SHACK 4125 JUST JOY

Courtesy Almay

 I often wondered why have the images of Buddha often shown with a slight smile. Yes they said it was because he felt tranquil and peaceful and a quiet joy.

When I was with Sifu he would say smile from the heart as we practised, I could never feel it and I felt it was false and he said do it anyway. Later on I was told by a Yogini that moving into the smile was signal to the brain to produce I think she said was Serotonin.

However a few times it happened naturally and then it became more flowing and natural in meditation or doing Qi Gong. Sometimes in meditation and Qi Gong a deep sigh or a chest expansion and the glow of the smile spreads through me.

Then as the years go on I found another meaning for that smile; the feeling of contentment as if this was the most significant part of life, dawned on me. I began to lose interest in worldly success many years back and wondered why I was here for, what was my mission or my goal. Just to be here for no reason? Now the smile is more constant without trying and I understood by feeling what that smile engendered it was peace, tranquillity, serenity and joy.

This seemed to be the reason for living, just to be without thought or desire or want and just be the joyous content being without any reason at all and this just seems to grow and I realised that the thoughts that crop up to smear that joy were old negative auto patterns from the unconscious reactions caused by ego and a conditioned programmed mind by inculcation.

I have no reasons to live or attain just to bathe in this peace and I realised this peace is who I am, that is my true nature and all else stems from that. The more I surrender to nothing, relaxing into being without thought or motive, a sort surrender and not to human ambition to just being in peace. I cannot claim enlightenment or living in uninterrupted peace, however the trust not by will or motivation and just let 'the wind blow the leaf' and 'wherever the arrow lands that is the target' ah yes sweet smile it feels like the natural smile of life rejoicing in just that, life rejoicing in Its awareness of being alive and for ever.  

SHACK   aka    GEOFF