1 September 2010

More difficulties

Something else I thought of about the benefit of difficult meditations is that by keeping on sitting through them and bringing the mind back to attention of awareness or attention of the breath, you are building an incredibly valuable skill. What you are doing is telling your mind that whatever you are experiencing mindfulness is most important. And back into life the benefits of training your mind give you strength.

This lead me to thinking about what are the qualities other than mindfulness needed to bring the mind to stillness; antidotes if you like. Forgiveness and acceptance are the obvious ones, both of oneself and others. Selflessness because of the snare of desire and the delusion of trying to maintain an identity. And paradoxically faith in oneself, that you’ll get through things. Commitment because we have responsibilities in the world and we can trust ourselves to meet those to the best of our ability, so stop worrying. Mindfulness of connectedness because that’s what makes us whole.

What do you think?

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29 August 2010

Sutras of Patanjali – Book IV

I thought I should finish this off. So today is the fourth section from The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali today. Part 3 focused on the results of union. Part 4 focuses on illumination.
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27 August 2010

When meditation is difficult

Meditation is neither difficult nor easy. Sometimes it feels difficult and sometimes if feels easy. I actually find meditations leading up to the full moon more difficult. And those following easier. Why is that? I’m not sure.

Anyway, when we understand that difficult meditations can awaken us to our attachments they become a very interesting tool. That thought that won’t go away is asking to be embraced. By just sitting through a thought that is disturbing us we see just what our ego is gripping onto and see its fears and delusions so much more clearly. Surely that suits our purposes very much. Where is this identity that we’re mistakenly identified with based? Is this really me? Good questions. Experience compassion towards onesself, move beyond the questions and back to just sitting in awareness.

Mind you easy meditations are just as useful too. Stillness and clarity give us a taste of what we’re working towards. Like a reflection in the window. Yet the contrast highlights that we’re still coming and going. We let the easy meditations go too.

Whatever our experience in meditation, it is just experience; nothing more nor less. Don’t hold on to either because then they’re obsessions. One of the things we’re cultivating is the continuing ability of the mind to let go from moment to moment.

Just a thought. May you live in peace.

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