Consider these 2 aspects. When we are in an awakened state, would you agreed for a start that there in that aware state, we will have 2 operating sub-states. Yes…the voluntary and involuntary states.

Most of us know one and not the other. Most of us know of the voluntary consciousness and are unaware of the involuntary consciousness. When we were at birth, we dwelled in the involuntary state, and very shortly thereafter, the voluntary consciousness overpowered the former to such an extent, the involuntary consciousness can rapidly varnished from our Being. We become attached to the stories of our past and the hope of a future. We no longer become Being in Now.

The voluntary state mind is one when our mind can direct our actions. When we wish to do something, we will have our mind direct our to carry out that piece of action such as when we want to go into a state of mind of happiness. Our mind determines the form and outcome of an action.

An involuntary state of mind is when we become an observer of our state of mind. In other words, we become dissociated from events that are happening to us and the environment. We strive in the presence or NOW; just Being. We become positively centered and balanced irrespective of every negative emotions that surround us. When someone special passed on, we see the positivity of the event and not be attached to any negative emotion what might be happening around us. There may be pain, suffering, sadness correlated with the passing on. However, it we can remain in a involuntary state of mind, we are no longer afraid of death. With centerness and balance, we are able to handle tasks rationally and positively. We no longer allow our our state of mind to control our the outcome of our actions.

When pain occurs if we hurt ourselves, we are able to dissipate that pain and dissociate any hurt. With training, we can therefore, let our involuntary mind be in an operative choice. We shall not be at the EFFECT end of the equation…we will always strive at the CAUSE end of that equation. We will be inductive instead of deduction. We will look at the big picture instead of the little ones.

How can we train ourselves to rebuild our involuntary consciousness? One way is to perform something that we are very familiar with. Breathing!! Yes..breathing (Pranayama) is a process that each of use are very familiar with. With a set of breathing regiments and processes, we can train ourselves to achieve a state of dissociation and not to be attached or related to an action/happening going on around us. Breathing and followed by a state of meditation is really a gym for our mind to practise and journey to discover the involuntary state of consciousness. Have discovered it, there will be stillness; a Being of unattached centerness adn balance. A calmness. At the highest level of involuntary consciousness, there will no longer be either positive state or a negative one. One doesn’t take sides; no doesn’t participates; one doesn’t engage; one doesn’t influence.

No more boundaries.

Your perspective is welcome…

What would you do? You make the choice. Don’t look for a punch line, there isn’t one.. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the same choice?

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question: ‘When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my son?’

The audience was stilled by the query.

The father continued. ‘I believe that when a child like Shay, physically and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.’

Then he told the following story:

Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, ‘Do you think they’ll let me play?’ Shay’s father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.

Shay’s father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, ‘We’re losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we’ll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning.’

Shay struggled over to the team’s bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in his heart. The boys saw the father’s joy at his son being accepted. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay’s team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay’s team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.

At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn’t even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.

However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay’s life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.

The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.

Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman’s head, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, ‘Shay, run to first! Run to first!’ Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.

Everyone yelled, ‘Run to second, run to second!’ Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball …. the smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher’s intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman’s head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.

All were screaming, ‘Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay’

Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, ‘Run to third! Shay, run to third!’

As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, ‘Shay, run home! Run home!’ Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team.

‘That day’, said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, ‘the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world’.

Shay didn’t make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!

A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats it’s least fortunate amongst them.