Mindful Monday: Not Knowing

I want to continue on the thread from last week about slowing down, letting things simmer, and creating space to be with the unknown.

There is a common belief that going slow means we will be left behind, or we aren’t being productive. This is not my experience.

For me, going slow means I am more present and awake in this moment. And when I am more present, things flow with more ease. I connect to my true essence, which brings richness and depth to the simplest of moments.

Last month, I attended a retreat that deeply touched my soul. As I continue to process and digest the teachings, things are becoming clearer. I am seeing and feeling the impact, but it has taken time.

In the retreat, we explored how we find our nourishment, peace, love, and fulfillment and how we feel safe, whole, and satisfied. 

Throughout the retreat, the teachers encouraged us to go slow and be with our experience. I noticed how my body would instantly relax every time they would say to go slow. 

I have a new appreciation and deeper understanding of the depth of going slow.

As I have created space to process this retreat, there have been moments when I felt nothing made sense. I also had feelings of confusion.

It has been helpful to remind myself when we are amid a shift or transformation, things don’t always make sense. It is like a re-wiring or recalibration that takes place. Not knowing can be part of the process, and confusion can happen when an ego structure dissolves. 

When we let go of needing to know, there is less analyzing and more being.

And this is where slowing things down and being present comes in.

When we are patient, it is in this place of not knowing where integration happens. This is when the truth reveals itself.

Sometimes, we can be so busy rushing or are caught up in wanting answers. We don’t like to slow things down and be okay with not knowing. We are trying to control everything, including our spiritual evolution.

Rushing doesn’t bring the answers quicker or make things change more quickly. When we have a new awareness, this is grace. When we slow things down and are more present, it creates space for the light or understanding to shine through. 

What has landed in my heart on a deeper level is - everything is happening for me, not to me, and everything reveals itself in Divine timing, not necessarily my timing. 

“Right now you can allow yourself to experience a very simple sense of not knowing - not knowing what or who you are, not knowing what this moment is, not knowing anything. If you give yourself this gift of not knowing and you follow it, a vast spaciousness and mysterious openness dawns within you. Relaxing into not knowing is almost like surrendering into a big, comfortable chair; you just fall into a field of possibility.”

~ Adyashanti

Maybe you are going through much spiritual growth, and things don’t make sense right now. Or you have a situation in your life where you want to know what will happen.

How are you with not knowing?

Can we slow things down, pause, and be okay with not knowing?

Can we be patient on our spiritual journey?

There is no rush to the finish line.

As I continue to explore on a deeper level the “being okay with not knowing,” I’m noticing over time that the more willing I am to be in the unknown, the more natural and comfortable it has become.

It’s truly a moment-to-moment practice.

The ego is the one that wants to know now and wants to control everything. It doesn’t want to rest in the not knowing. It doesn’t trust. That’s just the way it’s made up.

But when we can observe the ego rather than become lost in the ego, we can maintain our connection to the Self.

May we all have the courage and desire to be with what is and bravely step into the unknown with our hearts wide open.

This is freedom.

With love,

Diane