Beingfulness — The Pure Joy of Simply Being

Beingfulness is simple presence as essence with what is in your sensate field and in your inner awareness. This amazing way of being brings forth great joy from within. It is a pristine joy that does not depend on external factors or desirable happenings.

As we move through our lives, we relate to people and things as something outside of us. We consider ourselves mostly as our bodies—the physical container in which we seem to be housed.

Our orientation is subject-object. The subject being us as a body and the object being something out there—a tree or a person or anything we are focusing on. This orientation is reinforced by our visual perception and how we usually interpret what we see. This is further defined by our language and prevalent culture.

Besides physical things, thoughts, emotions, and sensations can be objects too. Since they are distinctly observable and hence different from the observer, thoughts, feelings, and sense impressions are also objects in this context.

This subject-object orientation splits reality into me and not-me. A world of separateness and disconnection is perceived when we buy into this orientation. Springing from this separateness is a feeling of lack and inadequacy and an endless pursuit to overcome that deficit.

When we shift to knowing we are much more than our physical body—that we are indeed essence beyond form—then a new world emerges. Boundaries become indistinct, and there is a fusion of discrete entities collapsing into one. Now there is simply movement instead of some thing moving through space and time. We come to realize as part of this awakening—which it truly is—that this essence-centric view is the actuality, and our previous state was a limited view. The new perspective is gradually seen as the natural state.

Essence-centric realization puts us into a state where connection and unity are apparent without effort. This natural state of being alive as presence is beingfulness.

Exploring Beingfulness

Beingfulness is simple presence as essence with what is in your sensate field and in your inner awareness. There is no attempt to do anything—such as focusing on a particular object or aspect of reality.

There is no agenda whatsoever. No trying to exclude something in deference to something else. In that sense, it is choiceless and inclusive.

Beingfulness is also fullness of being. We can rest in this fullness. There is no other drive, compulsion, or goal. And there is no person who is being. You just are.

In this state, there is no subject-object separation, with you—the subject—watching the arising thought or sensation or perception as the object. Instead, everything is included as subject.

In beingfulness, there is an effortless resting in the depths of who we are. It is an open feeling that does not draw or reject anything. This does not refer to some deep and unusual meditative state. Instead, once you have discovered beingfulness, this resting is a continual and abiding state.

Beingfulness is beyond space and time. So there isn’t an attempt to anchor at a particular point in time and space—not even here and now. We naturally rest in the present while being in touch with what is around us.

This amazing way of being brings forth great joy from within. It is a pristine joy that does not depend on external factors or desirable happenings. The pure joy of simply being is the unalloyed exuberance of sheer existence.

If beingfulness is natural, why is it not common? Because we have drifted away to an affected state of fixation with outer reality, our thoughts, and our emotions, and we are trying to extract happiness and meaning from them. An inherently frustrating exercise.

For an easy way to get in touch with pure being, place yourself in nature. Or visualize being in nature. Let your attention flow—with the dancing natural lights, with the caress of the gentle breeze, with sensations coursing through your body, and with your rhythmic breath. Let go of any concept you have of yourself. Relax deeply into the depths of your being. Just Be!

The Joy and Bliss of Beingfulness

Now let’s look closely at the expansive view where beingfulness has become the predominant and established state. Personal consciousness being unfettered has expanded to its unbounded impersonal home. There is the infinite field of pure consciousness, and it includes everything arising in awareness in its warm embrace. Thus, there isn’t a dualistic perspective—it is unitive without a notion or desire for unity.

In the vastness, everything is lit up from within by transcendental light—the Light of Infinity. Isness emerges as a sufficient and adequate description for existence and creation in motion.

“All is well” is the predominant feeling. Acceptance and peace prevail. A steady stream of serenity and joy gushes within.

Bliss and ecstasy bubble up; however, these experiences are markedly different from our prior ones. Bliss does not feel blissful in the usual way—as an experience felt by an experiencer. It is the difference between enjoying a beautiful sunset and being the sunset. Or the difference between enjoying a tasty bite of tiramisu and being the sweetness in the tiramisu. In beingfulness, you become the bliss that is present. That is your nature—that is you!

Mindfulness and Heartfulness Compared

So what about mindfulness and heartfulness? Mindfulness has gained popularity in recent years. Mindfulness is about becoming more aware by making a consistent effort to bring attention to the current activity. The mind’s tendency to get carried away with worries and fantasies is curbed systematically, alleviating many psychological conditions. The sustained practice of mindfulness has been shown to reduce stress and to help manage pain better.

In mindfulness practice, the mind is purposefully and continuously brought to the present. Thoughts are noticed without judgment. Mindfulness makes us not wander off into the painful past or fearful future—and this is a desirable change. However, with this practice, you may feel you are dragging the mind to the moment at hand, and this effort can be tiresome. It can also give a false sense of accomplishment to the mind when it develops the right focus. The sense of a small and finite self can continue to be preserved, while the essence is kept at bay. The small self can become trained to function efficiently in a focused way while maintaining separateness. There can also be a clinical feel to the practice of mindfulness since the heart may not be engaged. This impersonal cerebral approach can be demotivating.

Heartfulness, on the other hand, brings focus to the heart so we can find respite and inspiration. From our tendency to think excessively and be overly intellectual, this is a beautiful and welcome shift. The quality of presence that the heart brings to the present moment is palpable and softening. In this approach, we let the wisdom of the heart guide us to calming the mind. Excessive thinking reduces and we are able to function better in everyday situations. However, even heartfulness has its limitations because it is often constrained by a shackled human heart that is wounded. For instance, emotions vacillate and can be an unreliable guide because of unresolved energies from past upheavals. Finding our way to the unbounded pure heart can be a long and tedious journey punctuated by bursts of incremental progress.

Both mindfulness and heartfulness can be beneficial in certain ways. But neither emphasizes the all-important element of the self who is being mindful or heartful. This self who is the doer needs to dissolve to truly realize its ultimate nature—as Infinity. Infinity is the totality that encompasses the absolute and the relative. These practices don’t emphasize the highest potentials of our existence—pure being. As practices, mindfulness, and heartfulness can, therefore, be frustrating. As our consciousness purifies, such methods can feel contrived and awkward. For those who are practicing it, mindfulness and heartfulness can still serve a purpose—as preparation for the next level of exploration—beingfulness.

Beingfulness feels natural and simple because from the beginning, we connect with and take refuge in our essence—beyond sensations, thoughts, and emotions. Our infinite nature guides us back home. Relationships are uplifted and transformed by the pure love we emanate. As we embody our infinite nature, we serve creation and all beings.

What if We Just Be

Beingfulness is another way to refer to Just Being. The directive Just Be points us to the state of beingfulness. 

In my book Just Be, I write about how we can recognize our Essence Self (the highest aspect of our being, which is non-physical) and operate through the Finite Self (the material and temporal aspect of our being) from that realization. Even though beingfulness, once we realize it, is a natural state, we have to find our way back to it. Why? Because we have gotten entrenched individually and collectively into an unnatural state—a state of false identification with a small aspect of our wholeness. Beingfulness is not a passive state where you are disconnected, dissociated, and depersonalized. Instead, in beingfulness, you are actively engaged in the circumstances you find yourself in and function from an authentic and unique perspective while present as the totality of your entire being. 

Your readiness and openness to be who you truly are—an infinite being—has brought you here to this sharing about beingfulness. I appreciate your presence and invite you to dive into the direct experience of being. How? Relax into your essence. Feel more and think less. Drop agendas and flow with life. Affirm your infinite nature. Radiate love. Cast aside any reluctance and experiment with these suggestions. The joy of being is incomparable and beautiful. I look forward to greeting you in the land of pure being. Let us joyfully and endlessly splash in the Light!

Boundless Light and Love,