subject: It's the Easiest Thing in the World to Be Conscious! - The Little Prince Series [print this page] Daily Insight into Higher Consciousness from the Story ofThe Little Prince
I used to struggle to stay present. I found it the hardest thing in the world to be present, aware, conscious.
Then the day came that all of my effort came to naught and I finally faced up to the fact that everything I was doing just wasn't working.
The crashed pilot has attempted three drawings of a sheep, in addition to having first drawn a boa constrictor. None of the drawings were any good. But when the Little Prince receives his fourth drawing of a sheep, he is thrilled.
How has the pilot been able to give the Little Prince just what the little fellow wanted?
He gets the drawing of the sheep right this time because he dashes it offspontaneously without a lot of fretting or thought. It's what flowsnaturally from his fountain pen.
This drawing is actually theopposite of what the mind would tell us a drawing of a sheep ought to be like.
You see, you can't actually see the sheep because it's crated and ready to travel.
This is a powerful image of how our lives need to be lived, a picture ofnonattachment.
The sheep isn't trying to make anything "happen." It isn't working laws of attraction, engaging in control of its thoughts, trying to regulate its feelings, trying to achieve a particular goal or outcome.
On the contrary the sheep has fallen asleep inside the crate!
The symbolism is potent. The sheep is able to fall asleep in these strange surroundings, which are ordinarily quite confining compared with munching on grass in an open field, because it is in full acceptance of its circumstances. There's no resistance at all.
When we are present in each moment, we have no difficulty accepting whatis, which enables us to totally relax inside ourselves.
To be an awake person is to be in a peaceful, restful state, not at all anxious. It's to experience no resistance to the now.
When we are conscious, we are entirely comfortable with whatever circumstances we find ourselves in. We are detached from having to have things a particular way, ready to go wherever life takes us.
Trying is deadly where presence, consciousness, enlightenment are concerned. Trying comes fromnot being conscious and is an unconscious act that's unconsciously motivated.
We have to give up trying and simply allow ourselves to be, which requires no effort.
Working on ourselves is theopposite ofrelaxing into what's already true of us if we but knew it.
To be enlightened is the most natural thing in the world. It's the easiest state to be in, requiring nothing but embracing our crate and resting peacefully so that life's flow can take us where we need to be.
*Editor's Note: The Namaste Publishing audio bookLessons in LovingA Journey into the Heart unveils the spiritual meaning of the story of the Little Prince from cover to cover on five CDs, a full seven hours of listening.
It's the Easiest Thing in the World to Be Conscious! - The Little Prince Series
