Judgment Day

“The ability to observe without evaluating is the highest form of intelligence.”
― J. Krishnamurti

"Judge not and ye shall not be judged"

 ― Jesus of Nazareth

I don't the think there is any greater freedom than being Present to our lives without the distortion caused by Judgment Mind, the conditioned mental/emotional process of evaluating what we experience as bad, wrong, condemnable. 

If one is paying attention, the difference between the warm, bright, spaciousness experienced as we maintain the clarity of an open heart, and the constricted, narrow, claustrophic texture of a quality of  consciousness imbued with judgmental thoughts and feelings, is obvious.  In any one moment, it can literally be the difference between heaven and hell.

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 is felt separation and isolation from "the other" is largely built on and maintained by the thoughts and various mind states that emerge from this conditioning.  Even in it's mildest form, that of liking/disliking, it can generate thoughts and feelings that separate us from ourselves and others in any particular moment. 

It is actually quite fun to see for yourself how that plays out on the meditation cushion.  

At times, we can clearly see Judgment Mind in full blown operation.  The gracious spaciousness of mind at rest collapses as the ranting and raving and blaming of judgmental thoughts cascade across the surface of discordant feelings.  

As Practice develops, we get more adept at noticing whether we can just take a breath and put some kindness and space around that and let Judgment Mind go it's merry way-- or whether we get swept away, ultimately getting judgmental about being judgmental!  Watching the process closely, it can pretty quickly become another obvious example of the Divine Sitcom that we humanoids are capable of co-creating.

In one of those episodes, I saw how the thought  "I don't like myself." provided a wonderful opportunity to examine the experience carefully, in the lens of Mindfulness.  Letting go of that particular narrative, the experience became a kaleidoscope of momentary feelings, variations of what we might label as anger, fear, and pain.  Without the support of the storyline, these soon dissipated.  At that point, exploring the the issue of just "who" the hell it is that doesn't like "who" eventually produced wonder -- and a chuckle.

It gets to be a Hoot!

(READ MORE....A FEW TIPS ON PRACTICE)

This Season's People: In Memory of Stephen Gaskin

"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."

-- Stephen Gaskin

"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."

-- Stephen Gaskin

Stephen Gaskin (February 16, 1935 - July 1, 2014) with his wfe, Ina May

One year ago today, Stephen Gaskin passed away at age 79 at his home on the Farm, the intentional spiritual community he had helped to found in rural Tennessee in 1971.  More than anyone, Stephen's teachings informed my ideas about the nature of Reality and the work to be done during our sojourn on this planet.  (I came across the Bodhisattva Vow for the first time in The Farm's first book Hey Beatnik!)

A decade older than many of the young folks who flocked to San Francisco in the mid-sixties as part of the Psychedelic Revolution, Stephen always maintained he was more of a Beatnik than a Hippie.  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, catapulting many of us into a Collective Kensho that transformed our lives.  Claiming that they were "out to save the world," Gaskin and 50 bus loads of Hippies circled in for a landing in Tennessee to form what was, for a time, the largest commune in the world.  Although the size and structure evolved over the years, The Farm is still there.

Although I was a lightweight when it came to psychedelics, the Collective Consciousness at that point in history was so energized that even I had a number of compelling out of body experiences, saw aura's, experienced powerful moments of synchronicity and telepathy and, ultimately, had an experience of Perfect Oneness that fulfilled my deepest aspirations and dispelled any fundamental fear about death -- all without drugs in my system at the time.  (Although, admittedly, I also had some very wonderful moments while under --or perhaps, over --the influence of various medicinal herbs and compounds back in the day.)
(READ MORE)

Day by Day: A Few Tips on Daily Practice

 “The gift of learning to meditate is the 

greatest gift you can give yourself in this lifetime.” 

-- Sogyal Rinpoche

“When we are mindful, deeply in touch with the present moment,
our understanding of what is going on deepens, and we begin to be
filled with acceptance, joy, peace and love.”
― Thich Nhat Hạnh

I would say that 90% of the folks who have wandered into one of the Mindfulness Circles I facilitate have already tried mediation.  Comparing notes on Practice, most of those folks have expressed that there was an obvious improvement in the quality of their consciousness --and in their lives -- during the times that they practiced, but they had been unable to maintain a regular daily practice.

Sound familiar?

The inability to maintain a daily practice is, I think, quite widespread.  It's fun to see a newcomer to the Circle mention, often somewhat sheepishly, that they hadn't been successful in establishing and sustaining a daily practice, only to discover when I ask for a show of hands, that everyone there has had -- or continues to have -- that same experience.

It only stands to reason.  The entire thrust of our social conditioning operates against sitting still in silence.  Taking the time to notice what is actually going on in our mind and heart in the present moment isn't widely supported.  Creatures of habit, we are individually and collectively awash in habitual patterns of noise, stimulation, and activity, often feeling stressed and fatigued.  Sometimes aware of a subtle, or not so subtle, discontent with ourselves and our lives, we race on yearning for it to be different.

The Good News is that it can.
(READ MORE)

The Real Revolution

I believe that the Real Revolution isn't about violence.  It's about the cultivation of love, wisdom and compassion in our individual lives -- and in the world.  I'm grateful that I'm not alone in seeing that.

Last year at this time, I attended one of the early meetings of the Refuge Recovery group in Oklahoma City as they shared their first reading from the newly published book, Refuge Recovery. The book's author and Dharma Punx founder of the Against the Stream Society, Noah Levine, Rocks!  Although his teaching is geared toward those recovering from drug addiction and alcoholism, I believe it's relevant to all of us.  In this modern world where most of us are addicted to the attitudes and behaviors promoted by a highly materialistic and individualistic culture, Levine is talking Real Revolution!

Since several people have asked me recently about his incredibly insightful and valuable addition to Dharma Practice in the context of recovery from addiction, I'm reprinting last year's post about Noah Levine's work-- and adding information on local Refuge Recovery weekly sitting groups. 

I'm also adding a directory of other sitting groups in the Pioneer Valley to the MMM Website and would encourage folks here -- and elsewhere -- to seek out a local group to meditate with on a regular basis.  If you can't find one, start one.  It's how the Revolution happens!    
One Love, 
Lance

  

You Say You Want a Revolution?

First published, June 12, 2014. Revised.

“We have the ability to effect a great positive change in the world, starting with the training of our own minds and the overcoming of our deluded conditioning. Waking up is not a selfish pursuit of happiness; it is a revolutionary stance from the inside out, 
for the benefits of all beings in existence.”
― Noah Levine, Against the Stream: A Buddhist Manual for Spiritual Revolutionaries

"There's a rebel within you.  It is the part of you that already knows how to break free from fear and unhappiness.  This rebel is the voice of your own awakened mind.  
It's your rebel Buddha, the clear intelligence that resists the status quo."

― Dzochen Ponlop, The Rebel Buddha

Noah Levine

My brother Hal and I played a doubleheader Wednesday evening.  After sitting with the Prairie Wind Sangha at Windsong Innerspace, we stayed around to sit with Refuge Recovery, a nascent OKC group inspired by the teachings and work of Buddhist teacher Noah Levine, the self-described "Dharma Punk" founder of Against the Stream Meditation Society.  

It made this old hippie/yippie child of the 60's heart glow.  

I came across the work of Noah Levine a couple of years ago and got my hands of a copy of Meditate and Destroy, a documentary film featuring his life -- and his life's work with incarcerated youth and drug addicts in Los Angeles.  As the old saying goes, "it takes one to know one."  
(READ MORE)