Anamchara - Living An Essential Life

What is essential in your life? This question contains one of the most important words an question can address. This is the word "essence." To know your "essence" is to live the mystery of life rather than the illusion of "your life."

One of my simple pleasures is browsing second hand bookshops. They have a very distinct smell. They feel warm and inviting and often they take me back to earlier times in my life.

As I normally do I find more books that I might ever read. I found a book by Rudyard Kipling called "The Jungle Book." I have only ever seen the wonderful fun movie of this name. There are sentimental connections with this movie from my youth. The hero of the story is a child called Mowgli who gets lost in the heart of the jungle. It is a metaphor for many of us living in this 21st Century.

Mowgli was a nickname that somehow got attached to me when I was around ten to twelve years old. Maybe it was because I felt lost and needed to be found and taken from the heart of this jungle of conditional love.

The Jungle Book was turned into a wonderful musical cartoon full-length film. In it the character of the bear named Baloo sings a song. This song is called "Bear Necessities." I love this song, as it is a song of gladness and confidence. It is a song about attraction and the experience of enough.

I often ask questions of others and myself in relation to what is essential. What is essential to life apart from food, shelter and clothing? These are essentials for the well being of the body. Beyond this what else is essential for a happy and fulfilled purpose focused life.

We have so many things, which we consider essential to living. We do this because we have forgotten our essence. We have forgotten what it is simple "to be." The prefix of this word essence (esse) comes from the root of the words "to be." We have forgotten how to be essential.

We have become people of the "never enough." We are like the monkeys in the story of "The Jungle Book." These monkeys are referred to in the book as "the people of the food." They eat and eat and never seem to get enough. This I believe is a metaphor for our Western consumer society. This is because these "people of the food" have lost the ability to feel their essence. They have lost the knowing of how to be essential. The leader of the "people of the food" has become greedy for power and forgotten that nothing quiet satisfies like love.

Being is more fun. It is simply allowing the energy within to move freely. It is the ultimate freedom. It is knowing you are one with it all and can have it all. We have been taught that you are to "do your life." We are taught to ransom your present moment for some dreamed of future.

The greatest gift we ever have now is to be present to this feeling of aliveness. Our disease and discomfort arise from absence from being. We have fallen out of ease with the natural flow of our life's energy. We miss our essence and we miss what is essential for a fulfilled happy and prosperous life.

Economics tells us that we live in world of scarcity. It teaches us to live in fear of not getting our share. We more and more live in the pace of scare-city. Our media is full of images, which focus us on fear. Fear is of the ego. It is not of your essential nature. T is a product of limited thing. It is not the liberation of knowing who you are.

The "bare necessities of life will come to you" if you will allow them. These will be more than bare. If you allow them to be gifts and be thankful for them they will begin to fill you up. They will give meaning and comfort to you. This is the essential ingredient, which is missing from the attitude of the "people of the food."

Stop struggling to "do your life." Remember you are a human being and not a human doing. You have forgotten how it feels to be graced with your full humanity. You have forgotten the grace of your essence. You struggle and you constantly do in order to validate your existence. The sadness is that this teaching is passed to our children who give up their creativity for education.

We view our world as a place of competition and adversity. We approach the world with an armoured heart and then ask where the joy has gone.

The "people of the food" are those who live in hell. This is a psychological rather than a physical place. There is in this place a great banquet. There is food of all sorts and yet the "people of the food" go hungry. The irony is that the exact same thing is happening in a psychological place called heaven.

When God was asked about this situation and why one set of beings was fulfilled and the other clearly dissatisfied and even despairing. God gave a simple answer. He said "In heaven we feed the other."

Life is not a jungle. It has laws that are to be followed. When we live from an essential place then there is always enough. You only have to make a heart felt commitment to being essentially who you are. This is the most courageous act any individual can make.

There is nothing to be added to the essential you. You only have to be prepared to let go. You have to be prepared to receive the "bare necessities of life" and allow them to come to you. Realise you are forever enough. Blessings be upon you.

Tony Cuckson is an Anam Cara. This Celtic term means "Soul Friend." He specializes in providing insight for the spiritual journey, Blessings for YOU, words of wisdom and finding inner peace. Visitors to Irish Blessings Matter website and Tony's Blog get the opportunity to develop a purpose driven life through articles, newsletters and other programs.

Get your free report called "7 ways to it's a wonderful life" at http://www.irishblessingsmatter.com/, or go to Tony`s Blog at http://www.irishblessingsmatter.info/ where you will find links to information related to spiritual parenting, spiritual coaching and spirit in business.

---

How To Walk On The Path Of Peace (Part 1)

As there are silent depths in the ocean, which the... Read More

Wake-Up Call

Direct Answers - Column for the week of October 7,... Read More

Sissys Show of Support

I had been fighting with the software program that I... Read More

Why Are We So Lost? The Journey Home

Did you ever wonder how you ended up where you... Read More

Forgotten Dreams: At the End... Part I

Treasures of a lifetime...At the end of your life will... Read More

Inside Secrets On How To Stay Afloat During Tough Times

Do you find yourself asking questions when tough times come... Read More

Weapons of Mass Distraction

Anything that draws one away from the business of living... Read More

Discover How To Make The Success Generating Imagination Work For You

The secret power of positive thinkers is their faith. And... Read More

Hope in Humanity

Let us renew our hope in humanity. It's so easy... Read More

Leaving The Child Behind. Recovery From Child Abuse

I looked at my father for the last time before... Read More

The Power of Courtesy and Kindness

I'm currently listening to The Secrets of the Power of... Read More

Comfort and Achievement

I'll share with you one of my deepest insights about... Read More

The Final Frontier

When all that you have done has not brought you... Read More

Charge Your Imagination (2)

As year 2004 winds up and professionals and corporate bodies... Read More

Vistas

The other day I found myself frustrated with the slow... Read More

Nurture Your Heart

Pregnant with her first child, Jill could barely contain her... Read More

The Pledge

You know kids, one of the things I've learned by... Read More

Lisas Christmas

Lisa was born into a loving Christian family and went... Read More

Lifetime of Discoveries: Moments of Peace and Renewal

There are discoveries all around us—small gifts of joy that... Read More

A Prison Cell?

Do you have a goal? A focus in life? Have... Read More

How You Can Change Your Destiny

The outer conditions of a person's life will always be... Read More

What is Passion?

What is passion? Recently after a presentation, I was once... Read More

What Inspires You?

Have you ever thought? What inspires YOU? What is it... Read More

What Does it Take to Make Life Better?

What does it take for you to pay attention?You've probably... Read More

Escape From the Dungeon: Jennifers Survival Story

Have you ever been encountered with a trauma in life... Read More

Discernment and Judgement

Discernment is an inner guide or compass. It is loving... Read More

Create Your Way Out of It

When life has you feeling less than happy, and you... Read More

Using Appreciation to Make a Difference

When in 1996 a local Secondary School opened, the staff... Read More

Taking Life Head On

"We are built to conquer environment, solve problems, achieve goals... Read More

Patience - The Antidote for Stress

Why is it so difficult to hold steadfast to a... Read More

Listening to Your Inner Voice May Save Your Life

"I was washing my breakfast dishes one morning when it... Read More

Conscious Living

Earlier this year, following an intention to live more consciously,... Read More

Why Integrity!

There is much said in the word "integrity"! According to... Read More