Being is an interesting word to define. Some refer to it as our true self; that part of us that is there before and after the words we use to define ourselves. Others, such as some theologians, define it as everything that is in existence, as when viewing all that is, all that has been and all that is to come as one. Some describe consciousness as being; as if consciousness is some unidentifiable word that merely points to that which is beyond comprehension. As a verb, you may think of being as something that came or that comes into existence. For instance, the current social global movement toward awareness and consciousness came into being centuries ago.
For the student of meditation, the word “being” comes into play as one searches for self-definition. There is a lot of talk these days about how we identify ourselves and each other, and how a majority of people want to be identified. Call me this, don’t call me that…it appears the conflict may be ego motivated or a search for individuals to find their place in the world, and that’s OK or it’s not. Even to call another “human” can stir up a controversy if the subject doesn’t identify as such.
Being may become the identifying word of choice. It describes no gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, citizenship, alien or human, etc. It covers it. It is how many a conscious being have been describing themselves for centuries. Being describes that which is capable of existing, something that exists and the whole existence of things. The word pretty much covers everything.
The student asked the teacher, “In this day and age, with all the identification issues around, how would you best describe yourself?”
The teacher gently replied, “I am a being subject to the identification of those around me, those who define me as they do others from the confines of their conditioned minds. It would be easier to tell you what I am not, for the word ‘being’ merely points to the unlimited possibilities of what I and you truly are. I can give you words that my being includes: I am love, I am part of the natural unfolding of all that is, I am consciousness realized. I am one with you and all that is, present in this moment, which includes this moment, the past and the future as one indescribable existence, now.”
A meditation, try it out here and there, when you remember or the subject comes to mind, or not. Listen to how people, groups, organizations and you yourself describe themselves and you. Then apply your knowledge of being to the observation, be aware how the description changes or appears when viewing it from an awareness of being.
It’s a new day… Your day! ••
