Thursday 2 September 2010

Acceptance is one of the most important pieces of the practise, and I have tried to explain my understanding of it, but, as my practise goes on, my understanding deepens, and I hope to share with you my thoughts.  Aside from the cutting away of the ego, it might be best to explain it with as much subject/object as possible so that it is accessable to as many as possible.

I read recently a book by Edward de Bono (the person who originated the term lateral thinking) in it he suggests human beings are naturally agressive and greedy; if we add in ignorant as well we have the classic '3 poisons'.

If we can accept this though, not just about others but about ourselves, life becomes a lot easier.

Please contact me if you would like to discuss this further.

19th August 2010

Mindfulness with an object can seem hard to begin with.  After what might be the honeymoon period of just learning to relax, having to focus can seem like torture.  It is essential however to go through that.  With mindfulness practise we are constantly trying to cut the bonds which bind us.  We are looking for true freedom, true happiness and trying to let go or accept all experiences that arise in the mind. We are trying to respond to our environment more than just react to it.  The focus needed with the use of the object can be transferred to other events which arise and can help us to respond more appropriately.  This in turn should allow us to be happier and spread more happiness. I will talk more about this on another entry, for now though, please try to keep up with your practise.

27th June 2010

Mindfulness is only one small part of the whole picture, even though it can be an almost endless pursuit.  There are so many other factors to develop also.  Some of you may have heard me talking about things such as discipline, patience, generosity, diligence and concentration.  Today I would like to share some thoughts on wisdom.  According to many highly accomplished teachers all these things are needed to develop a completely peaceful mind.  Wisdom has many different aspects, although we tend to think of it as something learnt from a book, there are many other ways of developing it.  Most of us recognise that life itself is wisdom.  Do we actually learn from it though?  One of my teachers always talks about how we walk in circles, mostly habitual events in our life.  We get to the end of the circle (of a negative habit) sometimes in despair wondering why these things happen to us constantly.

  Before we can evaluate it and learn from it though, we get caught up in it again.  Mindfulness gives us some space to evaluate daily (if you have a daily practise).  There are times when we go beyond the breath watching practise alone and integrate reflection.  This is a small part of our effort towards gaining more wisdom.

  Please allow some time today and every day for some mindfulness.

19th June 2010

How often do we go through life only seeing our own version of it?  It is very rare to be able to see your own version, that of those around you and the impact that these different views can have on further events.  Normally this is because we are living our life so fast we do not have enough time to process all the information.  Mindfulness slows things down and gives you space.  The regular practice of mindfulness gives you regular breaks from the the constant barrage of information and sensory input.  This can help us to make more rounded decisions of all the events in our lives and those we interact with.  There might be less times when we mis-understand events around us or when we become confused or over-emotional.  If we feel a situation may be out of our control it is good to just stop for a moment and focus on the breath/senses/present moment without judging for a few moments and see what happens.

2 June 2010

During times of great hardship or stress it can be difficult to not only find time to practise meditation, but also to find peace in our life.  This is why we should try as often as possible to create a mind that can automatically turn to patience.  By cultivating a sense of patience as often as possible in as many situations as possible we can become better at enduring some of the things which upset our mind.  It isn't easy to do, but the more you practise, the more the mind will naturally view all events with calm understanding.  This may help not just the meditation periods, but our overall handling of difficult times.

Wednesday 19 May 2010

Happiness is the true heart of the meditation.  Mindfulness is just one aspect of how we can accomplish a happier state of being.  We try not to stir the pot up to much.  Our thoughts and emotions can be stirred up almost by the second when we have many other things going on around us.  Things to do, places to be, engaging in the host of daily activities we think we have to do.  Although we cannot always give up these things in life, we must maintain a sense of reponsibility, although for some small part of the day, maybe we can try to just sit without engaging for some time.  This can have an amasingly freeing effect on the mind and maybe bring about a little happiness.

Monday 3 May 2010

There are many different aspect of our life we try to change, some we think are good, some we think are bad.  These aspects of our life have no real good or bad in the ultimate sense, although we experience them in a physical everyday way presently.  Mindfulness practises can sometimes bring us closer to a judgemental place as we slow down from everyday hectic life.  Try to accept everything that comes when you are sitting in meditation without any judgement though.  Use what is shown to you by your mind as an instruction on how to live your life from this moment onwards.  Remember to talk to others who meditate regularly, or even better a meditation master to maintain a correct path.  Finish all sessions with a heartfelt wish:

May all beings be truly happy and free from suffering.  May all beings never have their true happiness taken from them and may they be able to live a balanced life without attachment to some and aversion to others.