Symptoms/Objects of Clutching

To clutch, there has to be a handle, an object, an event ... we spend most of our time on these handles or "objects" of our experience, not the experience itself.

Some thoughts:

We usually focus on event markers (met so-and-so today, finished this project, had lunch, took the kids to the park, etc.) and not so much on the experience of the events at a deep level (did I connect with the so-and-so, the project, the lunch, the park and the kids?)

When we focus on the event markers, we deal with reality at a superficial level. Create band-aids than solutions. Miss the core issues. This is cause of dis-ease(s), dissatisfaction, tension ... indeed all of our problems and suffering.

One of my teachers talks about "occupying the same space" ... I understand this to mean "exist in the same reality for a period of time" ... this can only happen when we suspend judgment, don't listen to the words alone, but take it all in ... the words, body language, state of mind, fear, desire, who the person is ... is it empathy?

When we experience at this level, even one event marker in a day or a week may be priceless. We will not run after "events" but focus on improving the experience of the events that comes along and also the events that we create.

This is:

• Experiencing the space in a room, not the wall/things on the wall
• Experiencing the space in the music, not just the notes (get in to the same space as the composer)
• Looking through the window, than at the window
• Realizing that to hold a prisoner we need the bars in a prison cell, but more importantly the space between the bars (if the bars were too close together, there will be no cell)

You can only point to the space, not grab hold of it. Space is deeply personal and experiential, you can't describe it fully ... just some attributes. We may not be aware of all the dimensions of the experience ourselves, let alone describe it to others. When we find and connect to this space, the whole Universe comes alive ... we experience everything as if for the first time ... in richer and more vibrant color.

The space may be 99% of the creation process ... our potential ... and the events the 1% ... our current reality. Just like the bars in a prison cell occupying 1% of the space and the space itself occupying 99%. The (invisible) Secret to creativity, innovation and a joyful life.