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by Steve Taylor, author of many books on spirituality and psychology including 
The Clear Light, The Leap, and The Calm Center

In general, there are three different modes in which we can live our lives: doing, thinking and being. Most of the day we’re busy doing – working in our jobs, doing chores, following our hobbies and enjoying ourselves in our free time. Thinking usually takes place between activities, when there’s nothing to occupy our attention, or during activities which are more repetitive and undemanding, when we don’t need to concentrate too much.

And being? Most people don’t spend much time being. Being occurs when we're relatively inactive and relaxing. It’s when our minds aren’t chattering away with thoughts, and when we aren’t concentrating our attention on tasks or activities. In this mode, we usually pay a lot of our attention to our surroundings, and to our own experience. We’re in this mode when we go for a leisurely walk, do sports such as swimming or running, meditate, do yoga or listen to music.

Of these three modes, our culture prizes the first two far above the third. Doing and thinking are seen as the engines of achievement. Thinking logically enables us to solve problems and come up with ideas. If we have a problem, we sit down and think it through. And doing – working and being busy – enables us to achieve our goals, to be productive, to make money and become successful.

But being is unproductive. It equates with laziness, and wasted time. Why waste our precious hours doing nothing when we could be filling them with activity and achievement?

The Benefits of Being

But this is misleading. Even in terms of achievement, relaxing and ‘doing nothing’ can be extremely beneficial. States of being and inactivity allow the creative potentials of the mind to manifest themselves. They allow insights and inspirations to flow. As I say in one of the pieces in The Clear Light:

I love the days of not needing
to be anywhere but now.
I love the days of not being productive
that become the most productive of all.
I love the days of doing nothing
that become gloriously full of being.

It’s in this state of being that ideas suddenly come to us, seemingly out of nowhere - when songwriters have ideas for songs, when writers have ideas for stories, when scientists suddenly ‘see’ the answers to problems that have vexed them, when inventors have ideas for new inventions. These creative potentials are usually blocked by the busy-ness of our minds and our lives. In order for them to emerge, both our lives and our minds have to become relatively empty and quiet.

This is why many - perhaps most - of the greatest discoveries, inventions and creative ideas in human history have not come about through ‘hard work’ or sustained logical thinking, but by doing nothing. That is, they have mostly occurred by accident, or unconscious intuition, in states of relaxation. The physicist Newton described how the ‘notion of gravitation came into his mind’ when he sat ‘in contemplative mood’ and saw an apple fall from a tree. (The apple didn’t actually fall on him, as is popularly believed.) The concept of coordinate geometry suddenly occurred to Rene Descartes when he was half asleep in bed, watching a fly buzz around the room.

A high proportion of the world’s great works of art were also inspired and conceived during moments of relaxed inactivity. The most recorded song of all time, "Yesterday" by The Beatles, was ‘heard’ by Paul McCartney as he was waking up one morning. The melody was fully formed in his mind, and he went straight to the piano in his bedroom to find the chords to go with it, and later found words to fit the melody. Mozart described how his musical ideas ‘flow best and most abundantly.’ when he was alone ‘traveling in a carriage or walking after a good meal, or during the night when I cannot sleep… Whence and how they come, I know not, nor can I force them.’

The Calm Center

I feel exactly the same about my own poetic reflections and meditations, published in The Clear Light. It’s difficult to say where the pieces come from. Most of them came as a surprise to me. I’ve learned not to expect them, or to wait for them. I only know that they tend to come at times when my life is fairly quiet, when I’m not busy with projects or duties, and free of pressure or deadlines. They tend to come when I have empty spaces of time to myself, and in a relaxed mood. In other words, they tend to come when I’m in the mode of being. They arise out of what I call ‘The clear light of the present.’

Since they arose from a state of being, it’s fitting that many of the pieces are about the importance of being. They describe how we need to be in order to regenerate our energies, to re-attune to ourselves, and to regain the feeling of well-being and connection to the world around us. Being belongs to the present, so we need to be in order to find the peace of presence, to resist the pull of the future and the past. We normally associate happiness with doing and having, but the most stable and the deepest well-being is that of being itself, which arises naturally when we stop striving to do or to have. As I say in the book,

Here there is no lack
only the wholeness of what is now.
Here there is no doubt
only the certainty of now.
Here there is no complexity
only the simple truth of now.

So why choose absence when we can be present?
Why be elsewhere when we can be here?

For me it’s wonderful that these pieces - which stem from the highest or deepest aspects of my own nature - seem to have the power to reach people’s highest, deepest selves too. This is one of the great things about art, be it music, poetry or painting - it’s a channel through which we can transmit our experience. If you feel ecstatic, sorrowful or awestruck you can express and capture your state of being in a piece of music or a painting. Your state of being or emotion becomes encapsulated in the piece, and it remains there, fresh and timeless, for any receptive listener to absorb. A piece which was written 300 years ago can be as fresh and inspiring as a piece which was written yesterday. This is especially true of spiritual art - spiritual poetry, spiritual music, or visual arts. At the spiritual level our connection is deepest and strongest. The spiritual is the ground of all our being, where individual differences fade away — in fact, where individuality itself fades away. At the spiritual level, we expand beyond distinctions of gender, ethnicity or religion, and touch into a common core. So insights and experiences from the spiritual level can be communicated very powerfully, without any barrier or interference. As I say in the book:

We are each other.
Every human being’s feelings flow
like currents of air through the atmosphere
of our communal being —
brushing each other’s souls
touching each other’s hearts
stirring mutual compassion.

The portal to these spiritual depths is a state of being. Being is the source of both creativity and spirituality.

Steve Taylor is the author of several bestselling books on psychology and spirituality, including The Clear Light, The Leap, and The Calm Center. His articles and essays have been published in over 50 academic journals, magazines and newspapers, including Scientific American and Psychology Today. Since 2011, he has appeared annually in Watkin’s Mind Body Spirit magazine’s list of “the world’s 100 most spiritually influential living people.” He lives in Manchester, England, with his wife and three children. Find out more about his work at www.stevenmtaylor.com.

Excerpted from the book The Clear Light. Copyright ©2020 by Steve Taylor. Printed with permission from New World Library.

Now that I am rapidly awakening on a spiritual level, I feel less patience and more anger in general. I want the world to wake up and change faster. Is this normal? I can't really relate to superficial people, have no tolerance for lying, and feel like I want out of my body. I'm new to your site but I absolutely love it!

Kathy

Astrea:

Like every other great quality, becoming patient and peaceful takes time. We all have triggers that are pulled and buttons that are pushed by the people close to us. Even the most enlightened individual can be frustrated with the slow pace of the world around her.

Remember that you have a HUMAN nature as well as a SPIRITUAL side, and the conditioning you've experienced your whole life won't change in a flash. Anger and impatience are part of the human condition, though you will be able to transcend those reactions more and more as you travel the spiritual path.

Of course we want those who are important to us to be learning the same spiritual lessons at the same time. Everyone goes through this at their own pace, however, so try to be more accepting. Open your heart to everyone you meet, from the check-out person at the pharmacy to the Highest Enlightened Teacher.

If you concentrate on the purity that YOU seek, it will take over and make you see others in a more open and caring way. I know this is easier said than done, but you can and will start to do it automatically. The more you know, the more you'll grow to be accepting and tolerant of others, and the more you'll be able to lead others to that same sort of peace.

Soon you'll begin to discover the changes in you affecting the people around you more and more. By showing others that you're leaving anger and ignorance behind, they'll want to do exactly the same thing. Be gentle in your approach to other people, however, as they may not be ready for all that you're going through.

Oh sure, it would be great if all the Enlightened Minds could change the world overnight, but that's impossible. Lightworkers have been at it for hundreds of years, and while we ARE making progress, it is very slow going at times. There are big shots who want wars and other discord in the world. It's difficult to change the way other people think and act, but that's no reason to stop trying. For every brick wall you hit on your way, there will be an open door.

Becoming more spiritually aware is not usually a recipe for anger and intolerance, but I understand what you're saying. Your desire for others around you to get it is very strong, so it's natural for you to feel as you do.

As you go along, you will grow to tolerate people who don't share your values better than you have in the past. Once you get where you want to go spiritually, you'll be able to lead others to that space in a kind and patient way. Keep trying, and keep letting your little light shine!

*****

Susyn:

Yes, this is a completely normal experience. I went through much the same thing when I began to awaken spiritually.

I recall standing in line at the grocery store, becoming very agitated by a mundane conversation between the clerk and a shopper. I found myself getting more and more frustrated, and wanted to shout out, Don't you people realize what's going on right under your noses? There is so much more to life than the price of grapes! Luckily, I held my tongue, but I was rather astounded at my anger and impatience with them.

I learned a lot from that experience, and was cautioned by other people whose spiritual advice I respected to accept that the clerk and shopper's paths were different from mine, and that I must allow them to be who and where they are. It was an important reminder to me that we all are in process and will all awaken at different times. (Once we do, however, it is hard to watch the rest of the world walk around clueless.)

You're sure to reach better balance as you continue your transformation. In fact, part of your process will be learning the art of tolerance, compassion and empathy for those who have yet to reach your level.

At some point, you may even be inspired to personally help them move a step closer to enlightenment themselves when they are ready. Often, many of us who experience this phenomenon find ourselves in position to teach and enlighten others either by setting a good example or sharing our experiences through metaphysical channels, and both can be quite rewarding.

Your sensitivity to dishonesty and superficiality isn't surprising now that you have moved so far away from them yourself. At first you'll seem to see these things everywhere, but soon it won't be as distressing as it is now. Your shock and frustration with others will also serve as wonderful reminders to continue to reach for the highest and best yourself.

There's nothing quite like the moment when our spirits awaken. It's only natural that we'd like everyone around us to experience the same freedom and joy we feel. It's wise, however, to remember that just as your awakening was activated by the Universe, when the time is right, everyone is given the opportunity to move to the next level that is right for them.

Be very grateful that your time has come. Remembering that it wasn't so long ago that you were operating in the dark will help you to be more patient and understanding with those who are less evolved, which should diffuse some of the frustration and anger you feel.

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.