The "Treat each guest honorably" part is not really the Gatekeeper's job. The essential part of the Gatekeeper's job is openness. Opening the door and keeping it open. No judgment. No discriminating. (Though it's really helpful for the Gatekeeper to begin to trust what happens once the guests come inside.)
But what happens once the guests come inside is the job of Presence--whose voice, whose eyes, whose arms are always saying in one way and and another, 'Come to me all who are weary and carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest."
The starting point and ending point of mindfulness is this thoroughly saturating habit of receptive, attentive kindness. Rumi says, "Treat each guest honorably." Jesus says, "How I've longed to gather you under my wings like a mother hen gathers her chicks." The Buddha says, "Love the whole world as a mother loves her only child." And each of these teachers shows us how to embody both in and outside ourselves.
It's remarkably simple. The Gatekeeper lets them in. Presence (the Host) treats each guest--whether a thought, a feeling, an event, or another person--honorably. Seeing each one clearly and loving each one dearly--like a really good mother loves her kids.
This 'simple' practice potentially holds the whole world--one guest at a time--in clear compassion.
Yet as crucial as it is to understand this, understanding it is never enough. This is where 'religion' is always falling short. To 'get' this, we're called beyond just understanding or believe it, we're called to embody it.
And to embody it we have to do it.
And to do it with any kind of consistency and skill, we need to practice it.
That's why we purposely set aside time for mindful practices. It's amazing what happens when we get serious about training in the 'skill' of attentive kindness--first in our selves and then in our out-in-the-world lives.
If you're new to this, simply set aside a little time. Slow down. Breathe. And practice this:
Allow every thought and feeling that comes 'up' to come 'in'
See 'each' just as it is
Hold each like a mother holds her child
And let it go.
Then do it again. And again.
(If you're theologically inclined you may be interested in the relationship between 'divine' presence and human presence as we experience it in prayer and practice. Or maybe not! Either way I hope to say something about it soon.)
