From Teaching (Doing) to Being

“You’re not here to teach what you’ve learned, but to be who you are.”

-Matt Kahn

When Matt told me this in our discussion the other day, we could both tell he struck a major chord within me.

As I began exploring this statement more deeply, I found myself having no idea who I would be without doing the whole spiritual teaching thang… Whoa! How quickly we fall into our roles…

Improving the World

So a part of me wants to “make the world a better place” and all that jazz. Something that’s common amongst us guys is that we like fixing things. If someone has a problem, offer them a solution so we can solve the problem. If someone’s suffering and feeling limited, help them know the truth for the truth shall set them free.

With respect to teaching, this tendency may become so intense that it can develop into wanting to practically beat people over the head with spiritual concepts and becoming somewhat preachy, particularly when we first invalidate the other. I’m not saying that this energy is the driving force behind my sharings by any means, but it can occasionally creep in nonetheless. It’s helpful to bring awareness to this and to recognize when the ego is doing its egoey thing.

For a while now it felt like the best way I could be in service to the world and give to others was to help spread spiritual messages and share spiritual teachings, just like many of the great spiritual leaders of yesterday and today. Hence this blog. This teaching/sharing thing has been an integral part of my path for many years now. I am now recognizing a shift in energy and the progressive diminishment of interest in talking about all this spiritual stuff so much…

“We change the world not by what we say or do but as a consequence of what we have become.”

-David Hawkins

More and more I find myself wanting to simply live a more regular life (haha, whatever that means) and do what I love, without having to make it into a big spiritual event. Whether it’s something as ordinary as shopping for groceries, talking to your neighbor, or drinking a cup of tea, why not make your entire life be a living expression of and celebration of Love? Isn’t that what this is really about? It is, as Gandhi put it, being the change you wish to see in the world.

…Do we really need to change others in the first place?

Loving What Is

While we’re on this topic, something else huge Matt shared with me was his perspective when interacting with others. Even when another has a different belief system and is disagreeing with him, “You have the right to think and believe whatever you want. I am simply here to love you as you are.”

My goodness, how wonderful is that!? When we look at people in this way, instantly our desire to correct them, improve them, argue with them, or in any way whatsoever struggle with them drops away. So to does the need to teach them, save them, or actually do anything in particular at all. Gone is the need to react.

If they come to you and ask for healing or advice, by all means assist them if you so desire, but no longer do we invalidate other people for being the way they are. This is the key.

Instead, there is simply Loving What Is. Accepting them fully as they are.

This is the beginning of spiritual retirement, or perhaps the birth of true living spirituality.

This is the freedom from the egoic compulsive need to do, change, fix, attain, achieve, or improve.

No more needing to teach people something new, to be the observer of the interaction, to study how their ego or your ego is functioning, to do any of that stuff. It may still happen, sure, just like anything else, but much of it takes a backseat and becomes secondary if not completely obsolete. Really, there’s just Love. Simple, pure, innocent, and real Love.

A Shift of Purpose

If I didn’t talk about spirituality so much anymore and if I didn’t teach on spiritual topics unless specifically asked, who would I be and what would I do? (It’s really more a question of dropping the attachment than it is of dropping the activity altogether, but still.)

This question scared me at first, but the more I sit with it, the more excitement I’m finding in the opening of doors that allow me to invest my energy in other pursuits.

There’s a number of other exciting projects that lately I’ve been exploring investing my time into. Just doing a little light brainstorming/heartstorming aloud for a moment…

• Developing my alternative energy power source
• Bringing together many of the spiritual teachers and awakening/awakened people I interact with on Facebook and developing a connected and cooperative community of really conscious people
• Working on a project supporting those who are now stepping into the light and are getting burned out
• Going to Utah for the winter to work at a ski resort and learn to ski

Without the intense focus upon teaching teaching teaching, raising mass consciousness, and spreading awareness, suddenly there’s so much energy freed up for other endeavors!

The Freedom to Be Still

Yet nevertheless, regardless of what you do, the focus is on being what you are.

What you do, of course that’s likely to change over time as you evolve and continue on along your path. If you teach, cool. If you drive a school bus, cool. If you race turtles, cool. But this is all secondary. Our real purpose is to be who we really are, regardless of what outer form it takes. All actions and roles become a manifestation of being and no role is given any undo sense of importance over any other.

As we let go of our attachments and obligations to do anything in particular or play any specific role, there seems to be a progressive falling away of striving in doing, and we find ourselves resting in being within. Just being.

Doing or non-doing may both still happen, but the stillness of being becomes primary, everpresent and unchanging.

No more need to serve, to create, to give, to uplift, to share, or inspire. You can do all that of course, but you don’t need to. This is the freedom from all sense of obligation. This is the freedom from needing to change others or change the world. This is the freedom from doing anything at all. This is the freedom to just be.

Ahhh freedom…