"One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light,
“…feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation, resentment,
anger, jealousy, and fear, instead of being bad news, are actually very
clear moments
but by making the darkness conscious...
Knowing your own darkness is the best method
for dealing with the darknesses of other people."
Knowing your own darkness is the best method
for dealing with the darknesses of other people."
-- C.G. Jung
that teach us where it is that we’re holding back...
They’re like messengers that show us,
with terrifying clarity, exactly where we’re stuck."
They’re like messengers that show us,
with terrifying clarity, exactly where we’re stuck."
-- Pema Chödrön
And, to be sure, Mindfulness Practice can provide many moments of calm and clarity.
Yet -- and this is generally not proclaimed in the slick internet ads -- it is also true that a regular mediation practice can bring to the surface a lot of feelings that we have assiduously managed to repress, deny, or otherwise avoid, as we scurry along in our lives.
Conditioned to operate in a fast-paced materialistic society, one that keeps us focused outwardly for fulfillment, we are programmed to just keep moving. So, once we slow down and sit still for awhile to focus inwardly, our world changes
Yet -- and this is generally not proclaimed in the slick internet ads -- it is also true that a regular mediation practice can bring to the surface a lot of feelings that we have assiduously managed to repress, deny, or otherwise avoid, as we scurry along in our lives.
Conditioned to operate in a fast-paced materialistic society, one that keeps us focused outwardly for fulfillment, we are programmed to just keep moving. So, once we slow down and sit still for awhile to focus inwardly, our world changes
Although we can experience greater calm, it is also not uncommon to
encounter darker, more distressing energies during periods of meditation.
Contrary to what we might think, this is a Good Thing. It's a sign that the Practice is working! (How often have you winced and thought "Damn. Why did I say/do that!? Wouldn't you like to know?)
In the process of a deepening Practice, we no longer skim across the surface. Turning toward and embracing our Shadow, we actually begin to get in touch with the aspects of our conditioning that have subconsciously operated to create the way we see and react to the events of our lives.
Contrary to what we might think, this is a Good Thing. It's a sign that the Practice is working! (How often have you winced and thought "Damn. Why did I say/do that!? Wouldn't you like to know?)
In the process of a deepening Practice, we no longer skim across the surface. Turning toward and embracing our Shadow, we actually begin to get in touch with the aspects of our conditioning that have subconsciously operated to create the way we see and react to the events of our lives.
The good news is that,
with Practice, we are able to make conscious what had been
subconscious. Over time, we are able to observe and understand the more
troublesome aspects of ourselves, and navigate our lives with increasing clarity and ease.
Truth in Advertising
Adrift in momentary delusions of grandeur, I sometimes joke about beginning a high profile advertising campaign for Monday Morning Mindfulness. Full page bold print ads, billboards, and television commercials would proclaim something like:
(READ MORE)
Truth in Advertising
Adrift in momentary delusions of grandeur, I sometimes joke about beginning a high profile advertising campaign for Monday Morning Mindfulness. Full page bold print ads, billboards, and television commercials would proclaim something like:
(READ MORE)
Want Sadness, Fear, Disappointment,
Restlessness, Boredom,
and More?
Practice Mindfulness Meditation!
Besides possibly getting sued by Commercial Mindfulness gurus and their conglomerates, I don't think I'd get much action. Yet, as best I can see, this is where the real action is. As Pema Chödrön points out, the actual process of meditation is "counter-intuitive." On the path to becoming an open hearted and clear minded human being, we decide to sit still and directly face what we have always fled from. Who needs that?
We do -- individually and collectively.
Besides possibly getting sued by Commercial Mindfulness gurus and their conglomerates, I don't think I'd get much action. Yet, as best I can see, this is where the real action is. As Pema Chödrön points out, the actual process of meditation is "counter-intuitive." On the path to becoming an open hearted and clear minded human being, we decide to sit still and directly face what we have always fled from. Who needs that?
We do -- individually and collectively.
This country and the world we live in are teetering on the brink of a nuclear and a climatic armaggedon. A major reason? Our individual and collective consciousness is saturated with generational trauma, unexamined belief structures, unresolved grief, and other subconscious clusters of thought and feeling. Our day-to-day lives, days filled with necessary tasks and unlimited -- and, often quite appealing -- distractions sweeps us along without the clarity or energy to take effective action to change the major social, economic and political institutions that propelled us into this mess.
With Practice, we come to see that it is precisely our willingness and ability to carefully and compassionately examine our own subconscious that unlocks the Dharma Gate of Ease and Joy and energizes Real Transformation.
When we finally face our fear and wander down into the basement with all its ghoulies and ghosties and things that go bump in the night, things begin to shift. As we learn how to embrace the skeletons that we've thrown in our own closet over the years, a new world opens up. We come to see that all the aspects of ourselves and our experience that we've deemed unpleasant, infuriating, disappointing, embarrassing, humiliating, and otherwise "unacceptable"can be observed clearly, cradled in the compassion of our own boundless hearts -- and healed.
With Practice, we come to see that it is precisely our willingness and ability to carefully and compassionately examine our own subconscious that unlocks the Dharma Gate of Ease and Joy and energizes Real Transformation.
When we finally face our fear and wander down into the basement with all its ghoulies and ghosties and things that go bump in the night, things begin to shift. As we learn how to embrace the skeletons that we've thrown in our own closet over the years, a new world opens up. We come to see that all the aspects of ourselves and our experience that we've deemed unpleasant, infuriating, disappointing, embarrassing, humiliating, and otherwise "unacceptable"can be observed clearly, cradled in the compassion of our own boundless hearts -- and healed.
It's much easier to be Present and make good decisions when all that stuff isn't in the way.
On The Zafu and Beyond
As we commit to Practice, this process unfolds not only on the meditation cushion, it also occurs in our interactions with others. As Practice deepens, we often find that those people who drive us crazy become some of our best teachers. We come to see that when we exhibit "judgment mind," and find ourselves pointing the finger at someone else, we are generally missing the point.
As we become familiar with our own mind, we see for ourselves the reality of psychological projections. Oftentimes, the thoughts, feelings, motivations, and desires that we are unable to accept in ourselves and have repressed are then projected outward and attributed to others. Over time, we realize that if we are having a difficult time with someone else, it could very well be that we ought to take a deeper look at ourselves in the mirror of Practice.
Although in the modern era this understanding of psychological projection was pioneered by Freud, it goes much further back. It appears in the writings of Greek Philosophers, Buddhism and, in the Teachings of Yogi Jesus, most famously in his words on the "mote and the plank."
Although the teachings of the Prince of Peace were distorted as Christianity was institutionalized and shape-shifted into the warlike Holy Roman Empire, it seems to me that the Son of Man and the Buddha were on the same page about the nature of Reality. In the Clear Light of Mindfulness, the wisdom of "judge not and ye shall not be judged" becomes self-evident. The karma is instant. You either are Present for yourself and others with an Open Heart and an Open Mind -- or you're not.
If you're paying attention, you'll notice.
As
the Practice develops, you may even have moments where you truly
do Love your neighbor as yourself because you've seen clearly that that person is
yourself! You come to know directly that we are each inextricably
connected to one another within the Infinite Expanse of One Love.
At those points, a walk down Main Street can become a stroll through the Pure Land of Amitaba Buddha or a ramble through the Kingdom of Heaven.
I love it when that happens.
On The Zafu and Beyond
As we commit to Practice, this process unfolds not only on the meditation cushion, it also occurs in our interactions with others. As Practice deepens, we often find that those people who drive us crazy become some of our best teachers. We come to see that when we exhibit "judgment mind," and find ourselves pointing the finger at someone else, we are generally missing the point.
As we become familiar with our own mind, we see for ourselves the reality of psychological projections. Oftentimes, the thoughts, feelings, motivations, and desires that we are unable to accept in ourselves and have repressed are then projected outward and attributed to others. Over time, we realize that if we are having a difficult time with someone else, it could very well be that we ought to take a deeper look at ourselves in the mirror of Practice.
Although in the modern era this understanding of psychological projection was pioneered by Freud, it goes much further back. It appears in the writings of Greek Philosophers, Buddhism and, in the Teachings of Yogi Jesus, most famously in his words on the "mote and the plank."
"How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite*, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you
will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."
--Matthew 7:4, 7:5 NIV
Although the teachings of the Prince of Peace were distorted as Christianity was institutionalized and shape-shifted into the warlike Holy Roman Empire, it seems to me that the Son of Man and the Buddha were on the same page about the nature of Reality. In the Clear Light of Mindfulness, the wisdom of "judge not and ye shall not be judged" becomes self-evident. The karma is instant. You either are Present for yourself and others with an Open Heart and an Open Mind -- or you're not.
If you're paying attention, you'll notice.
At those points, a walk down Main Street can become a stroll through the Pure Land of Amitaba Buddha or a ramble through the Kingdom of Heaven.
I love it when that happens.
P.S. I just discovered that Richard Rohr just finished a week of posts on Embracing the Shadow on his Center for Action and Contemplation community website. What great synchronicity!
If you want a more thorough look at the Shadow as it emerges in Carl Jung's analytic psychology, Fr Rohr, a Franciscan priest and respected elder in the contemporary Interspiritual movement, and others of the CAC offer an insightful series of articles. (Click on each Day to read that day's article. I did!)
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