Truth Rings a Bell

Truth rings a bell, and then we are changed forever. And the sound of that bell relaxes and releases all the tension, all the holding, all the symptoms we have when we bury a truth. I know of no other path that helps us tell the truth like Focusing, a series of universal inner movements we are all capable of getting in touch with. The truth gets buried inside layers of feelings and thoughts, dreams and experiences, positive and negative. So let's say there's a feeling of anxiety that persists. Sitting with where it is in the body, giving it lots of room to breath and be without judging it, allows the anxiety to reveal a truth about our experience. And when we get in touch with the authenticity, the truth of the experience, we feel peaceful and relieved. In this way, Focusing is revolutionary because it brings peace without altering anybody else or anything else. We spend so much time talking and examining when all that is really required is listening to what our recurring thoughts and feelings are holding. Another result of paying attention this way is that feelings start to lose their significance and our awareness begins to grow. And that is what we are ultimately after - to become aware so that we cease to struggle in the unskillfulness that unresolved pain creates.

About the photo - I took this picture at the Mission in Santa Barbara, CA. The bell is at least 100 years old, and the way it sits on the as equally old cart evokes layers of meaning for me that are still unfolding.