I have arrived in the present moment

I am feeling like I have arrived in the present moment. Reading my entry from April 12, 2006, I see how I was beginning to consciously look at my spiritual journey. Of course, I am riffing on Thich Nhat Hanh: 

I have arrived. I am home.

In the here. In the now.

I am solid. I am free.

In the ultimate I dwell.

Reading "The Way of Zen" by Alan Watts, I was getting intimations of what seems much clearer now. I use the word "enthralled" to describe when I heard him speak at college in the 70's. I like my explanation, I feel like I have come full circle in some ways or maybe I never left. In the preface, he says "the various wisdoms of the West, do not offer much guidance to the art of living in the modern world where familiar concepts have dissolved and we find ourselves adrift." I have rediscovered my interest in eastern thought and practice. Recently I have come face to face with my lack of interest in the Christian story of salvation. I love Jesus and what he did and said but don't care much for the structured system of theology that climbed to the top of the heap from early Christian beliefs.

I think a lot about how to describe how I view Christianity and that is a pretty good summary from 2006. I don't want to offend my many friends who are Christian and even pastors by sharing this. I still feel I can support people at church spiritually without having to kick out the bucket that they are standing on. I do feel between two worlds but I am surprised at how clearly I see the truth of Zen Buddhism. In the past weeks, I have extensively quoted from Opening the Hand of Thought. I do feel like I am getting guidance to the art of living.