“Modern Zen”

To many people they hear the word Zen and what flashes to them in their head is the beginning scene of Ang Lee Kung-Fu movie. They, I mean I, imagine myself usually with a shaved head on top of a mountain training with other monks to find the meaning of the universe, and finding enlightenment through isolation. In reality though I’m Jim Carrey in Ace Ventura 2, and the monks want nothing to do with me. Unless I am smoking them out.

I try to explain this like it is an art form but in reality this comes natural to all, a place a peace Zen. (See dictionary definition)The dictionary defines Zen as; that emphasizes enlightenment for the student by the most direct possible means, accepting formal studies and observances only when they form part of such means. But in a world when we define the reality by our perceptions and; AMERICA, we can really decide what Zen means to ourselves. In 2015.

So I took to my good buddy the Facebook and asked my comrades, “What does Zen mean to you?” I looked at all these informative states of minds and I realized everybody put out parts of themselves. I mean that everyone that participated, spoke from a part within them that they drew strength from.

Be it of a child hood idol, like legendary coach like Phil Jackson, a Family, a place of comfort, a book a faith. I wasn’t surprised when a sports bros chose Phil Jackson, the ones who lost family member or are close with them said things of their family and the ones religiously connected spoke from, whatever book of virtues. Let me say how it is, its cliché and over said but Zen is inside you, somewhere.

Disney is doing a movie currently where the characters emotions are actually characters within their heads. And from the years of therapy I’ve taken and the culmination of friends opinions I have had, I’ve come to believe that’s not far off from accurate depiction of what’s going on up there. I believe we all have parts to ourselves that come from our apex times in our lives.

(me in therapy)

We have parts in ourselves that will live forever within in us, from moments where we lived in highly emotional places (in our brains anyway). We will always have these parts within us that will always be sad about how we were the only kid not on the block to have a Sega, or that part in you where you voted prom king by all your friends, you’ll always be the person who got broken up with after you got fired from your job and you’ll luckily always be the person that first went for their dreams.

You may be asking yourself now, what is the role of these parts within in me other than making me unfulfilled and confused about what I want and do, and what do these parts have to do with Zen. Well if you are asking this question, I have an answer for you. In my opinion, you have out grown the needs of these parts of you and you no longer no how to satisfy them. And when you’re in a state of Zen and peace, you are having conversations with all of these insatiable sides that finally feel they have a voice within you about your actions.

Come away with me in your brain real quick. Imagine a moment in your life beyond understanding, where no matter what you did all day you felt like what you did you weren’t doing it right. Got that day in your brain, now how old did you feel at that frustrating moment? Not how old you were at that frustrating moment, how old did you feel? Did you feel like that kid who didn’t have a Sega at 6 and at the time that 17 year old who just got broken up after work? Now ask yourself what made those people happy, what made them sad what made do anything at all. I bet you those people inside you have some pretty good advice to share with you, about how your feeling right now.

Right now I am on search of a few answers for my own emotions. When I tend to find the answers I am looking for, when all things start to make a little bit of more sense, there are moments when the world stops and it is just me for a second. You know the moments, when work isn’t an issue, when your relationship status isn’t worrisome and there isn’t a care in the world. It comes for me in many different ways. In millisecond moments of awe, forced isolation and meditation for an hour but more than likely it’s either a good car ride or a shower. What those moments have in common is one solid thing, it’s all about me. It’s all about the answer I find within myself. It might be something I came up with or it might be something someone else said that gets me by, but it is the words I took and I applied to myself that made me better. I have answers. Some answers. For myself.

You have the answers, you have some answers when you are upset with a situation that you can’t understand, you have some answers when you are extremely happy and can’t contain yourself with joy. It is just about satisfying all your justifiable parts within yourself, you just need to make the space to let it happen. As for who is the one who justifies within you, look no further it is the one currently reading this article. The person that is the coach and most influential to all of your parts is the person you are at this moment that goes for all moments forward in life.

If all of your answers come to you in a bubble bath with a glass of Cabernet, a 3 hour binge on PlayStation or sitting down just having conversation with friends over a campfire. Remember that shit and go to it and go do it, it’s needed. If all of you have is a second in the bathroom because you got kids (big up to the parents out there) remember that shit too. You got this under control. Don’t let anyone ever tell you Zen only comes from sitting on top of the mountain obtaining universal peace. Zen is in which you define.

You got this because you have been through this all before. Not in the same way exact way but in some scenario, minor or more major you have. One of places you can find those answers are in your moments of Zen. At the end of the day you, all of you and all your parts define your moment Zen, no one else can tell you where to find it. What I surely do know that it is that moment that lets the world stop and have some inner damn peace. Hold on to your inner peace and don’t let it go, everything is possible its 2015.

-Adam, Never Stop