Life is at Rest

Have you noticed that life, this, here – is always at rest?

When we notice presence itself, the very simple fact of being, it’s always resting in itself.

To notice the rest to which I am pointing, it is essential to really encounter this here-ness as the noticing that it is. This isn’t an effort to still the mind, body, or world. In fact, such efforts – despite there being a lot of popularity and encouragement to engage in such efforts within spiritual practices – in fact further obscure the unconditional rest that is life’s naturalness.

Note also that, if it is life’s naturalness, it is your naturalness too – for you cannot set yourself apart from life. Check this out now for yourself. Can you move away from life? From this here-ness. This now-ness. This is-ness. Try to do this now. Actually try. What do you notice?

"There is rest as a state of mind (chidaram) and there is rest as a state of being (atmaram). The former comes and goes, while the true rest is the very heart of action".

SRI NISARGADATTA MAHARAJ

You might have noticed that in trying to pull yourself apart from life, from this here-ness, there is nowhere to go. There is no movement. You might even notice that there isn’t anything here to move away from life. There isnt anything here that could possibly move away from life, that isn’t also, always, life. Whatever is felt – maybe a sensation, or an arising thought of protest or contemplation – this is simply more of the same life, the same here-ness. The same this-ness.

So when I say ‘there is no movement’, what I am pointing to is not that there is no flowing-ness, no flexing, or changing. Indeed, this is all we find when we investigate experience in its raw, direct, aliveness. More accurately, this ‘no movement’ is the fact that there is not something (or many things) moving towards or moving away from something else.

What is even more surprising, yet entirely obvious, is that when we do playfully try to be that something moving away or towards life, we encounter no movement – a stillness and restfulness that is not counter to life’s flowing and flexing sensations - but is inherent to it. It almost feels like it is what life is made of.

So this doesn’t need to be achieved or found – but simply recognised.

Recognising rest in the experience of vision

Right where you are you can reveal the natural resting-ness of everything.

Let’s begin with seeing:

Instead of looking at anything in particular - rest, soften, and spread attention by looking as if from the periphery of the visual field. Seeing from the edge makes things feel a bit fuzzy. You might also notice an immediate relaxation. No need for this to be the case though. Now begin to notice that everything, all the objects, are just resting in seeing. They’re just hanging out, where they are, in seeing. Notice that, when you are not referring to thoughts about what you are seeing, about the objects, they are just effortlessly appearing in seeing. They’re just here. We could say they are made of seeing. Like seeing is the textured canvas upon which all the patterns, colours, and textures are appearing. All made of the seeing’s resting-ness.

Notice the light and shadow. Notice that it is everywhere. We could say that the seeing is the canvas and the light and shadow is like the background and foreground that make the scene appear as some parts standing out and other parts falling back.

Keep noticing through the feeling of seeing, the feeling of light. Notice its effortless resting-ness whilst always being more, more, more of itself. It’s everywhere, ever flowing, unending, and always this same effortless natural resting-ness.

Now notice what you might conventionally take to be ‘me’. The body. Notice this too just in the same way as you have been noticing everything else in the seeing-ness. Notice this too is just hanging out as it is, and can’t be separated or taken out of the scene. Notice it is made of the seeing canvas, and the light and shadow in its pouring resting-ness. Notice hands in seeing, feet in seeing, belly in seeing. All just here, resting as it is. It doesn’t need to not be moving. For the moving is made of the resting-ness.