Innocence Is Bliss

There is tremendous freedom in making friends with uncertainty — in

acknowledging that we haven't a clue about much at all.
We all know the expression ‘ignorance is bliss’.

While it can be true that not knowing something can spare us unnecessary
worry or concern, bliss is another matter.

The experience of bliss is much more than simply the absence of discomfort.
True bliss is experienced when we no longer identify with our conditioned ways
of seeing the world.

It is more accurate to say that 'innocence is bliss'.

Innocence is a quality that enables us to experience each moment in a fresh and

alive way — to see things as they actually are, rather than through the
conditioned filters of our stories, beliefs and assumptions.

"Fears, worries and desires spoil our natural perception of life." —

Francis Lucille

Up to a certain age, children are innocent… and therefore joyful.

Joy pours out of them as a natural and unfiltered expression of who they are.
Without labelling everything, they simply enjoy life as it is.

As we grow, each new experience is filed away, as a memory in our mental

filing cabinet.

Much of what is stored is essential for our safety and well-being. We learn,
sometimes the hard way, that it’s not a good idea to swallow a plastic toy
soldier or stick your finger in an electric socket.

And later in life, it is definitely helpful to remember which house is yours when
you come home from work or which husband or wife is yours, for that matter.

Without memory, we would be unable to function in the world.

The baby’s actions are free and spontaneous. Life itself animates and moves the
body. Life itself informs their actions. They scream for hours on an airplane or
giggle and have a wonderful time at a funeral, with no sense of it being wrong
or inappropriate.
Although much of our early learning, such as learning to cross the road safely,
is necessary, much of it is also unhelpful and made up of unconscious, fear-
based patterns passed down from generation to generation.

We learn that certain body parts are taboo, that emotions such as crying or being
angry are met with a smack on the rear, or that doing fun stuff like sticking a
pen in your sister’s ear or dismantling Granny’s antique clock, results in being
sent to your room without supper.

At this tender age, we are completely dependent on our parents and carers for
survival. When we are called ‘bad’ or ‘naughty’, and have love withdrawn from
us as punishment, we feel afraid and insecure. At that age, it is perceived as a
threat to our very existence.

It no longer feels safe to be ourselves, so we learn to modify our behaviour —

to sacrifice being natural and spontaneous for being ‘good’. We learn, as a
survival mechanism, to hide our true feelings and suppress our emotions.

Our words and actions no longer spontaneously spring forth from the Source,
but are first run by the mind to check what the likely outcome may be. As a
result, we lose our innocence and authenticity.

And when innocence is lost, life is no longer experienced directly.

Each individual interprets life through their own unique set of memories, past
experiences, beliefs and assumptions.

I have my version of reality and you have yours, but neither is Reality itself.

It is a mind-created idea of reality. When innocence is lost, we experience life

second-hand, through the distorted filter of our conditioned minds.

And that is why all spiritual teachings invite us to come back to our original,
childlike state — the state of being open and innocent — to welcome all things
without labelling.

Imagine if, instead of having a busy mind that interprets every little detail of
your life through a complex set of beliefs and filters, you had a giant eyeball
sitting on your shoulders, taking in the world around you — without
commentary, without resistance.

How peaceful would that be?

As adults, most of our mental suffering is self-inflicted and stems directly from
a lack of innocence. Our conditioned minds seek to keep an iron grip on our
affairs.

We don’t consider the possibility that everything we think we know is only one
possible interpretation, which may or may not be true.

Our conditioned mental structures give us an identity — something to cling

onto in a world of constant change and uncertainty.

We like to believe we are in control of our lives but, in truth, we have no idea
what might happen in the next moment. We are like leaves blowing in the wind,
that could end up anywhere.

There can be tremendous freedom in acknowledging that you haven’t a clue

about anything — in making friends with uncertainty. There is tremendous
sweetness and aliveness in recognising just how precarious and fleeting this
human existence really is.

One day my teacher asked me how I was doing.

I said: “I feel I don’t know anything about anything any more.”

To which he replied: “Neither do I. Isn’t it wonderful?”

This is innocence.

When we are able to acknowledge and accept that we have no idea how the
future may turn out and that we are really not in control of our lives at all, a
huge burden is lifted from our shoulders.

We are able to relax, slide over to the passenger seat and hand the steering
wheel back to Life itself.

I’m well aware that, for many people reading these words, the notion of having
no control may not seem liberating at all — quite the contrary — it may feel
downright scary.

There is a point in each person’s spiritual evolution when all the things in your
life that you took to be solid and reliable, including a solid sense of ‘me the
person’, begin to fall away and become more nebulous and fleeting.

As we start to identify less with the mind and the egoic self and come back to
our original, unconditioned state, the boundary between 'me', others and the
world begins to fade, which can be scary to the ego— to the part of us that
would like to believe we are in control.

So, here’s a question if you feel fear at the prospect of relinquishing control.

Is it only fear? Or is there also excitement mixed in as well?

Fear and excitement feel pretty similar in the body.

What happens if you don’t label it, don’t run it by the mind? If you just let it be
there — without thinking, without commentary, without understanding
anything?

I often talk to people who have reached this point on the journey and I urge you
to take a deep breath and keep going. It’s only scary to the mind… not to the
real you.

And if what I'm sharing speaks to you, you'll know there is no other choice
anyway.

The real you is forever seeking liberation, and admitting you’re not in control is
a big milestone along the way.

In truth, what you are experiencing is a great blessing — the possibility of

waking up in this lifetime and coming home to the joy and aliveness of your
true Self.

For me, it was a huge relief to be freed from the stress, worry and overthinking
that comes from trying to get ‘my’ life ‘right’ — as if there was a wrong.

Right and wrong are subjective and only exist as concepts in our head.

My favourite character in the Tarot deck is the Fool, a youth who represents
innocence and wisdom. Dancing fearlessly on the edge of a cliff with a smile on
his face, he is seen as the wisest character in the deck.

Having just emerged from the womb of creation, the Fool is natural,
spontaneous, fearless and as yet, free of conditioning.

Free of the heavy burden of conditioned thinking, he fully trusts Life and is able
to playfully enjoy the passing show, whatever it may bring.

One of my teacher’s favourite expressions was: “Get stupid quick!” — a name I

also considered using for this book.
What he meant by this is to empty the mind, to stop thinking so much — to
drop the idea that you are in control of your life and to learn to rest instead in
the natural state of openness, innocence and spontaneity — to become childlike,
like the Fool.

When we stop energising the mental stories and movie projections and learn to
rest instead, free of thought, in the simplicity of the present moment, we return
to the natural state.

For most people, the mind has been promoted to the role of director of affairs, a
position far above its true status.

I love this quote from the Indian spiritual teacher, Osho:

“Mind; beautiful servant, dangerous master.”

The mind is meant to be a tool for you to use as YOU decide. Used
intentionally, as a tool, it makes a wonderful servant. When the mind is in
control however, as is the case with most people, the consequences are painful,
often disastrous —as we’ve all experienced.

When the mind is in running the show, it appears to be all-powerful. But in

truth, it only has as much power you give it.

As you get to know the mind better and learn to relate to it in a different way,
you’ll come to see that it’s like a little dog with a loud bark.

Stop feeding it your attention and it becomes powerless.

“No thought has any power. You have power. And when you identify
and believe in the thought, you give power to the thought.” — Mooji