Close Menu
Sedona.Biz – The Voice of Sedona and The Verde Valley
    Sedona.Biz – The Voice of Sedona and The Verde ValleySedona.Biz – The Voice of Sedona and The Verde Valley
    • Home
    • Sedona
      • Steve’s Corner
      • Bear Howard Chronicles
      • Business Profiles
      • Mind and Body
      • Real Estate
      • Sedona News
    • About
    • Advertise
    • Shop
    • Sedona’s Best
    Sedona.Biz – The Voice of Sedona and The Verde Valley
    Home » Checkmate
    Mind and Body

    Checkmate

    December 11, 2021No Comments
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Email Reddit WhatsApp
    Checkmate
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email Reddit WhatsApp

    By Amaya Gayle Gregory

    Amaya Gayle Gregory
    Amaya Gayle Gregory

    I am what I am. I look how I look. My health is what it is. The people in my life are what they are. Life on this planet is what it is. I do not have access to the wondrous perfection seekers pursue. I have not found something others don’t have. The gazillion things in life come and go, just like always. 

    Everything is in constant movement; nothing is constant. The needle on the scale tends right; the needle fades left. Health improves just in time for a new health crisis to appear. Relationships begin; they sputter and end. No magic wand here. 

    I am not control central, the chess master who sees infinite steps ahead. I am an appearance in time and space, a cool one, a richly precious experiential, but an appearance, nonetheless. Any moment could be the end of this form. This next breath could bring my demise or breathe new life into this form. I do not know which way it will go. I have given up minding. Minding was a waste of energy. 

    If there is a choice, which is life’s biggest long shot, it is to be here with my experience as it is — to surrender, to say yes and quit squirming, to stop trying to climb down off the cross in order to not feel the hurt, the impermanence, the aching pain of life in a body. 

    What’s fun — well fun to me and I’m strange that way — is that: 

    I have no power to choose, to say yes, to surrender and yet, I am the only power, that which powers the entire game. 

    I have no material body distinct from others; and yet, I am presence itself, am present within and without all things. 

    I can truly know nothing, and yet, I am that in what all things, wisdom and ignorance, is known. 

    It is easy for forms to get confused, to attribute the formless power, presence and awareness to the form. It’s like believing the chess master lives within the pieces. Wouldn’t that make for an interesting game of chess! 

    Seeing this clearly, living it all the way in, changes the game but not in the way you hope. Life goes on. Resistance happens until it doesn’t. The gazillion things continue to come and go. Seeing the game clearly does not absolve the player from the next play, the next trip across the board. 

    I am This That Is and paradoxically a player on the board. I see the paradox — This I Am and this I am — and am a player acting out the paradox, being moved about the chess board, not in the same mindless way I was before I was given sight, but mindfully. 

    Empty of need for anything other than this, I see the cosmic joke, the golden playground. I am moved, checked and checkmated, and as full aliveness play my role, feel my hurts, watch my heart break and heal and break again. 

    Nothing materially changes. Everything experientially does. When you don’t mind — can see no point at all in minding — life simply is what it is and what joy that is!

    There is no appropriate bio for Amaya Gayle. She doesn’t exist other than as an expression of Consciousness Itself. Talking about her in biographical terms is a disservice to the truth and to anyone who might be led to believe in such nonsense. None of us exist, not in the way we think. Ideas spring into words. Words flow onto paper and yet no one writes them. They simply appear fully formed. Looking at her you would swear this is a lie. She’s there after all, but honestly, she’s not. Bios normally wax on about accomplishments and beliefs, happenings in time and space. She has never accomplished anything, has no beliefs and like you was never born and will never die. Engage with Amaya at your own risk.  www.amayagayle.com

    Related Coverage

    The Balance of Life

    May 17, 2026

    Some Men Just Want to Watch the World Burn

    May 10, 2026

    Boom! What aren’t you appreciating?

    May 3, 2026

    Do Thoughts Create Reality?

    April 26, 2026

    It is possible to thrive in an era of radicalization?

    April 19, 2026

    Bridging the Ever-Widening Gap

    April 5, 2026

    Comments are closed.

    Vote Yes On Home Rule

    Click here to learn about the issues:

    no to home ruleHome Rule allows the city government, Staff with limitations, and Council to spend any money they have on any project they want without regard to voter input.

    Vote Tony Hauserman For City Council

    “Coach” Tony announces his run for Sedona City CouncilClick HERE for Interview. Click HERE for Announcement. Click Photo for Website

    Vote Henry Silbiger for Sedona Mayor
    Sedona real estate
    Sedona’s Backstage Pass

     

    Tune in weekly for Shondra’s behind-the-scenes conversations with the Creators, Curators, and Visionaries who are the heartbeat of Sedona’s Creativity. Spotify Click HERE. Apple Podcast Click HERE.

     

     

    Recent Comments
    • Goldbetkasino Jordan on City invites interested entities to respond to request for information for the restoration and operation of the Cultural Park Amphitheater
    • Sam R on Letter to the Editor: When the System Breaks Down
    • Ed Kettler on Say No To Home Rule
    • West Sedona Dave on Residents First: Why I’m Running for Sedona City Council
    • Judy on Residents First: Why I’m Running for Sedona City Council
    Don’t miss a beat – signup for our weekly newsletter

    Newsletter

    Get the best of Sedona delivered to your inbox — local news, events, and stories.

    Select list(s) to subscribe to


    By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: Sedona.Biz - The Voice of Sedona and The Verde Valley, PO BOX 4326, SEDONA, AZ, 86340, https://sedona.biz. You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact
    Cactus Quill
    Categories
    Your ad could be here
    In The Living Room Music Series

    Every other Monday, the Mary D. Fisher Theatre transforms into your living room for a FUN, intimate, interactive night of music and conversation! Enjoy LIVE music and ask the artist your questions during the concert. Epic music. Real conversations. Unforgettable Mondays. Click the photo to claim your seat!

     

    Get the best of Sedona delivered to your inbox — local news, events, and stories.

    Select list(s) to subscribe to


    By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: Sedona.Biz - The Voice of Sedona and The Verde Valley, PO BOX 4326, SEDONA, AZ, 86340, https://sedona.biz. You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact
    The Voice of Sedona and The Verde Valley

    News

    • Sedona News
    • Verde Valley News
    • Editorials/Opinion
    • Letter to The Editor

    Community

    • Arts and Culture
    • Mind and Body
    • Spiritual
    • Community Events
    • Sedona Restaurants

    More

    • Sedona Real Estate
    • Shop
    • Advertise
    • About
    • Contact
    • Editorial Policy

    Connect

    f
    Get the best of Sedona delivered to your inbox.
    Our Network: TheSedonan.com • SedonaBest.com
    © 2026 Sedona.Biz · Privacy Policy · Editorial Policy · Contact

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.