The Radiance of Being

What is it that lights up this moment? Not the sunlight spilling through the window, not the glow of screens, not the flash of an idea—but something quieter, deeper, constant. What is it that breathes life into all that you see, touch, and feel? There is a radiance to life that words cannot reach. It is not something you can grasp or hold; it cannot be defined or confined. It is the Light of Being itself, the essence that animates everything. You might call it Divine, you might call it Truth, or you might simply call it What Is. Whatever name you give it, it is here, now, as close as your own breath. We often miss this radiance, not because it is hidden, but because it is too close, too ordinary, too simple. The mind, restless and searching, looks outwards for what it can only find within. It seeks what it already is. This radiance is not something separate, not something "out there" to be attained. It is what you are. It is the heart of all existence, the light in which all things arise and fall. To see this is not to add something new to yourself, but…

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My Heart Breaks, I Pray for All

What is going on in the world affects us all on many different levels, both seen and unseen. For me, what's currently happening also feels a touch personal, closer to home in some small way. I made the mistake of going on social media today, barely a moment in and I realised this was not the place to be, not for me, not right now. Especially during a retreat, the very thing I advise people against during a retreat! So here I am instead, on beyondimogen.com - my little nook of the internet. I'm not sure if this post will ever make it elsewhere. -- I am horrified by what is going on in the world on all fronts. The divisiveness, the hate, the lines we have drawn in the sand, too many to count. It all feels impossible. How can we make our way through all of this? What is to be done? Today is the anniversary of my grandmothers death. She walks with me closely still to this day. In someways closer than ever... but that's a story for another day. My grandmother's family were Ukrainian Jews, my grandfather's, Russian Jews. The current war between the two was…

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Peace Chaser

'Peace chaser' is what I sometimes refer to the phenomena of someone seeking for the outward to always be peaceful so that THEY can then feel like a peaceful and spiritual person (I was one of those trust me....big time...). Spoiler alert: It's a trap, it's a red herring, it's the opposite of freedom, of liberation. It's a gilded cage of maintaining and trying to keep hold of peace as a 'thing'. It's mood making rather than a sign of true spiritual awakening. True peace is not a 'thing' to be maintained, it's not a persona to adopt or a lifestyle to achieve. It's a natural misunderstanding, that yearning for peace and looking for it as an experience. It's not wrong - the intention is good, the search for lasting peace and happiness. It's where someone's had a taste that that peace (non-suffering) is possible and so there's a perfectly natural sense of "I want that, that's what I'm after - peace". But unfortunately it's trying to put the cart before the horse and create what the mind THINKS is peace in the environment rather than ACTUAL abiding peace in the heart. It's looking at peace as a prescription to…

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