ÒAll being is shared being. To know that is peace. To live that is love.Ó

~ Caverly

When we engage in the distortion that the relative plane is separate from the absolute Ð that it is something to transcend or Ôjust an illusionÕ Ð we ignore the reality of the illusion. What is the illusion comprised of? How is it known? And by whom?

The relative may appear to arise out of the absolute, as waves appear to arise out of the ocean, but like waves, both relative and absolute are components of a greater whole. They are not separate. When we know ourselves as this whole which subsumes everything, we cease to diminish or dismiss the mystery of being human. We experience viscerally that Òthe world is my family.Ó

From this understanding, we recognize that liberation is not a singular experience. There can be no individual ego that experiences enlightenment. We suffer when we forget that. We suffer when we perceive ourselves as separate from the collective Ð on the level of consciousness (the absolute) as well as with our neighbor (the relative).

When we recognize that the world is arising in us, Awareness, there is nothing to dismiss. How, then, in our situation of privilege on the relative plane, do we dismiss injustice, bias, cruelty in the name of transcendence or Ôspiritual understandingÕ? How do we participate in systems of oppression while ignoring the effects on our neighbor, as well as the whole?

Do we fall for the story that the awakened life we seek is mine to have rather than ours to be? And whatÕs love got to do with it?

Caverly Morgan is a meditation teacher, nonprofit leader, and visionary. She is the Founder and Guiding Teacher of Presence Collective, dedicated to igniting personal transformation and collective awakening. She is also the Founder and Guiding Teacher of Peace in Schools Ñ a nonprofit which created the nation’s first for-credit mindfulness class in public high schools. Peace in Schools is pioneering new depths in mindfulness education through teaching youth as well as training educators.

Caverly blends the original spirit of Zen with a modern nondual approach. Her practice began in 1995 and has included eight years of training in a silent Zen monastery. She has been teaching contemplative practice since 2001.

Prior to her pioneering efforts with Peace in Schools, Caverly formerly worked for nonprofits serving people with special needs. An artist and educator, she brings insight, passion, warmth and humor to her transformative work with students of all ages and experience levels.

www.caverlymorgan.org

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