Not a care in the world

Isn't that such a lovely concept, "Not a care in the world"? It connotes a sense of deep calm, feeling warm and peaceful inside. No worries. All is well. Not a care in the world.

If only, right? Our lives seem to be in a state of anything but that.

Yet the phrase itself holds a key insight: all our struggles, all our pain, all our discontent are in the world. In fact, all unhappiness relates to the sense of me, in the world.

Sorrow only exists in the world, tied to a separated sense of self.

The world is all about concerns. How our body is doing. How the bodies of others we care about are doing. What might happen in the realms of politics, relationships, world conflicts, weather. What others think of us. Lots and lots of caring.

While our identity is tied up in the world it is impossible not to have a care in the world. The only way not to have a care in the world is not to be in the world.

But we don’t do that by physically or even mentally leaving the world. Rather, we escape its clutches from within the world. This is the liberating path toward which all great spiritual traditions lead. To be in the world but not of it.

Which doesn't mean we deny, ignore, or repress phenomena. Instead, we shift their meaning. Consider this profound insight from A Course in Miracles:

The world you see is but a judgment on yourself. Change but your mind on what you want to see, and all the world must change accordingly.

Our experiences are not a function of what happens but rather the level of consciousness from which we engage with events. And we can learn how to shift awareness to the highest levels of perception, right to the point of transcendence. From such a perspective we literally have not a care in the world.

Join me in Thursday's class where we'll explore these concepts in greater depth, including practices for experiencing such sublime peace. I look forward to seeing you then.