Insights for May 2014
Hyacinth in the rain, Kona. Margaret Gervais 2014
Meditation reminder: “Don’t create suffering over the breath being too long or too short, but simply observe it without trying to control or suppress it in any way. In other words, don’t attach. As you continue, the mind will gradually lay things down and come to rest, the breath becoming lighter and lighter until it becomes so faint that it seems like it’s not there at all. All that will remain will be a one-pointed knowing. The mind has reached a state of calm.” Ajahn Chah, A Beginner’s Guide to Meditation, page 28.“
Meditation is a cognitive control exercise that enhances the ability to self-regulate your internal distractions,” Dr. Adam Gazzaley, neuroscientist at the University of California, San Francisco, in the New York Times Article, “Exercising the Mind to Treat Attention Deficits”, by Daniel Goldman, May, 12, 2014. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/05/12/exercising-the-mind-to-treat-attention-deficits/?_php=true&_type=blogs&smid=fb-nytimes&WT.z_sma=HL_ETM_20140513&bicmp=AD&bicmlukp=WT.mc_id&bicmst=1388552400000&bicmet=1420088400000&_r=2&.Grief.
Tough topic, but insights can be helpful for the journey. See my posting on grief, and revisit as I add more material: http://theinsightcenter.net/444/.
"The breath, if we let it, can anchor us to our awareness." A Beginner's Guide to Meditation, Edited by Rod Meade Sperry, pg. 1.
"So you must try to not think too much. If you do think, then do so with awareness. First, you must make your mind calm. Where there is knowing, there is no need to think. Awareness will arise in its place, and this will in turn become wisdom. The ordinary kind of thinking is not wisdom, but simply the aimless and unaware wandering of the mind, which inevitably results in agitation." Ajahn Chah, A Beginner's Guide to Meditation, Edited by Rod Meade Sperry, pg. 27.
“Compassion has to be supported by mindfulness to build tolerance.”
“Attachment: How do you know when it is unhealthy? There is suffering (when it gets sticky). Healthy attachment is OK.”
“We have roles. Do them well and let them go – they are not you. It is temporary. Who you are is spirit born into a body.” Jack Kornfield, Seattle, April 2014.
You are your own best proof! "In the end, when it comes to spiritual practice, you are your own best proof. Individual practitioners can understand from their own personal experience that practice is helping them to be more understanding, to be more open, to be more at home with others, or to have a greater sense of ease." Thupten Jingpa Langri, “Under One Umbrella” Tricycle: The Buddhist Review.
I am always interested in fear, because it can be very problematic for some people. What do you think of this take on fear? "Fear is the basic anxiety that creates separation and fixation. Fear keeps us bound to the past, to our cozy, habitual way of doing things." Daniel Naistadt, “The Money Mind” from Tricycle: The Buddhist Review.