To Strive or To BE

[Ariaecheflame]

Hello.

I am wondering if you have a preference at this time and place?

To strive or to BE?

I prefer to BE at this stage - I have strived for too long and I simply wish to be myself - In each moment - I am tired of goals in the material and even the spiritual models of living... as the western system often promotes... goals and endless destinations...

my high school and my Christian fundamentalist religion promoted the belief of a destination a lot... too much in the sense that no one was ever just able and allowed to be.

[Shivani Devi]

Originally Posted by emeraldheart

Hello.

I am wondering if you have a preference at this time and place?

To strive or to BE?

I prefer to BE at this stage - I have strived for too long and I simply wish to be myself - In each moment - I am tired of goals in the material and even the spiritual models of living... as the western system often promotes... goals and endless destinations...

my high school and my Christian fundamentalist religion promoted the belief of a destination a lot... too much in the sense that no one was ever just able and allowed to be.

How I see it, is that if you are totally fulfilled, happy and satisfied with the BE-ing, then there is nothing to strive for, but if you are not, the goal is not reached, despite it appearing in plain sight.

In the quantum view, one aspect of self is synonymous with existing as self, but in an alternate reality, there is still the striving to become that which we are contrary to the ego construct of existential awareness despite the existence of itself...thus a quantum entanglement occurs between the two aspects of 'being' and 'becoming'.

Putting it another way, there must be certain prerequisites, conditioned dissonance and karmic manifestations which are preliminary to the event of self actualisation for it to be realised and experienced as thus, and so, it's not so much an 'endless destination to be reached' more than a 'very dirty mirror that needs to be cleaned so that the light can reflect off it'. This is why, sadhana or spiritual purification is required...and so, when two mirrors are cleaned and placed facing each other...the light reflects off each other endlessly.

Although there is no 'goal' per se, it is said that the 'goal is never reached' because just when/as one thinks they have 'reached/achieved' nirvana by simply 'being' and not 'doing'...it never ends...it never stops and there's always more to learn...more to experience and to refine the whole process beyond the refinement.

[iamthat]

Indeed. Striving is linked with the idea of becoming. We strive to become something more than we currently are. Eventually we surrender and accept that we are what we are. There is no-one we have to become, there is nothing we have to do, there is nowhere we have to go. Then we can simply BE.

The irony is that we have to go through the process of striving in order to let go of striving.

Peace.

I say to be. because strive does survive
does stroll, and that's might be a mess.
i say be. because be does benignant and
that be what bless be all about be some
one not be something. this be my opinon :

no .. no .. yup

[Ariaecheflame]

Originally Posted by Shivani Devi

How I see it, is that if you are totally fulfilled, happy and satisfied with the BE-ing, then there is nothing to strive for, but if you are not, the goal is not reached, despite it appearing in plain sight.

In the quantum view, one aspect of self is synonymous with existing as self, but in an alternate reality, there is still the striving to become that which we are contrary to the ego construct of existential awareness despite the existence of itself...thus a quantum entanglement occurs between the two aspects of 'being' and 'becoming'.

Putting it another way, there must be certain prerequisites, conditioned dissonance and karmic manifestations which are preliminary to the event of self actualisation for it to be realised and experienced as thus, and so, it's not so much an 'endless destination to be reached' more than a 'very dirty mirror that needs to be cleaned so that the light can reflect off it'. This is why, sadhana or spiritual purification is required...and so, when two mirrors are cleaned and placed facing each other...the light reflects off each other endlessly.

Although there is no 'goal' per se, it is said that the 'goal is never reached' because just when/as one thinks they have 'reached/achieved' nirvana by simply 'being' and not 'doing'...it never ends...it never stops and there's always more to learn...more to experience and to refine the whole process beyond the refinement.

Hi, Thanks Shivani Devi - I like your approach.

I appreciate the metaphor of the two mirrors - and the perspective I gained from your post.

I was speaking both in a spiritual and material sense - the material being my own westernised education and religious upbringing - the education promoted the attainment of personal goals and material possessions as the be all and end all - the basis of the entire journey appeared to be a constant state of trying to attain something in the physical in order so that we can 'BE' a somebody- where as the religion promoted that we almost be in a constant state of 'grovelling' to God - and waiting for said destination to arrive, or go to... the kingdom of heaven was always a place to go or a destination to go to so long as you were good and obeyed the laws - which in its own sense meant people were always busy striving to fit within its laws.

I have observed that the western world and its education systems have the whole striving thing a bit backwards maybe - there is no education for young people on how to just be -
I suppose that is something which would ideally come from the parents before mainstream education begins - a sense of being comfortable with ones own being - unfortunately though it can not always be fostered.

So anyway, given these experiences of mine I suppose it is quite natural to swing from one side to the other until some kind of middle ground is reached.

I see what other posters and yourself seem to point out as well - when it comes to spiritual striving - that the active force of striving can usher one along towards a state of being - or fuller emergence of self.

I tend to FEEL sometimes within my experiences of the culture I raised and influenced by that striving is often over emphasised though - at the cost of being - it is sort feels like of an empty striving - there is an emptiness which drives it -
I guess this has also been my experience as well -
Perhaps this is the difference now - when I feel a sense of self striving - it comes more from a place of being as opposed to a place of emptiness.

[Ariaecheflame]

Originally Posted by iamthat

Indeed. Striving is linked with the idea of becoming. We strive to become something more than we currently are. Eventually we surrender and accept that we are what we are. There is no-one we have to become, there is nothing we have to do, there is nowhere we have to go. Then we can simply BE.

The irony is that we have to go through the process of striving in order to let go of striving.

Peace.

I wonder what would happen if surrender came first? - or if a sense of being was fostered as a base for striving...

I guess I am thinking in terms of the westernised cultural and educational systems here - things I would have really thrived on as a kid in the school system.

[Ariaecheflame]

Originally Posted by boshy b. good

I say to be. because strive does survive
does stroll, and that's might be a mess.
i say be. because be does benignant and
that be what bless be all about be some
one not be something. this be my opinon :

no .. no .. yup

"Be some one not something"

[Moonglow]

Originally Posted by emeraldheart

Hello.

I am wondering if you have a preference at this time and place?

To strive or to BE?

I prefer to BE at this stage - I have strived for too long and I simply wish to be myself - In each moment - I am tired of goals in the material and even the spiritual models of living... as the western system often promotes... goals and endless destinations...

my high school and my Christian fundamentalist religion promoted the belief of a destination a lot... too much in the sense that no one was ever just able and allowed to be.

Hi emeraldheart,

This brings some thoughts to me.

What is one striving " to be"? For it seems to me existing and having life already establishes being.

I went through a time in which I was trying to please others. Went to church to please my parents. Put on different disguises to try and fit in with the crowd. Never felt myself through this. Yet myself would peak through, but held at bay.

I moved out on my own, left the church and found myself. At first felt a little strange, for it was new to let myself be myself. Sure there are still social ways to (at times) respect, suppose, but find by being myself people accept me more and feel more open.

People who hang with me seem to be more themselves in return.

As far as spiritually find it is all part of being and living this life. To be true to what resonates with me and not put on an air about it. If it feels false or not genuine, then this indicates to me that there is something there just not for me or to avoid.

Things change and I have changed through the years. A little bit wiser in some ways, but life always holds its surprises. To be able and willing to adjust to these seems a key.

All in all we are all being in ones own way. Whether striving for a goal or just living life as one is able.

Sometimes it just finding what settles with in and around and what each brings to my life. Which inspires and helps me along the way and settles and blends with just being.

[linen53]

For me to strive means I have goals I wish to achieve.

I've done all my striving in my life (kids raised, grandkids raised and retired now)

It's time for me to just Be.

[Starman]

If you believe that everyone was put here on this earth for a particular purpose then
often people strive to fulfill that purpose. When I was younger I had a lot of ambition,
but soon came to learn that what I was aiming at was my “calling” from a higher place.
Striving for me was fulfilling a higher, deeper, calling. In this life, I was meant to be a
social worker, a healer, etc.

As I consciously progressed on the spiritual path, I came to realize that I am not the doer;
a choice between striving or being suggests that I am the doer. Free will is an illusion.
We do at any given time what our character was meant to do. There is but one will and
we are but custodians of that will. Being is a pursuit just as much as pursuing is a state of
being. It is all a state of being in my opinion; the thing is just don’t get lost in it.

Our choices are not our own, rather they are the result of our conditioning. For better or
worst we are all possessed, and we are apt to live many lifetimes in this one life. I can truly
say that when I was younger it was a different lifetime with different conditioning then it is now.
At one time in my life I strived with great ambition but these days I am content to just be.