One more little zen thing before I move on. You may know the story of the zen master who, while pouring tea, kept pouring into the student's cup until it was overflowing on the floor. The lesson was that in order to receive the teaching, an empty cup was required.

Psychologists coined the term, “undifferentiated consciousness” to describe the state of both the newborn infant and the student of meditation. The state of undifferentiated consciousness is one in which no beliefs expressed in the form of internal dialog intrude to frame and control the experience of reality. The infant stares at the light, without an interpretive foundation to hide or distort its meaning. The student of Zen strives to attain that state, but most often while in safe retreat from society where there is no opportunity for truth to intrude.

To see truth for oneself requires the suspension of belief and a constant vigil to avoid illusion and self-deception. There are those whose meddlesome concerns about your beliefs you may find disconcerting. There are those who believe belief to be more important that acts or attitudes. Suspend belief, look freely at all, and act with love. You may learn to see the world, its mysteries and miracles with the wide-eyed wonder of a child.

There is a great deal more to tell about all this, which I will probably reserve for a Saw Zen blog which is in the works. I love the photo of Lucy shown above, so I just had to share it again. Wide eyes, open hands and heart full.