Allowing Nothingness: Insights on Doing Nothing

Once a month or so, I used to offer inspirational talks which I called "Illuminations" at both Planet Earth Rising in Folsom and the former East West Books in Sacramento. Each time, I offered some thoughts about the experiences we are having as we spiritually evolve as well as things we can do to help ease our discomforts.

For example, at this time of awakening, we are growing and expanding so much (though it may not seem like it) that we are completely wiped out; a lot like a newborn baby who is growing and expanding so much that all it can do is eat and sleep all day! In fact, it takes so much energy to do this vast amount of physical growing, that we simply allow babies to do those two basic things – eat and sleep – and not much else. If you are experiencing this sense of exhaustion, give yourself permission to ease up on yourself and allow yourself to “do nothing” if at all possible.

During one of my talks at Planet Earth Rising, I suggested the idea of “doing nothing.” Soon after, one of the attendees emailed me seeking more clarity about this suggestion. I responded to Aaron, a Folsom resident, in a return email, which he has been gracious enough to allow me to share with others.

For some of you, perhaps "doing nothing" is a new concept that is asking to be considered in your own life at this time. If you can consider how much you are expanding on the “inside” maybe you can allow yourself to “do nothing” on the “outside.”  For others, this may be the perfect time to review this concept. 

For clarity, I've identified Aaron's email with an A (and italics).  Note that it was written in one blanket email.  My “answers” are identified with a V and, when I responded to him, were inserted into his email - as it is formatted below.

Thanks again, Aaron, for letting me share our email conversation with others!

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A: Hi Veronica,
I’ve been thinking about last night’s meeting. Most of what came through made perfect sense to me. The concept that we are perfect as we are.

That there is a time when not doing is the right choice. That Emotions are the key to understanding or the lens from which to see reality. That there is no right and wrong, per se. That it is all about energy. When difficult times happen within them is an opportunity to grow from them. That there is an illusion of duality in our reality.

V: I would be a little more clear about emotions… not that they are necessarily the key to “understanding” (this separates and disconnects from FEELING those emotions), but rather that they are the “portal” into the newer reality / shift which we are currently noticing / experiencing. Our emotions – by feeling them – will open ourselves into greater possibilities and help integrate this feeling of duality – human vs. spiritual.

A: The other side of the coin, and where there is a disconnect for me in understanding, is this:

An analogy of a small child misbehaving, let’s say they break a glass and let’s say it’s never happened before so our response is probably more gentle than not, we explain how they need to watch what they are doing or something close to that idea, and that would be that.

Now if the next day they pick up another glass and throw it across the room, our response will be more severe with punishment or grounding or something because now it becomes evident that they did it on purpose and maybe that glass broken the other day wasn’t an accident either.

If on the third day they throw a coffee cup through the plate glass window, some other form of discipline would need to occur.

Here’s my point, if we have a lesson to learn and this greater force than us, sends us a message in a gentle way and we don’t listen, then the next reminder will probably be more forceful, and if we still don’t get it a major tragedy may occur.

V: Yes, we are all the ALL THAT IS, and there is nothing else. So, in essence WE do create our own reality. Yet, that human part, the small “imperfect” fallible part, is not (yet) conscious enough to do so in the larger scheme of things. Toddlers, for example, TRULY believe with every fiber in their bodies that they can walk on water to get their ball that fell in the pool. Yet, their human bodies are not yet capable of doing so, so these babies drown. On the 3-D plane, we now build fences around pools to prevent this. On the consciousness level, and WHY this happens; our collective unconscious is still in the denser world and believes we cannot yet walk on water, no matter what the baby herself believes. “Blame” – and this is where I am opposed to blaming the victim – only worsens the impact of a drowned baby. Did the baby (not fully developed being) create this reality? Perhaps unconsciously, but what’s the point in trying to convey this to a dead or alive baby. She simply can’t / won’t understand because she is not ready or capable of doing so.

A: So my dilemma is this, if I just went and laid on the beach and read a book or painted, yes I would be perfect just as I am, yes it wouldn’t be wrong, no I don’t need to do anything to be OK. But is that the purpose of life?

V: The “purpose” of life is to live in JOY. If sitting on the beach brings one JOY, so be it! Yet, as BOTH spiritual and human beings we are HARD WIRED to move “forward.” This is why we created time and space. Our current challenge – and this is what we are moving toward collectively – is to remember that there is no effort in this so-called momentum. Moving backward – or even staying stagnant – is just as illusionary as moving forward. Without time and space, there is no where else to go, nothing to “do”. There is only the HERE and NOW. We are trying to 1) learn to “be” in the here and now, and “more importantly” (again, this is only a human judgment), 2) be in JOY in that here and now. 

A: Are we just to exist? Without moving towards something or some ideal we are not contributing to the growth of ourselves or others. If everyone just sat on the beach being perfect, our collective physical bodies would die, with no food water clothing etc.

V: First we must realize that not everyone would find joy in sitting on the beach. That, believe it or not, we can actually “do” our lives in joy, AND be “productive” AND be in the here and now AND “do nothing at the same time!” THIS is the multiple realities / dimensions I was referring to last night. See, there are no either/or decisions. No right or wrong. You can DO, DO, DO all you want. All I am offering is for you to GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION to NOT DO. To stop and simply ALLOW. Allow yourself to be “just fine” and perhaps actually feel okay / good about “doing nothing.” The “doing” energy that you are currently playing with is laced with “should” / “shame” energy. The underlying feeling is that somehow you are only “valid” / “okay” if you are “doing” something that contributes to the whole. When you get that YOU ARE THE WHOLE, and that in and of itself is enough, you can REALIZE your true perfection on all levels.

A: I’m not convinced that “doing” in the context of moving towards growth, or in showing up for life in general is either wrong or in conflict with being perfect as I am.

V: Again, without judgment, I am not saying it is wrong or even in conflict. I am saying it is no longer serving us the way it used to. We can keep “trying” all we want. We can feel a sense of comfort and control in our efforts to contribute, to do. Nothing is wrong with any of these energies. Yet, once we hit that “wall” (which perhaps you haven’t quite hit hard enough yet?), then you may find the only thing left to do is surrender to the “greater” All That Is. When you release your need to be separate (be in “ego” mode which “thinks” it is creating), then you release the next layer of separation and move closer to Oneness.

Yet, if you are comfortable with where you are, there is no need to worry about any of this. However, my thought is that you “want” to be “doing” the “right” thing, to be “closer to God” and find harmony and peace in your life ~ as we all desire. If you didn’t CARE, you wouldn’t be doing your spiritual seeking, reading such books, coming to my talks or writing notes about your thoughts about all of this. YOU DO CARE. You are a conscious, enlightened being who wants to create more light. And, with that said, TRUST yourself that you are on the “right” course; that you are hard wired to find /connect back into Source and you will get “there” no matter how hard you try, SIMPLY BECAUSE YOU NEVER LEFT TO BEGIN WITH – YOU ARE THERE / HERE NOW! Thus, that’s the perfection! You cannot be more perfect. Perfect is perfect! You never left perfection, so the illusion is doing something to get back there. It IS all a game. AND, you can take it as seriously as you want to and think you’re somehow playing it “right.”

A: We are physical beings, we do have emotions and if anything emotions are energy in motion and I believe we need to show up in life for it to give us all that it can.

V: We don’t “need to,” but that can make us feel more joyful sometimes.

A: Its all well and good thinking that as spiritual beings we come from a stock of perfection, but we chose to come here to live in this physical reality no matter how many layers or levels of this reality may exist, in each one we chose to be here and to “play” at being alive in a body.

V: Right… so who’s writing the rules? Believe it or not, there aren’t any. You can use your imagination to create whatever rules in this game you want to, or play it in whatever way you want to. It only matters to YOU. God loves you no matter HOW you play the game. There are no winners or losers. Yet, in the 3-D human world, society has created rules that we choose (or not) to live by: kill a person, go to jail. Still part of the game. (I hate sitting in jail… I do like when I win the pot in the middle though.)

A: Discipline is doing, it is being, it also is a means to an end. That end is in becoming more, and if nature or the Tao or God, which can wipe you away in an instant is by its very nature growth oriented it is natural and God like to want to improve otherwise it can be an excuse for doing nothing and contributing nothing to the whole.

V: Yes, you can use discipline in the game if you want to. And yes, you are hard wired for growth. 1) That’s why you like it and play with it – It “drives” you – and 2) that’s why you really don’t have to effort it, you are on a track that is going to keep unfolding… again, the challenge for you is to trust that.

A: By acknowledging that we are at the most basic level perfect, it frees us of the burden of lineage, of DNA and I would say that a lot of people find this freedom in their religion, by turning their life’s over to God it frees them of their burden.

V: YES.

A: But after that you do need to create, to be, to contribute that’s why we are here.

V: Yes, we CAN. It’s not a have to…. It’s an option. AND, generally speaking, this is what brings us JOY. UNLESS, of course, we have mistaken this desire to create and contribute for our self worth. Our worthiness is not dependant on what we do. So, when DOING, simply ask yourself, “Do I feel worthy?” AND, conversely, when NOT DOING, ask, “Do I feel worthy?” Then, allow that energy in motion to move and feel your feelings. What if you were to spend the next moment doing nothing, then the next, then the next… would the sense of worthiness change? When do you stop being worthy of being a spiritual, human being / child of God?

A: I don’t necessarily like going to the gym at 6am but I like the energy I have and the strength I gain.

V: Great, and no one is stopping you.

A: I don’t like doing standing meditation, it actually hurts, but I do it for the greater gain I believe I will one day attain by sticking with it.

V: Great. You don’t have to give that up either.

A: Affirmation sometimes seems silly, until the job I wanted or person I wanted in my life walks right up to me. I am a believer in the power of the individual mind with focus attention to create reality, this one or the other 10,000 that exist. Some part of us is the driver and maybe we are, all that is, working with, all that is. (That’s what I meant by saying we are the creators) 

V: Yes, we are both. And, believe it or not, God does take a rest… on the seventh day…. :-)

A: There was an old story I heard once about the old gods getting together and realizing that they were all fading away becoming less and less real, and they determined that as people stopped worshipping them they became less real.

This reality is here because we are the focal point from all that is bringing it here and now. Now is the moment of power.

V: Now is all there is… so what are you DOING in this moment? Does it bring you joy? Do you trust yourself to know you will never be not worthy or stagnant? That you are PERFECT right here and right now? So, if you are TRULY perfect right here and right now, there is nothing to change. You can simply BE. Yet, if right here and right now you WANT to DO something, go ahead – enjoy!

In this integration of “two polar opposites” you can integrate BOTH the DOING and the BEING. You are always both anyway. And when it comes to intention…. Just ask yourself about the basis of your intentions. Why are you standing in meditation right now anyway? Yes, you want to gain the peace of mind / clarity it brings. Great. Ah, you are noticing the pain. Now you are breathing through the pain. You are experiencing so many aspects of yourself. You are doing and being.

Then there are times when you feel you “should” do this OR that… why?... all I was inviting you to do is to take a breath, and do nothing if you don’t want to, and hopefully release the self-imposed guilt so you can truly revel in the nothingness.

Again, it is in this nothingness that all possibilities are created. In other words, once you make a choice, you eliminate all the other possibilities. I didn’t say you have to stay there forever in the nothingness... Just to allow it to bring something new into your life. To relax, to breathe, to be.

A: OK I said my piece I would be interested in your perspective and comments I’m not trying to be right here either, but it took over night for me to understand what I was feeling.

So what do you think? Aaron

V: Hopefully this was helpful. :-) Veronica