Aerodynamics of Practice

Separating the self and the world is the spiritual equivalent of aerodynamic drag.

There is something like aerodynamics to finding the optimal configuration of beliefs and practices to get you through your life.

The real action is in the wild forces playing over the edge.

Instruments approximate. Control surfaces make coarse adjustments.

Weather is real.

Every perceptual field is a world.

Fathom for a moment how different the ones YOU tend to experience are from one another.

Now fathom how different reality can be from those experiences.

Now fathom how much of the world we STILL share with one another.

How do you feel now?

All experiences are equally transformative.

Any relative conception of what’s changing only obscures that realization.

The operative principle in zazen is to reduce the particulars of experience as much as possible.

This reveals the eternal background: ceaseless transformation.