So what”s part 2?  What could be more radical than this idea?

What”s more radical is what happens when we dedicate our life to realizing this idea, for ourselves, so we can support everyone – without exception in  also being liberated from the limitations which prevent them from growing and flourishing.

In the spirit of the Boddhisattva vow – where the spiritual aspirant seeks enlightenment not just for their own ends but so they can guide others to their own liberation – we can dedicate our own growth to a similarly higher purpose.

This is the ideal

conveyed, perhaps deceptively simply, in the All-Seeing Boy and the Blue Sky of Happiness.  The All-Seeing Boy learns to remember the blue sky of happiness for himself, so he can wish the same happiness on others.  In so doing he realises he is never apart from other people and always has the means to affirm that at our core, we all share the same True reality.

We don”t need to be of a Buddhist persuasion, or any other religious denomination, to make such a commitment.  All we need is a simple heart felt wish, to make the lives of those around us better.

Of course, it”s quite possible, that we won”t achieve the ultimate goal, of helping every human realise the truth of who they really are, within our lifetime, and yet, that possibility is not a reason to choose for a more limited goal.

When we align our thoughts and actions, no matter how small, with an all-inclusive goal like this, it gives our thoughts and actions more power.  This is because, the blue sky as a metaphor for the unity of the human family, cannot be divided, and therefore provides a solid foundation for our mental health and the likelihood that this stability will be transmitted to those we are serving and supporting to grow and flourish.

There is no lesser or greater blue sky – there is only the endless pristine expanse of blue sky.  Try and take blue sky away from blue sky, and blue sky remains.  The blue sky is indivisible.

Are you ready to give your life a new purpose in 2012, and align your thoughts and actions with a greater ideal, which includes everyone?

I agree, to experience life in all its richness we must be willing to embrace all of our experience – our thoughts (clouds) and our true nature (the blue sky of happiness).  After all we are capable of having beautiful thoughts, just like this cloud.

However, distinctions can be useful, and that”s why in the book the All Seeing Boy and the Blue Sky of Happiness, the ruby coated hobo Jason Carper, instructs the All-Seeing Boy that the key to happiness is knowing that happiness is ever present, just like the blue sky is always there behind the clouds – whether we choose to acknowledge it or not.

His point is that we begin to suffer when we choose to focus on our clouds (thoughts) to the exclusion of the blue sky of happiness (true nature).  This is especially so when we focus exclusively on our sad grey cloud thoughts.

So what happens when you focus only on the blue sky of happiness?  If you are willing to try, you may find that the effect is the opposite of focusing on your thoughts (clouds).  The reason for this, is that unlike THE clouds (your thoughts), the blue sky (your true nature) is in fact like the screen on which a film is projected, which means the clouds,

from the ominous:

to the magical and whispy:

and this funny little dumpling of a cloud,

represent the drama/entertainment/wyrdness of human life unfolding in front of it.  Just like when we go to the cinema, we remember that the images before us, are being projected onto a screen.  Our laughter (comedy) tears (romance) or fear (horror) doesn”t change the fact it”s a film.  We remain firmly rooted in the Truth that we are in a cinema.  The blue sky of happiness is of course a more useful metaphor for our true nature, than a movie projector screen, because it”s awe inspiring, pristine, unbroken, and big enough to encompass us all. If you have been focusing on your clouds too long, perhaps to the exclusion of the blue sky, then you might want to remember this simple formula.

1st Remember the Blue Sky of Happiness

Why focus on the Blue Sky first?  Because sometimes the clouds are so dramatic, perhaps frightening in our lives, like this one, that we forget that the blue sky will still be there, once the clouds have passed.  Of course learning to trust the blue sky (our unbroken true nature) is a process that takes time.  As described in the book The All Seeing Boy and the Blue Sky of Happiness, one of the best ways to remember our own True Nature, is to remember it for others through the simple practice of sending (cloudless) blue sky thoughts, to other people.

2nd:  Love your clouds.

Once we are firmly rooted in the awareness of our true nature, i.e that we understand it will always be there, is unbroken and shared by everyone (like the blue sky), we can begin to better appreciate, or in the words of Co-active Coaching “be with”, the clouds when they appear in our life.  Sometimes they will be awe inspiring, other times innocuous or even boring, and sometimes, challenging. Whatever form your clouds take, the more you trust the blue sky as your true nature, the more you”ll enjoy them.  And, each time you forget, you”ll delight each time you  remember, and choose to fill yourself with the blue sky again

Thought for the day: What would your life be like, if you stopped comparing your so called good thoughts (fluffy pink clouds) from your bad thoughts (slate black clouds) and focused on the blue sky instead?