I have stopped judging other people as well for the simple reason that I now know how hard it is to live an authentic life myself.
I am in awe of Alan Watts and his life mission, and I have no idea where mine takes me. The nice property of ‘The Way of the mindful lion-heart’, half of the world population could be embarking on it they wanted, and what a wave of enlightenment would follow. Follow your heart in what you do and be mindful of the games the ego mind is playing. One day you will reach an authentic self expression when finally everything clicks, and if at the end of days there is still a little pernicious habit remaining like having a beer and steak for dinner, then so be it.
The Way Of The Mindful Lionheart By Wiese, Christian
Reviewed by julie sasha
on
October 16, 2019
Rating:
Reviewed by julie sasha
on
October 16, 2019
Rating:
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