From the Editors

   Enza Vita                        Leo Drioli

Adelaide issue 2

DON’T NOD
You’ve Never Been Here Before

Aah. . . such simple pleasures. . . the joy of a “conscious cappuccino”. . .
just sitting here at a table at Alfresco’s. . . no rush. . . just looking out at
other people sitting at their tables with their coffees of choice. . . flat white, cappuccino, short black, caffe latte. . . aah. . . such freedom. And all these people living life. . . uncovering, wondering, battling, hoping,
waiting, exploring, discovering. . . yes, here we all are. . .sharing in this one exquisite moment. . .soaked so completely in the holy presence that it fills me with intense delight, awe and wonder. . . look at it all - spiritual presence constantly overflowing into and out of the form we witness and lose ourselves in. . . aah. . . to see this, to know this, to be this. . . life is so joyful when witnessed this way.

Once, not too long ago, as I was interviewing a spiritual teacher for another publication, part way through the interview as I was listening and taking in the teacher’s response to a question about living in the present moment, he abruptly stopped midsentence and, looking directly into my eyes, he firmly but lovingly pierced straight through the veil with a command, “Don’t nod. . . Don’t nod. . . you’ve never been here before, you are hearing these words for the very first time. . . don’t nod.”

Snapping awake, totally alert and attentive in the here and now, he got through. He shook me out of my compartmentalising mind and pulled me into the moment. . . swiftly lifting me out of the past, he placed me firmly into the present. And he was so right, I had never been in this moment before. . . I thanked him and the interview continued.

Every day, we are given the opportunity to be Here, the only place that is real. . . to live with open eyes and open hearts, and to share it. Maybe not as overtly as the teacher had done with me but to always be a reminder to, and be reminded by, all that we meet. For this life is truly precious. And to stay awake in the middle of it all is a real challenge but - what else is there to do?

Rumi reminds us. . .
The most living moment comes when
those who love each other meet each other’s eyes. . .
Seeing you is a wine that does not muddle or numb.
We sit inside the cypress shadow
where amazement and clear thought
twine their slow growth into us.

Your conscious “coffee of choice” can be sipped anywhere, anytime. Enjoy it.

With love,
Leo Drioli & Enza Vita

PS: The theme for this special summer issue of Adelaide’s InnerSelf is “Opening the Heart.”

TOP