I AM THAT...

It occurred to me today, or at least remembered, that I have a tendency to become that which occupies my mind. This state usually arises from some significant physical problem that I might have at any given time, which of course is currently my foot. Given that the needs of my foot dominate my life at the moment, the 'I am that' state is not as bad as it can be, mainly because other things occupy my mind and time, like writing things to post on this blog. One time though, I acquired a deep blister on my right heel during a wet 2-day mountain marathon in the Brecon Beacons. This blister was the mother of all blisters and nothing has matched it since; not even the triple blisters that appeared on the soles of my feet after running 38 miles of a 54 mile ultra marathon with the wrong type of running shoes on. I was able to change these shoes at the 38 mile check point but the damage was already done by then - I did go on to finish the race though. This mother of all blisters then, was so bad and so deep that the broken flesh, still attached on one side, flapped about like a heavy door swinging open and shut in a strong breeze. I couldn't wear a shoe, I couldn't wear a sock and I had to come off the mountain with a bare foot and that only manageable after plunging my foot into a cold mountain stream in an attempt to deaden the pain; a local anaesthetic if you like. It took 2 months for this blister to heal and every moment of every day for 60 days was controlled by this thing. It burrowed its way into my foot, then it burrowed its way into my mind and so dominated my life that eventually... I became my blister. Hence 'I AM THAT'. 

I AM THAT

Sankaracharya

'That which permeates all, which nothing transcends and which, like the universal space around us, fills everything completely from within and without, that Supreme non-dual Brahman -- that thou art'.

If you want to know more about I AM THAT, then just click on the title at the beginning of this blog.