The Act of Smiling

I am sure most of us smile. Sure, some some people smile more than others; some don't smile enough; some people literally beam ear to ear and some just barely part their lips. None of that is important here.

What is important is the following: The simple act of spontaneously smiling is actually one of great importance to anyone who wishes to Realize his/her True Self.

OK. Perhaps you are wondering what does smiling have to do with Enlightenment? Well, now you've got me because the answer to that question is not much, if anything, at all. However, the process which let's a smile appear on your face without a preconceived feeling and/or a reaction to that preconceived feeling has everything to do with Enlightenment.

There have been many times more books and articles written on the subject of Enlightenment than there have been people who have attained Enlightenment. However, since (almost?) everyone who has ever lived has smiled, everyone has experiential knowledge of one of the key elements of Enlightenment.

In order to become Enlightened, all of the great spiritual traditions say we must overcome and control our egos. Our egos do not represent our True Selves. So as long as our egos rule the day, our true selves can not shine forth and do what they are meant to do. When we do not let our egos decide for us, then and only then, can our true selves express themselves.So as long as our egos rule the day, our true selves can not shine forth and do what they are meant to do. When we do not let our egos decide for us, then and only then, can our true selves express themselves.

There is one more step that must be taken to reach Enlightenment after we have conquered our egos: We must purify our Hearts. The good news here is also the bad news: it is very hard to conquer one's ego unless one has already been purifying one's Heart along The Way.

Now, let's get back to Smiling. How many of us walk around harboring a moment to moment desire to smile? How many of us go out of our way to do something that will make us smile simply for the sake of smiling?

No one that I know of. Of course we all do things to make us feel good; and, sometimes that will bring on a smile. However, I believe we do those things to feel good, not to smile just for the sake of smiling.

So then why do we smile in such cases? Why not just end the process with feeling good? Is it because smiling is a way of communicating our feelings to others? If that were true, why do we smile to ourselves when no one is around to see it?

Because I truly believe we do not smile. A smile does us.

(If you are still here, I thank you for your patience. However, I must warn you that from here on in, I will be pushing the limits of what most people are use to hearing.)

When we perceive things have changed in a way that pleases us, a smile appears on our face. We do not have to think about smiling once we have decided we feel good. Indeed, we usually do not even acknowledge to ourselves that we are now feeling good. We just do and we just smile along with it. We do not weigh the results; and, determine that a smile is in order.

This process, or lack of a process, means that our egos are not involved with the making of a true smile. In fact, I believe our True Selves are not even involved with the making of a true smile. There were no decisions made, no feelings acknowledged, no facts deliberated on the decision to smile.

To put it simply: When the conditions are right, a smile appears. Just like that.

To make things more interesting, as long as a smile is lightening up our face, our ego has disappeared because we are in a non-judgmental moment. We have surrendered to the smile. And, in the act of surrendering we have let our True Self express what it is feeling.

Let's take a look at the reverse process. As soon as the conditions which made us smile change, our smile disappears. It disappears without our deciding to make it go. We don't say to ourselves that we wouldn't be caught dead smiling at this new set of circumstances; and so we must wipe that smile off of our face immediately. Or how about when the situation hasn't changed; but, our smile starts to fade. Who judged how long a time we should smile? Who actually timed how long we were smiling? Did you ever realize that oops, I really meant to smile a little while longer and so made your smile reappear for another 10 seconds? Or did you ever decide you were not smiling bright enough or perhaps too brightly for a given situation? How can each and every smile be just right?

I say because we don't smile. So the process is fool proof.

If you think this is nonsense, then try to force yourself to surrender to a smile. Notice I didn't say force yourself to smile. I said surrender to a smile. It has been scientifically documented that the very act of smiling can change your mood for the better. You don't have to think about something to smile about. Just put a smile on your face without thinking and your mood will brighten for as long as you can keep your ego at bay.

You can see how pure a person's heart is by noticing what brings a smile to their face. For example, if a person smiles because something bad happened to an enemy, I believe that person's heart still has some black in it. Another person may smile when something pleases their senses. While this is not as bad as the previous issue, it still indicates that their is work to be done. Then again, another might just take everything in and smile because things are the way that they are. no more or less. This is spontaneous Joy. This is what we should all be striving for.

But, what if you take everything in and things are the way that they are; but, not they way they should be? Jeez, now you went and did it! This is the question whose answer has probably killed more people than any other single cause/issue/development in the history of mankind except old age, disease and malnutrition.

If things are not the way they should be, then many believe it is our duty to set things right. The big problem with this course of action is that it the decision is made by most people's egos and not their true selves. Hence, the big differences in opinions. You see, our True Selves, being all the same, would all have to come up with the same answer to the same problem.

Whoa. Who said our True Selves were all the same? OK. Just me (at least in this article). But, let's assume I am mistaken on this point. For the moment, let's grant that that each person's true self is different. Now, let's look at a common point to every religion I know of: Letting God's (or god's) Will be done (whether God is actually God or a Supreme Entity such as Allah/Buddha/the Dao/etc. From now on, let's call this set of actions "The Way."

If every spiritual tradition and or religion seeks to help us let God's Will be done through us; or, at least, not have us thwart God's Will; then, we should all be doing the same thing given the same set of circumstances. If two people will always do the same thing given the same set of circumstances, how many different people are there? I say none.

If a slave always does his master's bidding, is he his own person? No. Then how can someone who voluntarily always does someone else's will be consider a separate person? They can't (this is the argument fought by feminists and housewives for years).

So even if I am wrong about our True Selves being all the same in theory; in practice, we are all striving to make them all the same any way!

The only way out of this dilemma is to purify your heart until no selfish desires remain. If each of us had no selfish desires, we would all have the same desire given the same set of circumstances. Oops, that brought me back to the same point of sameness again.

This certainly seems a long way from a smile. Especially on your face at this moment. But, not in theory. My point about a smile being a non-judgmental, spontaneous and correct action which did not involve the use of our ego is exactly what is needed for things to happen according to The Way.

We need to step back, become rooted in the present and let things unfold as they should.

Ready for another example? Good, because here it is:

7th game of the world series, tie game, bottom of the 9th, 2 outs, bases loaded, 3 & 2 count. Although the very next pitch and the very next swing (or lack of) will determine who wins the World Series, how can the mechanics of the two actions and the decisions which lead to those two actions be any different than in any other pitcher vs. batter situation where both parties are trying to do there best for their team?

Nothing is different. It is just the perception of the outcomes which haven't happened yet that change the moment for the pitcher and batter.

Or how about this: pro-golfers routinely hit 12-18" putts into the cup using just one hand on their putters while they are walking and talking their way off of the green. Yet, once in a while, a Pro will miss one of these putts in a sudden death playoff for a million dollars? How is this possible? What changed? Nothing about the moment changed except the Pro wasn't in the moment. He was with or without the prize money, or he was he was watching himself being watch by 50 million television viewers around the world.

So this brings me back to the beginning. The process or lack of processes which bring a smile to our faces is something we need to cultivate if we wish to evolve as spiritual beings. The more we can let things do or be us, the less our egos will decide.

The less our egos decide, the greater the chance things will unfold The Way they should.

One last question, from my Guru, Yogiraj Swami Bua: Do you go to sleep, or does sleep come to you? Whenever anyone said they go to sleep; Swamiji would ask them to go to sleep then and there. He always made his point.

Speaking of sleep, I pray my nonsense hasn't let sleep come to you!