tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56501143234612680882024-03-17T09:25:43.297-04:00Mindfulness, Meditation, and Mysticismwww.mondaymorningmindfulness.net
Lance Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04504850608959937357noreply@blogger.comBlogger466125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650114323461268088.post-23144999297030267282024-03-16T12:56:00.019-04:002024-03-16T13:48:39.859-04:00Silence is Golden<p> </p><div style="text-align: right;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span>“Be still. Stillness reveals the secrets of eternity. </b><br />
<b>When there is
silence one finds the anchor of the universe within oneself” </b><br />
<b>― Lao Tzu<br /><br /> "Never miss a good chance to shut up."</b><br />
<b>― Will Rogers</b><br />
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tQUf3H7A_4c/VkXy9MnOgMI/AAAAAAAAISE/7zpw8F3uZfM/s1600/zenzero.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="319" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tQUf3H7A_4c/VkXy9MnOgMI/AAAAAAAAISE/7zpw8F3uZfM/s320/zenzero.jpg" width="320" /></a><b>Sometimes the magic happens when you are sitting alone in silence. The thin veil dissolves. The Connection is made. </b></div><p><b>Sometimes
the magic happens when you are meditating with others. In the silence, the illusion of our fundamental separateness evaporates. The "I"
becomes "we" -- and we <i>know</i> it.<br /></b></p><p><b>I think it's even sweeter when it happens that way.<br /></b></p><p><b>I remember one of those times distinctly. </b><b><b><b>Sitting
here now, it seems like it happened in a different world, a long, long
time ago. I guess it was. The year was 6 B.C. Six years
<i>B</i>efore <i>C</i>OVID<i>.</i></b></b> </b></p><p><b>There
were fifteen of us gathered to Simply Sit Still </b><b><b>during the Wednesday Evening Mindfulness Circle </b></b><b><b><b>at
the Recovery Learning Community's Greenfield Center that</b><b><b> night</b></b>. As was our Practice, I rang the bell three times and we sat in silent meditation for twenty minutes.<br /></b></b></p><p><b>At a certain point, it <i>happened</i>. It got really quiet. <span style="font-size: medium;">Really</span>, Really -- <span style="font-size: x-small;">Quiet</span>! </b></p><p><b>In the silence, a Presence emerged.<br /></b></p><p><b>When
I rang the bell to end the meditation and begin the Heart Council, the
air was electric. I knew that what I had just experienced wasn't just a
subjective personal event occurring within the confines of my own
skull. I could see it in
people's eyes. </b><br />
</p><p><b>As we went
around the Circle to compare notes on what we had each experienced
during our meditation, the first person exclaimed, wide-eyed, "you could
actually <i>hear</i> the
silence!" </b></p><p><b>"Yes. The Silence was deafening!" a second added. Others nodded. </b></p><p><b>The magic had occurred. In the silence, what my first Zen teacher called the Soundless Sound had emerged as a <i>shared</i> experience. Whenever that happens, even for a </b><b><b> few moments, our Essential Oneness</b> within the embrace of the One Love becomes less theoretical. Reality Asserts Itself. </b><b>You can <i>feel</i> it in your bones. In the stillness our shared silence, we know:<br /></b></p><p><b> We are not only<i> in </i>this together -- we <i>are</i> this together! </b><br />
<br />
<b>I love it when that happens.</b></p><p><b>And yet... </b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Scurrying Through the Matrix</span></b><br /></p><p><b>In a society that places a high value on individualism, competition, speed, achievement, and acquisition, Simply Sitting Still can be challenging. </b><b>We
have been conditioned to experience our world through mental and
emotional states that manifest a lot of mental activity, a feeling of restless
motion -- and, whether we are aware of it or not, <i>a profound sense of separation</i>. </b><b> </b></p><p><b>As the profit motive and the technology of late stage capitalism increasingly captures and commodifies our attention, it's only gotten worse. With the proliferation of cellphones and video screens, We are bombarded with incessant visual and auditory stimulation. Our minds are habitually
filled with incessant noise and chatter -- inner and outer. </b></p><p><b>In today's world, most of us have spent much of our lives
being
<i>constantly</i> <i>distracted and disconnected from our True Nature. </i></b></p><p><b>The direct experience of what <a href="https://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/" target="_blank">Thich Nhat Hanh</a> calls <i>Interbeing</i>,
our fundamental interconnection with one another and the entire Web of
Life , is rarely encountered on a conscious level. Yet it is always
there -- always <i>here</i>, more correctly -- in the embrace of what contemporary spiritual teacher <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eckhart_Tolle" target="_blank">Eckhart Tolle</a> and others have called the Eternal Now.</b><br />
<b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="https://www.mondaymorningmindfulness.net/2024/03/be-still.html#more" target="_blank">(READ MORE)</a></span></b><br />
</p><a name='more'></a><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>It Takes One to Know One<br /></b></span></p><p><b></b></p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KolVf8qejQw/YEzykM9Z5mI/AAAAAAAAME8/IFDuM0oMLO0Ykvj8WWUOY0AsS_VC8OprACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/WeAREthis.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="2048" height="250" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KolVf8qejQw/YEzykM9Z5mI/AAAAAAAAME8/IFDuM0oMLO0Ykvj8WWUOY0AsS_VC8OprACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h250/WeAREthis.jpg" width="400" /></a></b></div><b>I think that we
each, at least as children, have touched the clear, open, spacious
quality of consciousness that characterizes our True Nature. Many of us may still experience fleeting moments of that Connection -- if we are paying attention.<br /></b><p></p><p><b>Yet,
maintaining the open heart and clear mind that connects us with the
deepest dimensions of our being is easier said than done. We have to
see through layers of conditioning to engage the world in the present moment <i>as it is</i>. </b></p><p><b>Meditation is a means to doing just that. </b></p><p><b>Yet, Simply Sitting Still </b><b><b><b>is not easy. It </b></b>takes </b><b><b>commitment and effort, courage, and a gentle but unrelenting kindness and patience with oneself and others. Ultimately we have to<i> be</i> clear-minded and open-hearted to experience our Sacred Unity. <br /></b></b></p><p><b><b>This</b> takes Practice. </b></p><p></p><p><b>Unfortunately, such Practice is still all too rare in this, the richest and most powerful nation
on earth. Yet, a</b><b><b>s we look at the stark
horrors of ceaseless warfare and environmental destruction it's clear: </b></b><b>We've got to get our act together as a species. </b><b>The future of this planet depends on more folks realizing our Essential Oneness in the web of life -- and acting accordingly.</b><b><b><br /></b></b></p><p><b></b></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1oRVVEfbXT8/YEzaIghQJ3I/AAAAAAAAMEg/fDW72cpuJYAOysa2m1UmSqw4qLycc-cFACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/london2.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="212" data-original-width="320" height="265" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1oRVVEfbXT8/YEzaIghQJ3I/AAAAAAAAMEg/fDW72cpuJYAOysa2m1UmSqw4qLycc-cFACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h265/london2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td><td style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Thich Nhat Hanh and thousands Meditating in 2012</b></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></td></tr></tbody></table><p><b><b>Although
the pandemic served to interrupt the rat race scurry of
contemporary living for many, it seems that we've now returned to a new era of "business as usual." The momentum of centuries of materialism
and the glorification of the ego persists. <br /></b></b></p><p></p><p><b>Yet, if more and more of us </b><b><i>join
with others</i></b><b> to cultivate our hearts and minds through Practice, we just might be able to muster up
the level of
kindness, compassion and wisdom that is needed to save this old
suffering world.</b><b> <br /></b></p><p><b>I can't think of anything more important to do. Can you?</b><br /></p>Lance Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18174480565578669357noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650114323461268088.post-73538371601686387122024-02-19T19:07:00.027-05:002024-02-26T17:46:18.941-05:00One Love. One Heart<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>“In Chinese, the word for heart and mind is the same -- Hsin.</b><br />
<b> For when the heart is open and the mind is clear </b><br />
<b>they are of one substance, of one essence.” </b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Levine_%28author%29" target="_blank">-- Stephen Levine </a></b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>"Love is not what we become but who we already are."</b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>-- Stephen Levine</b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-12wwu3HG-yU/XIWRWW_exBI/AAAAAAAALBg/J4nN5L9MXoIUE34rA4oNCNxKPuuNL6Z2wCLcBGAs/s1600/zenmu.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="797" data-original-width="800" height="318" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-12wwu3HG-yU/XIWRWW_exBI/AAAAAAAALBg/J4nN5L9MXoIUE34rA4oNCNxKPuuNL6Z2wCLcBGAs/s320/zenmu.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>I slept in this morning for the first time in quite awhile. </b><br />
<br />
<b>Although I did awaken at around 4:30, to participate in my "wee hours" recycling project, I immediately returned to bed. There, I
followed my breathing into "dozing/dreaming meditation." </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>A long, rather
vivid, dream quickly emerged. It was unsettling. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>With
echoes of my many "personal failures" ringing through my mind, I awoke
again. I glanced at the clock. It read 6:45! That's wicked late in my
world. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Yikes!</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Feeling
harried and hurried, I went into the bathroom to do a bit more
recycling. Then I picked up the iPhone and cast my <a href="https://www.mondaymorningmindfulness.net/2020/10/lojong-training-heart-and-mind.html" target="_blank">Lojong Slogan</a> for
the day: Number 49. "Always meditate on the difficult emotions that
emerge."<br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>That
sounded spot on. <br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>I could feel a deep sadness welling in my chest --
but, damn, it was LATE! The
hiss of the morning traffic on High
Street concurred. It was rush hour. </b><b>I had a long list of things to do. </b><b>I felt propelled to just keep
moving! </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b><br />
<b><b><span style="font-size: large;">Day In. Day Out.</span></b></b><br />
<br />
<b>For decades now, I've begun my day with an hour of meditation. The</b><b> commitment to a daily practice made sense to me. The momentum of this commitment has become a habit. It carries me along. At times, I feel like an autumn
leaf floating on the surface of a dancing brook heading toward the sea. <br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>This commitment seems natural to me. Through repetition, certain mind states and behaviors have become habits. At this point, the Practice is doing me as much as I'm doing it. Life flows on. I flow on. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>During the day, in the midst of the things to be done, I'm reminded to be mindful every twenty minutes with the peal of a meditation bell on my iPnone. I also have an old three minute egg timer that catches my eye now and then. I flip it over and Simply Sit Still. Aware of my breath and body, the sights and sounds surrounding me at the moment, and the gracious spaciousness and stillness that appears to permeate each present moment, I hit the reset button. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Then, as the twilight fades into night, I often watch an hour or two of media. Then, an inveterate bookworm, I pick up a book. These readings run the gamut from the scriptures and commentaries from the world's religions, to contemporary works in history, philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, and physics. The book usually joins me in bed for a bit.<br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Then I meditate in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shavasana" target="_blank">shavasana</a> for awhile, before turning on my side and meditating into sleep. I wake up in the wee hours to pee, practice a dreamy, dozy, death meditation in shavasana and fall back into the arms of sleep. At times, the Dream Yoga Practice produces an awe-inspiring lucid dream. (The flying dreams are the most fun.) </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>More often, more mundane concerns appear in my dreams. When I awaken, within a dream or afterwards, I practice opening and embracing even the more frightening, frustrating, and painful assortment of energies that may emerge. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Then, at about 5:30, I wake up. I brush my teeth. I cast a Lojong Slogan for the day. Then, after a few moments of prayers, prostrations, and bows, I Simply Sit Still. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<b><b>That bedrock morning ritual became a bit rocky this past week, though. </b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b> </b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b><span style="font-size: large;">To Sit or Not to Sit?</span></b></b><b><b> </b></b><br />
<br />
<b><b>I actually missed a morning meditation one day last week for the first time in a long, long time. Then the next day, I only sat for 20
minutes before setting up to host the Morning Mindfulness Meditation Circle on Zoom. There, thankfully, I did have the opportunity to Just Sit Still for another 20 minutes, and practice mindful movement for another 10 minutes before beginning the sharing session we call the Heart Council. Then I was ready to launch into a busy day.<br /></b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b> </b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b>So. What's the big deal about establishing a daily meditation practice?<br /></b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<b><b>For sure, most of the meditation teachers I've practiced with recommended it. It seem logical that our minds, like our bodies can be <i>trained</i> to experience a healthier relationship to life. </b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b>I'd been an athlete in high school and college. I'd seen the positive results of devoting time and effort to physical training. Yet, beyond the medals and trophies I acquired, I also sensed that there was much more to life. My heart led the way to explore the deeper meaning, purpose, and possibilities of our journey.<br /></b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b> </b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b>With the recent advances in neuroscience it is clear that our minds, even the biological component of the brain and nervous system can be changed to operate with greater concentration and clarity through mindfulness training. <br /></b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b> </b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b>Most every morning, I don't think about it. I just do it.</b></b><br />
<br />
<b><b>Yet, this morning, that didn't happen. I woke up late and was off and <i>running</i>! Having jumped into a number of new volunteer projects,<i> I had things to do</i>! I grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down in front of the computer, ready to tackle the
first thing on the list. </b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b> </b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b>Then, I came to my senses. I looked at the sunlight playing through the bare branches of the trees outside the window.<br /></b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b> </b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b>I stopped. </b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b> </b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b>I sat
up a bit straighter and took a long, slow, deep breath. Sitting
there, I relaxed and sensed that place in me that appears to make choices. </b><b><b>Rather than just "go with the flow"this morning, I had to stand in the way of my own momentum. </b>A real <i>decision</i> had to be made. </b></b><br />
<b><b> </b></b><br />
<b><b>After a few more conscious breaths, it became clear to me. First things, first. The list will be there when I return. I stood up and headed back to
in the bedroom. I faced the altar. Although the preliminary ritual has transformed over the years, I set a timer for an hour. Then, as I have done for a long time, I Simply Sat Still. </b></b><br />
<a href="http://www.mondaymorningmindfulness.net/2021/02/one-love-one-heart.html#more" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">(READ MORE)</span></b></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Real Deal </b></span><br />
<br />
<b>I'm glad I did. </b><br />
<br />
<b>During that hour, I settled down and rested in the awareness of my
breath and my body. Gently and patiently, I was able to let go of the narratives that
emerged, one by one. Then, I opened my
heart to the feelings that had surfaced during my early morning dream. Tasting
directly the energy of these feelings, I could feel the universal nature
of our human suffering. As I have done countless times, I breathed moments of sadness, pain, fear, disappointment, anger, and confusion directly into my heart.
Opening further, relaxing and widening my inner gaze, I came to rest in my body and relaxed into
the vast, spacious embrace of the One Love. There, at the source, being, and destination of all there is and could possibly be, I got in touch with my heart's aspiration to be helpful and kind, and breathed out care
and goodwill for all. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>I did this again and again.<br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Breathing
in. Breathing out. Thoughts emerged -- and passed. Breathing in.
Breathing out. Feelings emerged and passed. Breathing in. Breathing
out. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Life breathing Life. <br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>The hour passed by rather swiftly.</b><br />
<br />
<b>Now, sitting here at this old Mac laptop, I'm filled with a sense of
wonder, exhilaration, and deep gratitude. With Practice, I've again
seen that this tender, caring, achy-breaky, wounded little human heart glowing
in my chest is my direct connection to the vast, warm, bright, spaciousness of the One
Love. In fact, I've seen clearly these are "not two". </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>In True Love, there is no separation.<br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>I
don't always see or feel that, of course. Immersed in the swirl of a 21st
century life in a materialistic society, I can get swept away all too
often. But, I've seen it often enough, felt it in my cells strongly
enough, to know that One Love is the Real Deal. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>As I embrace Love, Love embraces me.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Towards the One</b></span><br />
<br />
<b>So, Life flows on. Inseparable from Life, I flow on.</b><br />
<br />
<b>In my better moments, I realized that I <i>am</i> like a leaf floating along the surface of a sparkling brook as it dances toward the
sea. In this dance, there is breathing and seeing and hearing and
touching and feeling and thinking and deciding. There is knowing and not-knowing.</b><br />
<br />
<b>Sometimes, thoughts and feelings can swirl me up with them into the vortex of a powerful whirlpool. </b><b><b>In the past, these whirlpools would suck me in.<span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span>Sometimes for months. It wasn't pretty. In my blindness </b></b><b><b><b><b><b><b><b><b> and </b></b></b></b>confusion</b></b> there were times that I harmed myself and others.</b></b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qhk1QzCxW0c/WpqVVdxIREI/AAAAAAAAKbU/ptYLRGrOE1oIZFbe_jxrfu9s8ShwRiHnACLcBGAs/s1600/Stream.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qhk1QzCxW0c/WpqVVdxIREI/AAAAAAAAKbU/ptYLRGrOE1oIZFbe_jxrfu9s8ShwRiHnACLcBGAs/s400/Stream.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<b><b>Yet, these days, it's different. </b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b> </b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b>I can usually quickly see these thoughts and feelings for what they are. </b>They
are just part of the human dance. More and more, I can meet them and greet
them as old friends, the consequences of our shared human condition. I
can breath them into my heart, bow to them, and wish them well as they
come -- and go. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>With Practice, more and more, I can now choose to return to the present moment, relax, and simply Love. </b><br />
<br />
<b>Floating along the surface of life's stream, it's clear to me that there will be always be whirlpools
and there will periods of calm as the brook dances its way to dissolve
into the vastness of the sea. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Yet, with Practice, I've seen that the water beneath and
beyond this ever-changing dance is <i>always</i> deep, calm, and clear
-- and it is not separate from the vast, open expanse of the blue sky
stretching overhead. Everything reflects everything. In the One Heart of Awareness, One Love embraces it all.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<b>I'm sure glad I Sat this morning. </b></div>
Lance Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18174480565578669357noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650114323461268088.post-38271199716223395082024-01-15T05:23:00.004-05:002024-02-14T16:43:03.749-05:00Mindfulness and Mission<p> </p><div style="text-align: right;">
<b>“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love</b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b>will have the final word in reality... Man must evolve for all conflict </b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b>a method that rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation. </b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b>The foundation of such a method is love.” </b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>-- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>“When we are mindful, deeply in touch with the present moment,</b><br />
<b>our
understanding of what is going on deepens, and we begin to be</b><br />
<b>filled
with acceptance, joy, peace and love.”
</b><br />
<b>―
Thích Nhất Hạnh </b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyjvkYasyEgwtqOVw6wsouZTy76s4UY-2J8udUJy1WDRJXSRrC82rGtC6_y3GOwSMJk2kjiSbVVdjGLXeB6cOES54P9VYgHh5nEduFifIwM7ASTJ6VjrEC1iQsNPOl9qoPWlqd-2_a4KDo_6CWuHmNWMXDXpSnMQVWu4pAnFnerJxqdS3gsKwrmOqRscgS/s595/AltarEgo.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="516" data-original-width="595" height="365" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyjvkYasyEgwtqOVw6wsouZTy76s4UY-2J8udUJy1WDRJXSRrC82rGtC6_y3GOwSMJk2kjiSbVVdjGLXeB6cOES54P9VYgHh5nEduFifIwM7ASTJ6VjrEC1iQsNPOl9qoPWlqd-2_a4KDo_6CWuHmNWMXDXpSnMQVWu4pAnFnerJxqdS3gsKwrmOqRscgS/w420-h365/AltarEgo.jpg" width="420" /></a></div>I
awoke this morning stiff and sore, a bit out of sorts. The holiday
season, with it's ghosts of Christmas past, health concerns, and other challenges among family and friends, was long,
difficult, and demanding.</b><br />
<br />
<b>Although my energy had returned after a couple of months of wending my way through COVID, my 77 year old body, with its failing eyesight, bevy of inflammations, dental difficulties, achy joints and the resultant doctor's appointments, still needs a lot of maintenance time and attention. </b><br />
<br />
<b>As I plodded slowly
toward the bathroom, the whole world -- inner and outer -- seemed shrouded in gray tones of doom and gloom. <br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Images of my inevitable, if not
imminent, demise floated through my mind as I limped along. Through the wonders of modern medical science, I've already beat the genetic odds of my lineage. My dad was dead at 61. His dad was gone at 57. I've got two stents in my heart forestalling the day when this aging body gives it up to the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>T</b><b>here were times in
my life that beginning the day in this frame of mind on a frigid winter morning would have thrown me for a loop. A dark mood and dark thoughts would have wrapped themselves
around one another and held onto one another tightly -- sometimes for
hours, sometimes for days. Sometimes for weeks at a time. </b></div><p><b>In fact, there were times
in my life that I had spiraled down into deep depression, anxiety, and total burn-out.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">That was then. This is now.</span></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>This
morning, like most mornings these days, I brushed my teeth, washed my face. took a deep breath, and felt my heart. Then, with compassion and curiosity, I looked my mirror image straight in the eye for a moment or two. Then, I
wobbled over to the altar in my bedroom. There, I spent a few moments in a sequence of ritual prayers and bows. Then, as I've done for decades, I bowed, lowered myself to the zafu and Simply Sat Still. </b><br />
<br />
<b>Within moments, it was <i>different</i>.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>There in my little corner of
the world, </b><b>with my body comfortable
and upright on the meditation cushion, with eyes open and unfocused, I </b><b>floated on the breath of Practice. In the expansive gaze of Open Awareness, I relaxed and watched as ripples
of thought, feelings, and bodily sensations emerged and dissipated along
the surface of a clear, calm, vast pool of bright spacious awareness. Simply Sitting Still, no longer grasping or pushing away what I was experiencing, I breathed,
relaxed, softened, and opened. <br /></b></p><p><b>Almost immediately, my heart and mind opened to the fact that a lot of old coots were feeling these same aches and pains and sadness. Deeply aware that bodily pain and the emotional clouds of doom and gloom are being experienced by countless other human beings, young and old, at that very moment, I relaxed and opened to <i>our</i> pain. </b><b><br /></b></p><p><b>As I have learned to do in Tonglen Practice, I simply allowed painful bodily sensations and emotional energies to emerge and breathed them directly into my heart chakra. There, </b><b>in my heart of hearts, </b><b>the gracious spaciousness of the One Love that exists within and beyond all that is embraced my </b><b>sincere aspirations for our collective freedom from suffering. </b><b>In the Compassionate Presence that emerged, the dark ripples of painful energy began to dissipate and dissolve. I stayed with it. Soon, with each out breath, I was able to release my heartfelt aspirations as prayers for peace, liberation, and healing. <br /></b></p><p><b>Over the years, I've found that sometimes tears will emerge as I practice Tonglen. I've learned to trust in the tears. They are actually a good thing. It is the body's natural response to the grief that is inherent in the human condition. Released, the tears wash away the hardness of heart that we've been taught to wear as a shield against the painful aspects of life. As tears flow, the heart opens. Sometimes gratitude, even joyous wonder, emerge as well. Love embraces it all.<br /></b></p><p><b>At other times, when facing strong emotional energies, I've found that it's been wise to "back off" a bit. It can be overwhelming at times. Having been touched by the teachings of <a href="https://pemachodronfoundation.org/" target="_blank">Pema Chodron</a>, I've found that being gentle and patient with oneself is, perhaps, the most important quality of heart to bring to Practice. If need be, I'll focus my attention elsewhere for awhile. I'll zero in on the sights and sounds of the space I'm in, or a return to a tighter focus on my breath. Sometimes, I will turn to a mantra, metta recitations, or prayer. Sometimes, it's been time to just let go and take a walk. <br /></b></p><p><b>Yet, this morning, </b><b>I simply sat still breathing. Tonglen Practice emerged and, after a time, receded. Then I Simply Sat Still in open awareness again. </b><b>Time danced with the Timeless, </b><b> as the sounds of traffic ebbed and flowed outside the window. </b></p><p><b>The hour flew by. The bells on my iPhone rang. I recited the <a href="https://www.mondaymorningmindfulness.net/p/blog-page_12.html" target="_blank">Four Bodhisattva Vows</a> as I have done for decades -- and rose to face the day.</b><br />
</p><p><b><span style="font-size: small;">But, that was then, this is <i>now</i>. </span></b></p><p><b>Here I am, sitting at this old Mac Laptop watching letters and words tap dance across
the screen. Remembering to take a couple of deep breaths, I feel my heart and sit up a
bit straighter. I relax and come to my senses. Settling into a fuller awareness of the sights and
sounds and sensations and gracious spaciousness of Life as it emerges moment to moment, I relax and open. Words seem to just appear and find their way into my fingers. It's quite mysterious really. Being present, I feel a Presence. </b><b>In the
midst of a wondrous, somewhat dreamlike beauty, Reality asserts itself. </b><b>The sacred and
the ordinary dance hand in hand.<br /></b></p><p><b>So, now what?</b></p><p><b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="https://www.mondaymorningmindfulness.net/2024/01/mindfulness-and-mission.html#more" target="_blank">(READ MORE) </a></span></b><br />
</p><a name='more'></a><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b><b>Defusing Armageddon </b></b></span><b><b><br /></b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQxGqEDqtBKlPN7lJIm5toiIGOBcS-jnHkJlRmta_zbqjoTyXakXS1xq0-lmFvHdTWrIL8si-9fb66bg4ZHXKv1nSEAMOdkDQ95S55N71-GpUy4uSpQDr0gFvnmc4yjbMF2pztrWPW1iRuXnHEhdNs6wHfm5uh138x4iKH5y4lctNUI5sOf8x8BL39PtGp/s900/BoschHell.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="735" data-original-width="900" height="337" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQxGqEDqtBKlPN7lJIm5toiIGOBcS-jnHkJlRmta_zbqjoTyXakXS1xq0-lmFvHdTWrIL8si-9fb66bg4ZHXKv1nSEAMOdkDQ95S55N71-GpUy4uSpQDr0gFvnmc4yjbMF2pztrWPW1iRuXnHEhdNs6wHfm5uh138x4iKH5y4lctNUI5sOf8x8BL39PtGp/w413-h337/BoschHell.jpg" width="413" /></a><b><b></b></b></div><b><b>Once we get calm and clear enough to see what's going on, it gets pretty obvious: We're in a pickle here on this
planet. If nuclear warfare doesn't do us first, the destruction of
our eco-system just may just do the trick. These are difficult and dangerous times.<br /></b></b><p></p><p><b><b>It's clear. As a species, we humanoids need to get our act together. </b></b><b><br />
<br />To</b><b><b><b> do this, we have to "become the change we wish to see happen." As one iconic hippie slogan proclaimed: Fighting for peace is like fucking for chastity. The blindness, greed, fear, condemnation, and anger that fuel the flames of
our environmental demise, social conflict, and warfare cannot be
dispelled by more of the same. </b></b></b></p><p><b><b><b>All too
often, even those of us who are committed to creating a world based on
peace and justice react to the world in a way that doesn't help. In our arrogance, distrust, fear, and anger we resonate with and reflect the energy of those who we deem our enemies. Throwing stones at one another, we create waves that become tsumanis.<br /></b></b></b></p><p><b><b><b>It doesn't have to be this way.<br /></b></b></b></p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz54-SMVkTAjkRE9q3OGySYgfOYwBbit18stz0Jx2_514hR39IGERQbr3BWMpj7P7SW69upCYqdUgDfcLnNPsoEy_FzmqnOIUKqMmu4MyM4b8GMNe2BwijJSQ-wkzM7qksMiJa7WYb2_DY_YlqfSs6824dL385Jc84lVIa_FM_tYfIgAbt0CPVGCFIRtQ9/s779/MLK2024.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="779" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz54-SMVkTAjkRE9q3OGySYgfOYwBbit18stz0Jx2_514hR39IGERQbr3BWMpj7P7SW69upCYqdUgDfcLnNPsoEy_FzmqnOIUKqMmu4MyM4b8GMNe2BwijJSQ-wkzM7qksMiJa7WYb2_DY_YlqfSs6824dL385Jc84lVIa_FM_tYfIgAbt0CPVGCFIRtQ9/w409-h268/MLK2024.jpg" width="409" /></a></b></div><b>I came of age during the Civil Rights movement of the 1960's. <b><b><b><b>The
life and teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. touched me deeply and
set the trajectory of my life. His vision continues to resonate in my heart of hearts as the Real
Deal.</b></b></b></b></b><p></p><p><b><b><b><b><b>Like Gandhi and Thich Nhat Hanh, Dr. King's message was clear: </b></b> </b></b></b></p><p><b><b><b>To bring about the type of world where peace is possible, our actions
must flow from hearts that have the courage to love -- and the skill to act without spiteful anger or violence. With
hearts that are open, and minds that are clear, we each are able to connect with the moral power of </b></b></b><b><b><b>Satyagraha, the collective Soul Force that </b></b></b><b><b><b>emerges when we rely on Truth and Love. </b></b></b></p><p><b><b><b>The
movement that Gandhi and Dr King lived for -- and died for -- is not
solely "political." It is a way of life based on a deep spirituality. It calls for cultivating our
ability to act in the world <i>non-violently</i>. This takes a deep commitment, and the skills necessary to maintain clarity, equanimity, and compassion. If we are to align ourselves with the Soul Force of Love, we must do as Jesus of Nazareth, Buddha, Gandhi, Dr. King, Thich Nhat Hanh, and countless others, taught: We must learn to love even
those who appear to be our enemies. <br /></b></b></b></p><p><b><b><b>This, of course, is no mean feat. It takes Practice.<br /></b></b></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: large;">It's Simple, but Not Necessarily Easy</span></b></p><p><b><b><b>I know that in my own life, a daily meditation practice has been <i>essential</i>.
The trauma of my childhood conditioning effected me
deeply. I've struggled in my life -- a lot. Without a daily meditation practice, the pain, horrors, and
stressors of our times would continue to trigger reactions that shut me down and/or spin me out.</b></b> To "be the change," I need to stay calm enough and clear enough to engage the world wholeheartedly as best I can.<br /></b></p><p><b>This takes Practice.<br /></b></p><p><b>Sitting
still to meditate regularly is simple, but it isn't easy. </b><b>It took time and effort to withstand the momentum of my own
conditioning. Freeing oneself from the pervasive distractions, over-stimulation, speed,
and noise of our increasingly fast-paced, capitalist society doesn't happen overnight. It takes a commitment and a sustained effort over time.</b><br /></p><p>
<b>Over the past dozen years, many newcomers to the MMM Circle
have mentioned -- often somewhat
sheepishly -- that they hadn't been successful in establishing and
sustaining a daily practice. Even though they </b><b>had noticed that </b><b>when they had meditated</b><b> </b><b>there was an obvious
improvement in the quality of their consciousness -- and in there lives</b><b> -- </b><b> creating a daily structure in time and space to meditate regularly didn't happen. </b></p><p><b>With a grin, I've often asked the others in the Circle to raise their hands if they've had a similar experience. It's usually been <i>unanimous</i>. (In fact, some of us are <i>still</i> grappling with maintaining a regular practice over a long period of time.)</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>It only stands to reason. </b></p><p><b>Creatures
of habit, we are individually and collectively awash in habitual
patterns of noise, stimulation, speed, and activity. There is a <i>momentum</i> that propels us ahead even when we take our foot off the accelerator. It takes time to coast to a stop. So patience is in order. Lots of patience. </b></p><p><b>Yet, at the risk of seemingly ridiculous, each of us can do our part to save this ole suffering world by learning how to Simply Sit Still. Opening our hearts and minds to the Real Deal, we can allow the unlimited power of Love to do its thing. We can heal and engage the world around us with greater kindness, clarity, compassion, energy and ease.<br /></b></p><p><b>You could start right now by sitting up a bit straighter. Then, closing your eyes if you wish, pay attention to the sensations of a long, slow, full breath<i> -- </i>and <i>feel your heart</i>. When you're ready, open your eyes and look around you. Get the beans out of your ears and listen carefully the sounds emerging and receding in each moment. Being present to the energy of life as it flows within and beyond you, allow yourself to relax into the gracious spaciousness of an open heart and clear mind. <br /></b></p><p><b>It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it! </b></p><p><b>It just takes Practice.</b></p><p><b>PS. If some structure and support for your Practice -- and your life -- may be helpful, I continue to facilitate Morning Meditation Circles on Zoom, Monday through Friday, 9:00 - 10:00 am. Attendance is free and open to all. If interested, email me at: mondaymorningmindfulness@gmail.com<br /></b></p>Lance Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18174480565578669357noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650114323461268088.post-62591426871924401542023-12-30T10:53:00.025-05:002023-12-31T09:30:26.224-05:00Promises. Promises.<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">“<wbr></wbr>Each of <i>y</i>ou is <i>perfect</i> the way you are ... and you can use a little improvement.”</span></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">― <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shunry%C5%AB_Suzuki" target="_blank">Suzuki Rosh</a>i </span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>“Daily sitting is our bread and butter, the basic stuff of dharma. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Without it we tend to be confused.”
</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">―
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joko_Beck" target="_blank"><b>Charlotte Joko Beck</b></a></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G_UMa1Clql4/W4kXC8swEiI/AAAAAAAAKu4/y9vAzP2ubZk1cgbXQ7fIHkw5FNrKoW1BQCLcBGAs/s1600/TNH%2526.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="626" data-original-width="800" height="312" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G_UMa1Clql4/W4kXC8swEiI/AAAAAAAAKu4/y9vAzP2ubZk1cgbXQ7fIHkw5FNrKoW1BQCLcBGAs/s400/TNH%2526.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">Back in the day, there
were quite a few of us that were drawn to Zen </span></b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">because of its seemingly irreverent and iconoclastic tenor and tone. </span></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">To
a bunch of 1960's hippies, peaceniks, and radicals, the traditional tales of</span><span class="st"> zen monks seemed "right on!"</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"> </span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">Those dudes were kicking over water jugs, </span></b><b><span class="st"><b><span class="st">writing poems lauding drunkeness, </span></b>unabashedly
proclaiming that Buddha was a "shit stick", raising all sorts of hell. Those Zennies were our kind of people.</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">Little did I know...</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">Once I actually connected with a teacher and a sangha, a different reality emerged. I found that </span></b><b><span class="st"><b><span class="st">the foundation of Zen Buddhism, </span>l</b>ike
that of other spiritual traditions throughout the world, rests squarely
on a set of rules. Rather than becoming a member of
another tribe of free form hippies, Zen training meant making a personal commitment to a teacher, and observing a clear set of vows
and precepts. </span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"> </span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">When I ordained with Thich Nhat Hanh's Tien Hiep Order, there were the Three Jewels and the 5
Mindfulness Trainings as preliminaries. Then we received the 14 Training vows of the Order. In
the <a href="https://whiteplum.org/" target="_blank">White Plum Sanghas</a> I practiced with, I was faced with <a href="http://buddhism.about.com/od/takingrefuge/a/takingrefuge.htm" target="_blank">Taking Refuge in the Triple Gems</a>, <a href="http://buddhism.about.com/od/mahayanabuddhism/a/bodhisattva-vows.htm" target="_blank">the Four Bodhisattva Vows</a>, the <a href="http://buddhism.about.com/od/theprecepts/a/three-pure-precepts.htm" target="_blank">Three Pure Precepts</a>, and the <a href="http://www.sfzc.org/about-zen-center/principles-governance/ethics/ethical-principles/the-ten-essential-precepts" target="_blank">10 Essential Precepts</a>. . </span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">WTF? </span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"><b><span class="st">Jeez. Growing up</span></b> I only had to worry about the Ten Commandments! Now? This was somewhere near <i>twice</i> as many rules. </span></b><b><span class="st"><b><span class="st">So much for "doing your own thing!"</span></b></span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">Or so it seemed. </span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://www.mondaymorningmindfulness.net/2023/12/promises-promises.html#more" target="_blank">(READ MORE)</a></span> </span></b></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span class="st">Reality Asserts Itself</span></b></span><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span class="st"><br /></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"> </span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">Decades and decades down the road, I've come to
understand the nature of commitment differently. </span></b></span> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">Although I have
maintained a commitment to a daily morning sitting practice for almost half a century, and I recite <a href="http://www.mondaymorningmindfulness.net/p/blog-page_12.html" target="_blank">the 4 Bodhisattva Vows </a>(in
one form or another) most every day, I've found that spiritual practice isn't </span></b><b><span class="st"><b><span class="st">about following a specific code of conduct. Practice really isn't about being a "good" person as opposed to being
a "bad" person. <br /></span></b></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"><b><span class="st"> </span></b></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"><b>It's deeper than that. </b></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"><b> </b></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"><b>At a certain point, I discovered that Practice doesn't involve striving to achieve some
ideal state that is fundamentally separate from the reality of day to day life. </b>In
fact, I saw that my own grasping at "enlightenment" was a
stumbling block. It was the cause of a lot of suffering -- for myself and others. It called for a type of <i>perfectionism</i> that just put more energy into the egotism that it sought to discard. <br /></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"> </span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">The Practice is simply about lightening up and being real. </span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">The
fundamental commitment is to engage life <i>wholeheartedly</i>. This means simply being Present, moment to moment, with as much kindness, compassion, curiosity, and clarity as I can
muster. I'm either right here firing on all cylinders -- or I'm missing in action. If I'm paying attention, I'll notice. I'll <i>sense</i> the difference.* </span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"><br /></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">It's just that simple. </span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"> </span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">Yet -- as any of you who have tried
this knows -- simple doesn't mean easy. It takes a commitment over a period of time, effort -- and patience. Lots of patience. </span></b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">A
lifetime of conditioning in the midst of a society driven by
materialism and distorted beliefs has tied us up in knots. <br /></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"> </span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">With
Practice, I've found that <i>those knots will free themselves</i>. <br /></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"> </span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span class="st">Toward the One </span></b></span><br />
<br /><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">Over
the years, it's become clear to me. </span></b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Practice </b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">isn't just a Buddhist thing. </span></b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">I've met Jews and Christians and Hindus
and Native Americans, and Muslims who are on the same page. You can see
it in their eyes. You can feel it in their Presence. Heck, I've
even had friends who call themselves atheists who do a better job of
being a kind presence and positive force in the world than
some self-professed "religious" types. It's not about clinging to a dogma.<br /></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"> </span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">It's
something deeper than that. It's beyond belief.<br /></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"><span class="p"></span></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"><span class="p"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">The invitation to a life of Practice rings through all the </span></b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">world's mystical wisdom traditions. </span></b></span>Like life itself, Practice flows from and returns to the One Love that permeates Reality. </span></b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">It's
a verb, not a noun. Once we turn away from all the distractions and sit quietly, we can feel it stirring in our Heart of Hearts. We yearn to experience Wholeness, our True Nature as human beings. </span></b></span> </span></b></span></span></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"><span class="p"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"> </span></b></span></span></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"><span class="p"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">The good news is we can. </span></b></span></span></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"><span class="p"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"> </span></b></span></span></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"><span class="p"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">Yet, once you taste the Real Deal, you know that we are all in this together. In fact, we <i>are </i>all this, together. So, you get up and figure out what you can do to alleviate some of the suffering in the world.<br /></span></b></span></span></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"><span class="p"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"> </span></b></span></span></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"><span class="p"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">Jesus, in the tradition of Jewish prophets, cut it to the chase. Rather than the 613 rules spelled out in Torah, he pared Practice down to two essential commitments:<br /></span></b></span></span></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"><span class="p"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"> </span></b></span></span></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"><span class="p"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">"</span></b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">Love
the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor
as yourself." </span></b></span></span></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"><span class="p"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"> </span></b></span></span></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"><span class="p"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">Once I let go of the idea that God is <i>a<u> </u></i>Loving and Just Being, and opened my heart and mind to reality of God as <i>Just Being Love</i> -- the words of Jesus of Nazareth work just fine for me. So do the teachings of the Buddha, the poetry of Rumi, Lao Tzu, and Walt Whitman. So does a sunrise or sunset. Or the sparkle in a child's eyes.<br /></span></b></span></span></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"><span class="p"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"> </span></b></span></span></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"><span class="p"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">So, at age 77, most every morning, I spend a few moments exploring Yeshua's Prayer in Aramaic as taught by Sufi teacher <a href="https://abwoon.org/abwoon-community/neil-douglas-klotz/" target="_blank">Neil Douglas-Klotz.</a> Then, I pray and bow to the four directions as I learned to do from a Native American friend years ago. Then, as I've done most every day for nearly half a century, I bow to the
Zafu, turn, and bow to all sentient beings. </span></b></span></span></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"><span class="p"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"> </span></b></span></span></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"><span class="p"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">Then I Just Sit Still.<br /></span></b></span></span></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"><span class="p"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"> </span></b></span></span></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"><span class="p"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">Then, the bell rings on the iPhone. I recite the four Bodhisattva Vows that first hooked me 50 years ago when I read them in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Gaskin" target="_blank"><i>Hey Beatnik</i>.</a> (I blogged about this <a href="https://www.mondaymorningmindfulness.net/2021/12/mission-impossible.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>)<br /></span></b></span></span></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"><span class="p"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"> </span></b></span></span></span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"><span style="font-size: large;">Reality Holds Great Promise.</span> </span></b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PYtRGugkqOs/VfNZxah_LUI/AAAAAAAAHv4/qryhGH5yaGI/s1600/rainbow1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PYtRGugkqOs/VfNZxah_LUI/AAAAAAAAHv4/qryhGH5yaGI/s400/rainbow1.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">At
this stage of the journey, it's often quite clear to me that the vast, spacious, mysterious One
Love that permeates the Universe simply<i> is</i>. It is inseparable from Life itself. </span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"> </span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">I've learned to trust that.<br /></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"> </span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">Even when I don't have a clue about what to do, Life is always just being Life. Flowers bloom. Flowers fade and die. </span></b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"> </span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"> </span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">Opening
my heart to embrace Life (and Death) <i>as it is</i>, is the fundamental
commitment. More often than not these days, the "right thing" simply
does itself. </span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">At
this point, my life <i>is</i> Practice. The choice to be made, if it is a choice at all, is to embrace </span></b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"><span class="p"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">each moment with as much
kindness, compassion and clarity as I can. Oftentimes, this just means I need to get out of my head, </span></b></span></span></span></b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">take a
conscious breath or two, relax a bit, open my heart, mind, and senses -- </span></b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st">and <i>really</i> pay
attention to the Present Moment. There, the promise made is, in itself,
the promise fulfilled. </span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> I can live -- and die -- with that.</b></span><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">*</span><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"> Of course, sometimes there may not be an "I" to notice. That may be even sweeter. </span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"><br /></span></b></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="st"> </span></b></span></div></div></div>Lance Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18174480565578669357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650114323461268088.post-73220651336425101392023-11-22T13:53:00.042-05:002023-11-26T17:21:56.975-05:00The Final Frontier<div class="Ar Au Ao" id=":2k9" style="display: block;"><div aria-controls=":44m" aria-expanded="false" aria-label="Message Body" aria-multiline="true" aria-owns=":44m" class="Am aiL Al editable LW-avf tS-tW tS-tY" contenteditable="true" id=":2kd" role="textbox" spellcheck="false" style="direction: ltr; min-height: 240px;" tabindex="1"><div style="text-align: right;"><div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>“Preparing for death is one of the most profoundly healing acts of a lifetime."</b></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>-- Stephen Levine, <i>Who Dies?</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>An Investigation of Conscious Living, Conscious Dying</i> <br /></b></span></div></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>"Death is only the end if you think the story is all about you!"</b></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>-- Andrew Holecek, lecture on the <i>Tibetan Book of the Dead</i> <br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfuvMrBd4h7lRZxgCET0_9X0WCQMee0WFuNaOZ87vxhw2V20l0foKXl4erAM1GMkbevWCpH9umekGBmGRDtU-Q17E1H9MgISf13CFQ7NuvzN_UPsDsHWnD-AP1GP3NU-o1wHbIJbmbUvowJFe4ExY0hRT7DuT-jACOzFUf6L7a3L9TyzAC0cdzZJz7zPQo/s3854/Sunset11102023.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2890" data-original-width="3854" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfuvMrBd4h7lRZxgCET0_9X0WCQMee0WFuNaOZ87vxhw2V20l0foKXl4erAM1GMkbevWCpH9umekGBmGRDtU-Q17E1H9MgISf13CFQ7NuvzN_UPsDsHWnD-AP1GP3NU-o1wHbIJbmbUvowJFe4ExY0hRT7DuT-jACOzFUf6L7a3L9TyzAC0cdzZJz7zPQo/w374-h281/Sunset11102023.jpg" width="374" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><b>At age 77, having just emerged (mostly) from two months of a rather nasty extended play version of COVID, I can readily identify with the fleeting gold of a sunset. </b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><b>It'll soon be twilight time. And then...?<br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><b>I really wasn't feeling well and had no physical energy for a couple of months. </b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b>I tested positive for COVID in late August. Then, feeling pretty shabby to begin with, I got slammed with a "Paxlovid Rebound," and went from bad to worse. I thought I had turned the corner several times, only to run smack dab into a wall again. </b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b> One of those walls turned out be a strep infection! Jeez. </b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><b>It's been a long, long, haul. </b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Time to Get Real</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b></span></div><div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><b>I've
chanted The Five Remembrances innumerable times in Zen services over
the decades. At this stage of the journey, they are no longer
theoretical. </b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b> I have already beat the genetic odds. </b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b>My father died at age 61, after a series of heart attacks and strokes. His father croaked of a heart attack at age 57. </b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b>With the assistance of two stents placed in my heart about 12 years ago, I'm still here.</b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><b>It''s high time to get real, no? <br /></b></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><b></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilTqfEI9z0XKEpUg3RHMwkX41-vSFgFDXzQYEKmwD3159yzF9wJljbUO4mljhxDgofpLcmB3QY_DkMw3b1JCuEl0PEx_hMSlNZxzABmzrR2LH6j-b_zqXsFi6GWMXbG3Yaj3T8AXcRH0J4pZ5zQkwDraql1K1BBQUMbf0wL6Y6m03A-CrDL0LWtgnjq4v1/s1920/the-five-remembrances.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1920" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilTqfEI9z0XKEpUg3RHMwkX41-vSFgFDXzQYEKmwD3159yzF9wJljbUO4mljhxDgofpLcmB3QY_DkMw3b1JCuEl0PEx_hMSlNZxzABmzrR2LH6j-b_zqXsFi6GWMXbG3Yaj3T8AXcRH0J4pZ5zQkwDraql1K1BBQUMbf0wL6Y6m03A-CrDL0LWtgnjq4v1/w515-h322/the-five-remembrances.jpg" width="515" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Sitting here at the keyboard at this moment, taking a deep breath, I know -- in my bones -- that the Grand Transition need not be feared. I've known that since the curtain was drawn back and I got a good glimpse of the Real Deal years ago. Beyond the veil, I saw that there is a dimension of life that is perfect love. With rainbows gleaming in my tears, I knew</b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b>, in my heart of hearts, that who I am is inseparable from what I have come to call One Love. <br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Of course, that experience wasn't enough. I still had a life to live.<br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><b>I've certainly struggled -- a lot -- in the ongoing journey of healing that my life has become. The wounds of a deeply traumatic childhood, and the on-going craziness of a world seemingly hellbent on self-destruction, continue to make things challenging -- to say the least. I've come to see that there are layers and layers of conditioning, and a sea of ever-present conditions, that propel me and others toward division, disconnection, and disarray. What traditional Buddhism calls the Three Poisons: ignorance, greed, and enmity, are powerful forces woven into the fabric of the human condition.</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Yet, </b></span><b>as Practice has deepened over these past decades, things have gotten better in my day to day existence. With commitment, time, effort -- and patience, lots of patience --I've been able to engage my life with more kindness, compassion, ease, balance, and clarity. I've been able to live more <i>wholeheartedly.</i> With Practice, I believe I can approach my Death with an open heart and a clear mind as well. </b></div><div><b> </b></div><div><b><a name='more'></a></b></div></div></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><b><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaYMwohokd8jWpKPkoa189aMstBLZBZT0ZeWwWm9VS9QSdyoWDI4bfUPcal8yi6C4thflEnSAshvJ8EnrRoRUSk6C7s-8BVQgymq0f_n-3HMJzy3WrTLAVhWs1Zc8WYq8cbQdnsBIYgqTRsQnight68CMtxuh2pmXwbXHzD_d1GAnzY4s_y0GJuMUSagUf/s600/Stephen-Levine-photo.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="600" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaYMwohokd8jWpKPkoa189aMstBLZBZT0ZeWwWm9VS9QSdyoWDI4bfUPcal8yi6C4thflEnSAshvJ8EnrRoRUSk6C7s-8BVQgymq0f_n-3HMJzy3WrTLAVhWs1Zc8WYq8cbQdnsBIYgqTRsQnight68CMtxuh2pmXwbXHzD_d1GAnzY4s_y0GJuMUSagUf/s320/Stephen-Levine-photo.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Stephen Levine July 17, 1937 - January 17, 201</b></td></tr></tbody></table></b></span><span style="font-size: large;"><b>At the Moment</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><b>I remain forever grateful for the good fortune to have attended a Conscious Living Conscious Dying retreat with the late Stephen Levine and his Beloved Ondrea in the late 1980's. Under their wise and skillful guidance, a gathering of 300 people </b></span><b><span style="font-size: small;">became a community of healing at Mt. Madonna Center near Watsonville, CA. </span><span style="font-size: small;">(About a third of us were in the later stages of terminal illness, a third of us were their loved ones, and a third, like me, were interested in the emerging hospice field.) Over the course of five days and nights, we were guided through a set of understandings, experiences, and individual and transpersonal meditations that began a transformation in my life and practice that continues to this day. <br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></div><b>With COVID humming "Knocking on Heaven's Door" in my ear, I've made another deep dive into the insights, and practices of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardo_Thodol" target="_blank">Tibetan Book of the Dead</a> through an on-line course with <a href="https://www.andrewholecek.com/" target="_blank">Andrew Holecek</a>, a brilliant American teacher in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. And, as an inveterate bookworm, I've got a stack of books and notebooks, old and new, that I've begun to pour through. </b><br /><p><span style="font-size: small;"><b>More
importantly, (they say that practice is more important than study in the Lojong trainings), I've begun to be a bit more earnest about <i>practicing</i> for my deathbed. (Realizing full well that I may walk out in front of a bus or stroke out instead. Who's to know? LOL) </b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><b>As well as re-engaging the <a href="https://www.wecroak.com/" target="_blank">We Croak </a>app on my iPhone that a dharmabuddhy turned me onto a while back, (it sends me a "death reminder" five times a day,) </b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b>I found the perfect combination of pillows to support
this old arthritic frame so that I can lay comfortably in <a href="https://www.artofliving.org/us-en/yoga/poses/shavasana" target="_blank">Shavasana</a>. Several times each 24 hours, weaving it into the nocturnal and nap time meditations I began several years ago as I explored lucid dreaming, and Tibetan sleep and dream yogas, I am learning the moves of my own </b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b>deathbed </b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b>dissolution dance. <br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Although the worldview and imagery of the Tibetan Book of the Dead have been interesting and helpful, I also realize that I have entered in this incarnation as a 20th century American. I have a genetic, spiritual, and cultural legacy that comes with a different set of symbols and systems of belief as well. I also have the works and wisdom of Carl Jung, Joseph Campbell, Thomas Merton, Martin Luther King, Jr, Alan Watts, Stephen Gaskin, and a heavenly host of other saints, seers and sages to draw on. Although the nerd in me will keep my head in the books, with my body on the line, I trust my heart to lead the way. </b></span></p><div><span style="font-size: small;"><b>I
certainly have no immediate plans to exit the stage, mind you. I'm in
no rush. I love this sometimes tragic, sometimes comedic, mystery with
all its plot twists and turns of phrase. I love the wild and wiggly cast
of characters that have appeared to share in its many scenes.</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Yet,
at this point, I'm well aware that I've got many more yesterdays in my
back pocket than tomorrows. I 'd like to face the final curtain call
with a clear mind, a full and open heart -- and a deep bow. I'm willing to spend some time and effort to up the odds of being able to do just that.<br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><b>I blame the Practice for that.</b></span>Lance Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18174480565578669357noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650114323461268088.post-9016304204575922422023-11-01T09:26:00.005-04:002023-11-14T09:30:21.331-05:00Me and My Shadow<div style="text-align: right;">
<b><b>"One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, </b>
</b><div style="text-align: right;">
<b>but by making the darkness conscious...</b><br />
<b>Knowing your own darkness is the best method</b><br />
<b>for dealing with the darknesses of other people."</b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b>-- C.G. Jung</b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b> </b></div><b>“…feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation, resentment,
anger, jealousy, and fear, instead of being bad news, are actually very
clear moments that teach us where it is that we’re holding back...</b><br />
<b>They’re like messengers that show us,</b><br />
<b>with terrifying clarity, exactly where we’re stuck." </b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<div class="copy-paste-block">
<b> -- Pema Chödrön</b></div>
<div class="copy-paste-block">
<br />
</div>
<div class="copy-paste-block" style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZUPTSI682QA/YSFasB9e-BI/AAAAAAAAMVk/_ZP86O0H1h8-C93P57UXhcPlpBuzPMy2ACLcBGAsYHQ/s850/myshadow.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="850" height="390" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZUPTSI682QA/YSFasB9e-BI/AAAAAAAAMVk/_ZP86O0H1h8-C93P57UXhcPlpBuzPMy2ACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h390/myshadow.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Many folks experiencing a lot of stress in their lives are drawn to meditation. It's only natural. There is a deep yearning to <i>chill out. </i> </b></div><div class="copy-paste-block" style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div class="copy-paste-block" style="text-align: left;"><b>And, </b><b><b><b>to be sure,</b></b> </b><b><b>Mindfulness Practice can provide many moments of deep calm and clarity.</b><i> </i></b><br />
<br />
<b>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 </b><b><b>assiduously </b>managed to repress,
deny, or otherwise avoid as we scurry ahead in our lives. </b><br />
<br />
<b>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 emotions at times. </b><br />
<br />
<b>Contrary to what we might think, this is
a Good Thing. It's a sign that the Practice is <i>working</i>! </b><br />
<br />
<b>In
the process of a deepening Practice, we no longer skim across the
surface. We actually begin to get in touch with the aspects of our
conditioning that have <i>subconsciously</i> operated to create the way
we see and react to the events of our lives. (How often have you winced
and thought "damn. Why did I say/do that!? Wouldn't you like to <i>know</i>?) </b><br />
<br />
<b>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 navigate the more
troublesome aspects of ourselves with increasing clarity and ease. </b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Truth in Advertising</span></b><br />
<br />
<b>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:</b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.mondaymorningmindfulness.net/2021/08/me-and-my-shadow.html#more" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">(READ MORE)</span></a> </b><br />
<a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: center;">
<b> <span style="font-size: large;"> Want Sadness, Fear, Disappointment, </span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Restlessness, Boredom, </span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">and More?</span></b></div>
</div>
<div class="copy-paste-block" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Practice Mindfulness!</span></b><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<b>Besides
possibly getting sued by Commercial Mindfulness gurus, I don't think I'd
get much action. Yet, as Pema Chödrön points out, the actual process of
meditation is "counter-intuitive." At a certain point, we can decide to
sit still and directly face what we have always fled from. Who needs that?</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>We do.</b><br />
<br />
<b>In fact, 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. </b><br />
<br />
<b>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. </b><b><b>As we learn how to e</b>mbrace
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.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>It's much easier to make good decisions when all that stuff isn't in the way. </b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">On The Zafu and Beyond</span> </b><br />
<br />
<b>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. </b><b><b>We come to see that</b> when we exhibit "judgment mind," and find
ourselves pointing the finger at someone else, we
are generally missing the point. </b><br />
<br />
<b>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 notice 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. </b><br />
<br />
<b>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."</b><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>"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? </b><b>You hypocrite<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">*</span>, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you
will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="p"><b>--Matthew 7:4, 7:5 NIV</b></span><b> </b></div>
<br />
<b>Although
</b><b><b>the
teachings of the Prince of Peace </b>were</b><b> distorted </b><b>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. </b><br />
<br />
<b>If you're paying attention, you'll <i>notice</i>.</b><b><br /></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Fwfz9vys6CE/U9HZgAFA1gI/AAAAAAAACbc/5R8IFXbqvDk/s1600/Gandhi-in-crowd.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Fwfz9vys6CE/U9HZgAFA1gI/AAAAAAAACbc/5R8IFXbqvDk/s400/Gandhi-in-crowd.jpg" width="400" /></a></b></div>
<b>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 <i>is</i>
yourself! You come to know directly that we are each inextricably
connected to one another within the Infinite Expanse of One Love. </b><br />
<br />
<b>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. </b><br />
<br />
<b>I love it when that happens.</b><br />
<br />
<b>(<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: large;">*</span></span>
interestingly, although the word hypocrite has taken on extremely
judgmental connotations, it merely meant "actor" in the Greek of the New
Testament. An actor isn't "evil", they are someone who is playing a previously scripted role. ) </b></div>
</div>
</div>
<p> </p>Lance Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18174480565578669357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650114323461268088.post-19821627011116026442023-07-27T05:51:00.010-04:002023-07-29T08:29:39.961-04:00Once Again -- Lighten UP!<p> </p><div style="text-align: right;"><div style="text-align: left;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-E6Kbod8r9Ao/VakYXX_xeOI/AAAAAAAAHTg/-E9i1oQfGHI/s1600/Gaskin777Meme.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-E6Kbod8r9Ao/VakYXX_xeOI/AAAAAAAAHTg/-E9i1oQfGHI/s400/Gaskin777Meme.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Stephen at Monday Night Class, San Francisco circa 1969</span></td></tr></tbody></table><b>In my humble opinion, Spiritual Practice isn't about the bright lights and fancy magical stuff. Yet, sometimes the Universe really<i> does</i> lay One on you. You experience an event that defies any rational explanation.</b><br /><br /><div><b>This happened nine years ago on a steamy July morning as I struggled to write a fitting memorial to Hippie Spiritual Teacher Stephen Gaskin. I major force in my life as a young man, Stephen had recently made the Grand Transition at that point. I was sitting there with my old MacBook at a picnic table at Atlas Farm, when...</b></div><div><b> </b><br /><b>Ooops. I almost let the cat out of the bag.</b></div><br /><b>With another deep bow to Stephen Gaskin -- and to a Most Amazing Universe -- I want to share, once again, the post from that day. </b><b>Beyond the Mysterious Magic Manifested, it's encouragement to "lighten up" bears repeating. With my own conditioning, prone to caffeinated perfectionism, and well aware of all that needs to be done to help change this world, I need hear that every day.</b><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Lighten Up! </span></b></span> <span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span><br /><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Originally Posted July 12, 2014</span></b><br /><br /><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">A couple of night's ago, unable to get back to sleep after a nocturnal "nature call."I had tried to write a memorial to Hippie Spiritual Teacher <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/03/us/stephen-gaskin-hippie-who-founded-an-enduring-commune-dies-at-79.html?_r=0" target="_blank">Stephen Gaskin</a>, whose Life -- and recent Death -- touched me deeply. I got nowhere. I gave it up and read a bit of a Tenzing Norbu Mystery before finally stretching out to meditate into sleep once again.</span></b></div></div><div><b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Still on the mend from the events of the past month, I've been mostly laying low, staying away from the computer and cell phone as much as possible, allowing myself to Heal. A couple of false starts had showed me quite clearly how energy depleting my addiction to these devices can be. </span></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">This morning, I was quaffing my first cup of coffee in a couple of days (another addiction under modification) watching bubbles of confusion and angst float through my awareness. I wasn't quite sure what to do this week about my commitment to the MMM Courtesy Wake Up Call. <br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">I still was struggling with an attempt to put into words my thoughts and feelings about the passing of Stephen, a man whose Presence and Teachings had such a profound impact on my life.</span></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Then, (probably with a furrowed brow), I decided to reach for my cell phone to check my email, perhaps just fall back and, perhaps, just select an old post to republish this time.</span></b><br /><br /><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">At that very moment the phone "dinged"with an incoming email. Peering down I read the notification:</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">"Monday Morning Mindfulness:</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="font-size: small;">Lighten Up! Posted 18 January 2014"</span></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span></b></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">WTF!!!???</span></b></span></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">I have no idea what strange permutation of the Google space time cyber continuum could have possibly generated and delivered to me the email version of a post I'd written almost six months before. That it dinged at that very moment?? </span></b><br /><br /><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">How could I <i>not</i> lighten up? </span></b><br /><br /><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">I broke into a bemused grin as I clicked it open. Just receiving this unsolicited and inexplicably"cosmic" MMM Courtesy Wake Up Call would have been enough to make my decision (just read, introduce and re-post this one for sure) -- <i>and</i> make my day. </span></b><br /><br /><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Then, I began reading the post.</span></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="font-size: large;">It got even more mind blowing!</span></span></b><br /><a href="https://www.mondaymorningmindfulness.net/2023/07/once-again-lighten-up.html#more" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">(READ MORE)</span></b></a><br /><a name='more'></a></div><div><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">As I often do, I had begun the post with two quotes. The first was from my current Dharma mainstay, Pema Chodron. The second was from the teacher who was probably the major influence on my spiritual practice for decades, though I've rarely quoted him here. </span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">The quote was from Stephen Gaskin!</span></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Try as I may, I have no rational explanation for any of this. The spontaneous generation of the email version of the blog had never happened before! <i><span style="color: black;">(or since, nine years later...)</span> </i></span></b><br /><br /><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">All I can do is grin, offer a deep bow to Stephen, and to the Primordial Comedian of the Cosmic Mystery Medicine Show -- and renew my commitment to lighten up! </span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Here's the post from that day!</span></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Lighten Up!</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Originally posted January 18, 2014</b></span></span></div></div><div><b><br /></b></div><b> "The key to feeling at home with your body, mind and emotions, to feeling worthy to live on this planet, comes from being able to lighten up. When your aspiration is to lighten up, you begin to have a sense of humor. Things just keep popping your serious state of mind."</b><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><b>---Pema Chodron, <i>Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living</i></b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b>"Get your mind unbound and free; and then from the loosest, highest, best place you have, with the fastest and most humorous mind you can get together, you can reach out and make a try at understanding Spirit."</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><b>---Stephen Gaskin, <i>This Season's People</i></b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wmUZQObXIZ4/UtgashoMCdI/AAAAAAAABec/JiGJormhkCc/s1600/lamatutu.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="285" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wmUZQObXIZ4/UtgashoMCdI/AAAAAAAABec/JiGJormhkCc/w400-h285/lamatutu.jpg" width="400" /></a></b></div><b>All too often, it seems like those of us who are sincere seekers can get a bit too stodgy and uptight about our Spiritual Practice.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>It's not surprising, I suppose.</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>Although some of us may have experienced lives of relative comfort and success, I think many of us who were drawn to the Practice were like me. We were having a hard time of it. </b></div><div><b> </b></div><div><b>I was struggling with a life that included unexplored childhood trauma in my past, a lot of emotional distress and confusion in my day to day existence and deep confusion, discontent, fear, and despair about the future. </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>So, when I stumbled across Buddha's First Noble Truth, <i>all conditioned life contains suffering</i>, it rang true. I certainly knew suffering to be real in my life. It was relief to discover it wasn't <i>my</i> fault! It was embedded in the nature of the human condition!</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>As I read on and saw that there was a reason for this suffering and a set of understandings and practices that presented a freakin' way out? </b><br /><b><br /></b><b>Seriously? Damn. Sign me up!</b></div><div><b><br /></b><b>Even if you were drawn to other spiritual traditions as you entered the Practice, I think there was often a similar dynamic. Whether seeking nirvana or heaven, sat chit ananda salvation, liberation or atonement, we were looking for Light at the end of the tunnel, some form of release from this "veil of tears". Then, whatever our path, at a certain point we knew that if we "wanted out" we had to get <i>serious</i> about it. </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Very, very, serious.</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>Unfortunately, some of us then got <i>deadly </i>serious about it. I, for one, know that at one point my friends used to hate to see me coming. Having spent some time of <a href="https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/the-farm/" target="_blank">The Farm</a>, I was committed to being a "truth yogi." I tried to be totally honest and help sort out the vibes in any situation. I could quickly squeeze the life out of any party. </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>At that point, I didn't realize that in order to really see the Light, it is helpful, maybe even crucial, to Lighten Up.</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>Although some forms of humor can be mindless and cruel, I think humor, at its best, is High Magic. It's a Holy Balm, a Healing Art. If some future Worldwide Buddhist Conference was to consider the addition of a ninth element to the Eightfold Path, Right Humor would get my vote. Although I don't think that the College of Cardinals would go for it at this point, I'd also recommend that any candidate for Pope</b><br /><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">(CONTINUE READING)</span></b><br /><b>should be able to master appropriate "one liners" -- preferably off the cuff. (This Dude has to handle an enormous amount of energy, after all.) I'm hoping that at some point an archeologist will unearth ancient scrolls like the Nag Hammardi texts). As revolutionary as <i>The Gospel of Thomas</i> or the <i>Gospel of Mary</i>, they would contain the Jokes of Jesus to educate future Popes -- and, of course, strengthen my case.</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>But I digress...</b><br /><b> </b><br /><b>The 21st slogan of the Lojong Trainings<span style="color: #cc0000;">*</span> of Tibetan Buddhism is: Always Maintain Only a Joyful Mind. Pema Chodron, among others, points out that this primarily involves "lightening up". As part of our Practice, we can choose to approach the events our life with genuine curiosity and appreciation, with a sense of lightness, freeing ourselves from the judgmental mind that emerges from grasping onto a fixed model of how it "should be." Like any quality of heart/mind this is something that we can cultivate. If we actually aspire to this, our sense of humor deepens and emerges more freely. Thich Nhat Hanh even recommends that we meditate with a "half smile" on our lips to prime the pump.</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>I've read that the Latin root of the word humor actually meant "moisture, fluid." That makes sense to me. I think we've all seen how a bit of spontaneous wit, a laugh, or just a simple smile at the proper moment, can lubricate a situation, releasing us when we were apparently stuck between a rock and a hard place. </b></div><div><b> </b></div><div><b>Humor often serves to loosen things up. Examining it closely, we see there is a certain movement of energy that occurs with humor. It is a form of release that can have a healing effect. Norman Cousins, longtime editor of the Saturday Review, famously claimed that ten minutes of belly laughs while watching a Marx brothers film could give him hours of relief from the pain of a fatal debilitating disease. He believed that this "laugh therapy" extended his life for years.</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>As the Practice develops, we also come to see that being of "good cheer" doesn't just makeLife flow more easily. It it </b><b>a quality of consciousness </b><b>also contains great wisdom. As Practice develops, we are able to perceive even our own rather dysfunctional patterns emerge and meet them immediately with a grin rather than allow them to sweep us along into the same untenable position time and time again. Although a perception of the Truth of the Matter can sometimes come in tears as we open our heart, it can also readily appear with a smile, a chuckle -- or a belly laugh. We catch a glimpse the Real Deal --and It's a Hoot! </b></div><div><b> </b></div><div><b>I'll take it any way it appears.</b><br /><b><br /></b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MOkFyqUVxCI/UtiGMu12JqI/AAAAAAAABe4/fOyxQlutTRw/s1600/jobs-in-heaven.jpeg%3fw=611.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MOkFyqUVxCI/UtiGMu12JqI/AAAAAAAABe4/fOyxQlutTRw/s1600/jobs-in-heaven.jpeg%3fw=611.jpeg" width="320" /></a></b></div><b>But, maybe you don't agree. Maybe I'm just trying too hard to be a wise guy. Maybe, once again, I've got it all wrong. </b></div><div><b> </b></div><div><b>If so, when we meet at the pearly gates, maybe you'll have the last laugh!</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>I hope you don't mind if I join you.</b><br /><b><br /></b><b><br /></b><b><span style="color: #990000;">*<span style="color: black;"><i>In the Tibetan tradition of mind training, </i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lojong" target="_blank">Lojong</a><i> Practice consists of working with a series of training slogans as a framework for understanding how Mind operates, and as an aid in actualizing our commitments to kindness, clarity and compassion -- both on and off the zafu. I wrote a bit more extensively about Lojong in <a href="http://mondaymorningmindfulness.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-heart-beat-goes-on.html" target="_blank">"The (Heart) Beat Goes On"</a> in the MMM Courtesy Wake Up Call awhile back.</i></span></span></b><br /><br /><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>(PS. I finally did get it together to write a memorial to Stephen Gaskin -- a year later:</i></b></span><br /><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000;"> <a href="http://www.mondaymorningmindfulness.net/2015/07/this-seasons-people-in-memory-of.html#more" target="_blank">This Season's People: In Memory of Stephen Gaskin.</a> Better late then never, right? LOL One Love, Lance)</span></i></span></span></b></div>Lance Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18174480565578669357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650114323461268088.post-77967985911825480342023-07-14T10:21:00.033-04:002023-07-15T10:19:55.921-04:00High Times and the Timeless <div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #990000;">With A Bow to Stephen Gaskin </span><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b>"There is a plane of experience, other than the three dimensional
plane, which can be felt by a human being...If people never get above
the merely signal level of communication, and don't become telepathic,
they haven't explored their full human birthright."</b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>-- Stephen Gaskin</b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>"We are all parts of God. Each one of us has an electrical body
field that surrounds us, and a mind field that goes on to infinity."</b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>--Stephen Gaskin</b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div><p>
<b></b></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9qZA9WsnQ7U2rK5OkgfzqaTkS1m4e7cZ1uu6ZtBy-pdKveygLdbj9k7hvmMJWtKG-9NDdfhpBKhAyD2dRcpwjiDZvbYOwS6WtPKgTdxlmt_6FXVFNs1qJSmQRP7Qu7u2q5NjhWuvNeEFutwKI-ZX_fG-8kMu5VMgq9D-g27bVmxW8onqw4_TrTF4_ZC-F/s800/GaskinMeme.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="624" data-original-width="800" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9qZA9WsnQ7U2rK5OkgfzqaTkS1m4e7cZ1uu6ZtBy-pdKveygLdbj9k7hvmMJWtKG-9NDdfhpBKhAyD2dRcpwjiDZvbYOwS6WtPKgTdxlmt_6FXVFNs1qJSmQRP7Qu7u2q5NjhWuvNeEFutwKI-ZX_fG-8kMu5VMgq9D-g27bVmxW8onqw4_TrTF4_ZC-F/w368-h288/GaskinMeme.jpg" width="368" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Stephen Gaskin (February 16, 1935 - July 1, 2014) and his wife, Ina May</b></td></tr></tbody></table><b>In meditation, the subjective nature of Time becomes obvious. </b><br />
<br />
<b>Sometimes, an hour zips by. At other times, I've felt like a dazed
prizefighter hanging onto the ropes of a painful existence waiting
<i>forever</i> for the bell to ring.<br /><br />And that's only <i>one </i>hour. <br /><br />As
I get older, it becomes increasingly impossible to grasp the nature of
concepts like a week, an month, a year, a decade. At this stage of the journey, it's easier, at times, to directly sense the
mysterious nature of the Timeless glowing in the boundless expanse of each
moment. I blame that on jumping heart first into Bodhisattva Practice years ago. </b><p></p><p><b>I first came across the </b><b><a href="http://www.mondaymorningmindfulness.net/p/blog-page_12.html" target="_blank">Bodhisattva Vow</a></b><b> as it was expressed by Stephen Gaskin in </b><b><a href="http://www.publiccollectors.org/PDFs%20of%20Books%202010/The_Farm_Book.pdf" target="_blank"><i>Hey Beatnik</i>!</a> I was hooked. </b><b>At that moment the vow took me. </b></p><p><b>So, did Stephen Gaskin and the Farm. <br /></b></p><p><b>Although I only had three conversations with him in my life, </b><b>Stephen </b><b>was a major influence my life. </b><b>I'm not surprised that he came to mind for the first time in a long, long time during a conversation with an old friend recently. It was time. </b><b>Gaskin passed away ninth years ago on July 1. <br /></b></p><p><b>In some traditions, the anniversary of a guru's passing is a high holy day. </b><b>Although I don't usually put a lot of weight on the "spooky" stuff. Gaskin's "Mahasamadhi" brought about his mysterious "appearance" in my life eight years ago during the first week of July. <br /></b></p><p><b>For some inexplicable reason, Google re-delivered an email I'd sent six months before, announcing the week's blog post. (As usual, I'd sent that email to myself and a .bcc to a list of others at the time.) As I sat at the laptop, struggling to write a commemorative post on the first anniversary of Gaskin's death, the iPhone dinged. When I opened the phone, I was amazed to find a quote from Stephen staring me in the face! (I'd only quoted Gaskin twice before in the epigram of a <i>Your MMM Courtesy Wake Up Call</i> post in hundreds of posts to that point.) </b><b>Google had never re-delivered an old email I sent before -- or since. </b><b> </b><b>Wierd!? </b><b>Synchronicity? Coincidence? </b></p><p><b>All I know is that I found myself grinning from ear to ear. <br /></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: large;">Stephen Gaskin and the Farm</span><br /></b></p><p><b>Stephen Gaskin always
maintained he was more of a beatnik than a hippie. </b><b>Yet, wearing
tie-dyes til the end, Gaskin was a central figure in the burst of
spiritual energy that encircled the globe during the 1960's and 70's. </b><b>A Marine Corp veteran of the Korean War, he was</b><b> teaching in the English department at San Francisco State College when the hippies of Haight-Ashbury mushroomed into a worldwide counter-cultural phenomenon. He became known in some circles as The Acid Guru.<br /></b></p><p><b>What Gaskin started as an experimental evening discussion class with six students in 1968 grew into Monday Night Class which drew as many as 1500 people to meditate together in silence, then listen to a extemporaneous talk on psychedelic spirituality before engaging in questions, answers and informal discussions. Within three years, Gaskin and those who considered him to be their spiritual teacher had established an intentional community called the Farm in rural Tennessee. At it's peak it had about 1600 residents.<br /></b></p><p><b>This, of course, gathered a lot of public attention. It sure caught mine. I devoured the books the Farm's publishing company distributed. I visited it three times during its first 5 years, staying a month at a time twice. (When push came to shove though, I couldn't make the choice to live 700 miles away from my ex's and children.)<br /></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: large;">High Times -- With or Without Drugs<br /></span></b></p><p><b>If the truth be told, I was a lightweight when it came to
psychedelics. Introduced to marijuana in the Spring of 1968, I went on to experience a number of trips on mushrooms, and on what was presented at the time as "synthetic mescaline." (who knows what it was...) </b><b> Yet, as I began to explore Yoga and Meditation, I soon sensed that the drugs weren't the only means to accessing transcendental forms of consciousness. Intrigued, I read extensively
about spirituality, religion, and mysticism. I met regularly with a small group
of friends involved in the peer counseling and human potential movement. At one point, we
even began to form a small intentional community. </b><b> </b></p><p><b>Although I continued to pass a joint around once in awhile during those years, I actually avoided LSD out of concern that I wasn't "ready"-- until I took a few trips in 1979.</b><b> <br /></b></p><p><b>It didn't matter!! </b></p><p><b>The Collective Consciousness was
so energized as the 60's became the 70's, that I had a number of
compelling out-of-body experiences, saw aura's, and experienced moments
of synchronicity and telepathy that were absolutely mind-boggling -- </b><b><i>even without drugs in my system</i> <i>at the time</i>! </b><b>Then, in the spring of 1972, I had an experience of Perfect
Oneness that fulfilled my deepest aspirations for Spiritual Connection and dispelled a fear of
death. I knew, as did St John of Liverpool,<i> we all shine on! </i><br /><span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="https://www.mondaymorningmindfulness.net/2023/07/high-times-in-memory-of-stephen-gaskin.html#more" target="_blank">(READ MORE)</a></span></b></p><a name='more'></a><p><b><span style="font-size: large;">Life Moves Right Along<br /></span></b></p><p><b>As the years rolled on, it became more and more
obvious to me that spiritual practice wasn't about the Big Flash's and
psychic powers. The Practice is about simply being Present. When I'm not lost in my thoughts, or swept away in self-referenced, afflictive
emotions (most often emerging from identifying strongly with what I want and didn't get), my Awareness shifts to my Heart. There, Reality asserts itself. The gracious spaciousness, clarity, and warmth of what Eckhart Tolle has called "the Eternal Now" becomes a palpable Presence. In those precious moments, we
come to </b><i>k</i><b><i>now</i> that who we are is not separate all that is and could ever possibly be. In those moments, the sacred and the ordinary dance hand in hand as we experience directly what I have come to call One Love. <br /><br />So, then what?<br /> </b><br />
<b>It gets pretty obvious: When you're not absorbed in your own scramble to acquire stuff (things, status, fame, power, etc.) and/or wallowing in your own suffering, you notice that a
whole lot of folks are actually suffering. At that point, it becomes clear that
sitting there on your butt, although important (I meditate most every
day, at least for an hour,) <i>isn't</i> enough. You choose to do
something about that suffering. This becomes, as Stephen once
characterized it, "an exacting discipline." Loving your neighbor as yourself isn't for sissies. It takes commitment, effort and patience. Lot's of patience.</b><br />
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b><b>On and off the meditation cushion, the Practice becomes figuring
out how to open your heart and mind enough to engage life directly in a
kind
and helpful way. This calls for honesty and deep self-honesty. It
calls for getting out of your head enough to stay in touch with the
feelings, energies, and "vibes" of a situation. You make the effort to
hang in there with great compassion and persistence. You try
to help out.</b></b></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eTFReQZvVQQ/XwB7w1dYiqI/AAAAAAAALzI/c7vAigT_3-cAwYwU_J4FO0ZAvE8m5SzWwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/GaskinBus.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="265" data-original-width="400" height="265" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eTFReQZvVQQ/XwB7w1dYiqI/AAAAAAAALzI/c7vAigT_3-cAwYwU_J4FO0ZAvE8m5SzWwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/GaskinBus.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Stephen Gaskin and the Caravan toured the US in 1970</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table><p>
<b><b> </b>As legend has it, Stephen sat with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shunry%C5%AB_Suzukihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shunry%C5%AB_Suzuki" target="_blank">Suzuki-Roshi</a> at the San Francisco Zen Center. Suzuki's photos and quotes begin both the book <i>This Season's People: a book of spiritual teachings </i>and <i>Hey Beatnik!</i>. </b><br />
<br />
<b>Yet, Gaskin said that although he honored all the "old religions,"
the religion that he and fellow hippies were practicing had no name.
He continued,"It lives in the hearts of the people... </b><b><b>It is the practice of real love, impeccable correctness and politeness and care among each other."</b></b></p><p><b><b>Thank you, Stephen. </b></b><br />
<br />
<b>I can't think of any better way to see
it, say it -- and try to be it. As I wend my way through the last laps
of this most amazing run called "my life," I can't think of anything
better to do. As another master of Timeless Wisdom once said, "If not now, when?"</b><br />
<br />
<b>How about you? What are you up to these days?</b></p>Lance Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18174480565578669357noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650114323461268088.post-43764829369035871802023-06-28T20:53:00.013-04:002023-06-29T07:46:02.397-04:00Judge Not and ...<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>“The ability to observe without evaluating is the highest form of intelligence.”
</b><br />
<b>―
J. Krishnamurti</b> <br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"> <div style="text-align: right;">
<b>“People talk about entering nirvana, but we are already there.” <br /></b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b>― Thich Nhat Hanh
</b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y5s4k2Bpc4Q/VZ-eW1IMbYI/AAAAAAAAHMg/pBGJ4EYRlE0/s1600/hieronymus-bosch-a-violent-forcing-of-the-frog.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y5s4k2Bpc4Q/VZ-eW1IMbYI/AAAAAAAAHMg/pBGJ4EYRlE0/s400/hieronymus-bosch-a-violent-forcing-of-the-frog.jpg" width="420" /></a></b></div>
<b>I
don't think there is any greater freedom than being Present in the moment to life <i>as it is.</i> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>In the expansive vision of an open heart and clear mind, the barriers and boundaries that appear to separate us from ourselves, from one another, and from Sacred Oneness become </b><b>increasingly </b><b>permeable, translucent, transparent. </b><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Being Present, we feel the Presence of something vast and boundless.</b><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>I believe most of us, if not all, have experienced such moments -- at least as children. Unfortunately, accessing these moments and making them a regular part of our life is easier said than done.</b><br />
<br />
<b><b><b>Growing
up immersed in a society that is highly judgmental, most of us have
been deeply conditioned to experience our lives in terms of good/bad,
right/wrong, should be/shouldn't be. In fact, our ego sense, with its
perceived separation and isolation from "the other" is created and maintained by the thoughts, opinions, and various mind states that
emerge from this
conditioning. Even in its mild form of liking/disliking,
Judgment Mind can generate thoughts and feelings that serve to separate us
from the peaceful, calm, and caring Presence we have access to in every moment. </b></b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b><b> </b></b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b>If
we are overly self-absorbed, distracted, stressed, moving too
fast, it's easy to get lost in our conditioned reactions to Life. </b><b><b>Adrift in Judgment Mind, </b>we loose Presence. We get lost in the alternative reality we have created -- and forget that the world is really <i>not</i> as it appears to us at that moment. </b>This
deeply ingrained process of evaluating what we experience as
bad, wrong, condemnable, is part of our social conditioning. It appears
as discontent, diatribe, enmity, blame, and self-blame. If we
aren't paying attention, it can and will dominate our lives, moment to
moment. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Seeing For Yourself</span><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>One
of the fruits of meditation is that we can see how that
process works directly. We can see for ourselves that Judgment Mind
isn't only the thoughts going through our heads at the moment. It's
deeper than that. It is embedded in the emotions we are experiencing.
It's embodied in the tightnesses and discomforts of our body. It
directly effects
the quality of our consciousness, our state of mind. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b>It is actually quite fun to see for yourself how that plays out on the meditation cushion. </b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="https://www.mondaymorningmindfulness.net/2023/06/judge-not-and.html#more" target="_blank">(READ MORE)</a></span> <br /></b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b><span><a name='more'></a></span></b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>If
you're paying attention, the emergence of Judgment Mind is obvious.
You'll
know that you've have lost touch with the relaxed, warm, bright, open,
spaciousness of a open heart and clear mind. Instead of a profound
sense of Connection, you'll collapse into the ego's self-protective
reaction patterns. The
emotional energies of those patterns can be fiery hot or icy cold, yet
there is a tightening, discontent, and a sense of disconnection.<br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>This
contraction can happen in a heartbeat. In one moment, we can be
Present, aware of the sacred miracle emerging. Then, Zap! The
gracious spaciousness of an open heart and mind collapses. Our
attention is consumed by the ranting and
raving and blaming of judgmental thoughts as they cascade across the
surface of
discordant feelings. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>As
Practice develops, we get more adept at noticing exactly when the shift
occurs. Then, sometimes, we can actually dispel Judgment Mind quite readily. Taking
a breath, bringing kindness and openness to our hearts and minds brings
us into the moment more fully -- and Judgment Mind dissipates. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b><b>In any one moment, this can literally be the difference between heaven
and hell.</b> </b> <br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">To Hell and Back</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>It
seems to me that the most debilitating form of Judgement Mind occurs
when we turn its focus on ourselves. A widespread part of our childhood
upbringing, many of us internalize the harsh criticism and condemnation
we've received. This often results in a deep distrust of ourselves, a
lack of confidence and ease, and what has been labeled an "inferiority
complex." </b><b><b>This seems to be endemic in our society, part of
our shared cultural subconscious. </b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b> </b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b>Yet, it is not necessarily universal
to the human condition. </b>Evidently this widespread pattern is so
foreign to Tibetan culture, that the Dalai Lama had a hard time
understanding a question about it posed by a prominent American Buddhist
Teacher. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>I
could have answered the question in a heartbeat. Patterns of harsh
self-judgment are pretty familiar terrain for me. I'm grateful that the
Practice has provided me with a way to navigate those patterns with
more compassion and skill.<br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> <br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>During one morning's meditation awhile ago, I watched Judgement Mind rear it's ugly head as the thoughts
"#@!#& me! I'm a </b><b><b>#@!#&-- up</b>"
erupted into my consciousness. I had been through a pretty challenging
confrontation the day before, and as sometimes happens, the episode had
been re-incarnated in my thoughts and feelings a number of times over the ensuing 24
hours. Now in the silence and stillness of the Practice, it reared its
head and bit me in the tail. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Luckily
that tail was firmly placed on my meditation cushion. <br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>This
time it was relatively easy to let go of the "story
line,"the habitual narrative running through my mind. As Practice has deepened,</b><b> </b><b></b><b>I've learned not
to believe everything I think. Rather than my attentions collapsing into the realm of thinking, it's easier to see thoughts as merely thoughts.
<br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaIMkmIudWJBNPRx_zqsk9Z05C-tCXmaAdHkFgcebBlu-ivzAtvQB-CZ4dFO5Pc8Fs2B0Ak-uY7jj3RBZxpTIEVOQS9_05kZtYX8-EwKiG5EwoipIHKY_dB56BezsPayCBJGQD6AFn6hzzn_x1TVbXhfxD0ZRSjVRDpSLNn82AbHE76EzG4NRYn-mJKg/s4032/SunriseGold2.HEIC" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaIMkmIudWJBNPRx_zqsk9Z05C-tCXmaAdHkFgcebBlu-ivzAtvQB-CZ4dFO5Pc8Fs2B0Ak-uY7jj3RBZxpTIEVOQS9_05kZtYX8-EwKiG5EwoipIHKY_dB56BezsPayCBJGQD6AFn6hzzn_x1TVbXhfxD0ZRSjVRDpSLNn82AbHE76EzG4NRYn-mJKg/w376-h282/SunriseGold2.HEIC" width="376" /></a></div><b>Now, much more often than before, I am able to notice where my mind has gone rather quickly. If needed, I can take a few, slow, deep conscious breaths, relax my shoulders and
belly, open my heart -- and let the thoughts go their merry way. The
experience then became a
kaleidoscope of sensations, feelings, and energies. Sometimes, moments
of anger, fear, confusion, humiliation and pain can emerge. Yet, within
the space of several more breaths, the emotional energies of each<i> </i>had<i> dissipated.</i> Without the
support of the same old narratives, these energies had nothing to cling to.</b><br />
<br />
<b>Instead, what emerges is a relaxed, open, clear, warm, expansive
quality of consciousness, -- and a sense of wonder. A boundless sense
of peace and warm-hearted appreciation permeates my breath and body. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>I can live with that. Hopefully, I can die with that as well.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>It just takes Practice.<br /></b></div>Lance Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18174480565578669357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650114323461268088.post-50557039938348629712023-06-14T10:43:00.002-04:002023-06-22T10:42:12.290-04:00Day by Day: Sustaining a Daily Practice<div style="text-align: right;">
<b> “The gift of learning to meditate is the </b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>greatest gift you can give yourself in this lifetime.” </b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>-- Sogyal Rinpoche</b><br />
<b><br /></b><b>“When we are mindful, deeply in touch with the present moment,</b><br />
<b>our understanding of what is going on deepens, and we begin to be</b><br />
<b>filled with acceptance, joy, peace and love.”</b><br />
<b>― Thich Nhat Hạnh</b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7Ur-s_Esbbc/XPu8QMnu7sI/AAAAAAAALH8/Jzcxl4J3ilUWTES37EHOV-V7cQekc5CUACLcBGAs/s1600/PERSONMEDITATING.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="600" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7Ur-s_Esbbc/XPu8QMnu7sI/AAAAAAAALH8/Jzcxl4J3ilUWTES37EHOV-V7cQekc5CUACLcBGAs/s400/PERSONMEDITATING.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<b>I would say that ninety percent of the folks who have wandered into
one of the Mindfulness Circles I host have already tried
meditation. </b><br />
<br />
<b>Comparing notes on Practice, most of those folks said that there was an obvious improvement in the quality of their consciousness
--and in their lives -- during the times that they practiced. Yet they
had been unable to maintain a regular daily practice.</b><br />
<b><br /></b><b>Sound familiar?</b><br />
<b><br /></b><b>The inability to maintain a daily practice is quite
widespread. It's fun to see a newcomer to the Circle mention, often
somewhat sheepishly, that they hadn't been able to sustain a
daily practice, only to discover when I ask for a show of hands, that
everyone in the Circle has had -- or continues to have -- that same
problem.</b><br />
<b><br /></b><b>It only stands to reason. </b><br />
<br />
<b><b>In today's world we are individually and collectively awash in noise, stimulation, and activity. </b>Creatures of habit, the entire thrust of our social conditioning operates against sitting still in silence. </b><b>Often feeling stressed and fatigued, </b><b><b>we scurry ahead,</b> sometimes aware of a subtle (or not so subtle) discontent with ourselves and our lives. </b><b>Taking the time to notice to stop, relax, and get in touch with what is actually going on inside of us isn't widely supported. </b><br />
<br />
<b>The Good News is that it can be.</b><br />
<br />
<b>More than anything, the establishment of a regular daily meditation
practice may be the key to making the difference. At this stage of the
journey, I've learned that there are some things that have helped me
and others to bring this about. Perhaps, they can help you as well.</b><br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://www.mondaymorningmindfulness.net/2023/06/day-by-day-sustaining-daily-practice.html#more" target="_blank">(READ MORE)</a></span></b><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>1. Setting Your Intention</b></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rSUk9kMRnI8/XPvA6QBK-tI/AAAAAAAALIM/iq5JuhANt_gDJHnlvRN_VChQg6KTWKSSgCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_5770.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="330" data-original-width="330" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rSUk9kMRnI8/XPvA6QBK-tI/AAAAAAAALIM/iq5JuhANt_gDJHnlvRN_VChQg6KTWKSSgCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_5770.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>Many of us believe that we <i>should</i> meditate. But, why do you believe that?</b><br />
<br />
<b>Rather than approaching a commitment to daily practice simply as
another "should," try to get in touch with your deeper motivations.
Take the time to explore the reasons you wish to make the commitment.
Sit with those for awhile. Writing about it may help. </b><br />
<br />
<b>If you dig deep enough (and that might take some time) you may find
that there is a subtle but very real yearning that aches deeply in your
Heart of Hearts. It is a yearning for Connection and Wholeness. It
seems to me that we each yearn to connect to what Zen calls our True
Nature. </b><br />
<br />
<b>From <i>that</i> vast, mysterious, and benevolent space in our
hearts, a place so deeply within us that it is beyond us, (I call it the
One Love), emerges the deep human aspiration to live a life of meaning
and purpose. For many of us, our deepest yearning is to be of benefit.
We wish to live a life that is peaceful, kind, compassionate, and
clear-minded. </b><br />
<b><br /></b><b>However you choose to conceptualize your deepest yearning
and it's fulfillment, bring this to your attention each morning. These
deepest aspirations can become the solid foundation of our intention to
meditate -- or to do anything else. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>I've found it helpful to write down these aspirations and intentions. As word, a phrase, a prayer, or a vow, </b><b>I've placed them next to my clock radio, the bathroom mirror, my desk, etc., as a reminder.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>2. Setting Your Attitude</b></span><br />
<br />
<b>Whatever specific meditative technique you are working with at the
moment, stay in touch with your capacity to be accepting and
forgiving. </b><br />
<br />
<b>There is no "right" experience in mediation, no "bad" session.
Aligning ourselves with the qualities of an open heart, through Practice
we are cultivating an <i>unconditional friendliness</i> toward
ourselves and others by being present and accepting. Simply being
aware of our experience without judging it, we are gently and diligently
cultivating an open heart and clear mind. </b><br />
<br />
<b>Even becoming aware of how and when we are <u><i>not</i></u> open and accepting is important. It can be the leading edge of Practice. That is where the real healing takes place.</b><br />
<b><br /></b><span style="font-size: large;"><b>3. Creating the Container in Space and Time</b></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i1mkcYwb824/XPvBVaNjJxI/AAAAAAAALIY/FHZc7nDe_qkgLDmELCk7Gm7vFZ3Z_8T9ACEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_4519.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i1mkcYwb824/XPvBVaNjJxI/AAAAAAAALIY/FHZc7nDe_qkgLDmELCk7Gm7vFZ3Z_8T9ACEwYBhgL/s400/IMG_4519.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<b>Bringing your intention into the material plane is extremely
helpful. Create a special place in your home for mediation, preferably a
space that is quiet and out of the way. If at all possible, leave
your cushion or chair in position. </b><br />
<br />
<b>Many people find that creating an altar helps. Having been influenced by Soto Zen, for decades I sat </b><b><b>with eyes open and downcast,</b> facing
a wall with the altar to my side. Now, I sit facing an altar.
(Admittedly I also "cheat" sometimes and raise my eyes as songbirds
alight in the tree outside the window. LOL.) The objects on my altar
are natural items I've gathered in walks, or more specifically
"religious" icons that I've been given or found. They each resonate
with feelings of love, the beauty of creation, and infinite wonder of
the Sacred.</b><br />
<b><br /></b><b>Meditating first thing in the morning is often
recommended. I've found that meditating early, before you and others
are swept up into the busyness of the day is quite helpful. Putting
"first things first," melding intention and action at the beginning of
the day can be especially powerful and help launch you into a day in the
proper frame of mind. An evening meditation at the end of the day,
providing an opportunity to unwind and reflect on the days activities is
also encouraged.</b><br />
<br />
<b>Set a specific time for the duration of the session and use a timer
if you have one. (Digital clocks, online timers, iPhone apps, etc., are
widely available.) Tying your mind up in deciding when enough is enough
or even watching the clock can be distracting. Although 20 minutes is
a widely proclaimed minimum, in the beginning even allocating 5 or 10
minutes will be productive and establish a foundation to build on.</b><br />
<b><br /></b><b>It is also extremely helpful to begin taking
"mini-meditations" during the course of the day. This can be as simple
as remembering to open each door you pass through mindfully: being aware
of your breathing, the motion of your body, the touch of the doorknob,
the feel of surface under your feet. </b><br />
<br />
<b>You could set specific times at your desk to pause and become more
acutely aware of your posture and the next three breaths. I used to set
a three minute egg timer on my desk and flip it over a few times during
the course of the day.</b><br />
<br />
<b>For some, necessary daily activities such as walking the dog or
washing the dishes can be perfect opportunities to be mindful, to simply
notice the nature of your own experience in each particular moment
during that activity.</b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">4. Join or Create a Weekly Practice Group</span></b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6PNSUKZmXgA/XPvD6efCgCI/AAAAAAAALIs/Wakm07s-mDYe7NQ_FuLJr3UNcrr8iB63wCEwYBhgL/s1600/CIRCLE.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6PNSUKZmXgA/XPvD6efCgCI/AAAAAAAALIs/Wakm07s-mDYe7NQ_FuLJr3UNcrr8iB63wCEwYBhgL/s320/CIRCLE.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<b>Meditating with a group can <i>really</i> help. Whether you want to
call it peer support or peer pressure, there is a real value in
committing to sit with a group regularly. In a very real way meditating
with others is </b><b><i>different</i> than meditating alone. (See <a href="http://www.mondaymorningmindfulness.net/2019/06/whenever-two-or-three-of-you.html" target="_blank">Your Courtesy Wake Up Call: Where Two or Three are Gathered</a>)</b><br />
<br />
<b>These days, there is a wide variety of opportunities to join an
existing group. Some are affiliated with a specific form of traditional
spirituality. Shop around. Explore. Find one that <i>feels</i> right. </b><br />
<br />
<b>If none of the local groups seem to work, create your own. I did.
(I write about the Mindfulness Circle and offer a meeting agenda <a href="http://www.mondaymorningmindfulness.net/2019/06/whenever-two-or-three-of-you.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">HERE</span>. </a></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">The Bottom Line</span></b><br />
<b><br /></b><b>Above all, remember that it is all<i> Practice</i>. It is
common to set ourselves up for continued failure by experiencing a
missed meditation session as a failure. If you miss a morning session,
just begin again the next morning! (Of course, you <i>do</i> get extra points for remembering a mini-meditation that day. LOL)</b><br />
<b><br /></b><b>The bottom line?</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YCdALji0TsM/VLwQ7wANqGI/AAAAAAAAFso/45VNTWgjLk0/s1600/MyBell.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YCdALji0TsM/VLwQ7wANqGI/AAAAAAAAFso/45VNTWgjLk0/s400/MyBell.jpg" width="300" /></a></b></div>
<b>Life is lived moment to moment, day by day. We humanoids are
creatures of habit, and although the behaviorists may say that is all we
actually are, my own experience is that we are infinitely more than our
conditioning. From the depths of our True Nature we get to <i>choose</i> at least some of our habits. </b><br />
<b><br /></b><b>I feel blessed these days that as each morning begins, I
find myself taking a few steps across my bedroom to my little corner of
the world to Sit Still for an hour. It's become a habit. Each morning,
aspiration, intention, attitude and activity merge into One on that
zafu. It's made a tremendous difference.</b><br />
<b><br /></b><b>Establishing a regular daily meditation didn't happen overnight. I had to begin anew any number of times. </b><br />
<br />
<b>Yet, at this stage stage of the Journey, I can say with confidence: at a certain point, it <i>happens</i>! </b><br />
<b><br /></b><b>It just takes Practice.</b><p> </p>Lance Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18174480565578669357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650114323461268088.post-68413834370923639812023-05-24T11:16:00.117-04:002023-06-03T10:28:17.311-04:00IMHO*<div class="gmail_default" style="color: black; text-align: right;">
<b>"All
ego really is, is our opinions, which we take to be solid, real, and
the absolute truth about how things are. To have even a few seconds of
doubt about the solidity and absolute truth of our own opinions, just to
begin to see that we do have opinions, </b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>introduces us to the possibility
of egolessness." </b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>-- Pema Chodron</b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="color: black; text-align: right;">
<b>“Do not seek the truth, only cease to cherish your opinions.”</b><br />
<b>-- Seng-ts’an, Third Zen Patriarch</b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zl5e6D_xcU8/Wu2v7zdqkhI/AAAAAAAAKiU/G3K34tYGpist4-vb5LXYSLLJhBxOZSUzgCLcBGAs/s1600/The%2BThinker.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="783" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zl5e6D_xcU8/Wu2v7zdqkhI/AAAAAAAAKiU/G3K34tYGpist4-vb5LXYSLLJhBxOZSUzgCLcBGAs/s400/The%2BThinker.jpg" width="367" /></a></div><b>I
love when the Universe is kind enough to deal the cards to me in a way that makes a specific lesson inescapable. This happened to me in spades on a brilliant May morning several years back.</b><br />
<br />
<b>Luckily, hearts were trump.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Following the lead of one the irregular regulars in our Monday Morning Mindfulness Circle, I had been re-reading Pema Chodron's <i>When Things Fall Apart</i>, one chapter a day. </b></div><p><b>In
that morning's chapter, entitled "Opinions," Pema suggested that noticing and labeling our opinions <i>as "opinion</i>" --
just like noting our thoughts as "thinking"-- can be an extremely helpful practice. </b></p><p><b>Although, I had read that chapter several times before over the years, this time something <i>clicked</i>. </b></p><p><b>It made what could have been a heated argument later in the day an interesting and constructive engagement. </b><br /></p><div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Taking Note: Some Thoughts about "Thinking"</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-size: small;">I
had been meditating on and off for over twenty years before I was </span></b><b><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">introduced to "noting practice" by a teacher in my first retreat at Insight Meditation Society </span></b>Before
then, after being introduced to meditation through the lens of Yoga, I had gravitated toward Zen Buddhism. I read extensively, practiced regularly at a local Zen center, dialogued with several Zen teachers, and attended <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sesshin" target="_blank">Sesshin. </a></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">To be honest, that first introduction of the noting practice didn't take. The
instruction to make a mental note -- "thinking" -- whenever I noticed that
thoughts were dominating my attention seemed clunky and
intrusive. I hadn't yet come across that in Zen teachings I had heard or read to that point. I just shrugged it off. After all wasn't Zazen just zazen? </span></b><b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b><b><span style="font-size: small;">Who needs such"techniques!?" </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">I
spent the remainder of the nine day retreat at Insight Meditation Society practicing Shikantaza, the
Soto Zen practice of Just Sitting. I took the formal posture, watched my breathing for awhile to settle into a more concentrated state, and then just sat still for hours and hours trying to stay in the present moment's experience beyond just being wrapped up in my thoughts-- for days and days. </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">As had happened before in intensive retreat, I
was able to access a quality of consciousness that was extremely tranquil yet
crystal clear and highly energized. Being Present in the moment to moment experience of life, I felt a Presence. Mission accomplished. </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Or so I
thought.</span></b><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.mondaymorningmindfulness.net/2023/05/all-ego-really-is-is-our-opinions-which.html#more" target="_blank">(READ MORE)</a></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span><a name='more'></a></span></span></b></span><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span>Live and ... </span></b></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eA0pa5J31q8/Wu2qMJCxP9I/AAAAAAAAKiE/OlVWYRrnChszpgJrXuqRt_x-YtAexQVAwCLcBGAs/s1600/PemaChodron7.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="523" data-original-width="847" height="246" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eA0pa5J31q8/Wu2qMJCxP9I/AAAAAAAAKiE/OlVWYRrnChszpgJrXuqRt_x-YtAexQVAwCLcBGAs/s400/PemaChodron7.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Pema Chodron</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><span style="font-size: small;">Although
meditation had been helpful over the years in bringing me more calm and clarity at times, I still struggled quite dramatically with navigating my way through life.<br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Over the years, I had stumbled up the slopes to the mountaintop to get a good glimpse of the Sacred Oneness a few times -- but navigating the marketplace of life in the mainstream capitalist maelstrom "successfully" was still beyond me.<br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">I would come to see that there were had still been layers and layers of conditioning that remained unexplored. These subconscious energies continued to propel me. To be sure, I had some significant "successes" in life. Yet, I always cycled back into burnouts and breakdowns. </span></b><b><span style="font-size: small;">The deep wounds of a traumatic childhood,
probably augmented by a genetic propensity toward experiences of other
dimensions of reality and extreme states, continued to propel me. </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span>... and Learn </span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">In 2006, a friend handed me a copy of Pema Chodron's <i>Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living</i>. When I read the first line in the Preface -- all in CAPS -- THIS BOOK IS ABOUT AWAKENING THE HEART, I got goosebumps! </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">OMG! <i>AWAKENING THE HEART!</i>? Something deep within me stirred.<br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">As I poured through her presentation of the Lojong Trainings of Tibetan Buddhism, she mentioned the Noting Practice in her instructions on basic sitting practice. This time it took. I was hooked.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">What made the
difference for me (besides, perhaps, another decade of Practice) was
Pema's guidance to pay close attention to the <i>tone of voice</i>
that was used while making the mental note, "thinking" as we became aware that we'd become lost in thoughts. </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">The <i>tone of voice</i> of a thought!!?? </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Zap! <br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">In the
very next Sitting, I saw clearly that my mind's "tone of voice" was
harsh and judgemental. Following Pema's guidance, I was able to
re-calibrate, take a deep breath, relax, and get in touch with my heart. There, I was able to
find a bit more compassion for myself and make a softer, kinder, mental
note. What had been "THINKING (!!$#@!!)" became a soft, gentle,
"thinking". </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">It made a difference. </span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">At
that point in my journey, this simple instruction was the gateway to an
ever-unfolding ability </span></b><b><span style="font-size: small;">to experience and release the energies of fear, frustration, and anger that resided in the substrata of my own ego conditioning. </span></b><b><span style="font-size: small;">Along
with metta and tonglen practice, which also brought more attention to the emotional energies involved my experience of life, noting practice became a valuable
tool in cultivating a kinder, calmer, <i>less
judgmental quality of consciousness</i> toward myself -- and others. </span></b></div> <br /><div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-size: small;">As
Practice has deepened over the years, I've become more mindful of both
thoughts <i>and </i>feelings. I've seen for myself clearly, again and again,
how I create the appearance of a solid
reality out of thin air. Lost in a vortex of both conditioned thoughts and feelings, the
vast and flowing sacredness of life escapes me. Instead, of
being truly Present, I can be imprisoned in a world
created out of a haphazard hodgepodge of my own mental concepts, acquired beliefs, and emotional reactions. </span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">It doesn't have to be that way.</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">Now,
both on and off the meditation cushion, the
mental note "thinking" (or labeling the nature of thoughts and feelings more specifically, i.e planning, complaining, aching, worrying, etc.) can open the way to a moment of greater clarity and ease. </span></b><b><span style="font-size: small;">At times, I have literally
made the passage from a self-created hell realm to the magical realm of
the sacred at the instant that I noticed, and noted, that I was "thinking," and opened my gaze to embrace what else was happening. </span></b><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;">A Day's Lesson: The Theory and Practice </span></span></b><br /></div>
<br /><b><span style="font-size: small;">As I read Pema's suggestion that we consider that most, if not all, of our thinking is merely <i>opinion </i>that morning, something else opened up for me. Of course, I understood this point on an intellectual level. Yet, later that day I was able to see quite clearly how much emotional energy I can invest in <i>clinging to my opinions</i> as the absolute truth. <br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">In fact, an
over-identification with our opinions, known as "attachment to view"
in traditional Buddhist teachings, is a common cause of human
suffering. </span></b>In it's relatively benign form it can prevent us from actually seeing what is right in front of our nose. At it's extreme, it can create a harsh, judgmental, angry quality of consciousness that can and does, all too often, lead to disconnection -- and even violence.<br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Being a "political activist" for most of my life, I
could see pretty clearly how much of my own ego can emerge as deep
attachments to my political opinions. Although I had been involved with the Peace Movement for decades, and my commitment to non-violent action was deep and strong, in one on one encounters, my underlying ego need to be "right," to win the argument, etc. could create a deep disconnect with others -- and with my own heart. Rather than feel the pain of a painful situation, I would go on the attack to "fix it." Convincing another of MY opinion was, the way to that. <br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Sitting there, I got the point. The deep attachment to my own opinion was the source of a lot of suffering for everyone involved. Now, could I actually approach things differently? Could I put it into Practice?</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">After I put the book down, t</span></b><b><span style="font-size: small;">he Universe dealt me the perfect hand to play. </span></b><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">Within an half an hour, I ran into an old Zen DharmaBuddhy on the bus.
As generally happens we found ourselves in an engaging conversation.
We decided to head to the coffee shop to continue the discussion. As
the
conversation turned to the Presidential elections looming on the horizon, all hell
could
have broken loose. </span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">But it didn't.</span></span></b></span> </span></b><br />
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fBYubTPv9OY/V0EUsUR0dfI/AAAAAAAAIo8/8KTDH7evclYLeDHFSzKclchqUbqoB2qtQCLcB/s1600/bluemarble.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="352" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fBYubTPv9OY/V0EUsUR0dfI/AAAAAAAAIo8/8KTDH7evclYLeDHFSzKclchqUbqoB2qtQCLcB/s320/bluemarble.jpg" width="352" /></a></div><p>
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Having
just read Pema's presentation, I was primed to see my opinions<i> as opinions</i>. It was easy to see how clinging to them as some sort of
absolute truth would have created something quite different than the what emerged. </span></span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Again
and again, I was able to
let go of my own strong, well-rehearsed positions, take a breath, and
let go into the moment. I listened deeply before responding. I really paid close attention to what he was saying, what he was feeling, I could sense his deep caring,
his sincerity, his keen intellect, and his concern for peace. I could
see the logic of
several of his arguments. </span></span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">As
it turned out, we actually ended up finding significant areas of
agreement -- although the votes we intended to cast would undoubtedly cancel one another out. </span></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">(</span></span></b><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">IMHO,
</span></span></b><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">In the great Cosmic Poker Game, Hearts will always trump Trump. LOL)</span></span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">That
morning, rather
than adding more aggression to the world, which would have been the
inevitable result of
my own clinging to my personal opinions, the Practice allowed us to
share a sense of basic good will, one which Connected us within and
beyond our areas of disagreement. </span></span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">In
doing that, I believe we channeled a bit more respect and
understanding into this old suffering world. I think its part of the
solution to the plight we find ourselves in. I love it when it
happens. </span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></b>
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">It just takes Practice.</span></span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">*</span></span>Internet jargon for "In My Humble Opinion" </span></span></b> </p>Lance Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18174480565578669357noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650114323461268088.post-9928292668637200732023-05-16T10:07:00.014-04:002023-05-17T13:05:45.560-04:00Body of Wisdom<div style="text-align: right;"><b>“People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I
think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air,
but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we
don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black,
curious eyes of a child—our own two eyes. All is a miracle.”
</b><br /><b> ―
<span class="authorOrTitle">
Thich Nhat Hanh</span></b></div><div style="text-align: right;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>“In Islam, and especially among the Sufi Orders, siyahat or 'errance' -
the action or rhythm of walking - was used as a technique for dissolving
the attachments of the world and allowing men to lose themselves in
God. </b><b>”
</b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b>-- Meister Eckhart <br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<b><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-flpann_7_0A/YDp0P53zRjI/AAAAAAAAMDc/ICJt-LaefbEi3jmA5JROdziJdOTWnyTAACLcBGAsYHQ/s365/GyomayKubose.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="365" data-original-width="189" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-flpann_7_0A/YDp0P53zRjI/AAAAAAAAMDc/ICJt-LaefbEi3jmA5JROdziJdOTWnyTAACLcBGAsYHQ/w333-h640/GyomayKubose.jpg" width="333" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Reverend Gyomay Kubose (1905 - 2000)</b><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>When
I observed my first Zen teacher dry mopping the wooden floor of the
Zendo at the Buddhist Temple of Chicago years ago, I was awestruck. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>I hadn't
seen anything like it before. </b><br />
<br />
<b>There was a simple grace in his bearing, a
Presence in his slow mindful steps that was astonishing. </b><br />
<br />
<b>It was obvious to
me that <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyomay_Kubose" target="_blank">Reverend Gyomay Kubose</a>,
in his 70's at the time, was connected
to his body, to the smooth wooden floors of the Buddhist Temple of
Chicago -- and to Life itself -- in an entirely different way than I'd seen before.<br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Later that day, I was introduced to formal walking meditation practice on the opening evening of my first zen sesshin. That weekend, I got a taste of a different way of being.<br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Embodied Practice</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">The first of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, Mindfulness of Body is a
practice that stretches back to the earliest texts of Buddhism. The
Anapanasati and Maha Satipathana Suttas spell out the details of this
and other meditative techniques. They’ve been taught and practiced for
about 2,500 years. </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Beginning
with focusing the attention on the process of breathing, Mindfulness of
Body can be practiced in a number of ways to more fully experience the
play of sensations dancing through our bodies.</span>
<b> </b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b> </b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b>This can change everything.</b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b> </b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b>As Mindfulness Practice deepens, we
become more fully present. We can connect with ourselves, with others -- and with Life itself -- on deeper and subtler levels. </b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b> </b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b>There, we may find that Reality asserts
itself.</b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Getting From There to Here</b></span><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Conditioned
as we are, most of us are "in our heads" most of the time. Although we
are always breathing, and our bodies and our sensory
apparatus are operating to generate a whole array of experiences, most
of this occurs without our full
presence of mind. Generally, conditioned as we are in the modern capitalism of Western civilization, the focus of our
attention is primarily on the thoughts
running through our head.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Fueled by emotional energies, subconscious beliefs, and conditioned
filters that we are largely unaware of, these
thoughts dominate our awareness in a
way that sweeps us along the stream of our own conditioned ego patterns
most the time. Mindfulness Practice, both on and off the meditation
cushion, offers us a means to expand our range of attention to include
a universe of experience that we generally aren't aware of. Without
Practice we are liable to "sleepwalk,"only half-awake, through
our lives. </b><br />
<br />
<b>Reverend Kubose, most definitely, </b><b><b>was </b><i>not</i> sleepwalking as he dry mopped the floor of the Zendo. I could feel his Presence. He was awake to the present moment, connected with something very special, doing what needed to be done to prepare for Sesshin. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: red;"><a href="https://www.mondaymorningmindfulness.net/2023/05/body-of-wisdom.html#more" target="_blank">(READ MORE )</a></span></b><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Theory and the Practice</b></span> <br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Last week, in one of the Morning Mindfulness Meditation Circles (Now<a href="https://www.mondaymorningmindfulness.net/p/blog-page_5.html" target="_blank"> online on Zoom)</a>, I mentioned that I sometimes find it helpful to choose a specific practice
intention for the day as part of my morning meditation. Then, in the evening, I reflect on how
that intention influenced -- or didn't influence -- my day.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b><b><br /></b>
<b>I even listened to my own advice.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Remembering Reverend Kubose's unspoken teaching from years ago, I decided to be especially aware of each time I was on my feel, moving from one place to another. Having practiced formal walking meditation in a variety of forms, my intention was
to lower my "center of gravity," placing more of my attention in my
belly (the hara or tan tien) and the contact of my feet on the floor each time I was walking, whether I was was just across the room -- or across town. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>I can't say that I
remembered to do that every time I walked during the course of the day, but when I
did, it <i>changed</i> things. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Each time I got out of my head and place more of my attention in my body,
there was a shift. I came more fully into the present moment. As I did, the entire range of sensory
experience
opened up. As well as feeling my belly and my feet and the ground
more distinctly as I walked down the street that day, the sky often got
bluer, the crisp air more invigorating, and the
soundscape more vibrant. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>I love it when that happens.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Although some folks tend to proclaim the superiority of mind over
matter, it seems to me that they may have it backwards. Our bodies are a
lot wiser than we think. In fact, over the years, I come to see that my "gut feeling" is often more accurate
than an exhaustive -- and exhausting -- pro's and con's analysis. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Opening the Door</span> </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zmoV_K3TjHQ/V1SkxovAByI/AAAAAAAAIp0/wZMpjR7BJwQVyXWIucfnOy_cKt7xr0hDQCLcB/s1600/door_handle.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zmoV_K3TjHQ/V1SkxovAByI/AAAAAAAAIp0/wZMpjR7BJwQVyXWIucfnOy_cKt7xr0hDQCLcB/w400-h400/door_handle.jpg" width="400" /></a>That
being the case, my belly and feet decided to stay with this intention
for a while. In many magical moments throughout the week, the Pure Land
of the Buddha, the Kingdom of Heaven didn't seem theoretical. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>At times, the
Presence of the One Love was palpable.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>In fact, coming to my senses moments ago, I again remembered. I got
out of my head and lowered my attention into my belly and feet as I came
upstairs. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>A dazzling reflection of the sun
glistened in the door handle as I reached to open the door. Coming to my senses, I felt
the cool smoothness of the knob as I twisted it. The door then opened into the gleaming grandeur of the Present Moment.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>I love when that happens. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>It just takes Practice.<br />
<i> </i>
</b></div>
<p> </p>Lance Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18174480565578669357noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650114323461268088.post-47522722366606407152023-05-06T10:50:00.007-04:002023-05-07T18:04:44.850-04:00When It Rains<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>"The way to dissolve our resistance to life is to meet it face to
face...When we want to complain about the rain, we could feel it's
wetness instead."</b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>-- Pema Chodron</b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>“The best thing one can do when it is raining is to let it rain. ” </b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>-- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow</b></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>When it rains, it pours...</b></span><br /></div><p><b></b></p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lozlNwRl85U/YI1iY_4-ZyI/AAAAAAAAMKs/n6I0a54zdaU1suqLWlSI_ehYYoAO5gXxQCLcBGAsYHQ/s800/rainbow9.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="582" data-original-width="800" height="291" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lozlNwRl85U/YI1iY_4-ZyI/AAAAAAAAMKs/n6I0a54zdaU1suqLWlSI_ehYYoAO5gXxQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h291/rainbow9.jpg" width="400" /></a></b></div><p><b>As April waned, Mother Nature showed up to do her part to bring on May </b><b>flowers </b><b>here in Western Massachusetts. <br /></b></p><p></p><p><b><b>Thick gray clouds moved in. The sun disappeared. And, </b></b><b><b>for days and days and days,</b></b><b><b><b><b> the world became cloudy, chilly, and wet. We got </b></b>doused. Drizzled upon. Misted. Drenched. <br /></b></b></p><p></p><p><b><b>The flowers loved it, and -- believe it or not -- so did I.</b></b><br />
<br />
<b>This wasn't always the case. </b></p><p><b>There was a time that
"rainy days and Monday's would always get me down." Prone to bouts of
depression, primarily propelled by the unexplored grief of a traumatic
childhood, I'd invariably cloud up on gray days. When storm clouds gathered, I'd rain on my own
parade. <br /></b></p><p><b>Nowadays, I find gray days and stormy weather both comforting and energizing. It is always a chance to get <i>real</i>. </b><br />
<br />
<b>Whether it's an overcast sky, a
soft foggy drizzle, a thunder-booming rip-snorting whizz banger -- or anything in-between -- if I remember to just be<i> present</i>
for the actual experience, there is something immensely alive and
vibrant about such weather. Dancing beyond our ability to
control it, Mother Nature just <i>is</i>. She will just do what she will do -- no matter how we think or feel about it. </b></p><p><b>So, why not relax and dig it!? </b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">At this very moment</span> </b><br />
</p><div style="text-align: left;">
<b>I
feel a lot of gratitude for Mindfulness Practice. </b><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<b>As I
sit here with fingers dancing across the keyboard, I see the sun finally emerging to play
hide and seek with the storm clouds. Through the open
window, I hear the wind singing in the trees, a collection of birds
twittering, the pulsating surf of tires hissing along the rain-slickened asphalt of High Street. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Pausing,
letting go for a moment of "thinking mind," I'm aware of my breath and
the sensations of my body sitting here. I feel the wind dancing across my skin
through that same open window. The sounds ebb and flow. The sensations
ebb and flow. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Life
is like that, too. </b><br />
<b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://www.mondaymorningmindfulness.net/2023/05/when-it-rains.html#more" target="_blank">(READ MORE)</a> </span></b><br />
<a name='more'></a><b> <span style="font-size: large;">Life As It Is<br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Constantly changing, Life's energies constantly ebb
and flow. </b><b>With Practice, we come to sense the
Unlimited Space within --and beyond -- the phenomena on display through our senses. When we pause to </b><b><b>let go of our own agenda, when we get out of our heads and into our hearts, t</b>he Practice brings us into contact with the ever-changing flow of Life <i>directly</i>.
Life
is simply -- and wonderfully -- what it is: a boundless, shifting web of energies
dancing in the vast, mysterious space of unconditional love and
unlimited potential. <br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<b>As
best as I can tell, the key to the Gateless Gate that Zen master Mumon
presented in his classic collection of koans, is our
ability to let
go of our desire to control Life to meet our own self-serving agenda.
Grabbing for what isn't and resisting what<i> is</i>, we pull the plug on our fundamental connection to the unlimited energy available. If we are willing to open our hearts
and minds to embrace Life <i>on its own terms</i>, Life, itself, embraces us. <br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<b>Increasingly, a deep sense of ease and joy emerges.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k53M2fQegdA/YI1K1t2X41I/AAAAAAAAMKk/uspxI7zTzdMl_OrleF-r5-yALpwx-VUIgCLcBGAsYHQ/s650/weeds-glistening-after-rain.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="434" data-original-width="650" height="268" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k53M2fQegdA/YI1K1t2X41I/AAAAAAAAMKk/uspxI7zTzdMl_OrleF-r5-yALpwx-VUIgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h268/weeds-glistening-after-rain.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>With
Practice, we come to see directly that a self-created hell can
sometimes dissolve instantaneously. The moment we <i>notice</i> we are lost in our inner narrative, a shift can occur. We can come to our senses and relax.<br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Opening to the present moment, we open to the
Unconditioned and the Unconditional, the boundless One Love that always exists in our Heart of Hearts. </b><br />
<br />
<b>It's
sometimes just that simple. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>But
simple doesn't necessarily mean it's easy. It takes time and effort --
on and off the meditation cushion. It takes a serious commitment to
open to, experience, and accept what is. You must be willing to let go, to
be patient and gentle with yourself and others. You must be willing to
risk heartbreak, </b><b>to Love in
earnest. Again and again. </b><b>This is no mean feat. </b><br />
<b><br /></b><b>It takes Practice. </b></div>
<p> </p>Lance Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18174480565578669357noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650114323461268088.post-83439147626633152082023-04-29T13:00:00.003-04:002023-04-30T08:20:07.769-04:00Kicking the Habit<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>"Compassion and resilience are not, as we might imagine, rarefied
human qualities available only to the saintly. Nor are they
adventitious experiences that arise in us only in extraordinary
circumstances. In fact these essential and universally prized human
qualities can be
solidly cultivated by anyone willing to take the time to do it."</b><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;">
<b>― Norman Fischer, <i>Training in Compassion: Zen Teachings on the Practice of Lojong</i></b><br />
</div><p style="text-align: right;">
<b>“Because you are alive, everything is possible.”
<br /> ―
<span class="authorOrTitle">
Thich Nhat Hanh<i>, </i> </span></b><span id="quote_book_link_73184"><i><b>Living Buddha, Living Christ</b></i></span></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span id="quote_book_link_73184"><i><b> </b></i>
</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>
<b><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OQOC_rvL_ts/UvSxr_cXfnI/AAAAAAAABic/3Z4l_3DWZeo/s1600/synapses-image-for-march-17-2010-blog-entry.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OQOC_rvL_ts/UvSxr_cXfnI/AAAAAAAABic/3Z4l_3DWZeo/s1600/synapses-image-for-march-17-2010-blog-entry.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></b></div><b>
<div style="text-align: left;"><b>I think one of the most exciting discoveries to emerge from medical science is<i> neuroplasticity. </i></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Even in cases where there has been fairly severe physical damage to
the
brain, research now indicates that new neural pathways can be created. With proper stimulation, undamaged neurons can
even sprout new nerve
endings. Certain functions can even be transferred from a
severely damaged hemisphere of the brain to the other! Faculties and behaviors can be restored. Healing can happen. </b><b><div style="text-align: left;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>How cool is that!? </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b><span style="font-size: large;">Creatures of Habit </span></b></b><b><br /></b></div></b></div></b><b>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Most schools of psychology agree that our basic personality is formed very early in our lives
through the interplay of our genetics and the conditioning we receive in our interactions with the world around us. As we mature, most people come to experience a "me," with a recognizable set of beliefs, attitudes, emotions and behaviors. This "me"seems to be substantial and real -- and fixed into place. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Modern science -- and, of course, the traditional teachings of Buddhism -- both challenge that widely shared perception. N</b><b><b><b><b><b><i>europlasticity</i> indicates that we can alter the
elements of that personality. We can transform the ways we view and act in the world in fundamental ways. </b></b></b></b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>As research techniques and imaging technology have advanced, modern science has been able to get a much better understanding of the brain and the vast network of nerves that are involved in creating our experience of life. What we perceive, feel, and do relies on neural pathways, deeply conditioned sequences of synapses in our brains and elsewhere firing in predictable ways. For the most part, this operates "out of sight" beneath the level of our awareness.<br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>This certainly explains why many of us seem to go stumbling
along entertaining deep yearnings to do certain things (or not do certain things) -- and we fail to change. In my case, I want to be a kind, caring, compassionate person. I've wanted to act constructively and productively in my life. All too often over the years, I've ended up being a jerk -- and not getting the job done. <br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Thankfully, Western Science is now indicating what many of us have sensed to be true. The phenomenon of neural plasticity indicates that change is possible. It even happens <i>at the cellular level! <br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><b> </b></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Contrary to the old adage, you can teach an old dog new tricks.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b><span style="font-size: large;">Kicking the Habit</span></b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></b></b><b> <br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b>I'm grateful to have come of age at a time when the spiritual
traditions of Asia brought various forms of meditation into my life. Mindfulness</b></b><b><b> Practice has been crucial in transforming how I experience and act in the world. With
Practice, I have been able to bring awareness to what had previously operated
subconsciously. In doing so, over time, I have been able to "rewire" my responses. <br /></b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b> </b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><a href="https://news.mit.edu/2011/meditation-0505#:~:text=In%20a%20study%20published%20online%20April%2021%20in,specific%20type%20of%20brain%20waves%20called%20alpha%20rhythms." target="_blank">Research</a> has shown that meditation can and does alter the way that our brains function. Studies even indicate that, over time, there are positive <i>organic</i> changes in the brains of longtime meditators! This affirms what the sages, seers, and saints of the world's spiritual traditions have been saying all along. We human beings have access to more exalted ways of being. We are capable of incredible courage, deep compassion, and insight. We are capable of Love. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>With Practice, we can kick the habit of being who we have been -- in
deep and fundamental ways. </b><b><b>We
<i>can </i>become the persons that we yearn to be. We can get it together. </b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b> </b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b>I know this to be true. <br /></b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b><br />
<b>To wit: I had a violent temper. I was raised in a household where angry outbursts occurred often. Like my father and older brother, I could readily fly into a rage </b><b>and lash out verbally--
or physically. My younger brother and I fought often. Even though I was inspired by the teachings of Dr Martin Luther King as a high school student, non-violence was only an aspiration. I struggled with anger into adulthood. <br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><a href="https://www.mondaymorningmindfulness.net/2023/04/kicking-habit.html#more" target="_blank"><b><b><span style="color: #990000;">(</span><span style="color: #990000;">READ MORE)</span></b></b></a><b> </b></b><b> </b>
<a name='more'></a><b><b><b><span style="font-size: large;">Being the Change<br /></span></b></b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b><b> </b></b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b><b>I haven't gotten <i>enraged</i> in a long, long, time. I can usually notice when I'm tensing up long before the adrenaline kicks in. I blame the Practice for this.</b></b></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>I
can still be a jerk at times, of course, but it usually doesn't get
any worse than a relatively mild level of irritation or annoyance. If it gets to the level that I deliver a sarcastic or unkind remark, (in my inner dialogue or in communication with others) I am usually able to catch myself and hit the reset button. (I may need to just drop the whole train of thought that fueled that particular fire and move on to something else.)<br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>On the rare occasion that an angry expletive erupts, it gets my attention immediately. I may have to get serious about taking a few conscious breaths, letting go of the narrative, and attending to the underlying emotions. <a href="https://www.mondaymorningmindfulness.net/2020/11/taking-it-to-heart.html#more" target="_blank">Tonglen Practice</a> really helps to transform these energies in these situations. If I can't
then quickly let it go and apologize, I may have to withdraw for awhile to get it together. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Yet, more and more, a deep compassion for
myself and the other person emerges most of the time. I usually remember that I
and the other person are <i>lovable</i> jerks, after all-- and I'm ready to do what needs to be done -- or undone. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Just Sit On It, Buddhy! </span></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>How does Just Sitting Still regularly help with all this?</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>With Practice, we are able to engage the present moment with a quality of consciousness that is clear, open, nonjudgmental, and caring. Cultivating the ability to place our attention where we choose to -- learning to do that in a relaxed and sustained manner -- the range of our attention expands to include an awareness of a lot of stuff
that usually operates subconsciously. A whole realm of sensations, feelings, emotions, intuitions, subtle thoughts, assumptions, and beliefs comes into view. In the space of mindful awareness, we come to see how that operates. Rather than reacting reflexively, we are now free to respond consciously. With an open heart and a clear mind, we can choose compassion and care. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWJalI-kSxwWGh9foJyoGlAWkPqB0FrrlSad2T90GCcYpbpilQbcgn7LRjbfFhbEG_8EHx8cR64pzQnGKisyj1nZdyAhaAJk5gZE7ROmqSq1phHuzfXi69Nk0AkeCabicyIqA26-WLZnEr6wwSLpTPoldEShh4Nt19GJUIN5tjUnBIfK1grMlhKqf4jQ/s902/SoccerGirl.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWJalI-kSxwWGh9foJyoGlAWkPqB0FrrlSad2T90GCcYpbpilQbcgn7LRjbfFhbEG_8EHx8cR64pzQnGKisyj1nZdyAhaAJk5gZE7ROmqSq1phHuzfXi69Nk0AkeCabicyIqA26-WLZnEr6wwSLpTPoldEShh4Nt19GJUIN5tjUnBIfK1grMlhKqf4jQ/s320/SoccerGirl.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>This is where real change is
possible. </b><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>So,
if you're reading this and haven't begun to develop your own regular
Practice, the ball is in your court. Why not let go off the habit of
mucking ahead as you always have and start a <i>new</i> set of habits? </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>If you
really do want to be a kinder, calmer, clearer and more compassionate
human being, you could start with the next breath. You can relax, look around you, and listen to your heart. If any of this seems to feel true to you, why not make the decision to meditate regularly? You can even start with a commitment to Just Sit Still and pay attention to your breath and body for a few minutes a
day.<br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>If you stick with it, your experience of Life, like that of many others will change. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>It's a kick!</b></div></b><p></p>
Lance Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18174480565578669357noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650114323461268088.post-68190915208552599712023-04-17T21:06:00.005-04:002023-04-17T22:02:55.506-04:00Sad But True<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>This world-</b></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>absolutely pure</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>As is. </b></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Behind the fear,</b></span><br /></div><div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Vulnerability. </b></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Behind that,<br /> Sadness, </b></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>then compassion<br /> And behind that the vast sky.</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b> -- Rick Fields</b></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></div><div style="text-align: right;">
<b>“This genuine heart of sadness can teach us great compassion. It can
humble us when we’re arrogant and soften us when we’re unkind. It
awakens us when we prefer to sleep and pierces through our indifference. ”</b><br /><b><span style="font-size: small;">-- Pema Chodron</span></b><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="mbs _5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="mbs _5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" style="text-align: left;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1KC4ZSgfG-o/U1FIgTqNa4I/AAAAAAAACIg/zHCcCEobrqw/s1600/Alightning.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="367" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1KC4ZSgfG-o/U1FIgTqNa4I/AAAAAAAACIg/zHCcCEobrqw/s1600/Alightning.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Sometimes,
insight and healing emerge slowly during the course of Practice. Like
spring gently unfolding across the palette of April, our world slowly
greens and blooms. What was dark, harsh and frigid, slowly brightens,
softens and warms. At a certain point we <i>notice</i>: It's different now than before.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>At other times, insight and healing emerge like a bolt of lightning!</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b>
<b>Zap! </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Sometimes coming with a torrential downpour of tears,
sometimes not, a Grand Gestalt comes together in a heartbeat. In a
flash, in an instant, we really Get It! Or perhaps, more accurately --
It Gets Us! </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>We can't help but notice. It's <i>different</i> now than before.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><b>I love comparing notes with others on such awakenings. <br /></b></b></span></div><div class="mbs _5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><b> </b></b></span></div><div class="mbs _5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><b>I was fortunate enough to be </b>at Himalayan Views, a nearby spiritual gift
shop/bookstore a few years ago, to hear
about a woman's experience of one of <i>those</i> moments. </b></span></div><div class="mbs _5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></div><div class="mbs _5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Suffering
from what had been diagnosed as "clinical depression" since adolescence, she
had struggled through a series of medications for nearly twenty years before coming across a passage on "the genuine heart of sadness" in a book by Pema Chodron. </b></span></div><div class="mbs _5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><div class="mbs _5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Zap! </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>As she read that passage an awakening had come in a flash. </b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b>In a burst of tears -- </b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b>she <i>knew</i>. At that instant, she discovered a whole new way to view her experience. Rather than accept that she had a "broken brain" and needed medication to correct a chemical imbalance, she knew that she could trust her heart. </b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b>In that moment, she
</b><b><b>saw </b>clearly that her deep sadness about the human condition wasn't a
sickness, it was an essential Connection to Bodhichitta, the soft and
tender core of our Spiritual Heart. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Like
many of us, this woman had felt the power of this deep connection to
the Mysterious Reality of Life/Death as a child, but
nobody in her life knew what it was. Her parents didn't understand. Neither did her teachers. In a society steeped in scientific materialism and a pharmaceutical industry run amuck, she was diagnosed and "treated." </b></span></div><div class="mbs _5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></div><div class="mbs _5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>As she read the teaching from Pema
Chodron that day, she understood. Her sadness
wasn't a personal flaw. It wasn't an illness. That day, she knew that in her
Heart of Hearts that she had touched what the Buddha had touched. Suffering was inherent in the fabric of human life.<br /></b></span></div><div class="mbs _5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></div><div class="mbs _5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Now,
she just
needed to learn how to work with it. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>With the assistance of a supportive counselor and a
regular meditation practice, she successfully decreased, and then
discontinued, her use of antidepressant medications. At the point
she was sharing her story, had been successfully, sometimes quite
joyfully, navigating her life for several years -- drug free. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Please understand: My point here is not that
medications are always the wrong approach. (As a child of the sixties,
how could I ever claim that drugs are always a bad thing?) Drugs simply are what they are. </b></span></div><div class="mbs _5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></div><div class="mbs _5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Over the years, I
have had dear friends whose quality of life has been improved through the use of prescription drugs to address their
psychological and physical health. </b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Yet, I also have friends who, like the woman I met that
day, found that their quality of life improved only when they <i>stopped</i>
relying on medications. There is no "one size, fits all" mode of
healing. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Instead, what I am pointing to here, is that there is a great value in exploring what our society conditions
us to avoid. When approached skillfully, the emotional energies of honest grief can be the gateway to a deeper Connection to our True Nature. </b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="https://www.mondaymorningmindfulness.net/2023/04/sad-but-true.html#more" target="_blank">(READ MORE)</a></span></b></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><b><span style="font-size: large;">Sad Ain't Bad</span></b><br /></div><div class="mbs _5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></div><div class="mbs _5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Oftentimes, "Don't be
sad" can actually be a horrible message. <br /></b></span></div><div class="mbs _5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></div><div class="mbs _5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Sadness is inherent in the fabric of life itself. With Practice, it can be approached </b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b>with understanding and skill.</b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></div><div class="mbs _5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></div><div class="mbs _5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" style="text-align: left;"><b><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5XQNUwpALNU/U1FoJrhGnQI/AAAAAAAACIw/6jQD2Bf_6d8/s1600/AclearRainbow.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5XQNUwpALNU/U1FoJrhGnQI/AAAAAAAACIw/6jQD2Bf_6d8/s1600/AclearRainbow.jpg" /></a></b><span style="font-size: small;"><b>As many of the sages and seers through the ages have realized, deep within our own personal
sadness is a shared existential sadness that connects us to one another
and to the One Love that forms the groundless ground of our being. </b></span></div><div class="mbs _5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></div><div class="mbs _5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Rather than "harden our
hearts", we have the choice to soften, to open. Once embraced, the Genuine Heart of Sadness becomes the pathway to
a fundamental fearlessness, boundless compassion, -- and deep joy.</b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<br />
<div class="mbs _5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>In fact, as Practice unfolds -- on the meditation cushion and in our lives -- we find
that the entire range of our human feelings, including the so-called "negative" emotions of fear, sadness, anger,
confusion, shame, etc. can be embraced, gently
explored, and understood. In the infinite space of an open heart and a clear mind, Love is all there is.<br /></b></span></div><div class="mbs _5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></div><div class="mbs _5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>It just takes Practice.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div></div>
</div>Lance Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18174480565578669357noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650114323461268088.post-10731247201854541312023-04-08T11:38:00.030-04:002023-04-10T19:25:40.205-04:00Know What?<div style="text-align: right;"><b>“Letting there be room for not knowing is the most important thing of all.”
</b><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b>―
Pema Chödrön</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b><b><br /></b><div style="text-align: right;">
<b>"I vow to live a life of Not-knowing, </b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>giving up fixed ideas about myself and the universe."</b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;"><b>-- The First Tenet of the <a href="https://zenpeacemakers.org/" target="_blank">Zen Peacemakers</a></b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="https://zenpeacemakers.org/" target="_blank"><b> </b></a></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ1I8D04J1o5yCrQNzsNTEam7LrzxhRp_YJ6F_tNzIvweEG4i8reVL3SvB_Be_wHSEVs8aVpcsL6RUHWvPQeXmAUsn3bs-FJElby9AC7W6ZsxsVr4QGHX-YMJ5t3qKrYgWIX6XT_ZQOJOUs0UjR8ZSY5nELlBUYBFESx0MR2oc-XuqGWnEnjHKq2c0kg/s1128/Socrates.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="828" data-original-width="1128" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ1I8D04J1o5yCrQNzsNTEam7LrzxhRp_YJ6F_tNzIvweEG4i8reVL3SvB_Be_wHSEVs8aVpcsL6RUHWvPQeXmAUsn3bs-FJElby9AC7W6ZsxsVr4QGHX-YMJ5t3qKrYgWIX6XT_ZQOJOUs0UjR8ZSY5nELlBUYBFESx0MR2oc-XuqGWnEnjHKq2c0kg/w359-h264/Socrates.jpg" width="359" /></a></div>Over the years, the assumption that I absolutely understand what is going on, and know exactly what to do about it, has tripped me up -- a lot. The presumption that I know all the salient variables and know exactly what <i>someone else</i> should to do about it, has wrecked havoc.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><b>In this vast interconnected web of energy floating through an infinite sea of space and possibility, the thought that I <i>really</i> know what is going on is just a presumption. Grasped tightly and clung to, it can be patently <i>presumptuous</i>. </b></div>
</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">The Summer of '62</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>My first boss, Charlie Winchester,
foreman of the maintenance department at a small factory in a small town
north of Chicago, had a decidedly less delicate way of making the point. The memory brings a smile and warm glow to my heart.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>In those days, I was
able to get a relatively good paying union job for the summer at the
factory where my dad worked. </b><b>It was time. I had to start saving money for the college education that would, perhaps,
propel me up a notch in social status, if not in income. I wanted to be a public school
teacher. </b><br />
<br /><b>Charlie was a kind
and able mentor. His spirit pervaded the maintenance crew. During
the seven summers I worked there, I was well supported by a small team of guys willing to show "the kid" the ropes. I learned a lot about how things work -- on many levels.</b><br />
<br />
<b>One particular lesson emerged when Charlie came around the corner to find me standing
in front of a piece of production machinery. I'd been trusted to replace the belt that connected it's electric motor to the drill assembly. It should have been a simple repair. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>It wasn't. <br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Belching smoke, the entire machine was lurching erratically and
making threatening noises. As soon as I saw him, I began to explain what I had done and why. </b><b>Interrupting me mid-sentence, he immediately shut the machine down. (Duh!) </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Then, with the ever-present cigar stub clenched in his smile, Charlie took a pencil and a small spiral bound notepad from
the plastic pencil holder that always rode in his front shirt pocket. He opened the pad to a blank page, and in large, capital letters, he wrote the word "ASSUME." </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>"You know what happens when you assume?" he asked.</b><br />
<b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="https://www.mondaymorningmindfulness.net/2023/04/know-what.html#more" target="_blank">(READ MORE) </a></span></b><br />
<a name='more'></a><b>I
don't need to go into the details of his lecture here (he was actually
quite gentle with me considering the circumstances),
but to illustrate the points he was making Charlie grinned and added two strategic
slashes, leaving me staring at the piece of paper. It read: </b><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>ASS/U/ME</b><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<b>Although
Charlie's delivery may seem a bit rough around the edges for some of my
spiritually minded friends, his was a profound Teaching. Its depth
continues to amaze me. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">The Spring of '23</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>And here I sit at the computer, 61 years down the road. I just came through a brief, but challenging encounter with a loved one. It's clear that subterranean assumptions and preconceptions
can still prevent me from seeing what is right in front
of my nose. Thankfully, I usually don't get too far afield before I remember -- or am reminded -- to take a few conscious breaths, relax -- and get real.<br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Yet, the on-going challenge is clear. At the deepest levels, certain assumptions become embedded in the clusters of thoughts and emotions</b><b> that form the individuated point of view that is commonly known as the ego. </b><b> Part of this subconscious process is the formation of a perceptual screen which filters our experience. Without Practice, most of us don't see reality as it is much of the time. We see it as we believe it to be. </b></div><b> </b><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Then, as if that wasn't enough, the
way that ego operates, the perceptual screen filters out data that doesn't
confirm what we already"believe" to be true. If
someone or something appears to directly challenge these belief systems, fear
and anger often emerge as the ego's defensive reaction. <br /></b></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b>
<b>This, of course, has enormous -- and quite destructive -- consequences. We find ourselves in unnecessary arguments about things that aren't directly related to the underlying emotional patterns. On a collective level this leads to the wars. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">The Mind of <i>Not</i>-Knowing</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>The first of the Three Tenets of the<a href="http://zenpeacemakers.org/" target="_blank"> Zen Peacemakers</a>, an organization of socially engaged Buddhists founded by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Glassman" target="_blank">Roshi Bernie Glassman </a>and others is:</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>"I vow to live a life of Not-knowing, </b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>giving up fixed ideas about myself and the universe."</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>To many folks who are swirled up in the mainstream of contemporary society, an intention to <i>not</i>
know may seem quite strange. After all, we've been raised in a
system that rewards status, power and influence to "experts"who claim to <i>know</i>. No matter
where we end up in that pecking order, we still are likely to have a
great deal of ego invested in 'knowing" what is going on. It operates as a subconscious security blanket. </b><br />
<br />
<b>With our head underneath those blankets, we seek the comfort of fixed ideas about who
we are, who "they" are, and how things are. In a culture steeped in "scientific materialism", we have been conditioned to think
and feel that we are seeing and responding to an objective reality "out
there" that exits and operates independently from us. Deeply conditioned by the shared assumptions of a modern capitalist society, we come to believe that our task is to simply decide what we want to acquire to make us happy and go for it. We are taught to believe that if we are successful enough in doing this we will no longer suffer. </b><b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b>
<b>Guess again.</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZFnnP5rFzPQ/Wn-AVI_UKkI/AAAAAAAAKUc/zUHXLzyta-g8LFzp6BoKmAUsnUVGUdD9ACLcBGAs/s1600/Buddha-w.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1183" data-original-width="1214" height="310" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZFnnP5rFzPQ/Wn-AVI_UKkI/AAAAAAAAKUc/zUHXLzyta-g8LFzp6BoKmAUsnUVGUdD9ACLcBGAs/s320/Buddha-w.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>Through
the ages, the avatars, seers, sages and saints of all traditions have
made a point to look at the world created by a prevailing system of
belief and proclaim "it ain't necessarily so!" </b><br />
<br />
<b>Whether
it is
conceptualized as the Kingdom of Heaven, or Nirvana, or Sat Chit Ananda, or
the Tao, or the Goddess, or Being, or Presence, they pointed to a dimension of
experience that transcended the "conventional" reality of their societies.
Oftentimes, they had to confront the religious authorities of their day -- and suffered for it.</b><br />
<br />
<b>I
consider myself lucky to have come of age in the late 60's, a time when
a lot of us caught the tidal wave of a worldwide Spiritual Awakening. In the collective consciousness that emerged, many of us surfed our
way into personal and collective mystical experiences -- with or without drugs. The bottom line? There is a spiritual plane of existence. </b><b>The source and destination of our existence was One Love. It exists as the ground of our being in each and every moment. </b><b>There, the Teachings of Jesus and Buddha make perfect
sense.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>And yet -- here's
where Practice comes in -- I came to realize that "knowing" that we are All One and that Love IS the Answer, doesn't quite
cut it. As a young, working class, white male who grew up in the midst of highly dysfunctional family, foster homes, and chaos, I wasn't able to consistently </b><b> <i>be</i> the kind and considerate human being that I aspired to be. </b><b>In fact, clinging to the subterranean belief structures that preceded, and resulted from, that peak experience led to all sorts of side-effects: arrogance, self-righteousness, and closed mindedness
perhaps being three of the most obnoxious. (I've managed to manifest
each and everyone of them during the course of the past 24 hours, at least momentarily. )</b><br />
<b> </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>As time moved on it became more and more obvious, to actually move into an awareness of each moment with some semblance of care and compassion was going to take a serious commitment of time and effort -- and lots of patience. <br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>It would take Practice. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<b>Although
I hadn't completely realized it at the time, the Practice that emerged over decades wasn't about
taking a magic carpet ride to ecstatic states. It would
involve diving into the nether realms of my own subconscious. Over
time, it entailed exploring and re-configuring the framework of
conditioned belief structures, thought, and patterns of feeling that had always
operated beneath the level of
conscious awareness. Ego's conditioned point of view would continue to freeze the world I lived in, separating me
from aspects of myself, from others, and from the One Love that exists at the Heart of
Being. </b><b><br /></b>
<b> </b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Just Sitting Still Helps</b></span><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>The
development and maintenance of a regular meditation practice continues to be helpful
in deepening and sustaining an awareness of the essentially spacious quality of
consciousness that
exists within and beyond the constraints of our conditioned
patterns. It can also provide the opportunity to gaze at the
essentially fluid nature of all experience. This may be a bit
unsettling at first because the thrust of our ego conditioning is to "nail
down" a fixed reality. </b><br />
<br />
<b>Believe it or not, the direct perception of impermanence, one of the "signs of reality" in traditional Buddhism, may be the easy part.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Another,
perhaps more daunting, aspect of the Practice is the process of taking a
deep look at the darker,
"unacceptable" aspects of ourselves. These deeply conditioned patterns have most often been reflexively
denied or repressed. Layers of fear often shield them from view.</b><br />
<br />
<b>Both on the meditation cushion and elsewhere, it
takes a commitment to look at ourselves in the mirror of mindfulness and open awareness, to face ourselves honestly. It also takes the cultivation of deep compassion for ourselves to acknowledge -- and embrace -- the "ghosties
and ghoulies" of our subconscious mind, the gnarlier aspects of our own conditioned personalities. It's tempting </b><b>to just go for the gold, and relax into the more
miraculous aspects of who we are. Yet, even the "realm of the gods" is impermanent. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">The Heart of Practice</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
<b>The Heart of Practice emerges as we open to the entire gamut of the human condition as it appears in our own moment to moment experience. When we are truely Present, </b><b>we are able to more clearly discern the difference
between knowing and <i>thinking</i>
that we know. </b><b>This calls for expanding the gaze of our awareness, a skill we have cultivated through mindfulness and meditation. </b><b>With Practice, </b><b>we are able to come more fully to our senses, to open our hearts and minds to feel the energies of a situation. When we remember to <i>really</i> pay attention, our gut feelings, our intuitions, and other realms of guidance become more readily available.</b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhImfUB9LEg2xxlRrzT45sLxb4PnYIdBve5416fuo8GcJe25JowugzIghDo3GcrQ3gyxiXYzt6_B46uLj_C53WKW-02vYbWVQYQJCFZkzBVAfCikmbGiB8EYxAH3CwQvzQ11Tw3rEzsV5lU57ynvfHDVhx47riSS0RI6a_8uunQPh-0ia1mN0oC2nCd6w/s800/Child-blowing-bubbles.-Cheap-Summer-fun..jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="800" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhImfUB9LEg2xxlRrzT45sLxb4PnYIdBve5416fuo8GcJe25JowugzIghDo3GcrQ3gyxiXYzt6_B46uLj_C53WKW-02vYbWVQYQJCFZkzBVAfCikmbGiB8EYxAH3CwQvzQ11Tw3rEzsV5lU57ynvfHDVhx47riSS0RI6a_8uunQPh-0ia1mN0oC2nCd6w/w409-h348/Child-blowing-bubbles.-Cheap-Summer-fun..jpg" width="409" /></a></div>In time, we
develop the ability to catch ourselves reacting reflexively more often. It becomes easier to take a breath or two -- and to hit the reset button. With Practice, more and more, we are able to <i>just drop it -- </i>and
open to
what Korean Zen Master Seung Sahn called "Don't Know Mind." </b><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b>
<b>Life gets a lot easier when that happens. </b><br />
<br />
<b>And if that isn't enough, I've found that, <i>not</i> knowing opens me to a realm of
mystery and unimaginable wonder -- right in the midst of the ordinary activities of the day. Life itself becomes Iridescent.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Moment-to-moment, letting go of thinking that we know what is going on, we are
able to be Present with an open heart and a clear mind. At that point, we can see what, if anything, needs to be done.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>It just takes Practice.</b><br />
<b><br /></b></div>
</div>Lance Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18174480565578669357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650114323461268088.post-38181904688456522482023-03-28T17:47:00.009-04:002023-03-30T06:47:06.443-04:00When You Wish Upon a Star<div style="text-align: right;">
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>"What you are looking for is already in you…You already are everything you are seeking."</b>
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;"><b>-- Thich Nhat Hanh <br /></b></div><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b>"The real meditation practice is how we live our lives from moment to
moment."
</b>
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b><span class="st">-- Jon Kabat-Zinn</span></b>
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b><br /></b>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;"><b><span class="st"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2_C_l6NMTYabJpMqjMNXB9fW8B6UxPeirQNbSn3wgjZ-uZI2_gt9pZ4XLfFO4H9xJP2Nva3ZJ2DZc13J1gx3MCIwm5-SX-TDQDxev26YWNRYFcdgjciLXxowNL04V77bOQa7mkmN1Fpb2jGDFrhgMfRSCj7QNGD6LWnfNDMgu91RnBAww4JiNbRVACg/s1000/shootingstarsky.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="590" data-original-width="1000" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2_C_l6NMTYabJpMqjMNXB9fW8B6UxPeirQNbSn3wgjZ-uZI2_gt9pZ4XLfFO4H9xJP2Nva3ZJ2DZc13J1gx3MCIwm5-SX-TDQDxev26YWNRYFcdgjciLXxowNL04V77bOQa7mkmN1Fpb2jGDFrhgMfRSCj7QNGD6LWnfNDMgu91RnBAww4JiNbRVACg/w401-h254/shootingstarsky.jpg" width="401" /></a></div></span></b></div><b><span class="st">Sometimes, it seems like a previous lifetime. </span></b>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span class="st"> </span></b><br />
<b>Almost twenty<span class="st">
years ago, I sat on the front porch of a rustic A-frame perched on a ridge
overlooking the campus of
<a href="https://zmm.org/" target="_blank">Zen Mountain Monastery.</a> It
was nearing midnight. Inside, my housemates, also in Zen Training at
ZMM, were asleep. </span></b>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span class="st"> </span></b>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span class="st">We''d all been up in time to walk down to the first meditation at 4:30 am that
morning.
</span></b><b><span class="st"> </span></b>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span class="st"> </span></b>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span class="st">Then, after a long full day,</span></b><b><span class="st">
I'd walked up the ridge in the dark, alone. As if a high pressure
deadline day of producing a set of CD's during "work practice" wasn't enough, I had been assigned
the service position of Evening Jikido. I was in charge of ringing,
banging, and clacking a collection of wooden blocks, bells, drums, and gongs to
announce the evening service, time the meditation periods, lead the
walking meditation, and close the service. Then, as others headed back to their quarters, I had to straighten up the coffee service counter, clean out the coffeemakers, and set them up for morning coffee. It was
well after the obligatory "lights out" at 9:30 pm by the time I climbed
back up the ridge.
</span></b><b><span class="st">Exhausted, I crawled into bed as soon as I arrived. </span></b>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span class="st"> </span></b>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span class="st">I couldn't sleep. </span></b><b><span class="st"> </span></b>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span class="st"><br /></span></b>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span class="st">After about an hour, I slowly and silently made my way outside into
the crisp, clear, mountain air. There I Just Sat Still,
breathing, and gazing into the deep blue-black infinity of a
star-filled Catskill Mountain sky. </span></b>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span class="st"> </span></b>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span class="st">At that point, I knew ZMM wasn't working for me. </span></b>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span class="st"> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span class="st">Yikes. </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></b>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Moving Right Along</span></b><br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span class="st"> <b><span class="st"> </span></b></span></b><br /><b>Over the course of the past six months, it had become increasingly clear<span class="st"> that </span></b><b><span class="st">the rigid, hard-driving, and unabashedly authoritarian nature of the
Roshi's
<a href="https://zmm.org/teachings-and-training/eight-gates-of-zen/" target="_blank">Eight Gates of Zen Residential Training</a>
didn't ring true to me.
</span></b><b><span class="st">For sure, I was grateful to have experienced some openings
at ZMM and made some new friends. </span></b><b><span class="st"><span class="st">Yet, to be honest, the community culture at Zen Mountain
Monastery wasn't all that different than the outside world. It
seemed like the same old story. Business as usual in a capitalist
society.</span></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span class="st"><span class="st"> </span></span></b>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span class="st"><span class="st">At Zen Mountain Monastery there was a "big boss. " He ruled the roost
and ran the show. His word was the law. He, his protege, and a few senior monk/supervisors told us
what to do, when and how to do it. Being a spiritual training program, they told us what to
believe in, to boot. (I was incredulous when one of the senior monks --who has since become a "transmitted" teacher -- snarled at me that Thich Nhat Hanh wasn't teaching <i>Real</i> Zen! WTF?) </span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st"><span class="st"> <br /></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st"><span class="st">The senior monk/supervisors, and the worker-bees put in long,
often quite strenuous, days on a strictly timed schedule keeping the retreat center and grounds, publications
operation, and the mail-order businesses going -- as well as attending the mandatory daily meditation periods and zen services. <br /></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st"><span class="st"> </span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st"><span class="st">It was stressful. </span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st"><span class="st"> </span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st"><span class="st">As well as our "work practice" assignments, we each were required to rotate through ritual service positions which could require intricate and demanding physical moves performed in public. Supervisors and meditation hall monitors barked out orders and corrections, even during silent meditation practice. We were "on," with very little down time between required activities, through days that began at 4:30 am and ended with lights out 9:30 pm. </span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st"><span class="st"> </span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st"><span class="st">It was exhausting. <br /></span></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span class="st"><span class="st"> </span></span></b>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span class="st"><span class="st">Meanwhile, the Roshi, had his own space and seemed to come and go as he
pleased. He rarely was around at early morning meditations, communal mealtimes, or evening services. He showed up in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zend%C5%8D" target="_blank">Zendo</a> to give talks on Sunday, to
meet privately with students in <a href="https://www.learnreligions.com/dokusan-449803" target="_blank">Dokusan </a>a few times a week, to preside over special ceremonies, and to hold court during the monthly sesshin. Of
course, as the Top Dog, he also met with his managers and the board when
he thought it was necessary. There was no doubt that this guy was
in charge. At one point during my residency, he unilaterally
changed the entire organizational structure to conform more closely to
what he had just come to believe was the structure of
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C5%8Dgen" target="_blank">Dogen's</a>
medieval monastic community. </span></span></b>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span class="st"><span class="st"> </span></span></b>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span class="st"><span class="st">The rest of the time (if he wasn't traveling to teach/recruit elsewhere, including New Zealand,) he appeared to hang out doing what he wanted to do in his modest, but spacious, home. It's large yard fronted on the Esopus, a beautiful
mountain river. As well being the Roshi, he was a pioneer digital
photographer. (The first iteration of ZMM was the Zen Arts Center that he founded on that site.) </span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st"><span class="st"> </span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st"><span class="st">The couple of times I was sent down to do his
yard work as "work practice," I saw that he had two state of the art Mac computers running
. As I picked up winter downfall and raked leaves, he spent hours
and hours at the computer screens doing what he was doing. He had
articles, books, and interviews in publication.
</span></span></b><b><span class="st"><span class="st">His art was on the newly emerging world wide web. <br /></span></span></b>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span class="st"><span class="st"> </span></span></b>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span class="st"><span class="st">Right across the road,</span></span></b><b><span class="st"><span class="st">
the rest of us were living communally in cramped quarters, spending hours
in the zendo each day, and working away under the close,
and sometimes verbally abusive supervision of the senior
monk/department managers. I was on a scholarship, but -- believe it or not -- folks
were paying for the privilege of being in residence.<br /></span></span></b>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span class="st"><span class="st"> </span></span></b>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span class="st"><span class="st">Looking back, I guess this was not a big surprise. </span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st"><span class="st"> </span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st"><span class="st">We live in a
capitalist society that prides itself as "democratic," yet operates in
hierarchical, authoritarian patterns. There are inequalities of power and privilege in all areas of life. Our
families, schools, churches, and workplaces are all set up that
way. But, unlike the usual workplace, where folks had the
opportunity to bitch about things when the boss wasn't around,
those types of conversations didn't take place at the lunch table.
(Such behavior violated a number of the traditional Bodhisattva Training
Precepts). We also, couldn't look forward to punching out and
going home -- although we did have a couple of days off schedule each
week.
</span></span></b>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span class="st"><span class="st"> </span></span></b>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span class="st"><span class="st">When I entered residency, I knew that this would be the deal. I'd
been involved in the community for over a year. I already had
spent a month in residence during the Fall Ango training period before entering residency in
the Spring. Yet, at the point that I entered -- at age 59 -- I
thought that I might be able to suck it up and ride it through for a
year's commitment.
</span></span></b>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span class="st"><span class="st"><br /></span></span></b>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span class="st"><span class="st">I was wrong. </span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st" style="font-size: large;"><span class="st"> </span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st" style="font-size: large;"><span class="st">Toward the One</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st"><span class="st"> <br /></span></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span class="st"><span class="st">I had come of age in the late 60's and early 70's.<span style="color: red;">* </span>Like many others, I was part of the widespread counter-cultural ferment of that era. By the time I had graduated from college with the infamous Class of 1969, I had experienced altered states of consciousness (with the various medicines available). I soon began an exploration of meditation and
Eastern mysticism. </span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st"><span class="st"> </span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st"><span class="st">I had a
peak experience in 1972 that affirmed to me the existence of the One Love that is the ground of our being. It was experienced with an outpouring of tears of joy and wonder at the Perfect Beauty embedded in the fabric of existence. It only lasted for about twenty minutes or so. I wasn't on drugs at the time. I was actually sitting at my desk writing up a lesson plan for the High School Civics class I was to teach the next day. <br /></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st"><span class="st"> </span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st"><span class="st">It blew my mind. It was beyond belief. <br /></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st"><span class="st"> </span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st"><span class="st">By then, being the geek I am, I had poured through volumes of literature on the nature of mind and mysticism, including </span></span></b><b><span class="st"><span class="st">the scriptures of the world's religions and numerous </span></span></b><b><span class="st"><span class="st">commentaries . It had become clear to me that there was spiritual dimension of being that had been experienced by seers, sages, saints, avatars throughout the ages. Intellectually, I had accepted that there was a direct experience of Divine Oneness at the heart of reality. Now, I felt it in my bones. </span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st"><span class="st"> </span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st"><span class="st">I now knew, in my heart of hearts, that we are not only all <i>in</i> this together -- we <i>are </i>all this, together! </span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st"><span class="st"><i><br /></i></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st"><span class="st">Unfortunately, even a trip to the Mountaintop wasn't enough to heal the deep wounds of a traumatic childhood. Radicalized, I wasn't able to accept the American Dream as the path to happiness. My marriage collapsed. Addicted to romantic love, there were more marriages and more kids. I still experienced bouts of anxiety and depression. I suffered a number of serious "career" burnouts and returned to low status jobs as a matter of principle.<br /></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st"><span class="st"> </span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st"><span class="st">Yet through it all, I still continued to return to mediation. I studied and practiced with a number of teachers, mostly in the Buddhist tradition. I read extensively, corresponded and compared notes with kindred spirits. <br /></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st"><span class="st"> </span></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span class="st"><span class="st">So, when I was finally in a position to retire and become independently poor, I had followed the longstanding, and fundamentally
<i>disempowering</i> convention that it was necessary for an "authority"
to validate my own experience of the Sacred for it to be real. I thought I still might be missing something
<i>essential</i>.
</span></span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span class="st">I wasn't. And, as best I can tell, neither are you! </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st" style="color: red;"><a href="https://www.mondaymorningmindfulness.net/2023/03/when-you-wish-upon-star.html#more" target="_blank">(READ MORE)</a> <br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st"></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st"><a name='more'></a></span></b>
</div><!--more-->
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Does a Top Dog Have Buddhanature? <br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st"> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st">The most profound shortcoming I witnessed at Zen
Mountain Monastery was the shared assumption that only the Teacher <i>really</i> knew what the Real Deal was -- and he had to transmit it to you. It was also assumed that he knew you better than you knew yourself. He was the one who could tell you what you <i>should</i> do to progress spiritually. </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st"> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st">I realize that this might work well for some people for a time. I honor that fact that the wisdom teachings have been passed on through the ages in this way. I can bow deeply to Roshi and to all those who found this approach useful. Yet, I've found that it doesn't work for me. <br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st"> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st">In numerous heart to heart, eyeball to eyeball encounters with regular human beings, I'd seen for myself that Buddhanature is Universal. </span></b><b><span class="st"></span></b><b><span class="st">I'd experienced the Teacher in the guise of homeless alcoholics and grocery clerks. </span></b><b><span class="st"> I'd seen that we each have the onboard equipment to discern what is True for ourselves. We each have the innate capacity to experience Communion with one another. <br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st"> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st">Our hearts are an organ of perception. We just have to open up and be real with ourselves and one another. If we do, we come to know that we are capable of deep generosity, kindness, compassion, care, vision, and wisdom.<br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st">This, of course, takes Practice. There's a commitment and an effort to be made. Meditation and Mindfulness Practice have been invaluable to me in my aspiration to cultivate the open heart and clear mind needed to be Present. </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st"> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Power to the People</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st"> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st">As a peace and social justice activist for decades, and in my years as a member of a peacemaking and conflict resolution collective, I had experienced the value in creating a
safe, non-judgmental, compassionate space to share personal
experiences. I'd witnessed the healing power of facilitated
explorations, and had been part of peer counseling groups. There, deep listening, openness and
honesty, and non-judgmental compassionate inquiry supported individuals to
come to a deeper connection with themselves, with one another, and with
the spiritual dimension of life that connects us all. </span></b><b><span class="st">I'd helped create such settings in my own work, and I'd spent time in
retreat with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Levine_(author)" target="_blank">Stephen Levine</a> and, later, with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joanna_Macy" target="_blank">Joanna Macy.</a> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st"> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st">In the Monastery, awash in the majesty of the Catskill Mountains, we had the perfect
opportunity to meet together to share our experiences and compare notes on our lives and our practices. There were almost thirty of us. </span></b><b><span class="st"> On weekends, up to a hundred or so others would join us. </span></b><b><span class="st">We were swimming in a pool of life experience and sincere spiritual inquiry. </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st"> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st">The "Eight Gates of Zen" didn't offer such settings. There weren't regular structured
opportunities to share personal experiences. Such
conversations weren't happening in the informal conversations around the
dining table or during the breaks either. The table talk was pretty
much what you'd experience elsewhere. Most of it was small
talk. Nobody was discussing the real issues in their life or -- god
forbid --comparing notes on their spiritual experiences or meditation
practices. It simply wasn't done -- except, perhaps, surreptitiously, in hushed tones. The shared understanding was that
such things were only to be discussed behind closed doors with the
Teacher.
</span></b>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span class="st"> </span></b>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span class="st">What a freakin' waste! <br /></span></b>
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><b><b><span class="st"><span style="font-size: large;">Clueless... </span></span></b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Now what???</b><b><b><span class="st"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></b><b></b>
</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span class="st"><br /></span></b>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span class="st">I sat there that evening, absolutely clueless as to what I was going to do next.
I was used to spending a lot time Just Sitting Still, so I just relaxed
into being Present. I don't know how long I sat there. </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st"> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="st">At a
certain point, a line from the book,
<i>Jonathan Livingston Seagull</i> came to mind. "<i>Just hang onto the wind and trust!</i>" That very instant, a shooting star flashed across the night sky
directly in front of my eyes. As it disappeared into the tapestry of
countless stars and fathomless blackness reaching overhead, I
grinned. I was ready to do just that.<br /></span></b>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b>
<b><span class="st"><span class="st">I wish it was always that easy. </span></span></b>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span class="st"><span class="st"> </span></span></b>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span class="st"><span class="st">The next morning I sought out my favorite senior monk, the
Workmaster. A former medical doctor, he ran the day to day to day
operations of the Center. He chided me a bit for bailing but,
bless his heart, he eventually hugged me and wished me well. (He has
since left the Monastery.) </span>
</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><b><span style="font-size: large;">Coming hOMe</span></b> </b><br />
<br />
<b>My tour of duty at Zen Mountain Monastery was, I think, the final time I
barked my shins on the way up that particular wrong tree. I have
realized, in my bones, that the true spiritual journey for me was one of
<i>Connection</i>, not separation from, what Zorba the Greek called the "full catastrophe"of Life. </b><b><b>When push comes to shove, I'm not seeking any more big bang
experiences. I no longer think of enlightenment that way. Enough is enough.</b></b><br />
<br />
<b><b>Although I didn't have a clear idea of what it would like as I left ZMM,
</b></b><b><b><b>I knew in my heart of hearts that I just wanted to help out, to serve,
to do my best to try to make this a kinder world. This was nothing
new, I've known that since I was a kid. </b>In launching off into the unknown, I was coming hOMe to my heart's
deepest aspiration.
</b></b><br />
<b><br /></b> <b>What more could one wish for?</b>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>I'm gonna go Just Sit Still for awhile. </b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">*</span> I wrote about my take as a member of the
Woodstock generation in
<a href="https://progressive.org/magazine/woodstock-forever-smith-190801/" target="_blank">"Woodstock Forever" </a>for the
<a href="https://progressive.org/magazine/woodstock-forever-smith-190801/" target="_blank"><i>Progressive</i></a>
a few years back. </b><br />
<br />
<br />
</div>Lance Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18174480565578669357noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650114323461268088.post-40957133506992335082023-03-11T05:35:00.015-05:002023-03-13T07:05:28.448-04:00Nothing Special. No Big Deal. (Part Two)<div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>“One can appreciate & celebrate each moment —
there’s nothing more sacred. There’s nothing more vast or absolute. In
fact, there’s nothing more!” </b></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>-- Pema Chodron </b><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b>“Living Zen is nothing special: life as it is. Zen is life itself, nothing added.” </b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b>-- Charlotte Joko Beck <br /></b></div><div style="text-align: right;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uJPxhg2a4aU/Wr-xh_bx8-I/AAAAAAAAKdQ/cBrCuRW2QwEpek1RREEI0KtWB692AjmbwCLcBGAs/s1600/snowtrees.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uJPxhg2a4aU/Wr-xh_bx8-I/AAAAAAAAKdQ/cBrCuRW2QwEpek1RREEI0KtWB692AjmbwCLcBGAs/s400/snowtrees.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<b>There's a first time for everything. </b><br />
<br />
<b>I suppose there is a last time for everything as well. Each unique
moment arises and passes away within the flow of eternity. It occurs so quickly
that we can't actually grasp it.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>With any luck at all, though, we can <i>notice</i> it, And, it seems to me, being Present<i>, without judgement or commentary</i>, is where the Real Magic exists.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Of course, this is easier said than done -- especially when I'm sitting at the computer intent on scribing a blog post. </b><b><b> </b></b><br />
<br />
<b><b>Usually I complete a piece and let it go.</b> Last week, I came
to a point where I realized there was much more to say about the notion
that there is really Nothing Special, that each moment of experience is
No Big Deal. I judged the commentary as incomplete. Although what I was trying to communicate was beyond words, I still wasn't done.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Such is the human condition.<br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Sigh.</b><br />
<br />
<b>Which brings me to the Present. Sort of...</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Looking back to that post, I see that I wasn't satisfied with having proclaimed that in my Heart of Hearts I believed that <i>everyone</i> and <i>everything</i>
should be loved and appreciated. I then immediately went on to say
that this was <i>no big deal</i>. Seemingly, I'd proclaimed that Unconditional
Love was nothing special. Another way of saying that is "God is No Big
Deal!" That sounded a bit blasphemous, no? <br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>And yet, as I Sit here this morning with the sun playing hide and seek with the clouds in a crisp blue sky,</b><br />
<b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="https://www.mondaymorningmindfulness.net/2023/03/nothing-special-no-big-deal-part-two.html#more" target="_blank">(READ MORE)</a></span></b><br />
<a name='more'></a><b>as I sit here listening to the sound of the neighborhood birds
twittering outside the window, I again sense the Presence of the
Sacred. There is a brilliance, a vividness, a tangible energy to the
present moment, a feeling of calm exhilaration. And yet there is
certainly nothing really "out of the ordinary" happening at the
moment. </b><br />
<br />
<b>Sun, clouds and sky are our common companions. Birds twittering are,
after all, nothing special. They are simply birds twittering, right?
No big deal...</b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span> <b><span style="font-size: large;">In the Zone</span></b><br />
<b><br /></b> <b>I've made a point of conversing about Spirituality with
as many people as I could buttonhole for quite some time now. Over the
years, I've learned that most folks have experienced moments of being
Present. Most of us can recall moments where we felt more awake, connected to Life in a qualitatively
different way than usual. In fact, as children it seems we all may
have been in "the Zone" quite a bit. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>We didn't need Zen training to get real.</b><br />
<br />
<b>To a child at play, there are times when Life simply<i> is. </i>Fully immersed in the moment, free of plans and evaluations, as children, many of us connected deeply and directly to the vast reality of Pure Being -- with all its mystery and magic. In the unbound mind of a child, the boundaries between possibility and actuality, between imagination and fact, were still permeable. </b><b>We hadn't yet been totally conditioned to disregard the spiritual dimension of our being. </b><b>(Lest ye be like little children, you
will never enter the Kingdom...--J.C.)</b><br />
<b><br /></b> <b>Then, all too quickly in our lives, there came the Fall. </b><br />
<br />
<b>Immersed in a highly materialistic and competitive culture that
places a high value on so-called "rational thought,"we are quickly
conditioned to believe that the world is divided between good and bad,
right and wrong. Following the lead of our parents and society, we
learn to <i>judge </i>everything! Tossed back and forth between the
emotional energies of praise and blame, we are taught that there is
success and failure, gain and loss, fame and disrepute. </b><b>Our sense of worth and well-being became attached to</b><b> doing rather than being. </b><br />
<br />
<b>As this develops, we <i>learn</i> to make a Big Deal of lots of things.
In fact, we create our "identities" out of a set of strong likes and
dislikes. We attach great importance to some things, either chasing them or pushing them away. Others we dismiss or
ignore. </b><b>Stumbling ahead in this mode, our lives can quickly become an emotional roller coaster ride, mirroring that of our
society. How we feel can swing wildly on the victories and losses
incurred by our favorite sports team. In fact, conditioned as we are, our emotions can swing
wildly on an umpire's call of a single pitch! </b><br />
<b><br /></b> <b><span style="font-size: large;">It Doesn't Get Any Better than This?</span></b><br />
<b><br /></b> <b>Even though most folks spend most of their time distracted
by the swirling events of their lives, it seems that most everyone I
meet has also experienced "perfect" moments, those times in which life
was experienced <i>differently</i>. In those moments, we felt
connected, awake, alive in a qualitatively different way. We were
Present -- and we felt a Presence.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b> <b>Although the Gateway of these perfect moments may have emerged </b><b><b>as some sort of Big Bang experience </b>with
high voltage bliss and fireworks, it may not have. This Presence may
have been as simple as a "moment's peace," a clear, direct perception of
the Simple Beauty of the world around us. Ordinary events like
sunrises and sunsets, or a full moon rising into a twilight sky, or a
child's smile, are imbued with a sense of transcendence.
</b><br />
<br />
<b>For some of us, these moments at the Gateless Gate to Reality have
been adorned with a feeling of soft melancholy. In those
moments, we touched the vast mystery of Life and Death spiraling
throughout and beyond time. With this direct perception of the grand and
fragile majesty of the human condition, compassion emerged. Everyone
and everything becomes worthy of our love.</b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">And So? </span></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dfRiDPfUoqo/UxCNQgm01pI/AAAAAAAABmI/HX8VvqXc_2Y/s1600/zafu-cushions-sunlight.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dfRiDPfUoqo/UxCNQgm01pI/AAAAAAAABmI/HX8VvqXc_2Y/s400/zafu-cushions-sunlight.jpg" width="400" /></a></b></div>
<b>I'm certain that a formal meditation practice isn't essential to
cultivating a more consistent access to the experience of Presence, a
quality of consciousness that isn't dominated and limited by what some
teachers call "judgment mind." </b><br />
<br />
<b>I'm just as certain that it can really, really help.</b><br />
<b><br /></b> <b>As we become more mindful of our breathing and the
sensations of our body, as we gently gain greater control over exactly
how and where we place our attention, a whole realm of previously
subconscious feelings and energies emerge and are healed. </b><br />
<br />
<b>Over time, with Practice, our heart continues to open, our mind continues to clear, and we come to our senses. </b><b>Increasingly,
we come to rest in the Present Moment. There, the Sacred and the
Ordinary dance, arm in arm, in the embrace of the One Love.</b><br />
<br />
<b>It's really nothing special. It's no big deal. </b><br />
<br />
<b>It's our natural state.</b><br />
<b><br /></b> <b><br /></b></div>
Lance Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18174480565578669357noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650114323461268088.post-31417028696016915902023-03-06T08:17:00.021-05:002023-03-06T15:39:43.517-05:00Nothing Special. No Big Deal. (Part One)<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>"Though my heart burns like a glowing hot coal, </b><br />
<b>my eyes are as cold as dead ashes"</b><br />
<b>-- Soyen Shaku, Roshi</b><br />
<b><br /></b> <b>"If nothing is special, everything can be."</b><br />
<b>-- Charlotte "Joko" Beck, <i>Nothing Special, Living Zen </i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipjHtfn4MgQ1lJoWDZObNJhgjyUClUgeOIPW90t3xdCH_SDyOFh4LGt3ltihdQIcvAg6S0LJpX7O4wBvWwIyzcJ14_0BMx_DdlJ4M59XUGOsok16-2inOKPO0bhYuuDuM2VRXOjcpZK1v5XYl8LPlohbp2lAusErweoFEhcxW_gNRr3VkD6E9TSbXc-g/s600/Sun_Trees_Snow_&_Foot_Step.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipjHtfn4MgQ1lJoWDZObNJhgjyUClUgeOIPW90t3xdCH_SDyOFh4LGt3ltihdQIcvAg6S0LJpX7O4wBvWwIyzcJ14_0BMx_DdlJ4M59XUGOsok16-2inOKPO0bhYuuDuM2VRXOjcpZK1v5XYl8LPlohbp2lAusErweoFEhcxW_gNRr3VkD6E9TSbXc-g/s320/Sun_Trees_Snow_&_Foot_Step.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Mother Nature's roller coaster ride continues.</b><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>In the past few weeks, she blasted us with sub-zero windchill, then turned on a dime to above average temperatures. This past week, she's dumped two significant snow storms on us -- then quickly began to wash them away with a mix of rain and sunshine. It seems a bit more like April than the beginning of March.</b><br />
<br />
<b>Gazing at the melting snow outside the window, my mind can readily
create a rant about the specter of global climate change. There
certainly appears to be ample scientific evidence that we humanoids are
stewing in our own juices. We're melting glaciers and an ice pack that has been around for eons. Damn.</b><br />
<br />
<b>On the other hand, having seen lots of my friends suffer through some
sort of nasty respiratory bugs (including COVID) again this winter, I can readily forget
about the global condition and narrow my horizons. What about a<i> </i>freakin'<i> personal</i> climate change!? </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Why in the world don't I move my tail to warmer winters? </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>But, wouldn't that be <i>selfish</i>? Shouldn't I get off my tail
and try to do more about the proposed change in the local zoning
ordinance that may bring on more environmental degradation? What about all the kids willing to get arrested in an effort to bring about the needed change in public policy?</b><br />
<b><br /></b> <b>Buzz. Buzz. Yada yada yada.</b><br />
<br />
<b>Jeez Louise!</b><br />
<b><br /></b> <b><span style="font-size: large;">A Breath of Fresh Air</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Ah! A moment of Recognition emerges. Then a grin. Then, one slow, deep breath -- and "poof!" </b><br />
<br />
<b>Sitting a bit straighter at the computer, feeling the sensations of
my breath and body, I come to my senses and gaze out the window.</b><br />
<br />
<b><b>It's beautiful out there! </b>The sun-splashed tapestry of color
outside the window is dazzling. A deep silence, occasionally augmented
by the twitter of a sparrow, washes over me. In its embrace, it's easy
to let the troublesome story lines dissolve. </b><br />
<br />
<b>The weather? Nothing special. No big deal. It simply <i>is</i>. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="https://www.mondaymorningmindfulness.net/2023/03/no-big-deal-nothing-special-part-one.html#more" target="_blank">(READ MORE)</a></span> </b><br />
<a name='more'></a><b><span style="font-size: large;">No</span><span style="font-size: large;"> Big Deal?</span></b><br />
<br />
<b>In contemporary American Buddhism, the notion of "no big deal" seems
to be a big deal actually. Pema Chodron has taught about it
extensively, entitling a chapter in her landmark book, <i>Start Where You Are</i>, "No Big Deal."</b><br />
<br />
<b><b>I was introduced to this phrase </b>in my first visit to The Farm<span style="color: #cc0000;">*</span> in the mid-1970's -- in a way that spun my head around. </b><b><b>Apparently, the Farm's Teacher, Stephen Gaskin, had picked up the term from </b></b><b><b><b><b>Suzuki Roshi at the San Francisco Zen Center. I was a beneficiary of that transmission.</b></b></b></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<b><b>That evening, as was common practice in the single men's dormitory
tents, a group of us were "rapping" after a full day's work. I had
just poured my heart out, rambling on, at length, about the utter
shambles that my life had become (my wife wanted a divorce, my school teaching career
was in disarray, I was living in my van, etc.) When I paused</b></b><b><b>, at last, </b></b><b><b> to take a breath, a
clear-eyed young man softly replied, "no big deal."</b></b><br />
<br />
<b><b>"NO BIG DEAL!!?" </b></b><br />
<b><b><br /></b></b> <b><b>"No big deal."</b></b><br />
<br />
<b><b><span style="font-size: large;">"NO BIG DEAL!!?"</span> </b></b><br />
<b><b><br /></b></b> <b><b>"No big deal."</b></b><br />
<br />
<b>I was confounded. Mindblown. That the excruciating drama of my life could be seen as "no big deal" stopped me cold.<b>
At first, my stomach fell. My angst and concerns "invalidated,"a bevy
of emotions emerged. I felt surprised, confused, frustrated,
humiliated. </b></b><br />
<br />
<b><b>Yet, then, the very next instant, something shifted. </b></b><br />
<br />
<b><b>In the compassionate embrace of the attention I was being given by
that small group of fellow travelers, a space opened. In that space, I
saw clearly that the extreme drama I was experiencing wasn't <i>solid. </i>It wasn't real in any permanent, lasting sense. It was just a collection of thoughts and emotions, self-created, only a portion of what I was capable of being aware of at that moment. </b></b><br />
<br />
<b><b>As that space opened, I saw that I actually had a choice. Rather
than rub salt in my own wounds, it was possible to take a step back --
and take my own thoughts and feelings with a grain of salt! The tears
that then emerged were not only of grief, they were also of relief --
and gratitude. In a few moments, the tears melted into a sense of deep
peace.</b></b><br />
<b><br /></b><br />
<b>And yet...</b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Live and Learn</span></b><br />
<br />
<b>Being a neophyte in the Practice, much of the time stumbling ahead
without the support of a teacher or a sangha, it took me decades to get a
better sense of what had happened that day. Like all too many
meditators here in the West, I came to believe that Spiritual Practice
meant that I should always strive to become "unattached." The
ultimate goal, it seemed, was to transcend the "drama" of my life.
Since I'd experienced that in that instant back on the Farm, I knew what the deal
was -- right?</b><br />
<b><br /></b> <b>Wrong.</b><br />
<br />
<b>Able to muster up sustained periods of calm through meditation,
I mistook a semblance of meditative quiescence for enlightened insight. I then managed
to avoid, suppress, and repress a lot of emotion-backed conditioned
patterns and deep set belief structures -- both on and off the
meditation cushion. Driven deeper underground, these patterns then rose
up to explode into extreme states. Again and again.</b><br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>It wasn't a pretty picture. </b><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>As the Practice matured, I came to see that I hadn't really gotten it. </b><b>My
understanding of "no big deal," (and its close cousin, "nothing
special") were superficial. These phrases had become intellectual
bulwarks against my own deep feelings -- and the feelings of others.
Although the original insight was sound, and sometimes helpful, all too
often I had used these terms as a shield</b><b><b>! </b>Behind that
barrier, there was a vortex of un-examined pain, fear, and resentment
resulting from a deep and unfulfilled childhood desire to be loved, to
be acknowledged </b><b><b>and appreciated </b>as very special, a big deal. (I still can still "wipe out" on this conditioning when I'm not paying attention.)</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>And it even gets more interesting. </b><br />
<br />
<b>To wit:</b><br />
<br />
<b>After all these years, I <i>still</i> believe that I should be loved
and appreciated and acknowledged as very special. In fact, in my heart
of hearts, I strongly believe that <i>everyone</i> on this planet (me
included) should be loved and appreciated and acknowledged as Very
Special. We each are, after all, each and every one of us, nothing less
than unique manifestations of Divine Being. Whether it is called
Buddhanature, or the Light, or the One Love -- or something else or
nothing at all -- it's the Real Deal. Getting my act together well
enough to serve this Reality is my primary commitment in life. <i> </i></b><br />
<br />
<b><i>This is Very Special, a Very Big Deal to me!</i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4bm3o4sykUY/UwfJy4v2uuI/AAAAAAAABlA/8Uv2ltGtCB8/s1600/Harvest+at+the+Farm.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4bm3o4sykUY/UwfJy4v2uuI/AAAAAAAABlA/8Uv2ltGtCB8/s1600/Harvest+at+the+Farm.jpg" width="400" /></a></b></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Harvest on The Farm, circa 1975</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Yet, with this very next breath, I can also say, in all honesty, this is also Nothing Special, No Big Deal. </b><br />
<br />
<b>No kidding!</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>How can that be? </b><br />
<br />
<b>Stay tuned. </b><br />
<br />
<b>(to be continued...) </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">*The
Farm is a community in Tennessee. I spent a couple of months there in
the mid-'70s. At that point in time, it numbered about 1700 people and
was seen as a Spiritual School with Stephan Gaskin as its Teacher.
Believing that interpersonal honesty enhanced an awareness of our
fundamental telepathic connection to one another, many hours were spent
in heart to heart communication, "working it out". It had a dramatic influence on me.</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="color: black;">Originally posted, February 21, 2014. Updated and Revised.</span> </span></b></div>
</div>
<p> </p>Lance Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18174480565578669357noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650114323461268088.post-92142235291444936022023-02-25T09:39:00.043-05:002023-02-28T17:35:25.342-05:00Keeping It Real<div style="text-align: right;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">"Truth is by nature self-evident. As soon as you remove </span></span></span></b></span></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">the cobwebs of ignorance that surround it, it shines clear...</span></span></span></b></span></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">All
that I can, in true humility, present to you is that Truth is not to be
found by anybody who has not got an abundant sense of humility."</span></span></span></b></span></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">-- Mahatma Gandhi</span></span></span></b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></b></span></span>
<b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">“</span></span></span></span></span>The truth is the truth, whether or not it is accepted by the majority.” </b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b>-- Thich Nhat Hanh </b> <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV4aFSpYS_OWlu7brsHQ8iB5g9jcD-DGy5sqvA3EqtqD3JEV-K9cNO9Wj8QZJNDytEbvdDh1DDYFVzZcLK8tqN0O4HlQmNvOZKs9KrTkKDBm4bypMdKq3tVCTekXMcN0zWWIFYrU66t50SsZg33fq3Yjs5ouv_2OyRuxDNeDhTpaZ5_9DiPtpcSOXLGg/s745/gandhi-11.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="745" data-original-width="600" height="418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV4aFSpYS_OWlu7brsHQ8iB5g9jcD-DGy5sqvA3EqtqD3JEV-K9cNO9Wj8QZJNDytEbvdDh1DDYFVzZcLK8tqN0O4HlQmNvOZKs9KrTkKDBm4bypMdKq3tVCTekXMcN0zWWIFYrU66t50SsZg33fq3Yjs5ouv_2OyRuxDNeDhTpaZ5_9DiPtpcSOXLGg/w337-h418/gandhi-11.jpg" width="337" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Mahatma Gandhi</span></b></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></b><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Although
I haven't seen him in awhile, and the entire course of our friendship emerges from a few dozen conversations, mostly at an upstairs table at Green Fields Market Co-op, I still consider Gary to have been
one of my most valuable teachers. </span></span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></b></span></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">A few times during our first
conversations, Gary had challenged me to clarify what had slipped out of
my mouth -- often as a quip or facetious comment. (It seems I often
default to my youthful personality as a Chicago street kid, a wannabe
wise guy, the perennial, if not all that proficient, class clown). </span></span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">I
learned. </span></span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></b></span></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"> <br /></span></span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">In Gary's presence, </span></span></span></b></span></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">I had to slow down and be more mindful of what propelled my words, what the words may mean, and how they may land. I'd have to listen deeply to him, feel his energy, meet his eyes. With an open sense of humility, he was sincerely trying to <i>communicate</i>, to listen carefully, to speak with care. He did his part to make a true human connection, not just pass the time of day. </span></span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></b></span></span> <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">What a blessing!</span></span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">Whether we were talking Co-op Policies
(he sat on the Board), world events, the in's and out's of daily life, or spirituality, when I was sitting with Gary, I had the opportunity </span></span></span></b></span></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">to engage in a sincere, shared exploration about the truth of the
matter at hand. </span></span></span></b></span></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"> In Gary's Presence, I had to be Present. I imagine sitting
with Gandhi would be something like that. </span></span></span></b></span></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">In
one of our interactions, Gary thanked me for the fundraising effort I'd
made a on behalf of two friends, codgers like myself, who were facing
eviction as a result of ill health and their extended unemployment
benefits being cut by the Republican-controlled US Congress.</span></span></span></b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">When
Gary first brought up the topic, my first reaction was a subtle feeling
of fear in my solar plexus. The week before, with my heart in my
throat, I had bombarded
each and every one on my email contact list, google+ circles and
Facebook friends with that fundraising appeal not once, but twice. Even
though I had feared
that some folks may roll their eyes or maybe even get pissed at me for </span><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">this blatant appeal -- I had done it anyway. Trying to help out a couple of folks in need felt that important to me. </span></span></span></b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">When
I told Gary about that fear, that I was set to apologize for bothering
him, our eyes met and we Connected, heart to heart. He smiled and said " It's okay man. Thanks for <i>keeping it real</i>."</span></span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">At that moment, there was comm<i>union</i> in its true sense. </span></span></span></b></span></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"> <br /></span></span></span></b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="https://www.mondaymorningmindfulness.net/2023/02/keeping-it-real.html#more" target="_blank">(READ MORE)</a></span></span></span></span></b></span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>And the Truth Shall Make You Free</b></span></span></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">In
our fundamentally materialistic modern society most of us have adopted
the world view that there is an objectively existing material reality, and that the
only means of discerning the Real Truth is the
scientific method. </span></span></span></b></span></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">With this view, if we can prove something through the use of the complex machinery that extends the five senses, and the use of intricate
computerized mathematical models that extend our reliance on conceptual logic, </span></span></span></b></span></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">it is true. If we can't, it ain't. </span></span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">In the centuries long battle with the distorted and limited view of the universe that organized Christianity presented, one that drew a strict boundary between God and humanity, heaven and earth, Science won. That there was a spiritual dimension to existence, accessible to human beings directly during their lifetime, was denied by both, and the most of us were born and conditioned into the basic assumptions of scientific materialism and, to some extent, doctrinal Christianity. <br /></span></span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">With this worldview, </span></span></span></b></span></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">Human </span></span></span></b></span></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">Consciousness is just an "epi-phenomenon"of the human brain. Being embodied creatures with separate brains, </span></span></span></b></span></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">we each experience an individual version of "reality." This is just an
subjective experience produced by our neurology which is determined by our own unique genetic bio-chemistry and personal history. </span></span></span></b></span></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"> In our era, we have learned to exist, as Alan Watts once described it, as isolated, individual, "skin encapsulated egos." As such, we come to believe that all truth is relative. </span></span></span></b></span></span><br />
<br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">I don't buy it.</span></span></span></b></span></span><br />
<br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">Although
I've always been a science and technology geek (see <a href="https://www.mondaymorningmindfulness.net/2023/02/good-vibrations.html" target="_blank">last week's post</a>), and do appreciate their contribution to the quality of human life, I believe that science's search for
Truth is flawed, incomplete. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Science
doesn't recognize that with commitment and effort, we can individually and
collectively perceive Truth. </span> Science doesn't acknowledge that the Real Deal is directly accessible to the human heart and mind. </span></span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></b></span></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">The mess on this planet results from having lost our connection to the Truth. I think
that's why along with all the obvious high side of technology there is
an extreme low side ranging from the blasphemy of nuclear warfare and our looming environmental suicide, to the
existing probability that many of us are addicted to TV or Facebook (and/or Twitter, Instagram,Tik-tok, etc. ), and this addiction tends to disconnect us from our True Self and one another more than connect us. </span></span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">As best I can see it, our reliance on science and technology doesn't really cut it. It
begins and ends with fancy gizmos and the <i>limited nature of conceptual
though</i>t. It doesn't acknowledge that there is a spiritual dimension to our lives.<br /></span></span></span></b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">What then?</span></span></span></b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">As
Gandhi and countless others have reminded us, we human beings have an inherent ability to discern Truth </span></span></span></b></span></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><i>without any fancy gadgets</i>! </span></span></span></span></b></span></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">We don't need a computer. </span></span></span></span></b></span></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">We actually
have the on- board equipment to discern Truth, to sense what the Real
Deal is. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">It's our birthright as human beings. <br /></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">In our "heart of hearts" we
have access to the spiritual dimension of being. It can be experienced as an infinite sea of clear, loving awareness. This awareness is</span></span></span></b></span></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"> transpersonal. It's shared. </span></span></span></b></span></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">It's
our <i>common sense</i>. It permeates everything. You and I are immersed in it
at this very moment. It's what Buddha and Jesus were pointing towards through their lives and teachings.<br /></span></span></span></b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">Mindfulness
Practice offers us the opportunity to "remove the cobwebs" and
progressively get in touch with that place within us that perceives Truth.
With Practice, we refine our ability to pay attention to our own
experience beyond the limitations of discursive thought, reactive emotion, and mere
imagination. </span></span></span></b></span></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">With Practice we come to see that he human heart is an organ of perception. </span></span></span></b></span></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">As we learn to expand our attention beyond the thoughts we think, to clearly hear what we hear, see what we see,
feel what we feel, other realms of knowing emerge. With Practice,
subtler energies come into view. </span></span></span></b></span></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">What was previously subconscious becomes conscious. </span></span></span></b></span></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">Our intuition operates freely. Over time --
-- or perhaps beyond time in this very moment -- we come to know that Truth is always ringing like a clear bell within a vast ocean of boundless space. When we are Present with an open heart and a clear mind, it's Presence is self-evident. </span></span></span></b></span></span><br />
<br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;">On the Other Hand</span> </span></span></span></b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">On the other hand, with a deep bow to the Zen tradition, </span><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">I can also say, quite emphatically, that </span>I really don't<i> know </i>anything! </span><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">As
moment flows into moment, it is quite apparent that Truth is much
vaster, infinitely more beautiful and mysterious than I can </span><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">fully</span> comprehend or express. Paying attention to our moment to moment
experience, it's clear that reality is infinitely open, and
expansive. In the vast web of being, there are an infinite number of interactions that operate within time and space. What may appear to be True this moment, may not be the next.</span></span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">Why?<br /></span></span></span></b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">As we come to the present moment of our actual experience, with all senses operating fully, we come to see that Truth isn't an <i>it</i>. </span></span></span></b></span></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">It's an <i>is</i>. </span></span></span></b></span></span>It flows. It's a verb, not a noun. Any attempt to grasp it and lay claim to it will fail -- and cause suffering as well</span><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">. </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Truth </span><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">is much vaster than any one ego --or collection of egos -- can encompass. One has stay open and curious, moment to moment. <br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></b></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">This is where humility comes in. </span></span></span></b></span></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span></span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">To stay humble, to be gentle, kind, open, curious,
and respectful of others isn't just the "moral" thing to do. </span></span></span></b></span></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">It's keeping it
Real. </span></span></span></b></span></span>As each
fleeting moment cascades through the infinite pool of eternity, a deep
humility reflects the nature of our actual situation as human beings. <br /></span></span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">We each are "dust in the wind" -- and each of us is inseparable from the One Truth that embraces all that has ever been, is now, and could possibly ever be. There are many names for this Truth. (With a bow to Bob Marley, I've settled on One Love. ) <br /></span></span></span></b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OW6Jf-Ykh_M/WmSc7nGqdVI/AAAAAAAAKSQ/QHhSI7uYTGYdwHJ1XcPkhGW6-Be3_6YDgCLcBGAs/s1600/Spa_Background_with_Lotus_Flower.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="309" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OW6Jf-Ykh_M/WmSc7nGqdVI/AAAAAAAAKSQ/QHhSI7uYTGYdwHJ1XcPkhGW6-Be3_6YDgCLcBGAs/w394-h309/Spa_Background_with_Lotus_Flower.jpg" width="394" /></a></div>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">At
this point in human history, when even religions that give lip service to love, forgiveness, and compassion can incite and/or support genocide, warfare, and exploitation, we need to be keeping it real. We each are capable of is having it wrong in any particular moment. </span></span></span></b></span></span><b>Humility is crucial.</b><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">Today, with warfare now raging in Europe, with nuclear weapons being brandished by both sides, we
humanoids desperately need to be sitting down to work this all out -- or there will be hell to pay. </span></span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">Yet, like Gary and I sitting at the Co-op years ago, Connection can be made. I believe that if humans meet -- without putting on airs -- they can see their way clear to connect deeply. If more of us have the sincerity and courage and humility to</span><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"> meet heart to heart, eyeball to eyeball, mind to mind, we may be able to, collectively, figure this out. </span></span></span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"> </span></span></span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">I pray that some folks in positions of power have the good sense to get their act together before we self-destruct. We need to be keeping it real. I believe it's still possible. <br /></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><br /></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">Anyway, that's the way it looks to me at the moment. </span></span></span></b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: small;">But who knows? Maybe you?</span></span></span></b></span></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></b></span></span>
</div>
</div>
Lance Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18174480565578669357noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650114323461268088.post-13671840951970170972023-02-18T08:21:00.019-05:002024-01-24T10:54:40.781-05:00Good Vibrations<div style="text-align: right;"><b>“Do not grow old, no matter how long you live. Never cease to stand </b><br /><b>like curious children before the Great Mystery into which we were born.” </b><br /><b>― Albert Einstein</b><br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: small;">"Attention is energy. What you pay attention to you get more of."</span></b><br /><b><span style="font-size: small;">-- Stephen Gaskin</span></b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"></span></b><div align="right"><b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9eZLsk6xueye6JeAVgV0PJ0oKZTdB4n6e2imsyPz7Qh8PcnQf3TVchgpJbtbynYXip3VCWCGMedkkLt1nVMEZOAoVrjl3Q6iyAKF0U-vz2c58RHpNpGCCHKdquV-fkRBmd-OISRc5SJYWkEjUhgYMwcC064_DkVLSc7-wYmR6QAiRsCHn4IG_GrSbYA/s600/Cosmos.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="374" data-original-width="600" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9eZLsk6xueye6JeAVgV0PJ0oKZTdB4n6e2imsyPz7Qh8PcnQf3TVchgpJbtbynYXip3VCWCGMedkkLt1nVMEZOAoVrjl3Q6iyAKF0U-vz2c58RHpNpGCCHKdquV-fkRBmd-OISRc5SJYWkEjUhgYMwcC064_DkVLSc7-wYmR6QAiRsCHn4IG_GrSbYA/w395-h246/Cosmos.jpg" width="395" /></a></div><b>As
a kid I was extremely curious. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>I think we all were open and curious at first. Then most of us were quickly conditioned to drop it and "get with the program." It seems
that many parents and schoolteachers couldn't deal with our incessant
questioning. Sometimes a simple "why?" seemed to agitate them.</b>
</div></div><div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b>
<b>I remember stumbling across a broken camera in the alley when I was
about 9 years
old. I took it home and immediately took it apart. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>I then wondered why
the
heck the world was upside down when I looked through the lens. Why? I
then extracted the other lenses from the viewfinder, and after fooling
around for a while, I figured out that if I lined two lenses up, I could make it right side up -- and bigger! I had discovered the telescope. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>For the next week or so, I peered at and plotted the movement of the brightest star -- which I learned from my teacher was really the planet Jupiter --
across the sky outside my bedroom window. Then, being a kid, my attention turned to other projects.<br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b>
<b>Later that same year, I discovered that a battery-powered car I'd received
as a Christmas gift made static on the radio's speakers whenever its
path took it close to the radio! What's that about? </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Again curious, I took the car
apart and learned that its electric motor
created the noise in the speakers. I'd discovered "radio waves." Before all was said and done, I had extricated the motor from the car, cobbled
together a homemade keying device, and learned Morse code so that I
could send messages through space using these invisible waves of
energy. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b>
<b>This early interest in invisible waves of energy continued. In
junior high school I became a ham radio operator -- and I learned to play the guitar.
Sound waves, radio waves, light waves. They all fascinated me. From my science teacher, I learned that invisible waves operated at different frequencies. I could hear that in sound waves. </b><b>I learned how to
tune my guitar. </b><b>I could turn the dial to different frequencies on the radio. I could see that as light waves became the colors of a rainbow they danced through a prism. How cool is that? <br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Then, I learned about resonance.<br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>I found that if I sang a G, that my guitar would sing back at me from across the room. I learned how to tune up my homemade radio transmitter to
deliver maximum power at a particular </b><b><b>frequency. When I did, the power it took to light a 75 watt light bulb could send radio waves from my homemade wire antenna, cut to a specific length to radiate them most efficiently. Those invisible waves would then bounce off the ionosphere and back to earth allowing me to communicate with hams thousands of miles away. </b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b> </b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b>How cool was that!? <br /></b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b> </b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b>Learning the principles involved and applying them was magical to me. </b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b> </b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b><span style="font-size: large;">I'm picking up good vibrations </span><br /></b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b> </b> </b><b><br /></b>
<b>By the time the Hippies were happening in Haight Ashbury a
handful of years later, even at a distance, I was quite inclined to
believe in "the vibes." I didn't find it odd at all to
believe that there was a dimension of experience that involved the transmission and reception of invisible
energies. Experimenting with marijuana, I accessed new realms of experience. I found that I could feel good vibes and bad vibes in situations. Other folks said they could, too. Many had noticed that their dogs bark at certain people and not at others.<br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Being the geek I am, I began pouring through the books about mystical experience and spirituality. It seemed clear that there were ancient systems designed to get in better touch with the spiritual dimension of being -- and live a better life as a result. I began to explore yoga and meditations.<br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b>
<b>In the course of the next few years, with the support of a number of
friends/kindred spirits (we actually formed a short-lived "commune" in
the early 70's), I saw clearly that one didn't even have to do drugs to be in
touch with that subtle dimension of consciousness. If I paid attention, at times "the vibes" were (and are) as perceptible
as the wind on my skin. Then, I came to see that, just like in music and
radio, there were certain principles at work. Some attitudes and behaviors created peace and harmony -- on every level. Others didn't.<br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://www.mondaymorningmindfulness.net/2023/02/good-vibrations.html#more" target="_blank">(READ MORE) </a></span></b><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Principles Matter</b></span><br />
<br />
<b>The
Perennial Philosophy traces its roots from the Neo-Platonism of the
middle ages in Europe through the Transcendentalists (Emerson, Thoreau,
etc.) of 19th century America into what many have called the New Age
Spirituality of our times. Its basic premise is that all the world's
religions share a single, fundamental Truth, a Truth directly perceived
through the "mystical" experience of its founders and subsequent
prophets, seers, sages and saints. </b><br />
<br />
<b>I think a whole lot of us who came
of age in the psychedelic 60's and 70's tapped into that experience --
with or without drugs. Put simply, that experience involved the deep
recognition that we are, each of us, inseparable parts of an Essential
Oneness. We are not only "all <i>in</i> this together", we<i> are</i> all this -- together. <i> Literally</i>.</b><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b>
<b>So, this being the case, its not surprising that each of the world's major religions place
a fundamental importance on kindness, love, and compassion. Jesus, for one,
claimed it all boils down to loving God (the All) and loving one
another. Buddha said that the only eternal law is that hate doesn't
cease by hatred, it only ceases through love. The other major religions
seem to agree. They all go on to propose some form of the Golden
Rule and lay out pretty similar ethical frameworks for our behavior: don't kill, don't lie, don't cheat, don't steal,
etc. </b><br />
<br />
<b>It only makes sense, right? That part of us which experiences
ourselves as individuated focal points of awareness, separate from the other beings "out there," <i>should</i> make the effort to be kind and caring. After all, at the deepest level you and I are the
One Being, totally interconnected, the warp and weft of the same
tapestry. <br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><h1 class="mt-20 mb-0"><span style="font-size: large;">E = mc<sup>2</sup></span></h1><b><b><b><span style="font-size: small;">Albert Einstein, a man who never lost a childlike sense of wonder as
he danced along the edge of science and mystery came up with his famous equation,</span></b><span style="font-size: small;"> <b>E=mc²
in 1905. With this he theorized that matter and energy are not
fundamentally separate. This was mind blowing. (Unfortunately, it also directly led
scientists to create more powerful ways of blowing things up as well.)</b></span></b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">
<b><b>Physicists and
engineers have been fooling around working with matter and energy for a
long time. To me, Energy has always been particularly fascinating even
though it often operates beyond the normal range of our five senses.
There are principles
that describe its behavior. </b>In
theory and in practice, it's all about vibrations: waves and fields of energy. </b><br />
<br />
<b> Energy can be focused. Did you ever focus sunlight through a lens?</b><br />
<b> Energy radiates. Throw a rock in a still pond and watch the ripples expand outward.</b><br />
<b> Energy resonates. Sing a G note
into a guitar and listen
to it sing back. The "screech" </b><br />
<b> </b><b><b><b>of amplified feedback operates on that
principle, too. </b></b></b><br />
<b> </b><br />
<b><b></b></b><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>E </b></span></span></b></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>= </b></span></span>mc</b></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><b><b><span><b>²</b></span></b></b> = Attention</b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b>
</span><b><span style="font-size: small;">Although science is still grappling with how to define consciousness, the </span>hippie Spiritual Teacher Stephen Gaskin, among others, pointed out
that awareness is also part of that mind blowing equation. Attention = Energy x Light</b><span style="font-size: small;"><b>²</b></span><b><b><span style="font-size: small;"><b>
</b></span></b></b><b> = Matter.
That being so, <i>where and how we focus our attention becomes profoundly
important</i>. We energize what we focus on. </b><b><b>What, and how, we pay attention to our<i> </i>world <i>matters.</i> </b></b><br />
<br />
<b>A quality of awareness that is truly attentive, kind, and
caring has a tangible effect not only on our own experience -- it radiates. Love matters. It touches others. The opposite is true, too. Our grasping greed, fear and enmity, and obliviousness to realm where we are all connected touches others.</b><br />
<br />
<b>Going further, the Spiritual Energy of Love
not only palpably touches ourselves and others, it also resonates
deeply with something deep within and beyond us, a field of energy that
seems limitless, infinitely expansive. (God? Allah? The Tao? Shunyata? You name it.
A rose by any other name...) As we grow in our ability to "vibrate
at that frequency," there is a profound impact on our life and the lives
of those around us--and even beyond that. If you're paying attention, you can see that play out directly.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZReb9zHozak/XiIEyic7QCI/AAAAAAAALkY/G5DF-zkR9YgVNVHXGDVlUSgM3oD898iMACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Cosmos.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="374" data-original-width="600" height="248" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZReb9zHozak/XiIEyic7QCI/AAAAAAAALkY/G5DF-zkR9YgVNVHXGDVlUSgM3oD898iMACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Cosmos.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<b>Although
any attempt I've made to answer the question "exactly <i>why</i> is it this way"
dissolves into the Great Mystery. When I relax into that, a sense
of childhood wonder and deep curiosity, emerges. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Yet, it's clear. I have witnessed a simple truth in my life: the kinder and calmer I can be, the better things get.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>The impediments to being kind are, of course, many, varied and deep
in our conditioning. Staying in the moment, opening the Heart and clearing the Mind isn't easy. It is an exacting discipline. It takes commitment and effort. It takes patience. It's something I have to work at every day. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Yet, I find that Simply Sitting Still most every day for a chunk of time helps. It seems that I'm able to stay in touch with my heart more often, feel the love, pay better attention to the moment I am in -- and create a bit more harmony in my life and in the world around me more often than not. I'm cool with that. <br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>It just takes
Practice. </b><br />
<b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">First published January 2014. Revised. </span></b></div>
<b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b><p><b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b><br />
</p>Lance Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18174480565578669357noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650114323461268088.post-71390384349273073772023-02-13T09:18:00.006-05:002024-02-14T17:19:07.551-05:00What's Love Got To Do With It?<div style="text-align: right;">
<b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">"Hatred never ceases by hatred. It is healed by love alone. </span></span></b><br />
<b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">This is the ancient and eternal law."</span></span></b><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">-- Buddha</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b><span class="text Mark-12-31"><span class="woj"><br /></span></span></b></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<div>
<b>"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul </b></div>
<div>
<b>and with all your strength and with all your mind. </b><br />
<b>Love your neighbor as yourself.”</b></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>-- Jesus of Nazareth</b>
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b><br /></b>
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYwU7v1BzDyhk3PFiKvWRQoQkv3ZbFWQvNwu9fzOWOLMn3sduEkltzFxcX7wOuFyxNYbTTg_UeR4Xji6QKn5BDAsfEQ7BmUmRRokEpTLs4XiSU5lmQwirinN0MxKR9woj7DpTE-dEgjCwLl8k0jlRhjGUSktsS0JGergl2xGUY13OQHDgoItqJutwH3g/s598/3barrier-rumi.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="317" data-original-width="598" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYwU7v1BzDyhk3PFiKvWRQoQkv3ZbFWQvNwu9fzOWOLMn3sduEkltzFxcX7wOuFyxNYbTTg_UeR4Xji6QKn5BDAsfEQ7BmUmRRokEpTLs4XiSU5lmQwirinN0MxKR9woj7DpTE-dEgjCwLl8k0jlRhjGUSktsS0JGergl2xGUY13OQHDgoItqJutwH3g/s320/3barrier-rumi.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">With the candy-coated, </span></span><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">commercialized carnival of Valentine</span></span><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">'s Day coming up, I find myself again musing about True Love. </span></span></b><br /></div>
</div><div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><br /></span></span></b> <b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">I don't know how it plays out in other languages, but it seems to me that </span></span></b><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">in English </span></span></b>the word "love" is astonishingly imprecise.</span></span> <span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"> </span></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">The very same word is used for both the ultimate </span></span></b><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">self-sacrifice that Jesus spoke of when he proclaimed, "Greater love hath no man than to lay down his life, "<i>AND</i> the most possessive and jealous form of desirous, grasping imaginable.
The very same word, love, casts a net that includes both the enlightened
activity of the Bodhisattva Green Tara -- and the painful, jealous flailing of
folks ensnared by the Green Eyed Monster! <br /></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
<b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">Yet,
we have it on "good authority" (see introductory quotes above) that the key
to the Real Deal is Love. So, what does the word "love" <i>really</i> mean? </span></span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><i>Mean? </i></span></span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">Yikes. Here we go again: What does the word "mean" really <i>mean</i>? </span></span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">Its
"meaning" runs the gamut from ultimate significance and purpose, to
simply being nasty! It reaches from the perfection of Aristotle's (and Buddha's) Golden Mean to the obnoxious underwater antics of the
Blue Meanies.!? </span></span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">WTF?</span></span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span style="font-size: large;">It's Only Words...</span> </span></span></b><br />
<b><br /></b><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">Love? Meaning? </span></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"> </span></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">These words certainly seem important. Yet using these word to get at the Truth seems a bit problematic, no? </span></span></span></span><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">Conditioned
as we are in a culture that stresses the importance of conceptual
thought, much of our awareness is tied up in the stream of words that dominate our attention. Yet it's obvious that words
can be quite sloppy, their meanings even paradoxical. Perhaps, words are not all </span></span>that useful in our quest for fundamental clarity.</b><br />
<b><br /></b> <b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">The Zen tradition points this out. Repeatedly. </span></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">During a teisho i</span></span></span></span></b>n <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sesshin" target="_blank">sesshin</a> years ago at the Rochester Zen Center, Bodhin Kjolhede Sensei asserted, "Every time I open my mouth, </span></span></span></span><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">I'm lying!" </span></span></span></span><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">He had obviously -- and very passionately -- opened his mouth. </span></span></span></span></b><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">I sat there bemused. </span></span></span></span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">Was Sensei telling the truth in that assertion -- or was he lying?</span></span></span></span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">You tell me!? </span></span></span></span></b><br />
<a href="https://www.mondaymorningmindfulness.net/2023/02/whats-love-got-to-do-with-it.html#more" target="_blank"><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span style="color: #cc0000;">(READ MORE)</span></span></span></span></span></b></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">The Real Deal</span></span></span></span></b></span><br />
<br />
<b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">The Practice actually provides a way to address that question. </span></span></span></span></b><br />
<b><br /></b> <b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">The
cultivation of Mindfulness through Simply Sitting Still offers us an opportunity to widen and deepen
the scope of our awareness to include a quality of consciousness <i>that doesn't rely on words</i>
-- or even emotions. With Practice, we come to experience for
ourselves the spiritual dimension of our being, a boundless realm of awareness that most of us have been conditioned to
ignore. Present </span></span></span></span></b><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">with an open heart and clear mind </span></span></span></span></b><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">in the moment by moment experience of our own life, we perceive a <i>Presence</i>. We can sense it beneath and beyond </span></span></span></span></b><b><span class="text Mark-12-31"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31"><span class="woj">the emotions we've
repressed and the belief structures that we've adopted, consciously or
unconsciously, as we learned how to try to be "normal" in our hyper-individualistic, ego-driven, capitalistic society. </span></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">With
Practice, we become less blinded by our own conditioning and more attuned to a finer range of sensibilities. We come
to see directly that we are capable of deep levels of intuition,
empathy, and understanding. </span></span></span></span>If you're
paying attention, the Truth, even a personal or relative truth, has a
certain energy. </b><b>It can be quite subtle. </b><b>Yet, if you're paying attention, it's palpable. In meditation, we cultivate our ability to pay attention to <i>that</i>. </b><br />
<br />
<b>As the Practice deepens, there will sometimes be certain awakenings, moments along the way
where Reality Asserts Itself. As we probably did at times as children, we get out of our freakin' heads and in touch with the Heart of Awareness. It may happen on the meditation cushion or emerge elsewhere in the midst of our life.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>There, in the embrace of open awareness, the perfect connection is made. There, the Truth becomes obvious. What we may have yearned for or </b><b>may have intuited, what we had possibly conceived of intellectually,</b><b> we come <i>to know for ourselves.</i></b><b> </b><b>Sometimes, an awakening may appear as a big bang perception of beauty or perfection, or love, bringing us to tears. Sometimes it may appear as visions or voices, a mystical or paranormal experience. Other awakenings may emerge with boisterous laughter. Some may simply evoke a smile and a gentle sigh of deep contentment. We each experience the miracle of the Real Deal in our unique way.<br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Whatever word we may chose to try to label the source of that experience -- God, Nirvana, the Tao, Allah, Christ Consciousness, Krishna Consciousness, etc. -- we know what Buddha, Jesus, Lao-tse, and a myriad other sages and teachers were pointing at. The One Love that is the source, ongoing essence, and fulfillment of our life is experienced directly. In True Love, we know for ourselves that each of us is inseparable from all that is, has been, or could ever possibly be.<br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Those moments are beyond
words, beyond belief! </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Yet, sitting here at the keyboard blogging away, an old song comes to mind. With a grin and bow to Bodhin Sensei -- and BeeGee's, "it's only words, but words are all I have...🎶" <br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><b>Simple but Not Easy </b></span></span></span></span></b></span><b><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>At age 76, I've come to understand that knowing that True Love is the answer is one thing. Becoming a loving human being is another. It takes commitment and effort, a set of understandings and skills -- and patience. Lots of patience.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>I've found that a daily meditation practice is extremely helpful. With Practice, I've been able to deepen my ability to open my heart, relax my body, and clear my mind enough to love more completely and more consistently. It hasn't been effortless. </b><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"> </span></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"> </span></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">Why?</span></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"> </span></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">I was born into a capitalist society, one that glorifies "rugged individualism." The collective consciousness that I have been conditioned by since I was in my mother's womb is steeped in centuries of white supremacy, patriarchy, "rational" scientific materialism, and a distorted form of religion that pivots on the emotional energies of condemnation, guilt, shame, and fear. It's a devil's brew that has this world poised on the brink of catastrophe. (It seems other cultures have their own variations of these themes that propel human beings toward what Buddhism calls the Three Poisons: Greed, Enmity, and Ignorance.)<br /></span></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><br /></span></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">So, a large part of who I am was conditioned by, and is still being influenced by a set of conditions that tend, moment to moment, to create a way of experiencing myself and the world that prioritizes thinking. I can get "lost in my thoughts" -- a lot. </span></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"> </span></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">I've also been conditioned to react emotionally in certain ways. Entwined with a set of acquired beliefs about myself and the world, some of them emerging from my chaotic and traumatic childhood (these often operate subconsciously), these emotions, and the bodily tensions associated with them, continue to impact on the way I experience and interact with the world around me. As a matter of habit, I've often reacted to the world (as most people in our culture do) <i>judgmentally</i>. Feeling stressed out, impatient, frustrated, depressed, I've hardened my heart and blamed myself and others, even life itself, for my unhappiness. <br /></span></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"> </span></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">Without Practice, I'd have continued to oscillate between being a total jerk and a basket case most of the time. </span></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"> </span></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">Now? Not so </span></span></span></span></b><b><span class="text Mark-12-31"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31"><span class="woj">much.</span></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">It Just Takes Practice</span><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><br /></span></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"> </span></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">I meditate most every morning for an hour. I've done this for decades now. I've also made a point to compare notes on mindfulness, meditation, life, and spiritual practice with dozens of fellow travelers for the past ten years in the Mindfulness Circles I host. I've also poured through the literature and scripture of the world's religions, modern psychology, and quantum physics. So, I think I can safely generalize about a few things: <br /></span></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"> </span></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">As we learn to "get out of our heads" and bring ourselves more fully into our actual embodied experience of the present moment, the quality of our experience <i>shifts.</i> Even with the simple recognition that we are thinking, </span></span></span></span><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">we are no longer <i>lost in thought</i>. We access a different aspect of our own consciousness. </span></span></span></span><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">Each noticing is a moment of mindfulness. <br /></span></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"> </span></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oKhKdaEJyxE/XksSrxdM8PI/AAAAAAAALmU/LbpklbRF20ke287tNnPQSbJhDyUNlyU_gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Loving%2BKIndness.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="511" data-original-width="800" height="255" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oKhKdaEJyxE/XksSrxdM8PI/AAAAAAAALmU/LbpklbRF20ke287tNnPQSbJhDyUNlyU_gCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Loving%2BKIndness.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">Simply Sitting Still regularly, we gain a bit of control over where and how we focus our attention. With Practice, we can learn to relax, expanding our gaze beyond the tunnel vision of conceptual thought. Getting in touch with our breath, our belly, our heart, we can experience the actual energies and sensations of the conditioned patterns that close our hearts. </span></span></span></span></b><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"> </span></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"> </span></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">At certain moments we see that we don't even have to actively "let go" of the clusters of constricted dark energy that emerge in our awareness. We can simply relax and breath it into our hearts, and let it be. With our intention to be compassionate and kind to ourselves and others, our hearts open, and the darker energies will dissipate in the infinite open spaciousness of the our own boundless awareness. True Love is all that remains. We can then send this out as a prayer for the welfare of all. </span></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">It seems to me that Mindfulness could, perhaps, better be described as <i>Heartfulness</i>.
Fully engaged with the present moment, on the meditation cushion or in the midst of our daily activities, we can experience a warm, spacious, expansive, affirming, Presence. </span></span></span></span></b><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"> There, our eyes <i>see.</i> Our ears <i>hear</i>. </span></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></b><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">Our hearts <i>love. <br /></i></span></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><i> </i></span></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">With Practice, we may even be able to roll up our sleeves and help make the world a kinder place.<i> <br /></i></span></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><i> </i> </span></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">How cool is that? </span></span></span></span></b><br />
<b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><br /></span></span></span></span></b> It just takes Practice.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj">Originally published, February 14, 2014. </span></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"><span class="text Mark-12-31" id="en-NIV-24705"><span class="woj"> </span></span></span></span></b></div></span></span></span></span></b></div>Lance Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18174480565578669357noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650114323461268088.post-67892616030461503282023-02-03T07:04:00.028-05:002023-02-04T12:01:45.512-05:00The Facts of the Matter<p><i style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Gazing at tonight's full Snow Moon as it sails into a sky that promises sub-zero wind chills before morning, I recalled a post written after a similar night eight years ago. I have tweaked it a bit and am reposting it this week. Have a look?</b></i></p><div style="text-align: right;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><b>One Love,</b></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Lance </i></span></b><br /><br /><b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i> </i></span></b></div><b>"Delight in itself is the approach of sanity. Delight is to open our eyes to the reality of the situation rather than siding with this or that point of view."</b><br /><b>— Chögyam Trungpa, <i>The Myth of Freedom</i></b><br /><br /><b>"Please understand, you have inherent in your very Mind a huge potential, an incalculable brilliance, an ability to see the reality of this moment clearly."</b><br /><b>-- Harada Roshi, opening talk,</b><br /><b>Rohatsu Sesshin, Sogenji Monastery, 2011</b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b><br /></b><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CMNnX1Oeh40/VNUcfvwrz2I/AAAAAAAAF7s/fEfM2Y1w5Fs/s1600/anothercorner.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CMNnX1Oeh40/VNUcfvwrz2I/AAAAAAAAF7s/fEfM2Y1w5Fs/s400/anothercorner.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">My Little Corner of the World</span></b></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><b>An old coot, I rarely sleep through the night these days.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b><b>Generally, at least once a night, I have to roll out of bed and walk a few steps into the adjoining room. There, I participate in one aspect of this grand recyling project known in some circles as <a href="http://Samsara.">Samsara.</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sa%E1%B9%83s%C4%81ra" target="_blank"> </a> </b><br /><br /><b>Then, depending on a multitude of factors ranging from things like the phases of the moon, to what happens to be on my mind at the moment, I usually plop right back into bed and quickly meditate back to sleep. With any luck at all, a bit of lucidity happens, and I catch a few dream bubbles along the way. </b><br /><b><br /></b><b>Sometimes, something else happens.</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>Last night, as I crawled into bed, I heard the winds howling outside the window. I then felt a bit of coolness on my skin as a draft found its way under the blanket that hangs over the window alongside my bed for nights like these. </b><br /><br /><b>Curious, I pulled a corner of the blanket up to take a peek. </b><br /><b><b><br /></b><b>I was <i>awestruck</i>.</b></b><br /><br /><b>Outside the windows, the wind howled eerily as the stark silhouettes of winter's barren trees danced wildly in the moonlight. Not to be outdone, their shadows played across the blue-white snow of the yard beyond the stubble of the gardens. Under the influence of a brilliant full moon, the entire world outside the window was luminous. It seemed to glow from within.</b><br /><br /><b>Thoughts, being incapable of grasping the majesty of the moment, became </b><b><b>irrelevant. They </b>just went on their merry way unattended -- leaving wordless wonder and sheer delight in their wake. </b><b>Mindful Awareness did it's thing. I was all eyes and ears -- and Heart! </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Spellbound. Enchanted.</b><b> I was aware of the boundless and mysterious One Love that exists within and beyond each moment. </b><b> </b><br /><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>I don't know how long I was Present for that particular miracle. It seems that Time had called "time out," and was huddling with the Timeless. At some point though, the buzzer sounded. The Grand Referee blew the whistle -- and samsara resumed play. Tired, I let the blanket fall back across the window and rolled over. </b><br /><br /><b>Grinning ear to ear, I stretched out, relaxed, and returned to sleep. </b><br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">Upon Awakening</span></b><br /><b><br /></b><b>Sitting here, recalling the experience, another truth embedded in the stark reality of last night's weather comes into clear focus.</b><br /><br /><b>According to the National Weather Service, the raw temperature at 4 a.m at a small airport near here was -13°F. The windchill was -22°. Given different circumstances, that scene I gazed at outside the window wouldn't have been delightful. It would have been deadly. I have experienced homeless in my life. I am well aware that unprotected, I could have died out there -- and the trees and wind and moon would've just danced on. </b><br /><b><br /></b><b>Yet, in the grand scope of things, that's the real deal. Even though I am sheltered and warm at the moment, Life itself is <i>always</i> a deadly proposition. It's a terminal condition. Nobody gets outta here alive.</b><br /><a href="https://www.mondaymorningmindfulness.net/2023/02/reality-asserts-itself.html#more" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">(READ MORE)</span></b></a><br /><a name='more'></a><b><span style="font-size: large;">The Facts of the Matter</span></b><br /><b></b><br /><b>We are each born. We each die. </b><br /><br /><b>Most of us have grown up in a society that tries to assiduously avoid those facts. As a result, an incredible amount of psychic energy is bottled up in repressed fear and grief, or dissipated in vicarious entertainment and adrenaline rush "recreation."</b><br /><br /><b>It's unfortunate. </b><br /><br /><b>The denial of death creates an incredible lack of perspective -- and focus. If we are willing, instead, to fast-forward ahead to see that the screen inevitably reads THE END, we can then decide whether we are playing the current scene in a way that makes any sense. A</b><b> lot of senseless activity, discord, and pettiness dissolves <i>immediately</i> when the Big Picture is brought into view. </b><br /><b><br /></b><b>In the Buddhist tradition, the inevitability of Death is seen as a fundamental truth to be contemplated deeply -- and regularly remembered. When this aspect of the human condition is faced squarely, our ability to appreciate the preciousness of life deepens, and our motivation to realize our True Nature heightens. Reminders of Death are widespread among the teachings, practices, and chants of all the Buddhist traditions. </b><br /><br /><b>When I was in residence at Zen Mountain Monastery years ago, the Eno (chant leader) would recite the Evening Gatha at the end of each day's final meditation service. With dark eyes flashing, she ardently delivered the traditional exhortation:</b><br /><b><br /></b><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Let me respectfully remind you.<br />Life and Death are of supreme importance.<br />Time swiftly passes by and opportunity is lost.<br />Each of us should strive to awaken.</i></b><br /><b><i>Awaken! Take heed!<br />Do not squander your life.</i></b><br /><b><br /></b><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Reality asserts itself.<i> </i></span><i> </i></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AuvP5YSNVeY/VNZoL-b3Y5I/AAAAAAAAF90/IaK-PaLSjNE/s1600/ZMMZendo.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AuvP5YSNVeY/VNZoL-b3Y5I/AAAAAAAAF90/IaK-PaLSjNE/s400/ZMMZendo.jpg" width="400" /></a></b></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Zendo at Zen Mountain Monastery</b></td></tr></tbody></table><b>Although the passionate "striving" to Awaken that was evoked in the stirring words of the Evening Gatha years ago has been transformed through another twenty years of life and mindfulness practice into a much gentler heartfelt aspiration, the bottom line is clear:</b><b> Practice is a matter of Life and Death. </b><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Rather than freak me out, though, this realization actually soothes my soul. </b><b>It enables me to connect often with a boundless sense of the sacred. No longer afraid of death, I am able to approach the events of my life <i>wholeheartedly</i>. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>These days, after decades of daily practice, blessed with the regular support of friends and kindred spirits, l'm grateful to experience a sense of ease and clarity, even delight, as most days flow by. Life being Life, I also have plenty of opportunity to witness and explore my own reactivity, angst, ignorance, and confusion as they emerge. <br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>More and more, though, even those moments are welcomed as the warp and woof of the same grand tapestry. At this stage of journey, they don't tie me in knots. I realize that all I can do is weave together the various strands of my life, <i>as it is, </i>with as much diligence, kindness and compassion as I can muster. I can generally remember to pause, take a conscious breath or two, feel my heart, and come to my senses.</b><br /><br /><b>It just takes Practice. </b><br /><br /><b>I can live -- and die -- with that. </b><br /><br /><b>Originally Posted, January 2015. Revised.</b></div></div></div></div>Lance Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18174480565578669357noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650114323461268088.post-50523792021963392542023-01-25T17:18:00.028-05:002024-01-27T13:48:13.309-05:00Tonglen Practice: Taking It to Heart <div style="text-align: right;"><b>“You take it all in. You let the pain of the world touch your heart </b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b>and
you turn it into compassion. It is said that </b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b>in difficult times,</b><b> it is only bodhichitta that heals.”</b><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b>-- The Sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa quoted by Pema Chodron, </b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b><i>When Things Fall Apart: </i></b><b><i>Heart Advice for Difficult Tim</i>es</b> </div><div style="text-align: right;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: right;">
<b>"So,
when we are willing, intentionally, with this kind of attitude, </b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b>this
vision, to breathe in the suffering, we are able to transform it </b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b>easily
and naturally; it doesn't take a major effort on our part, </b></div><div style="text-align: right;"><b>other than
allow it."</b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>-- Norman Fischer, <i>Training in Compassion: </i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b><i>Zen Teachings on the Practice of Lojong</i></b></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JqAF5-y79hM/VjSgR4d75II/AAAAAAAAILs/o5cVlvj7gmc/s1600/SemerConscienceCosmique.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="398" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JqAF5-y79hM/VjSgR4d75II/AAAAAAAAILs/o5cVlvj7gmc/w382-h398/SemerConscienceCosmique.jpg" width="382" /></a></div><p>
<b>A grin comes to my face as I remember her voice on the telephone.</b><br />
<br />
<b>"That's backwards isn't it? You <i>meant</i>
breathe in the good and send out the bad, right?" she said, not
unkindly. Being gracious, she was making a space for me to realize
that my aging brain cells had gone dyslexic. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>I had been chatting with an old friend for first time in quite awhile, talking about my continued wonder at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lojong" target="_blank">Lojong Teachings</a> of Tibetan Buddhism in general, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonglen" target="_blank">Tonglen Practice</a>
in particular. </b><br />
<br />
<b>After a moment's pause, to relax and reconnect with the
basic openness of mind -- and to make sure that I really hadn't
verbally zigged when I had intended to zag -- I continued. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>"No, I actually did mean that I shift my attention from the thoughts running through my head to the feelings coursing through my body. Then I
breathe into my heart the </b><b>difficult
and challenging darker emotions that had emerged. There in my heart of hearts I get in touch with reality that countless people are feeling </b><b> this same form of energy and my aspiration that we all be free of such suffering. Then, at a certain point, I'm able to send out a
sense of relief and healing energy on each exhalation.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>She paused for awhile (perhaps, to relax and reconnect with a
basic openness of mind herself? LOL) Then she simply replied,
"Oh?" </b></p><p><b>She didn't sound convinced. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Hers was not an uncommon response. Raised in a highly
individualistic and materialistic
society, the basic premise of this ancient Tibetan Buddhist system of
mind training seems counterintuitive. Making the decision to open our hearts to the entire gamut of human
emotions, rather than always grasping at the "good" and pushing away the
"bad? Seems a bit crazy, right? It most certainly is. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Crazy like a fox.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>The Lojong Teachings of Tibetan Buddhism, which consist of 59
training aphorisms are supported by two meditation practices: basic
sitting meditation (Shamatha-Vippasyana) and Tonglen. Each of these
practices has a role in
cultivating our Connection to the essentially miraculous nature of
life. Each contributes to our deepening ability to be Present </b><b><b>moment by moment -- </b>with clarity and compassion -- to the
Sacred Perfection in which we are immersed. </b><br />
<br />
<b>To wit: </b><b><br /></b>
<b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ero_aOXC0zI/X8KLq7g3LGI/AAAAAAAAL-Q/cyGF67wHIiwJHgLkgX5JGffauCcfrwxiQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1067/external-content.duckduckgo.com.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="741" data-original-width="1067" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ero_aOXC0zI/X8KLq7g3LGI/AAAAAAAAL-Q/cyGF67wHIiwJHgLkgX5JGffauCcfrwxiQCLcBGAsYHQ/w408-h360/external-content.duckduckgo.com.jpg" width="408" /></a></b></div><p><b>As I sit here and <i>pay attention</i>, </b><b><b><b>I become aware of a clear,
bright, vast, and open sense of spaciousness </b></b>beyond the tunnel
vision of my thoughts. </b></p><p><b>As I pause and expand my attention to become
aware of my body, my breath, and the sights and sounds of the room that I
am sitting in and of the world outside the window, there a palpable shift in my consciousness. As
I come into the present moment more fully, </b><b>I can feel its expansiveness in my heart</b><b>. I can relax and rest in
its embrace. </b><br />
<br />
<b>Sitting here, breathing in, breathing out, I'm aware of the dance of my fingers along
the surface of this keyboard. I see that
milliseconds before the fingers move, thoughts emerge instantaneously,
seemingly from nowhere in particular. Although, these thoughts are most
certainly prompted by my intention to write this blog post, they appear
to be emerging by themselves, quite mysteriously. </b><br />
<br />
<b>Although Western
science claims that these thoughts are merely epiphenoma, just brain secretions of some sort,
at this moment they appear to be connected to something much grander than
that. My heart <i>feels</i> that connection. I have come to trust that
feeling. A boundless sense of wonder and joy emerges from the luminous
silence that embraces me as I embrace it. Aware of my feet on the
floor, the clicking contact of my fingers on the keyboard, the
soft humming of the computer, </b><b>the wind outside the window, the
vast, open spaciousness of a clear and boundless open mind, my heart
opens. I feel the Presence of the Sacred. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>But, I digress -- sort of.</b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.mondaymorningmindfulness.net/2023/01/you-take-it-all-in.html#more" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: small;">(READ MORE)</span></span></a> </span></b></p><p></p><a name='more'></a><b><span style="font-size: large;">Tonglen Practice: Stage One </span></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LiZSlPrZwNQ/VjSi0-GQ42I/AAAAAAAAIL4/negFEPudk4o/s1600/Staccoto_Lightning.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="448" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LiZSlPrZwNQ/VjSi0-GQ42I/AAAAAAAAIL4/negFEPudk4o/s320/Staccoto_Lightning.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>
<b>What
I just did, actually, was the initial stage of formal Tonglen Practice as
taught by Pema Chodron and others. In the terminology used in her tradition, I "flashed on absolute bodhichitta." </b></p><p><b>Although
that sounds pretty esoteric, it's actually pretty simple. I paused and
consciously got in touch with what Pema Chodron sometimes calls "the gap." I
turned my attention to the present moment and relaxed into the open space that presents itself between and
beyond thoughts. </b></p><p><b>To do this, I simply paused, took a deep breath, and focused my attention on something besides the ongoing prattle of thoughts that habitually take center stage in the play of my waking
consciousness. I noticed the sensations of my breathing and my body. Then I noticed what my eyes were seeing in the room around me, what my ears were hearing. Rather than </b><b>remain lost in my thoughts, </b><b>I came to my senses</b><b> to get more fully in touch with the present moment.</b><br />
<br />
<b>Although
the ease with which I can usually get in touch with this open, spacious
quality of
consciousness has been cultivated by a lot of time spent in formal
meditation, the experience of Open Awareness isn't all that uncommon.
You see it in kids all the time. They are often Present in a way that most of us adults aren't.</b><br />
<br />
<b>I'm convinced, though, that even in adulthood, we each have such
moments in the midst of our day to day lives. These moments of Presence can emerge spontaneously. Have you ever noticed the moment that the
refrigerator compressor motor stops whining in the background, or when we
turn off the radio or television. In that instant, there is a shift. Something eases. <i>A perceptible sense of
spaciousness emerges</i>. <br /></b></p><p><b>For many of us, a walk outside (or even just
looking out the window) can bring about this shift. The sights and sounds of the world draw us out. This happens easily as the sun paints the sky in majestic colors at
sunrise or sunset. Yet, it can also happen as a garbage truck goes growling
down the street. If we aren't too mired in our own habitual tendency to be lost in thought, our self-created bubble pops and,<i> in a
flash</i>, we are Present in a qualitatively different way. </b></p><p><b>With
Practice our ability to connect with and sustain this quality of
consciousness increases. Our Connection to this sense of spaciousness
becomes the foundation of our ability to embrace and work
with the energies of our difficult and challenging emotions through
Tonglen Practice. Although Pema Chodron mentions "flashing" this open
awareness
briefly as the formal first stage of this meditation practice, these
days she actually recommends beginning
and ending a 15 minute period of formal Tonglen with periods of
Basic Sitting Practice. <br /></b></p><p><b>That makes sense to me. </b><b>In this, she is much gentler in her
expectations
than her teacher, Chogyam Trungpa. Being an American, I think she gets
us a bit better. Trungpa expected his students to just "flash on
ultimate bodhichitta" for a moment, then do 30
minutes of straight Tonglen, consciously bringing to mind gnarly events in our lives and the lives of others that elicit "negative" feelings in each meditation session. </b></p><p><b>Yikes.<br /></b></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Stage Two </b><br />
</span><b><br /></b>
<b>The second stage of formal practice involves two visualizations. </b><b><b>On the in-breath, we draw into our hearts the energies of suffering and
its causes. The fear, pain, anger, jealousy, sense of lack, etc. that
emerge from ego-clinging and its habitual fixations is visualized as black, hot,
solid, heavy, and claustrophic on the in-breath. </b>During the
out-breath, we visualize the textures of our kindness and caring as white light, fresh, clear and cool,
and radiate them into space in all directions from your heart. Although
when I first heard this particular technique presented by Ram Dass back in the early 70's, it didn't compute. For the past 18 tears, I've increasingly found this to be a
useful way to work with emotional energy. <br /></b></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Stage Three </b></span><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mVdDVG2xdH0/X8KR5-bTv-I/AAAAAAAAL-c/ZkYGCfMmL3IdM-UXadExOqO4UQHjPNTFgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/BreatheItAll.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="363" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mVdDVG2xdH0/X8KR5-bTv-I/AAAAAAAAL-c/ZkYGCfMmL3IdM-UXadExOqO4UQHjPNTFgCLcBGAsYHQ/w320-h363/BreatheItAll.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></div><b>The
third stage of formal Tonglen Practice is to bring to mind someone specific who we
sense is suffering. Connecting with our intention to relieve their
suffering, we are instructed to draw the emotional energies of their
suffering into our heart on the in-breath. Connecting with our heart,
we then send
them relief, healing, kindness, or even imagining sending them something
tangible ( a warm piece of pie, etc.) on the out-breath. </b><b><b>Some teachers advise visualizing that person as being whole, perfect and healed in the light of the energy we are sending them.</b> The specific person that you choose as the focus can be someone you know well or, perhaps, even a stranger on the street. </b><p></p><p><b>The specific focus of this stage of Tonglen can be yourself, as well. In fact, one of the Lojong slogans recommends <i>beginning</i>
this practice with yourself. You are guided to draw in and open to the
emotional energies of your own fear, disappointment, frustration, sorrow, etc., on
the in-breath. From the expansiveness of this opening, you can then
release and radiate a sense of relief and healing on the out-breath.
I've found this to be profoundly healing. It continues to allow me to
melt away that moment's "negativity," as well as continue to soften the
scar tissue of past wounds. It allows me to re-connect with the open,
accepting, spaciousness of an open heart.</b></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Stage Four </b></span><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>In the fourth stage of tonglen, we are guided to expand the focus.
After
bringing to mind a specific person's plight, we widen our gaze to
include all persons experiencing a similar situation or set of
emotions. As your vision expands, you can readily see that there are
numerous people experiencing what you or another specific person are
going through. In fact, this realization, and the willingness to
include others as the recipients of our concern, can be healing in
itself. This stage continues as you then expand your focus to include all
sentient beings throughout time and space.<br /></b></p><p><b>I've found
that it is quite helpful to move back and forth between
the formal stages of Tonglen Practice, to re-connect more deeply with a
basic sense of openness, or to work with the stage two visualizations.
It can also be helpful to move back to the third stage of a specific
focus when the notion of "all sentient beings' becomes too conceptual in
the fourth stage and looses its energy. <br /></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: large;">One Step at a Time </span><br /></b></p><p><b>It
is important to be gentle with yourself as you explore Tonglen
Practice. Take your time. At the beginning -- and even after you've
worked with this technique for quite awhile -- there are times that </b><b>the
emotional energies
encountered may seem too overwhelming. If this happens, and you are
unable to find or maintain the expansiveness of an open mind and an open
heart, just let go of tonglen and return to Basic Sitting Practice for
awhile. This work is not a hundred yard dash, it's a marathon. It is
important to be patient with yourself. </b></p><p><b>When you're ready, you will be
able to feel a particular emotional
energy in it's full intensity. This sometimes involves tears. Just
continue breathing through them. They will pass. Your intention to
release yourself and others from the grasp of suffering will draw forth
the energy of an open heart. Whether this is simply "imagining" or real
(as if there
is actually a absolute difference between those two), Tonglen Practice has a
great value. I've found that over the years, </b><b>more and more, I
am able to access the clarity, expansiveness, and warmth of an open
heart and an open mind. There, in the embrace of the compassionate
awareness that is our human birthright, </b><b>I am embraced by the One Love that permeates the universe. There, a transmutation of energy occurs. Healing happens. <br /></b><b><br /></b>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Tonglen on the Spot </span></b><br />
<br />
<b>Although
formal Tonglen Practice on the zafu is extremely
worthwhile, I've found that its greatest practical value emerges in the
reality of day to day life. I first learned Tonglen "on the spot" in 2005 at a retreat led by the venerable
environmental activist and Buddhist <a href="https://www.joannamacy.net/" target="_blank">Joanna Macy</a> a few months before I
came across it again in the teachings of Pema Chodron. </b><br />
<br />
<b>Although I was
amazed by Macy's teachings and many of the guided meditations and exercises I
experienced that week, "tonglen on the spot ," was the main take away for
me. She advised us to simply breathe in any "disturbing" emotions as they
emerged during the day and breathe out a sense of relief and healing. This seemed like something I could
readily use in the day to day life. <br /></b></p><p><b>I immediately engaged it the day after the
retreat as I was waiting in a long line at the supermarket. Noticing my
own frustration and restless emerge, noticing it in others, I
immediately began to breath those feelings into my heart, connect with
my aspiration to relieve the suffering involved, and breathed out a
sense of relief and ease. It certainly changed my experience of the
situation quickly. As I relaxed, my sense of humor returned. I was
able to come up with a quick, quip about our "plight,"-- and the energy
shifted. Folks loosened up. In the long journey toward Universal
Peace, it's one step at a time. It all counts.</b><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>And Now... </b></span><br />
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CgFlPx3aftQ/VjSeG2iFFII/AAAAAAAAILg/Q-ql0rW1U4g/s1600/cloudheart.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="460" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CgFlPx3aftQ/VjSeG2iFFII/AAAAAAAAILg/Q-ql0rW1U4g/s320/cloudheart.jpg" width="384" /></a></b></div><p>
<b><b>At this point, Tonglen has become quite automatic much of the
time. As I sense suffering, either my own fear, disappointment, frustration, pain,
</b>humiliation, or that of others, I often remember immediately to let go of the
narratives and story lines that habitually arise, and get in touch with,
and breathe in, the darker
emotional energies emerging in my body. As my chest expands, my heart opens. </b><br />
<br />
<b>Through
Practice, I've learned to trust my body and it's process. There, in the
Heart of Hearts that we all share, these energies can and will be transmuted. </b><br />
<b>This certainly seems to make my life -- and the lives of those I encounter -- a lot easier these days.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>It just takes Practice.</b></p><p><b>Originally posted, October 2015. Revised. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">(<i>As I was revising this post and preparing to send it along, I received the latest Lion's Roar online <a href="https://mailchi.mp/lionsroar.com/meditation-resolutions-94128?e=38f5d32251" target="_blank">newsletter</a>. It was entitled</i> <a href="https://mailchi.mp/lionsroar.com/meditation-resolutions-94128?e=38f5d32251" target="_blank">"Cultivate Your Compassion with Tonglen Meditation! </a> If you're interested in learning more about this valuable practice, it contains links to articles by Pema Chodron, Judy Lief, and Carla Beharry and announces an on-line course by Judy Lief. I love the synchronicity! </span></b></p><p><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">There is also a brief (11:41) audio <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x95ltQP8qQ" target="_blank">Guided Tonglen Meditation by Pema Chodron</a> on YouTube which you may find helpful. <br /></span></b></p><p> </p>Lance Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18174480565578669357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650114323461268088.post-33104535887625676992023-01-20T18:13:00.009-05:002023-01-21T22:24:14.388-05:00A Good Cry<div style="text-align: right;"><b>“Crying is one of the highest devotional songs. One who knows
crying, knows spiritual practice. If you can cry with a pure heart,
nothing else compares to such a prayer. Crying includes all the
principles of Yoga.”
</b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>―
Swami Kripalvanandji</b></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>“In the Lakota/Sioux tradition, a person who is grieving is considered </b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>most <i>Wakan,</i> most holy."</b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>―
<span class="authorOrTitle">
Tara Brach</span></b><span id="quote_book_link_13642985"><b> </b></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span id="quote_book_link_13642985"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span id="quote_book_link_13642985"><b>"Blessed be those who mourn, for they will be comforted."</b></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span id="quote_book_link_13642985"><b>-- Yogi Jesus of Nazareth<br /></b></span></div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SDC2cia0Cpo/YWGj9XLkBAI/AAAAAAAAMaI/LdiplluW3wUIh_Gcwk2Uo06Pz6B0XvmqACLcBGAsYHQ/s1197/EmmettLarge2.jpg" style="clear: center; float: center; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="624" data-original-width="1197" height="334" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SDC2cia0Cpo/YWGj9XLkBAI/AAAAAAAAMaI/LdiplluW3wUIh_Gcwk2Uo06Pz6B0XvmqACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h334/EmmettLarge2.jpg" width="580" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Emmett Kelly 1898 - 1979</b></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Some
time ago, I came across the quote by Swami Kripalvanandji cited above. I immediately emailed it to a dear friend who was having
a rough time.</b>
</div></div><div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>She called me later to tell me it helped -- a lot. After reading it, she immediately headed out
to her garden to have a good cry. She said it was exactly what she needed. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Big Boys (Girls) <i>Don't</i> Cry</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Growing
up in contemporary society, most of us have learned to avoid crying
like the
plague. Widely seen as a sign of unacceptable weakness and
frailty, we are conditioned to keep a stiff upper lip, to steel
ourselves against this natural expression of heartfelt feeling.
Although this conditioning is considered to be a "male," thing, most of
the women I k</b><b>now often fight back their tears as well. <br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>(Strain's of the Four Seasons singing "Big <i>Girls</i> Don't Cry-yay-yay"just ran through my inner iPod) <br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Hmmmm. Maybe I shouldn't plunge ahead here. Although I'm an amateur
and would never charge for just sitting still with folks and comparing notes on our experiences with Mindfulness Practice, </b><b><b><b>I might get sued by the Commercial Mindfulness Cartel. </b></b></b><b><b>Although
the pro's may give a nod to Buddha's first noble truth, that suffering
is baked into the human condition, they tend to skip right ahead to
Buddha's Third Noble Truth: the<i> Cessation</i> of Suffering. </b>You don't see any glitzy promotional commercials proclaiming:</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Mindfulness Practice: Guaranteed to Make You Cry! </b><b> </b><b><b> </b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><b>It might be bad for business.</b> <br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>And yet...<br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://www.mondaymorningmindfulness.net/2023/01/a-good-cry.html#more" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">(READ MORE)</span></b></a><br />
<a name='more'></a><b>Over the years, it has become quite clear to me (and many others<span style="color: red;">*<span style="color: black;">)</span></span>: </b><b>Emotional pain doesn't <i>cause</i> suffering. It really is just what it is. It is
our conditioned <i>resistance</i> to the pain that causes suffering.
Adrift in the pervasive conditioning of today's society, we shut down. Our hearts
become closed. We lose our connection to our True Nature -- and to one another. We loose our ability to love <i>wholeheartedly.</i><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Yet
it doesn't have to be that way. With Practice, we can to learn to
face life with an open heart and clear mind. In those moments, Reality Asserts Itself.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">A Good Cry</span></b></div>
<p><b></b></p><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Pain,
sorrow, and grief will naturally emerge as we open to and embrace the
infinite
permutations of Life and Death that are inherent in the human
condition. Yet, most of us have been conditioned to shield our hearts.
Our
hearts become armored with layers of unexpressed pain, anger, and fear.
These calcified emotions tend to generate
and thrive on story lines full of blame and judgment. This energy fuels
the cycle of violence. It's why we are in the mess we are in today. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Yet, it doesn't have to be that way. Over time, with courage, gentle effort, and patience, we can move past this conditioning. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-adZWhiKUB6s/Vq6Qsy0tSUI/AAAAAAAAIdc/dpghhUCnGLM/s1600/tutucry.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="375" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-adZWhiKUB6s/Vq6Qsy0tSUI/AAAAAAAAIdc/dpghhUCnGLM/s400/tutucry.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Archbishop Desmond Tutu at Truth and Reconciliation Hearing 1996</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Ultimately,
our hearts and our bodies will respond authentically to the immediacy
of the moment -- our heart will open and honest tears of grief will flow more
readily. As they do, we may find that tears of joy and gratitude will
emerge more freely as well. Such is the path of an Awakened Heart.</b><br />
<b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Opening to the tears, accepting and embracing Life As It Is moment to moment, changes everything. </b><b><b>We
regain our fundamental Connection to ourselves, to one another, and to
the One Love that exists within and beyond all that is.</b></b><br />
<br />
<b>Opening
to the Darkness, we open to the Light! How cool is that? </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>It just takes
Practice.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<b> <span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="font-size: large;">*</span></span>
The tears I shed during the course of a five-day retreat led by the
late Stephen Levine and his wife Ondrea decades ago were among the most healing
moments of my life. </b><b><b>Levine's talent at crafting guided meditations capable of "opening the heart" was a blessing.</b> The work of the venerable teacher and activist JoAnna Macy also honed in on freeing us to heal through embracing our grief skillfully to realize our essential interdependence with all life. I'm so grateful to have lived at a time that I was able to experience her Presence up close and personal. (See </b><b><a href="http://www.mondaymorningmindfulness.net/2014/11/good-grief.html" target="_blank">Your MMM Courtesy Wake Up Call: Good Grief</a>.)</b><br />
<br />
<b><b>Originally Posted, May 15, 2015</b>. Revised. </b></div>Lance Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18174480565578669357noreply@blogger.com2