just be it Just Be It is a practice of presence that recognizes the limits of language. When aware of silence there is a state of inner still alertness. You are wholeheartedly present.

 My ego would have me desire your approval and attention. It wants validation to its separateness. Yet, the greatest of all freedoms is to wake up to the illusion of our separateness. That freedom would be to have a deep awareness to those things, people, thoughts etc. that nourish and feed the soul, the divine light that lives in all things. Waking up to this, I’m more aware of what’s good food and what’s bad food, of what nurtures and nourishes and what is toxic. So I no longer seek people to join me, to approve me, to give me their thoughts that I am right. But I do look for good food. I want to be around people that fit in their motivation to wake up to the sacred in all and their commitment to not fight. When you think you are right, when you are close minded in your belief systems, there is not a fit. Good food for me is being around the curious, the open minded, and the healers devoted to not causing harm.

For me, good food feels good. It feels good from the time it enters the mouth as it travels down to the stomach and as the belly digest it. It provides energy and increased awareness. Good food creates gratitude and a lighter vibration. Just like the food we ingest, good media feels good. It does not aim to cause fear and anger. Yet, it does not shy away from the truth of events. Healthy media aims to steer free from opinions and judgments of those delivering the news. Healthy media is motivated to speak truth, to adjust the facts as new evidence comes in and to do what it can to stay away from the complaining mind. Unfortunately, there is little media that drives us to the “no complaint, no complaint“ mind. With special interest from those who have excessive wealth, there is an agenda to shape minds and thinking through fear with their unbridled greed for more wealth and attention. There is very little media today that fits with my motivation to not fight. Whether it’s radio, TV, social media or the entertainment that is provided to us today, there seems to be little that is highly motivated to demonstrate the skills of nonviolence and a dedication to not fighting. On the contrary, it’s hard to look at any media without seeing the glorification of warriors, fighters, heroes, of those willing to cause harm to others.

If it’s a fit it nourishes and invigorates.  Vitality increases and the well-being meter moves further into positive territory.  Some call it mojo, others mana, lust for life, abundant energy. 

I have found the key to successful living revolves around the capacity to stay flexible, adapting to new evidence and conditions for sustained joy and happiness. This necessarily involves holding an upright posture, balance, with a posture of equanimity. Things can easily turn into a mess with my reactive mind. This is why it’s so important to look, pause, listen more deeply and aim to move with balance. This perspective necessarily puts us in the position of no harm. When we realize every moment is so precious, that nothing’s to be taken for granted, we wake up to the truth that everything fades away, entropy is real and our real work is to forever dig deeper in gratitude for the opportunity to “just be” here and now, making space to find the gift in the given as hard as it may be. This is where the practices of yoga, akido, tai chi and Qi gong all come in. They aim to help us develop better balance and flexibility in the body, the very foundation, the ground zero…in the body not in the head.

Yes, everything does fade away. Yes, we suffer to the extent we attach to keeping things the same. But this does not contradict stewardship and the deepest of desire to take care of things. We move much more carefully and in gratitude for this opportunity to “just be“. We take better care, beginning with the body. We take better care of the family, community, the nation, the global community and the planet. This is the very foundation in moving slower with greater care forever aiming to ease suffering, to not cause harm, and compassionately meet all we encounter with great care, never too busy. One of my grandchildren, before he was two, said he was too busy to go to the park to eat his ice cream cone. When I asked him what “busy“ meant He said, “busy means I don’t care”. This seems to be a good definition whenever we’re using the busy excuse to say we’re too busy to care.

Whether you call it stoic, equanimity or balance, the work of stability through unstable times comes about through a dedicated practice. The essence of the practice is to come into the moment, to look, to pause, to deeply listen and then move with the intention to not cause harm. We seldom have examples in our leadership which demonstrate this since many reach these positions through their powers of persuasion, reactivity and their greed for attention. Yet, when truly lined up with soul time beyond concepts of who we think we are, there’s a capacity to pause and receive grace… to truly see and to hear deeply with the energy that moves forward to healing, no matter what. These practices require stoic discipline that will be able to stand up to the “excusing mind”, the ego mind, that tries to make exceptions to what we know we must do.

In 1972 I was with a Zen teacher, Katagiri Roshi, who was pushing me to some extreme limits of time. He had shown me how to experience expanded sense of time through present minded breathing. One day I came to him with my excusing mind, asking for relief from our rigid schedule. His firm transmission of ‘no excuse, no complaint’ came through my entire being and it’s guided me for the past fifty years of my “practice”. His words were stern and powerful: “Randy….we all have the same twenty-four hours.” Today I have the deepest gratitude for his wisdom and refusal to let me walk away from the “practice”.

Healing is a process. It’s about coming back to wholeness and it’s all about momentum. Don’t become impatient with the speed of healing. Your impatience and complaint will slow the momentum and could possibly reverse the process or shut it down.

The closed mind is the ignoring mind. It ignores new evidence as it comes in and operates under the false illusion that it has all the information. This is the mind of ignorance and we must be very careful when we’re in the face of it. The ignorant will justify their violence upon others and the planet through a belief system that is closed to new information.

Puppy fresh or ship wreck.

For me, the lighter I am the easier it is to see the light. This refers to the stuff I have or any accumulation I’m holding onto that I really don’t need.

‘Just be it’ is about bearing witness to unity consciousness. It’s about deciding to dis-identify from the ego. Bearing witness is about finding refuge in the moment and in love. It’s about standing up to the illusion of our separateness, of duality. ‘Just being’ is about balance and alignment, standing upright bearing witness in the face of anger, hate, greed, the dogmatic closed mind that would oppress and the violence that would rob opportunity. ‘Just being’ is about bearing witness to our interconnection with all things, to love. ‘Just being’ is free from attachment, complete freedom to explore the present moment and all of its newness. ‘Just be’ is free from judgment and opinion. ‘Just to be’ is bearing witness to unity consciousness.

This is a video insight from a few years back that seems so relevant today as our ground continues to be shaken. A practice of awareness and opening to unified consciousness seems essential to holding balance in such a rapidly accelerated world climate.

It’s all too easy to move from presence to restlessness, from a sense of peace/wholeness to division and negative thoughts and emotions, from a focus on ‘being’ to ‘having’ or ‘doing’. I have found clothing to serve me well in my practice of presence. The phrase “just be it” is my mantra, and much like a mala or rosary helps to keep the divine in our presence, I have found the clothing I wear supports my practice. In 2004 I had shirts printed with the graphics below. They’re Hanes Beefy T, 100% cotton, and not a fashion statement for others, certainly not a slogan to be pushed on others. The message runs deep in my bones and I wear this clothing frequently to deepen my practice, whether awake or asleep. I believe we’re here to do what we can to ease one another’s suffering. With that intention, I’m offering the shirts to anyone who would benefit from wearing the mantra. No doubt, the meaning of these words is in each person. However, when these shirts were printed in Maui, the meaning for ‘peace’ was similar to ‘whole’, ‘healed’ and ‘undivided’. It wasn’t meant as a destination, but an awareness to the illusion of our separateness. The meaning for ‘aloha’ came from Uncle Les and Auntie Pua, to great leaders of Hawaiian tradition who claimed the “ah” was awe and wonder, the “lo” was Divine essence, and “ha” was breath. To just be peace and aloha seemed a great intention. Again, it’s so easy to forget and wearing this has served me well in staying on the path of no harm. These shirts are only in men’s sizing and I have s, m, l, xl and xxl. If you’d find it helpful to your awareness practice simply email me at randyjustbeit@gmail.com and I’ll get one on the way. I also have some Minnesota Paddle and Sail long sleeve black shirts that carry the motto, “Cultivating stability on an unstable platform”. I have since closed this operation, still find the shirt helpful when traversing some turbulent times. Again, they are only available in men’s sizing s, m, l, xl and xxl. Simply email me if you think it would help you suffer less through uncertainty.

A solid practice of presence gives us the strength to hold balance even through challenging conditions. Hope and fear are based outside of the present. When we move to our heads we may lose balance, may be carried away with emotion, and may end up saying or doing things we regret. The practice of presence helps fine tune awareness to the moment, giving us the strength to “show up, to pay better attention, to aim to cause no harm, to be our best, and to hold kindness to ourselves knowing we don’t control the results. When I can let go of these concepts I care for myself. When I can surrender to the sun, the earth, the water… I’m filled with joy. Isn’t that what we’re here for? For sure, we’re here to ease the suffering of others but we can’t do that when we’re in turmoil, reactive and filled with uncontrolled negative emotions. It’s helpful to have a list of those things we can do to feel good. We need reminders to keep us in gratitude, love, joy and peace. I can become carried away with “having“ and “doing“, but “being“ is the strength to me for a life well lived. One reminder that has worked well for me is to wear a piece of clothing that carries the line “just be it“. It’s too easy to forget. It’s too easy for the ego to capture the thoughts of the mind. It’s too easy to lose equanimity, to grow negative emotion, to fill with fear or hope… leading to stress and anxiety. Breathing in “yes“ and breathing out “thank you“ to what comes up. This is a tremendous practice of balance, posture and equanimity