Choice is what we do"
-- Vidya Ishaya
The mountains are Silent.
Like snow-white jewels in a green-forest setting, Shasta and Shastina sit silent, unchanging and still.
Activity surrounds the giants. At their feet, cars, trucks and trains flow by, in an unending torrent of motion. Campers, hikers and climbers crawl over their surfaces, like ants busy climbing a giant anthill.
But the mountains sit silent, unchanging and still.
At the base of the mountains, I sit in a grassy field of wildflowers next to a lake, while pines sway in the breeze. It feels good to sit in the sun while I close my eyes and listen to the songbirds, the rush of the wind and small voices in the distance.
And as I sit, filled with the serenity of the mountains and the forest, I find what's within -- and it is silent, unchanging and still.
Shasta's silence reflects the stillness within. Such a massive mountain -- such a massive Stillness.
In the midst of the Stillness are sounds. In the midst of the Stillness are sights. In the midst of the Stillness are the touch of the wind and the smell of the pines.
Who is hearing these sounds? Who is seeing the beauty? Who is feeling the wind and smelling the pines?
Who is thinking there's a "who" sensing all these things? Thinking means thoughts. And thoughts are within the Stillness along with the sights, sounds and smells. All are observed from within the Stillness.
From the Stillness, one has the choice to focus on the smell of the grass. Or one can choose to focus on the sounds of the wind. Or one can choose to focus on a thought -- "how pretty is this scene' -- "I cannot stay here all day' -- "what am I eating for lunch?'
Sounds in the Stillness. Sights in the Stillness. Smells in the Stillness. Thoughts in the Stillness.
What do you choose to put your attention on?
Existence is the Stillness. This moment, now, is the only time within the Stillness. What you believe is "you' is the thought of "you' within the Stillness. And that thought always happens -- now! The future and the past are conceptions --thoughts- that we choose to accept, all within the Stillness, Now.
Native Americans have a saying, "Only the rocks are eternal." As the mountain sits, seemingly eternal in its stillness, we sit immersed in the Stillness, which is eternal. (Actually, it's the other way around. We are the Stillness, choosing to focus on a conception of "me.' )
Ascension attitudes are the quick and easy way to find the Stillness within. Many paths lead to the Stillness, just as there are many paths up the mountain. But some paths are quicker and easier than others.
To the mountain, what difference does it make which path leads to the top? Ah -- but to the climber, it makes all the difference.
