Cultivate Curiosity # 43 May 28, 2018

Cultivate Curiosity.  Live a life of curiosity.

I have always felt, known that curiosity is my dearest friend.  Cultivate curiosity. 
I chanced upon a 2016 discussion with writer Elizabeth Gilbert in which she spoke of following curiosity instead of one’s passion as a way to cultivate creativity.  What if passion, hot and vibrant, is not felt?  Passion requires energy that is not always available.  If life is tied to passion, that leaves creativity adrift.  Not so curiosity.  We can be curious no matter our circumstance.  Thoughts, ideas are floating in the ether all around us, searching for a creative partner.  I heard her words, they were mine already articulated.  Consciousness never fails to fascinate and beckon.

Both/And.  Consciousness is both/and; both transcendent and immanent.
Let Curiosity rest here. Creativity is flow that is both a wave of constant energy and the source of that energy; it is immanent; it is here and yet beyond my reach.  Mystery.

Consciousness is Will writ large, it is willing our collaborative desire to create.  Searching, out of its freedom and delight for the next partner.  Curiosity.  Open to the flow within and without.  It need not be, or have, a practical, financial or even artistic reward though it may.

Creation IS the very nature of humanity.  It is immanent; it is the very spark of life.  Curiosity powerfully feeds our capacity to live fully and to transcend the boundaries of ordinary awareness.  Both/And.

I AM curious as to what this upcoming move to Philadelphia, this change will bring, has brought, is bringing now.  It beckons just out of reach sometimes quite bright, and like a signal, it is recognized.  I tune into the frequency.  Open this.  Let curiosity, gentle wonder pierce what is confusing, bewildering and beautiful.

Everyday there is something big or small beckoning for a creative partner.  Both/And. Transcendent and Immanent. Conscious curiosity creates.

In choosing curiosity over fear we are choosing creative consciousness to be alive. We are conscious partners with that energy that resides in all, both transcendent and immanent.

It is not a waste of precious time nor only for those who are blessed with financial and recreational resources.  It is deep in the heart of every human, always calling loudly, sweetly, softly this desire to make, to create, to have a hand in bringing something to life.  Getting dressed, setting a table, decorating a room, all creative acts that began with curiosity.  How does this go with that?  How would this look with that?   Beauty, it is said, is in the eye of the beholder.  Yes, then leave judgement be.  Curiosity leads the way and there is enjoyment, delight in seeing it through.

Cultivate Curiosity. Let it flow.  It is made more possible when there is an anchor, a home from which to roam.  Ah, “build home behind your eyes”!  The construction is still underway but the truth of its anchored presence more palpable as the waves of creative life surge. 

There is an ever growing supportive web of beings of so many traditions and views that yearn to connect, to offer healing and in that, growth; to make wholeness.  Never mind making a difference, we have plenty of difference in the world, make wholeness. The time is now.  How and where do I fit into this web?

I have found the framework, the practice and method that speaks to both my mind and heart, that continues to open and show its value.  How then do I offer this as part of that web?

Tantra itself means web or thread.  Now as I stabilize more and more in my heart, the home of deepest teachings, even as I move away from community, how do I offer my services?  Not solely as a yoga/meditation teacher though to be sure this informs all I do, but how else?  Where else?  Stay Curious.  It churns my awareness and I am reminded of a favorite line from a poem by David Whyte:
 
What you can plan is too small for you to live.  What you can live wholeheartedly will make plans enough for the vitality hidden in your sleep.