“As is the human body, So is the cosmic body. As is the human mind, So is the cosmic mind. As is the microcosm, So is the macrocosm. As is the atom, So is the universe.”
-Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
I’ve often marveled at the similarities between what we perceive as vastly large and vastly small. Everything from the vein systems that carry blood in our bodies and the river systems spread out upon the Earth, to the network of stars in the universe and the network of synapses in the brain.
There are countless similarities in nature; it’s almost as if life is simply repeating itself in creative ways, yet everything is the same thing. Within one tiny cell, you’ll find a universe that’s just as profound and mysterious as the universe above.
“As above, so below.”
Furthermore, what fascinates me is my human capacity to effectively forget all of this and find myself lost in a world of thinking. This world of thinking, comically, is oblivious to the miraculous nature of the Life I find myself in.
Here’s a relevant question to ask…
- What is it that keeps me so distracted and unable to rest in the cosmic magic and gratitude of simply being alive?
There are two answers that come to mind that ring true for my experience; maybe you’ll find them helpful.
- My serious fight to survive what is unreal.
- My biological imbalance with nature.
1. My serious fight to survive what is unreal
In contrast to the obvious miraculous design of Life that allows nature to be nature, for “now” to be now, I see a human mental narrative (a dream) that is on a quest to protect my imaginary sense of self-importance.
This quest is relatively obsessed with protecting, or not losing, what it holds on to as the savior of its worth and value (its belief in its separate sense of self). Yes, of course, I’m talking about the ego; an idea of myself that is imagined to be real, but when looked for in reality, it’s simply not there at all.
This quest, or this belief in a narrative about a separate self, turns the experience of being human into a serious fight where what I hold on to can be lost. Naturally, where something can be lost, we find the introduction of “fear.” Where there is fear, there won’t be the capacity to be present.
What I’ve recognized in my human journey, that has allowed me to close the gap between myself and Life, is the surrender of this fight that clings to the mind’s content (what is unreal).
You see, in order for me to make contact with what is real, I must release the unreal.
As I examine my internal fight, my internal struggle, it’s just so obvious that I’m fighting for something that is ultimately unreal. And, this fight, only further separates me from life as a whole, which includes separating me from other humans.
Therefore, obviously, the real human journey has been a transformation in realizing that this Life isn’t about “me” (the character in my mind that I think is real), rather, this Life is about the miraculous nature of Life itself; it’s about the whole thing – the simple miracle of being alive.
Again, I cannot see this, when I am lost in the serious fight for what is unreal.
2. My biological imbalance with nature
I laugh a little bit about how long it took me to realize this, even to realize how much more important it is than any spiritual insights I might have.
Part of the profound synergy, or connection, between what I really am and Life itself, is the biological connection between the body/mind and nature. They are one and the same. Through millions upon millions of years, there has been a delicate balance or design that keeps things in what we might call a harmonized state.
We might call these “laws of nature,” and these laws don’t really care about what I want. They will remain to be what they are in order to maintain the balance of the whole.
Human beings, as a biological species, over the past centuries (and even longer), have had a great divergence from being connected to nature, in servitude to building on a self-important idea.
A simple modern-day example of this is found in the human being who is chasing the world’s adulation (the worship of his/her self-importance) while sacrificing his/her health and genuine human connection with those closest to him/her.
Another example is found in racing toward imaginary “future prizes” while fuelling the biological vessel we call the body with unnatural chemicals and foods that are not actually real food at all. And then, we wonder why the body/mind doesn’t function properly or in a harmonized state. Of course, these imaginary future prizes are again in service to one’s separate sense of self-importance.
You see, to a point, it doesn’t matter what you want or how you want things to be, for there is a delicate balance and design already in play, and if you don’t align yourself with that design, you will find yourself out of balance with the harmony of Life that’s already been perfectly created.
Again, I laugh at how long it took me to realize this. And, the more I found myself returning to, let’s say… what is natural and part of the biological design, the more I found my body/mind returning to a place of harmony.
It’s worth noting that the world’s solutions, or most modern-day human solutions, only wanted to help me suppress the symptoms of my disharmony by getting even further away from what is natural.
