Just keep in mind that juggling does not mean, “figuring it all out”. Nor does it mean having no cynicism, anger, fear, etc. It means awakening to the place deep within that holds all of these things… holds everything… and is beyond the touch of any of it.

Oneness does not mean one with all the things you like and elimination of all the things you do not. Oneness means oneness.

The course of action is eternally unfathomable. You never figure everything out. You juggle… everything remains up in the air. That is why they call it ‘relativity.’ No bottom line. No figuring it all out.

To juggle means to have a healthy relationship with… which means to under-stand, not over-stand. Humility, innocence, not knowingness, are all built right into it, while concurrently, at the depth, you are awake to all knowingness, infinite stability, infinite flexibility, infinite peace, etc.

The nature of the depth and the nature of the surface are two very different things. The error of ‘cross realm projection’ is to try to transfer qualities of one upon the other.

In enlightenment, they exist concurrently… the surface along with its nature, and the depth along with its nature. Yet the surface, from the perspective of your depth, is then experienced as virtual… just lightly etched on the face of the absolute.

The root is stable, the leaves juggle in the wind.

Most aspire to a state where everything in their life is tucked away nicely in place. No dangling ends.  No unresolved situations.  No problems.  No worries.  No fears. Everything settled and solid and safe.

Of course life is not like that.  There are always many ‘balls in the air” and plates at the end of poles that you need to keep spinning lest they fall to the ground and shatter.  So many spend their lives trying to catch all the balls and stash them away and grab all the plates and pack them up snuggly.

In other words there is a longing for stable ground.  The longing is actually good, but it is misdirected.  The stability you long for is not on the surface of life.  It is in the depth of your being.  Trying to attain it on the surface is a fool’s play, like a cat pawing at its own reflection in pursuit of contact.  Or like an ostrich burying its head in the sand.

The juggler finds stability within.  This is what allows him to enjoy and excel at his craft.  The art of juggling maps on to, i.e. parallels, the art of accomplishment in life. The fulfillment it brings is the stability one feels when established in the transcendent even in the midst of great activity.  At first that solid stability is felt only for a moment here and there during meditation.  Imagine it being there all the time… during the greatest hardships and greatest joys.  Imagine tossing more and more balls in the air and spinning more and more plates, without fear of losing the stability of the inner Self.  That is the art of juggling.

You cannot just meditate your way to enlightenment.  Enlightenment is the integration of silence with dynamism… of activity and rest… of the absolute with the relative… of inner oneness and outer multiplicity.  The Guru can help you with that. It is what a Guru does.  Yet along the way, many decide they have it figured out and know better and aspire to catch one moonbeam or dangling carrot or another as per their own choosing.

But listening to the Guru does not mean attending an isolated lecture here and there, or being inspired by a lovely quote and then going about your business.  It means listening and living life accordingly.  Very few are willing to do that.  After all, you did not come here to learn to juggle… or did you?

Deep inside, you already know everything.  Yet, it is shrouded by your conditioning.

You are conditioned, programmed, to believe a certain way and in certain things. Those conditioned impressions are called Samskaras. Though samskaras overshadow the Divine depth of your being, they do not entirely block your connection with it.  You still sense it.  When you hear truth, it resonates with that depth. Yet however erroneous, the surface (the samskaras) are what you habitually return to, and cling to, for a belief system, safety, familiarity, and comfort.  Samkaras are like that old tattered coat, though aged and worn there is just something about it that keeps you coming back.

Life goes on.  Truth, time and again, presents itself, resonates with your depth, is aspired to, and then abandoned once again, in the name of that old tattered coat called samskara.  With dedication, through reflection, self-honesty, meditation, and the hard knocks of life… slowly, slowly you move in the direction of truth.  Yet the path is seldom a straight line.  It winds, turns, curves back on it self, freezes, slips, slides, entices, seduces, distracts, is rejected, doubted, feared, loved… on and on. The Guru is there always.  Yet the Guru, as the embodiment of that path, is also loved, resented, aspired to, drawn to, feared, hated, rejected, longed for… on and on.

But you keep going.  Just as all water necessarily returns to the ocean, in time you overcome your overshadowing samskaras to rest in the depth of your being to become unshakably established in that.  Until that tipping point is reached, your allegiance remains to the surface.  Truth is just a faint cry from the distance at first, hidden away in a deep, dark, pathless jungle. Evade as you may, it is undeniable in its steadfast presence and haunting allure.  The Guru is there always, holding up the beacon that lights the way.  While your samskaras are in control, the Guru can be experienced as an annoyance… a thorn in your side.  And the rationalizations then abound.  After all… he is just a man, right?

He knows full well that, in time, you will awaken to your Truth… the Universal Truth… the Divine that underlies, birthed, and eternally upholds all of life, no matter where you journey, what you choose to believe, or how you are feeling.  Like gravity, the Grace of the Guru is eternally present.  And in time, you will find Him at the heart of your own being… within you, as you.  For in reality, he does not exist on the surface.  He is the embodiment of the depth.  The One, Universal, Eternal You, Me, all that is.

You will find that One Truth within yourself, just as surely as every drop of rain, in time, returns to the ocean.