The Lakota phrase Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ describes Reality by addressing it as “All My Relations.” All humans, all animals, all plants, all the waters, the soil, the stones, the mountains, the grasslands, the winds, the clouds and storms, the sun and moon, stars and planets are our relations and are relations to one another. We are connected to each other in multiple and vital ways. When one is in pain, all are harmed. When there is justice for one, there is more justice for all.
It is time for the dominant culture to finally learn that its people cannot harm those it deems lesser than themselves simply because it wants to and can. This is, simply, wrong. It violates the fundamental nature of reality. Actions that violate the fundamental nature of reality build tension into the system that eventually causes a loss of balance and a rebound of consequence to those who broke natural law. This is true whether the ones being unjustly persecuted and abused are human beings whose color or religious beliefs are not those of the dominant culture, or parts of the natural world that those of the dominant culture judge as insentient or even not-living. In all these cases, the dominant culture judges these “others” as unacceptable or lesser than themselves, and therefore undeserving of respect and reciprocity.
Being “woke” is not simply a matter of learning what words to speak. Truly right words can only come from a heart that is open to the living world’s grief, that is willing to be broken by the pain of this grief. Such a heart experiences the pain that all the rest of creation has suffered for generations upon generations, and in doing this it helps to share and bear that burden. Only then, once the true heart has shattered from this pain, can Real Knowledge flow into it. It enters through the spaces between the shattered fragments. This is the pathway to true healing, for that heart and the heart of creation itself.
===Notes about the translation and meaning of Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ:
Although “All Our Relations” is the most common translation of Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ — even Vine Deloria, Jr. defines it as such in his books — the phrase actually bears within it rich layers of additional meaning that cannot be easily translated into English. It’s important to point this out because words and ideas, stories and rituals, are bound together into a single reality that must be respected, not misappropriate. In the video, the late Sicungu Lakota Elder Albert White Hat, a friend who was on Tapestry’s board for many years, explains this matter of language and concept being inextricably interwoven.
The Native relationship to nature is revealed in Native hunting and food-growing practices. It is believed that the animals we hunt, whom we view as our relatives, offer themselves to us as an act of Metta. In return, the hunter must do something for the animal, for instance a deer dance or buffalo dance, to thank the animal and pray for regeneration of the animal’s family. When it comes to the food that we grow, we have dances and seasonal fertility rituals, which are ceremonies that bring us into direct relationship with the spirit of plants and Earth consciousness.
I see the whole Native way as realizing our relationship with everything and ourselves as an integral part of all things, which in turn causes us to treat the Earth and other forms of life with respect, as part of our family. Western civilization is finally recognizing that relationship. Suddenly people are saying that the Earth is alive and talking about Gaia and holistic worldviews and systems theory. Native people are basically saying, “Yes, welcome home.”
The Indian elders say, “We must remember also the four-footed, those who swim and those who fly, those who crawl and those who move very slowly like the stone people, and all the green and growing things.” Within this sacred circle we are one. What we do affects everyone, everything. These great teachings remind us of our responsibility to care for all life. In our pursuit of progress and comfort we have separated ourselves from our place in this great circle. Earth traditions bring us back into harmony and balance within the circle.The Lakota end all prayers with “O Mitakuye Oyasin,” meaning “I do this for all my relations (or all sentient beings).” Dualism happens when egocentricity develops, creating a split with nature, each other and all life. When I was departing for a yearlong retreat in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, I told the medicine woman Bertha Grove, “I’ll be alone for a long time.” She replied, “You’re not going to be alone. When you go outside and look around, you won’t feel alone at all. You’ll be completely accompanied by the trees, the plants, the birds and the animals.” For many years, I had learned about nonduality and the teachings of integration, but Grove’s way of saying it was like a direct transmission.
Animism flows from the belief that everything is part of an interconnected web of life. It is deeply embedded in many indigenous worldviews and as well as nondual meditation traditions from Tibet, India, China and Egypt. Both animism and nonduality share some profound philosophical and experiential similarities.
While not explicitly labeled as apophatic, many indigenous religions share core principles with apophatic theology, particularly in their emphasis on the mystery of the divine, the limitations of human language, and the importance of direct experience. The apophatic lens can offer a valuable framework for understanding and appreciating the diverse spiritual expressions found in indigenous cultures. The concept of the “Unknown God” in ancient Egyptian religion, and the debate among scholars about whether it was monotheistic, henotheistic, or polytheistic, can be seen as related to apophatic ideas, as it acknowledges a divine reality beyond human comprehension. How it Relates to Indigenous Religions:
While apophatic theology is primarily associated with specific theological traditions like Christian mysticism and negative theology within Hinduism and Islam, its core principles resonate with some aspects of indigenous religions.
Emphasis on Mystery:
Many indigenous traditions emphasize the sacredness and mystery of the natural world and the divine, often employing symbolic language and ritual practices that point to something beyond literal explanation.
Reverence for Nature:
Indigenous religions often have a deep connection with the natural world, viewing it as imbued with spiritual power and interconnectedness, which can be seen as an expression of the divine in a way that transcends human concepts.
Oral Traditions:
Many indigenous traditions rely on oral traditions and stories, which often utilize metaphors and symbolism to convey spiritual truths, rather than relying on propositional statements.
Focus on Experience:
Indigenous spiritual practices often prioritize direct experience and personal connection with the spiritual realm, rather than relying solely on abstract theological doctrines.
Both challenge the rigid subject-object dualism and reductionist materialism that dominate modern thought and instead present an interconnected, holistic and kinship-based worldview and an embodied experience of existence.
I believe our ecological crisis of climate change and biodiversity collapse is ultimately a crisis of consciousness. Our disconnection from nature fuels both ecological collapse and a mental health epidemic. Reclaiming the felt sense of interconnectedness found in animism and nonduality is a powerful antidote to our alienation.
I have found that practicing nondual awareness and spending more time outdoors exploring with mindful awareness practices can dramatically reduce self-reflective overthinking, help to get to the root of today’s existential anxiety epidemic and heal our alienation from nature. Through nondual awareness practices, we can start to feel a deeply rooted sense of aliveness and kinship with all other living beings. In animistic cosmology, we are not separate from nature and we exist within a kinship worldview where we feel fundamentally at home in this world. In animism, there is no strict division between self and nature; rather, existence is participatory. The forest is not just a backdrop for people but a dynamic, intelligent presence.
After 40 years of active study and practice of the Buddhist teachings and having written four books on what I call Buddha inspired psychology, I recently found a very insightful perspective that elaborated on what I had learned before. The insight is that the Buddhist teachings are a mysticism, which inherently undercuts any easy attempts at codification. Therefore, union with the divine or emptiness is experienced rather than defined and categorized through limited language. such an emphasis on first-hand experience runs contrary to abstract, ‘positive’ cataphatic theology. this book is the unique and cogent perspective that incorporates the Buddhist teachings as a ‘negative’ apophatic theology.
While there are some scholarly books and research articles on the topic of apophatic theology, very few incorporate the Buddha’s teachings. I hope to show in this book that indeed Buddhist teachings and wisdoms are succinctly integrated into this apophatic spiritual tradition that spans cultures and time. Within the larger scope of the typology of ‘via negative’, the Buddhist teachings of nothingness or emptiness or Sunyata are clearly a part of the apophatic spiritual tradition.
Therefore, this book goes beyond what is usually taught in traditional Buddhist texts. My aim is to make accessible from a modern perspective what the Buddha was universally teaching for those who are on their own spiritual path of personal discovery.
–I have always been struck by the universal applicability of the Buddha’s teachings, which transcend geographical and temporal constraints. The integration of these teachings with proponents of apophatic theology has only reinforced my belief in their universality. Despite four decades of rigorous research, temple retreats, lectures, and meditation practice, it is only now that I have uncovered this enlightening connection between the Buddha’s teachings and the apophatic traditions. It is my sincere desire to share this newfound insight with my fellow spiritual seekers.
-I have always appreciated that the Buddha taught universal truths that are applicable everywhere and throughout time. Integration of these truths with other teachers of the Apophatic theology has affirmed my belief in this universality of the Buddha’s teachings. Even with my forty years of research studies, attendance of temple retreats with monks and lay lectures and meditation practice, I have only now found this instructive link between the Buddha’s teachings with other teachers of the Apophatic tradition, and I want to share this with my fellow spiritual path voyagers. I believe they will also find it as interesting and illuminating as I have.
The Apophatic emphasis on firsthand experience hence knowledge, stands in stark contrast to abstract, ‘positive’ cataphatic theology. This latest work of mine presents a unique and compelling perspective that positions the Buddha’s teachings firmly within a ‘negative’ apophatic theological framework.
While there are scholarly works and research articles on apophatic theology, very few incorporate the profound teachings of the Buddha. In this book, I aim to demonstrate how Buddha’s wisdom can be seamlessly integrated into this spiritual tradition that transcends cultural and temporal boundaries. Within the broader context of the ‘via negativa’ typology, the Buddhist concepts of nothingness, emptiness, or Sunyata are undeniably intertwined with the apophatic spiritual tradition. It is my sincere desire to share this newfound insight with my fellow spiritual seekers.
Non-duality is the recognition that at the core of existence lies a fundamental wholeness, ultimately arising from a single, unified source. It is understanding that everything is interconnected and inseparable, and that perceived dualities—such as self and other, or subject and object—are ultimately illusions. Awakening to non-duality offers profound benefits for our well-being, relationships, and understanding of life. Interestingly, recent advances in various branches of science are beginning to echo these insights.
1. Unity with All Beings – Everything is interconnected and constantly interacting. We are all connected on a deep level and when we see beyond the surface-level distinctions, we embrace the oneness of everything. When we realize our affinity with All that share this gift of Life, we experience a profound sense of unity and wholeness and have a deep sense of compassion and empathy towards all living beings.
2. Living in the Present Moment – Non-duality helps us release attachment to the past and anxieties about the future, allowing us to remain serenely fully in the present. Free from judgment or rigid interpretation, we experience life with greater clarity and peace.
3. Transcendence of Duality – By realizing non-duality, we move beyond the limitations of binary thinking—such as mind vs. body or self vs. other. While categorization is useful for practical navigation, it can also be a source of suffering. Non-dual awareness fosters a broader, more flexible perspective, freeing us from illusions of separation and the biases they create.
4. Enhancing Psychological Well-Being – Non-dual awareness has profound psychological and emotional benefits, not just for individuals but for society and the planet. Also, when we no longer see self as a separate entity, the fear of death diminishes; it is understood not as annihilation but as a transformation within the continuum of existence.
5. Embracing the Mystery of Existence – Non-duality invites us to appreciate life’s mysteries and accept the unknown. Rather than resisting uncertainty, we learn to welcome the vast possibilities and complexities of existence.
6. A Path of Awakening – Non-dualism spans ancient traditions and modern teachings, offering a structured path for personal and transpersonal growth. True awakening involves a transformative shift from conditioned ways of thinking, feeling, and acting toward a life aligned with universal principles.
As Valentine’s Day draws near, it brings with it a gentle reminder of Love—a deep and intricate emotion that has touched hearts throughout history. Thinkers like Plato and Aristotle pondered love’s many forms, defining it as Eros (romantic love), Philia (friendship), Storge (familial love), and Agape (selfless, universal love). These distinctions show us that love is not just one feeling but a rich tapestry of emotions that connect us uniquely, demonstrating how love appears in countless ways and situations.
Eros, with its fiery passion, often inspires us to seek out romantic connections, while Philia helps us cultivate cherished friendships that bolster our well-being. Storge embodies the tender care found within families, which lays the groundwork for who we become and how we act. Lastly, Agape represents the boundless love that compels us to extend kindness to all living beings without expectation. This universal essence of love serves as a testament to why it holds such fascination for humanity—it is ingrained into our existence, influencing every interaction and emotion we encounter.
As we celebrate Valentine’s Day, let us honor love’s rich diversity and its incredible ability to unite us in meaningful ways, encouraging us to acknowledge and cherish the many forms it takes within our journeys.
Today is the launch of my new book- The Garden of Eden in This Life. It is available in paperback, hardcover and kindle on Amazon. The following is the book description. With Metta, Rodger Ricketts.
What if the story of the Garden of Eden wasn’t just ancient myth, but a timeless guide to reclaiming our original wholeness? What if the “fall” from innocence was not the end, but an invitation to return—consciously—to a deeper unity with ourselves, each other, and the world?
In The Garden of Eden in This Life, Dr. Rodger R. Ricketts—a clinical psychologist, mindfulness teacher, and lifelong student of the Buddha’s teachings—unveils a profound perspective linking ancient wisdom, modern psychology, and the apophatic (negative) spiritual tradition. Drawing from over forty years of study and practice, he explores how non-dualistic teachings from Buddhism, science, and multiple faith traditions reveal the limits of language, the illusions of separation, and the path back to an integrated state of being.
You will journey through concepts like Sunyata (emptiness), the via negativa, and the psychology of transcendence—discovering how humanity’s separation from nature and spirit can be healed through direct experience, compassionate living, and expanded awareness.
This is more than a philosophical exploration—it’s a practical roadmap for living with clarity, joy, and interconnectedness. Through cross-cultural insights, reflective practices, and meditative approaches, Dr. Ricketts shows how embracing the ineffable mystery of life can dissolve division, foster ecological and social harmony, and restore our inner paradise.
Whether you are a seeker, a meditator, a student of comparative religion, or someone simply longing for a more meaningful existence, The Garden of Eden in This Life will inspire you to see beyond duality and step into a living experience of unity.
If you are ready to move beyond dogma, transcend the limits of language, and reawaken to the timeless ground of being—this book will guide you there. Open these pages and begin your journey back to the Garden… in this life.
Chapter 10- The Ineffability of Transcendence and Nothingness The God is No-Thing An Apophatic Assertion: An Introduction for Humankind’s Transpersonal Actualization– revised -. Copyright Rodger Ricketts Psy.D.,2023. All rights reserved. Protected by international copyright conventions. No part of this chapter may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever, or stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, without express permission of the Authorpublisher, except in the case of brief quotations with due acknowledgement.
Chapter 10
We have heard the phrase “I just don’t know how to describe it” when we attempt to put into words what we have directly experienced. Apophatic theology wonders about the same thing, but on a different level, of how to speak about the transcendent reality as different from cataphatic theology, which describes “God” or the divine by using affirmations or positive statements. Mystics have often insisted that their experiences of transcendence or divinity are beyond the realm of language and concepts.“God is greater than anything that we can conceive,” as said by Saint Anselm.
Many thinkers throughout history have recognized this impossibility of positively describing the All, commonly called “God,” and instead affirm its ultimate mystery, incomprehensibility, and ineffability. For example, in the magazine Fiddlehead, author Tim Lilburn states, “The deepest truth in all things is numinous or mysterious, these Apophatic masters taught, beyond reason, beyond language.” In The Unknown God: Negative Theology in the Platonic Tradition: Plato to Eriugena (2015), the academic Deirdre Carabine wrote,
The Apophatic or negative way stresses God’s absolute transcendence and unknowability in such a way that we cannot say anything about the Divine essence because God is so totally beyond being. The dual concept of the immanence and transcendence of God can help us to understand the simultaneous truth of both ‘ways’ to God: at the same time, as God is immanent, God is also transcendent. At the same time, as God is knowable, God is also unknowable. God cannot be thought of as one or the other only.
In his book Language & Silence (1998), essayist, literary critic and teacher George Steiner writes,
In Buddhism […] the highest, purest reach of the contemplative act is that which has learned to leave language behind it. The ineffable lies beyond the frontiers of the word. It is only by breaking through the walls of language that visionary observance can enter the world of total and immediate understanding. Where such understanding is attained, the truth needs no longer suffer the impurities and fragmentation that speech necessarily entails.
The Dhamma or Truth (the teachings of the Buddha) is “profound, hard/difficult to see and to fathom, peaceful and sublime, unattainable by mere reasoning/not within the sphere of reasoning, subtle, to be experienced by the wise” (M.I.167). In the Buddha’s apophatic discourse, there are two levels of truth: conventional and transcendent. Language and theories are only valid at the conventional dualistic level, where they can make logically coherent assertions. However, at the ultimate non-dualistic level, language can only point to the truth that must be directly experienced and realized. The teacher, monk and philosopher Nāgārjuna suggests a total relinquishing of all views: “I prostrate to Gautama Buddha, Who through compassion, Taught the true doctrine, Which leads to the relinquishing of all views” (see Examinations of Views, MMK XXVII). In fact, the apophatic tradition warns of the relativity of concepts and against the reification of ideas and experiences.
Christianity has long struggled with the problem of creating a linguistic description of “God.” There is the easily recognized problem that, since language is based on worldly/human experiences and categories, it is, therefore, impossible to reflect a transcendent existence. In other words, since language is a finite and relativistic tool, it cannot describe an infinite and transcendent “existence.” As theologian Emmett Fox wrote, using Christian terms, “Material language is made to fit material needs, and it simply will not satisfactorily express true spiritual ideas.” For these, we need the new Tongue of which Jesus spoke. We seldom realize how much we really are in the grips of the dictionary. Fox emphasized that we have certain experiences, and then we have language, with its hard-and-fast boundaries, that says, “You shall not say that wonderful thing—you shall say only this—and we find on paper the pale, lifeless shadow of the thing that came to life in our soul.” While an experience is direct and knowable, our description of it is abstracted and conceptualized.
There is a wealth of apophatic examples in the Buddhist canon, for instance, in Saṃyutta 43. Nibbāna or Nirvāṇa (the highest spiritual state and the ultimate goal of Buddhism) is negatively qualified as unconditioned, uninclined, taintless, non-manifested, deathless, unelaborated. This shows the avoidance of categorically defining or describing a reality that is ultimately beyond linguistic description, as it is unconditioned, whereas language is always conditioned.
These apophatic traditions open easily to non-duality. The non-duality experience is the realization of unity after the cognitively constructed veil of duality is lifted. Besides the Christian examples, in Buddhism, sunyata—the experience of the void or nothingness—is taught as being beyond conceptions or categorical thought, and, like the Taoist Dao, it remains inexhaustible and ever-present.
When questioned about the nature of awakening, and since the experience is ineffable, the Buddha did not theorize or use conceptualization. The Buddha saw no truth in anything beyond contact or direct experience for, as is commonly taught in Buddhism, no theories, no conceptions, and no experience can go beyond contact and remaining meaningful. The Buddha teaches how to see “things as they are,” or better, “things as they have come to be thus” without substantial, ontological essences.
Saññā or Language as a Necessarily Biased Cognitive Tool
By understanding the nature of language and conceptualization, awakened individuals are trained through Bhavana or cultivation to a detachment from the intellect, allowing them to experience reality beyond the limitations of their thoughts and mental constructs. Especially by analyzing the thorough teachings of the Buddha, we can develop a fruitful discourse about the apophatic traditions’ insights into the limitations of language trying to describe the ineffable.
Knowing the relation of the Buddhist word saññā to language is crucial for the proper understanding of linguistics. Saññā is described as a label, perception, allusion, act of memory or recognition, interpretation, and language is meant to be a tool for our relative and efficient functioning in the world. Concepts belong to the field of language and to saññā. They have their own natural context in which they function well. Therefore, we can perceive and recognize the world in a way that reflects our past experiences.
Saññā works by grasping the main feature of an object while ignoring other less obvious features. It works by categorizing, labelling and finding similarities and differences. This allows the classification of objects in the same groups and for comparisons among them. This simplifies our experience in a necessary way. Otherwise, we would become overburdened with an excess of information and survive poorly if at all in the world. What one perceives, one expresses, but in a feedback loop, our expressions also influence our perception of the world.
When someone tries to describe the “ultimate reality” through perceptions and language, they are committing an error of metaphysics: trying to go beyond the realm of language while using language. As the religious teacher Anthony de Mello expressed it, “Every word, every image used for God is a distortion more than a description.”Instead, the best that one can do is to recognize that at some point of understanding, the utility of explanation, perception and conceptualization ends, and then one remains silent.
Here lies an important understanding of the apophatic rejection of metaphysics and the rejection of developing theories about what exists and how we know that it exists. Language does not truly represent the world. When one understands the workings of language, one no longer attaches significance to metaphysical theories. For example, according to early Buddhism, the realm of metaphysics is created by seeking “ultimate” correlates for language, which should only be properly understood functionally. Since the teachings of the Buddha are expressed through language and language is based on saññā, neither is meant to represent “ultimate reality.” Instead, the Buddhist view is that liberating insight takes place when thoughts and perceptions cease (even though one’s senses and vedanā, or felt experience, are still functioning normally).
Knowing experience, or the transcendent, has nothing to do with discrimination, analysis, or being separated from it. When saññā and language fall away, one can no longer speak of discernment. Even if one says, “This state is beyond words and cannot be expressed by language; it is timeless, spaceless, God, love, Ultimate, never-ending, etc.,” one is still construing, describing, and misappropriating language. More succinctly, all one can do is remain silent, leaving language, with all its limitations, to merely indicate a way to transcending it, using it as a “raft.”
A useful analogy the Buddha used to describe his teachings was that they are like a raft that carries you to the opposite shore of awakening. The raft is needed to cross the river, but a wise person would not carry the raft around after making it across to the other shore. Use the raft to cross to the other shore but do not become attached to it. You must be able to let it go. Also, all words about transcendent realities are just a raft, hints, or guideposts. Similarly, do not hold onto words as if they are the realities. The Buddha many times stated that his Dhamma or teachings are solely a “raft” that performs the function of reaching the goal of awakening, and apart from that, one remains silent about all else. His teachings describe the practical path leading to the eradication of suffering. In almost all situations, the Buddha limited himself to presenting the path to liberation and to correcting others when they overextended and misused language.
We should remember the helpful analogy from Thich Nath Hahn and the Zen tradition: “A finger pointing at the moon is not the moon. The finger is needed to know where to look for the moon, but if you mistake the finger for the moon itself, you will never know the real moon.” In other words, the moon represents the true transcendent emptiness experience, and the Dhamma, or teachings, are represented by the finger. The Zen master speaks about the Dhamma or teachings as the finger which points to the true transcendent “mind,” and it was his disciple’s mistake to suppose that the true “mind” could be known only by the rational abstraction of the teachings. Instead, words create confusion and there are no words for the deepest experience. While not everything is unsayable in words, the transcendent truth is.
In this chapter, Enlightenment is understanding your true nature. It’s the realization that you are not a separate ego, you are part of the eternal, unbounded energy of the universe. While the Buddha’s teachings describe the clear and practical path leading to the eradication of Dukkha, or dissatisfaction and alienation, in fact, language and conceptual thought are insufficient for achieving awakening and ultimate reality which is beyond the reach of language.As theologian Rudolf Otto said:The holy is ineffable and cannot be fully comprehended or articulated through language. In many early Buddhist texts, there is an acknowledgment of the difficulty of articulating the insights that led to the Buddha’s awakening or characterizing the state of awakening itself because they are beyond the limits of language and conceptuality. In the next chapter, I will demonstrate how awakening is an experience that can be understood through an apophatic interpretation of spirituality.
I recently rediscovered the concept of “flow” that Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi introduced as a psychological concept in 1990 with his book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. I was struck by its application within positive psychology. Positive psychology focuses on behaviors that foster a flourishing, meaningful, and worthwhile life, aiming to discover methods for personal enhancement. The flow state, also termed “optimal experience,” is characterized by a harmony between mind and body, resulting in complete engagement and enjoyment in the activity. Csikszentmihalyi described this experience as one where,
…the ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you’re using your skills to the utmost.
He identified key characteristics of flow, such as the merging of action and awareness, a loss of self-consciousness, and a distorted sense of time.
Interestingly, there are notable parallels between Csikszentmihalyi’s concept of flow and the Buddhist principle of mindfulness. I have been studying and teaching mindfulness for twenty years due to my interest in Buddhist teachings and their applications to mental health issues. Mindfulness, as defined by Kabat-Zinn (2012), involves wakefulness – a state of awareness in every waking moment – that enhances well-being, contentment, and absorption in the present moment, leading to a similar “losing track of time” as described in Csikszentmihalyi’s flow. It is intriguing to realize that my explorations and teaching of mindfulness included the concept of flow without my fully recognizing their interconnectedness.
There are important similarities between the practices of flow and mindfulness, and this paper will focus on several of these parallels. With mindfulness, we are consciously at one with the action. In the context of mindfulness, wakefulness can best be described as a state of focused awareness in every waking moment (Kabat-Zinn, 2012). Wakefulness enhances our subjective well-being and heightens our contentment with our inner self and the world. Finally, we “lose track of time” as we remain absorbed in the ever-present moment.
An illustration of the application of flow in mindfulness is when we remain in the nonjudgmental “now” and discover the sense of wholeness. Concepts like “in the moment,” “in the present,” and “centered” are all attempts to describe the mindfulness experience. By applying mindfulness to our everyday work, interpersonal interactions, leisure, hobbies, dance, yoga, walking, eating, and other pursuits, we transform our lives into constantly innovative and creative experiences. When completing a task, the mindfulness/flow experience fosters an impromptu, connected, creative, cheerful, and pleasant sensation. We experience an open state, where the interior and exterior are completely interconnected. We lose “ourselves” to discover who we really are.
We can experience oneness in any circumstance throughout our lives. By cultivating the mental culture of mindfulness, we refine the discipline to transcend the experience of duality. We enter a state of openness – of absolute connectedness between the inside and the outside. We surrender our carping, judging thoughts to flow. Our way of thinking typically categorizes everything into strict, binary categories of good and bad, right and wrong, either/or. In my book The Buddha’s Teachings: Seeing Without Illusion, A Contemporary Cognitive Science Perspective (available on Amazon), I describe, in contemporary language, how the Buddha taught this nondualism. Even though the process of thinking is not only acceptable but vital, we tend to make the mistake of assuming that our ideas, classifications, and beliefs are the only true reality or benchmark. An old saying comes to mind: “The mind is a great servant but a terrible master.”
Through the practice of mindfulness and the experience of living in a state of flow, we come to understand that wisdom, compassion, and happiness are attained when we relinquish our subject/object illusion. Life transforms into a less stressful, more creative, and enjoyable experience, allowing us to live a positive existence characterized by respect and care for both ourselves and others. The interconnectedness of life – the intrinsic connection between all living and non-living entities – becomes increasingly apparent, as does the preciousness of life itself. Integrating the flow and mindfulness experiences into our lives can have many positive effects that are just waiting to make a difference for us.
Would it not be prudent for our educational institutions, businesses, and governments to incorporate teachings on flow and mindfulness into their curricula? Such an initiative could positively alter our worldview, culture, and our relationships with both ourselves and one another. I believe that the incorporation of flow and mindfulness into our daily lives could yield countless positive effects that are poised to create meaningful change.
We are all Interconnected even with the Universe 