We are often run by our thoughts, emotions and bodily sensations which are usually based in an egoic identity. Our attachment to these patterns gives rise to the person we believe our self to be and how we speak and act with ourselves and others. Have you ever entertained the possibility that these patterns and responses are only a conditioned version of who you are? They are cultural agreements about what self is and how to respond to life. What resides beyond these boarders of habits and attachments?
Contemplation allows one time to be with oneself and to reflect. To ponder upon our life, its meaning and direction, who we believe our self to be, our actions, speech and reactions, the nature of reality or simply a new idea or spiritual concept. Contemplation is a time to sit with grievances and injustices and allow for clarity, forgiveness and resolution so we can move forward. We bare witness to the places in us where we are stuck, identified with certain perspectives, ideas and beliefs, or have a stance or position with life or another person. It is also a time to sit and be with pain, physical and/or emotional, and allow transformation, rather than feeling victimized to the repetitive pattern and its voice that speaks of being unfulfilled, isolated, sorrowful and sad.
For 8 years I have been present with intense and sometimes unbearable hip and body pain. It has been a process and learning to accept and be present with this physical and emotional pain. As I have honored it, I have availed myself to discovery, growth and enlightenment. The pain has illuminated me, motivated me, been an agent of immense healing, helped me become more conscious, kind, loving and sensitive to others and fueled my spiritual path and awakening. Pain has been my teacher. Contemplation combined with determination, patience and perseverance will transform any external or internal relationships into love, peace and acceptance.
Contemplation is like the seasons. As we sit with what is inside us, it naturally starts to change. Our relationship with our self, or whatever we are focused upon, transforms as surely as summer turns to fall. Contemplation needs time and space for this alchemy to happen like a tree needs soil to be fed, grow and stable. Without practice, contemplation’s power and value will elude us. We will continue to live our life like the movie "Ground Hog Day" falling into the same ruts mentally and emotionally over and over again never allowing change, transformation, rest and renewal.
Time to oneself is essential. Contemplation balances one mentally, emotionally and energetically and gives one time to process life experiences and for the body to heal. It also allows one to discover, listen and attune to ones inner voice, intuition or spirit, and develop clarity, discernment and wisdom. Some discover this jewel and others miss it altogether, using the excuse that "I don't have the time". Some are simply unaware of it.
As we give ourselves time to sit and be quiet, we meet the "self" we experience day in and day out in our heads. We hear the constant dialogue, habitual voices and feel the emotions and bodily sensations. We are given the opportunity to see our self clearly; what motivates us and what our emotions, thoughts and actions are rooted in. As we are present with this play of consciousness we have learned to identify with and call our self, we discover something uncanny: we are not our thoughts, past, memories nor emotions, reactions or status.
Contemplation gives one the time and space to sit with one’s mind and internal landscapes. You learn to not be dragged around by your thoughts, emotions and sensations. Instead of being a slave to them, you bear witness to them while simultaneously realizing you have a choice of how to behave. You can begin to see other possibilities beyond the egoic patterns. You develop objectivity, presence and equanimity which allow you to experience your vaster, undefined, energetic nature beyond concepts, an “I”, past, present or future.
Alchemy happens through the power of presence or awareness. Awareness effortlessly and naturally releases our hold and attachment to our habitual sense of self, our past, our opinions and reactions. Contemplation gives rise to understanding, insight, healing, reconciliation and wholeness.
As one is patient and present, one discovers a vaster, energetic, more universal sense of self from which speech and action arise from presence which knows what is needed in the moment based on the situation and circumstances. Presence is inherently loving, understanding, inclusive, kind, compassionate, fierce and firm if needed and balanced. It is not based on an "I" identity, a predictable pattern, conditioning nor the past. Presence is spontaneous, intelligent and wise. It is a whole new world from which to live and act from.
Welcome to a world where unity lives and breathes. I will meet you there.
Love,
Lisa
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Friday, June 4, 2010
Fear
What is your relationship with Fear? How do you experience it?
Most people identify with it, take it personally, and have a story or an event attached to it that gives it meaning. They don’t realize that this makes it seem real, solidifies it, and turns it into “something”, rather than experiencing it as it truly is, impersonal and a passing emotion.
Fear, like any other emotion, sensation or thought, is energy. All too often when we have a painful or scary experience we allow fear to become a part of our personality. This shapes how we see, interpret and relate to the world. Fear and its responses becomes a habit.
On a relative level, if you are holding onto fear due to past experiences or an event, your body will become hard, less flexible, agile and resilient. This tension overtime will leave you feeling drained and no longer in sync with life. You will feel disconnected, less flow energetically, vital, balanced or grounded. The vital prana, energy that circulates and sustains the physical, mental, emotional and subtle bodies, locks into a posture called "fight or flight”.
In my journey with fear, this resulted in me being less present in my body and my life. On subtle and often unconscious levels, my body became paralyzed, numb and less responsive. I felt disconnected from the lucidity, power and intelligence of my spirit. I felt dead, lifeless and empty inside. A sense of vagueness pervaded my experience of myself which was difficult to notice or pinpoint as time went on.
For many, their experience of reality before the affects of fear is long forgotten. Prolonged fear leaves individuals feeling isolated and in their own world, separate from the people and circumstances around them. The mind becomes agitated, overactive, distracted, unclear, foggy and incoherent. The mind, body and spirit become disassociated, stuck in adaptive behavior patterns and split from present day reality; no longer functioning in coordination and collaboration with the flow of life.
Survival becomes the baseline of one's existence resulting in behavior patterns like rushing, efforting, guardedness, aggression, skittishness, hyper-vigilance and many more leading one's actions. Wisdom and intuition are elusive. It's no wonder people feel unhappy, powerless and not aligned with their purpose. Our remembrance of the delight and joy of living connected to self and in concert with our spirit and the river of life is fleeting or gone.
When fear is left unresolved the body becomes addicted to certain foods and experiences that maintain its state of uptightness and disorientation. Fear becomes our unconscious set point, and we create a life of self-fulfilling prophecies that justify our fearful identity. This identity is a constellation of memories, experiences, mental and emotional as well as biochemical loops and psycho-physiological habituations that need to be released and healed. Once these energy configurations are freed they can reorganize. It's much like pushing a reset button. For many, this healing process is gradual and step by step, requiring patience and perseverance for full resolution of mind body and spirit to be experienced.
On an ultimate level, when looked at directly with awareness, fear can be seen for what it is, an emotion, a reaction, energy. This perspective liberates you from identifying with fear and being stuck in its mental, emotional and physiological responses allowing life and your relationship with it to flow. Without this view point, fear’s expressions become repetitive, habitual and who you are. When you no longer identify with fear, then this emotion is simply experienced as a passing cloud.
The nature of energy is change. When we are constantly making everything we experience solid through identifying with it and placing an "I" onto it, we forget that the nature of reality is energetic. Life becomes a mirage. We think we see a snake when it is simply a rope. We attach solidity onto that which is impermanent. When our relationship to fear is one of flow, then fear is demystified and becomes simply one of the many emotions in the play of life.
I invite you all to reexamine your relationship with fear, open yourself and see it beyond the habit of identifying with it and making it personal. Come to enjoy and experience it as it truly is. When one is not interpreting life constantly through the dualistic mind, of "I", likes, dislikes, rejecting, resisting, grasping, labeling, then one is free to experience the beauty of the constantly changing nature of reality.
Life is energy. May you come to know and experience life as it truly is and respond to life circumstances from that place? I welcome you into a world beyond the limitations of perceptions, ideas, opinions, labels, judgments, and objects including you and me, where the underlying nature of all phenomena is energy. When you remove all barriers and perceived separations you find that life is energy expressing itself in all its variety of forms, shapes, sizes and manifestations.
Love,
Lisa
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Most people identify with it, take it personally, and have a story or an event attached to it that gives it meaning. They don’t realize that this makes it seem real, solidifies it, and turns it into “something”, rather than experiencing it as it truly is, impersonal and a passing emotion.
Fear, like any other emotion, sensation or thought, is energy. All too often when we have a painful or scary experience we allow fear to become a part of our personality. This shapes how we see, interpret and relate to the world. Fear and its responses becomes a habit.
On a relative level, if you are holding onto fear due to past experiences or an event, your body will become hard, less flexible, agile and resilient. This tension overtime will leave you feeling drained and no longer in sync with life. You will feel disconnected, less flow energetically, vital, balanced or grounded. The vital prana, energy that circulates and sustains the physical, mental, emotional and subtle bodies, locks into a posture called "fight or flight”.
In my journey with fear, this resulted in me being less present in my body and my life. On subtle and often unconscious levels, my body became paralyzed, numb and less responsive. I felt disconnected from the lucidity, power and intelligence of my spirit. I felt dead, lifeless and empty inside. A sense of vagueness pervaded my experience of myself which was difficult to notice or pinpoint as time went on.
For many, their experience of reality before the affects of fear is long forgotten. Prolonged fear leaves individuals feeling isolated and in their own world, separate from the people and circumstances around them. The mind becomes agitated, overactive, distracted, unclear, foggy and incoherent. The mind, body and spirit become disassociated, stuck in adaptive behavior patterns and split from present day reality; no longer functioning in coordination and collaboration with the flow of life.
Survival becomes the baseline of one's existence resulting in behavior patterns like rushing, efforting, guardedness, aggression, skittishness, hyper-vigilance and many more leading one's actions. Wisdom and intuition are elusive. It's no wonder people feel unhappy, powerless and not aligned with their purpose. Our remembrance of the delight and joy of living connected to self and in concert with our spirit and the river of life is fleeting or gone.
When fear is left unresolved the body becomes addicted to certain foods and experiences that maintain its state of uptightness and disorientation. Fear becomes our unconscious set point, and we create a life of self-fulfilling prophecies that justify our fearful identity. This identity is a constellation of memories, experiences, mental and emotional as well as biochemical loops and psycho-physiological habituations that need to be released and healed. Once these energy configurations are freed they can reorganize. It's much like pushing a reset button. For many, this healing process is gradual and step by step, requiring patience and perseverance for full resolution of mind body and spirit to be experienced.
On an ultimate level, when looked at directly with awareness, fear can be seen for what it is, an emotion, a reaction, energy. This perspective liberates you from identifying with fear and being stuck in its mental, emotional and physiological responses allowing life and your relationship with it to flow. Without this view point, fear’s expressions become repetitive, habitual and who you are. When you no longer identify with fear, then this emotion is simply experienced as a passing cloud.
The nature of energy is change. When we are constantly making everything we experience solid through identifying with it and placing an "I" onto it, we forget that the nature of reality is energetic. Life becomes a mirage. We think we see a snake when it is simply a rope. We attach solidity onto that which is impermanent. When our relationship to fear is one of flow, then fear is demystified and becomes simply one of the many emotions in the play of life.
I invite you all to reexamine your relationship with fear, open yourself and see it beyond the habit of identifying with it and making it personal. Come to enjoy and experience it as it truly is. When one is not interpreting life constantly through the dualistic mind, of "I", likes, dislikes, rejecting, resisting, grasping, labeling, then one is free to experience the beauty of the constantly changing nature of reality.
Life is energy. May you come to know and experience life as it truly is and respond to life circumstances from that place? I welcome you into a world beyond the limitations of perceptions, ideas, opinions, labels, judgments, and objects including you and me, where the underlying nature of all phenomena is energy. When you remove all barriers and perceived separations you find that life is energy expressing itself in all its variety of forms, shapes, sizes and manifestations.
Love,
Lisa
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Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Impermanance
Coming into direct experience with reality, one realizes that life is impermanent in all its manifestations, whether it’s one’s internal experiences or in regards to situations, circumstances or objects. Impermanence reveals that life's manifestations are a play of energies and patterns that arise from the one true, constant ground of energy called love by some or emptiness/bliss by others. Life is truly like a flowing river.
As the saying goes, one never steps in the same river twice. This is the truth of impermanence. We actually live in an energetic reality that is constantly shifting and changing if we release the habit of creating a self, an” I”. As the mind opens we remember this truth and emanate and embody it in our living; rather than falling into the habit of identifying with all the internal content which then perceives life as solid, fixed and predictable. This creates suffering. The wisest approach to life is to realize and awaken to this truth, moving internally and externally with its constant flow.
Our thoughts, feelings, sensations, emotions, identities and experiences are an endless expression of patterns and the one unchanging energy of life “love” or “emptiness/bliss” or “luminosity”. Our minds have been trained to fixate on what we experience or see, believing it to be all that is real and all that exists rather than as it truly is; a passing pattern or thought. This approach has us believing and experiencing life as unchanging and rigid. You often hear people say “this is who I am” or “this is the way it is” failing to recognize they are only expressing a fixation of their mind; a reflection of their training and an attachment to a perception.
The quality of flowing with what we are experiencing is vital to our sense of well-being. Imagine doing this with conflicts or emotions or what you perceive as problems. How would that affect your quality of life? We all too often have or have seen people with a fixed sense of self or identity struggle, fight, try to change, or make things happen. This results in people feeling emotionally frustrated and/or disappointed unaware that these emotions are simply feedback of our approach, our perception that is not effective. We have come as a culture to accept these emotions as a constant part of human experience which preclude a vast range of emotional possibilities like ecstasy, bliss, joy, gratitude, appreciation to name a few. People are attached to their beliefs and perceptions unwittingly creating their own misery allowing no solutions or answers to be revealed that would create ease, peace, well-being, harmony and unity with life.
Often people feel afraid when they hear or experience the impermanence of reality. It’s disconcerting to the ego, and to the mind that thinks it knows, and thinks life is predictable. This is natural and only an experience upon your path, a veil to go through. As you stay present with the fear, the joy, the freedom and love of being one with life is revealed. You are connected with the essential flow of life, rather than being in your head and imposing on life how it should be.
Impermanence is the true nature of all phenomena in reality, whether it is what is happening inside of us in the form of thoughts, sensations or emotions; or externally in situations, circumstances or objects. All things come and go in their own time. In each second and moment the impermanence of life expresses itself as well as through the cycles of life: the seasons, phases of the moon and stages of our own life. Within those cycles, each moment, when seen with awareness, is alive and new.
Life is like a dance. Wisdom realizes and is awake to this fundamental truth of life’s impermanence contributing to our sense of happiness and well-being.
Welcome to the true nature of reality. May you flow, dance and experience the endless flow of all phenomena in each moment overcoming the habit to make life solid.
Love,
Lisa
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As the saying goes, one never steps in the same river twice. This is the truth of impermanence. We actually live in an energetic reality that is constantly shifting and changing if we release the habit of creating a self, an” I”. As the mind opens we remember this truth and emanate and embody it in our living; rather than falling into the habit of identifying with all the internal content which then perceives life as solid, fixed and predictable. This creates suffering. The wisest approach to life is to realize and awaken to this truth, moving internally and externally with its constant flow.
Our thoughts, feelings, sensations, emotions, identities and experiences are an endless expression of patterns and the one unchanging energy of life “love” or “emptiness/bliss” or “luminosity”. Our minds have been trained to fixate on what we experience or see, believing it to be all that is real and all that exists rather than as it truly is; a passing pattern or thought. This approach has us believing and experiencing life as unchanging and rigid. You often hear people say “this is who I am” or “this is the way it is” failing to recognize they are only expressing a fixation of their mind; a reflection of their training and an attachment to a perception.
The quality of flowing with what we are experiencing is vital to our sense of well-being. Imagine doing this with conflicts or emotions or what you perceive as problems. How would that affect your quality of life? We all too often have or have seen people with a fixed sense of self or identity struggle, fight, try to change, or make things happen. This results in people feeling emotionally frustrated and/or disappointed unaware that these emotions are simply feedback of our approach, our perception that is not effective. We have come as a culture to accept these emotions as a constant part of human experience which preclude a vast range of emotional possibilities like ecstasy, bliss, joy, gratitude, appreciation to name a few. People are attached to their beliefs and perceptions unwittingly creating their own misery allowing no solutions or answers to be revealed that would create ease, peace, well-being, harmony and unity with life.
Often people feel afraid when they hear or experience the impermanence of reality. It’s disconcerting to the ego, and to the mind that thinks it knows, and thinks life is predictable. This is natural and only an experience upon your path, a veil to go through. As you stay present with the fear, the joy, the freedom and love of being one with life is revealed. You are connected with the essential flow of life, rather than being in your head and imposing on life how it should be.
Impermanence is the true nature of all phenomena in reality, whether it is what is happening inside of us in the form of thoughts, sensations or emotions; or externally in situations, circumstances or objects. All things come and go in their own time. In each second and moment the impermanence of life expresses itself as well as through the cycles of life: the seasons, phases of the moon and stages of our own life. Within those cycles, each moment, when seen with awareness, is alive and new.
Life is like a dance. Wisdom realizes and is awake to this fundamental truth of life’s impermanence contributing to our sense of happiness and well-being.
Welcome to the true nature of reality. May you flow, dance and experience the endless flow of all phenomena in each moment overcoming the habit to make life solid.
Love,
Lisa
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Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Mental Projections
The mind has unlimited power and potential. It is vast, open, spacious and luminous light in its natural state. Most only know the mind through its abilities, such as thinking, and identify with the mind's functions as themselves.
Have you ever examined the mind's capacities objectively? Some of these are thinking, creating and manifesting, imagination, visualization, logical processing and projecting. The mind is analagous to a movie projector, showing us what lives inside our heads in the form of beliefs, thoughts, viewpoints and emotions. The mind projects onto the screen of life that which it is fed.
The ability to project acts as a mirror allowing us to experience our beliefs, thoughts, viewpoints and emotions on the canvas of life. We are able to see what we are creating with our vital energy through the mind's power and ability. We are also able to see what lays hidden within us. We constantly use this precious power to project thoughts, feelings and beliefs unconsciously. However, you may use it consciously to co-create with life your truest aspirations and dreams. It requires awareness, clarity, understanding, dedication and time for reflection to master this ability and use it to its full potential.
What is inside your head? Is it a horror show one minute, a soap opera drama the next, a romantic fantasy, a self-critical sitcom, a comparing and contrasting nightmare, a litany of the past, an endless, restless chatter or complete nonsense? Or are you actualizing the true state of the mind peace, brillance, spaciousness, stillness and ecstatic, luminous emptiness? What movie do you allow on the screen of your awareness, attach and absorb your energy into, and create from? Yes, you do have power here and recognizing it is the first step.
The ability to project is inherently neither good nor bad, it responds to how we use it. Mental Projection is a creative capacity of the mind. For many, this gift and ability is unrecognized and used unwittingly. What often happens is we project onto a person or a situation what we believe reality to be. We fail to assess the person or situation clearly and come to an accurate judgement. We then create self-fulfilling prophecies, based on our historical understanding of reality, expecting and requesting life to adhere to our perspectives, and as life is generous, it does so. So what mental projections aka movies are you allowing and playing?
This power often goes unexplored. I joyfully invite you to look objectively at what you are projecting to see what belief it is originating from and to see if it is true. When you find yourself unconsciously projecting, celebrate that as an opportunity to examine your beliefs and get to know the "you" you believe yourself to be. Ask those you love if what you are projecting onto them, or onto the situation you are in, is actually true. Be willing to see things differently, from another's point of view. Often, what we think is happening and what is really happening are two different realities. Explore, ask questions and be willing to be wrong.
So to reiterate; often what we mentally project and believe about people, situations and circumstances are untrue and unconscious. When we contemplate and examine our projections, we are afforded the opportunity to perceive reality clearly and refine our ability to project. We are able to choose consciously what we would like to project rather than accepting and creating unwittingly from the reality we've given our power to.
Have fun.
Love,
Lisa
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Have you ever examined the mind's capacities objectively? Some of these are thinking, creating and manifesting, imagination, visualization, logical processing and projecting. The mind is analagous to a movie projector, showing us what lives inside our heads in the form of beliefs, thoughts, viewpoints and emotions. The mind projects onto the screen of life that which it is fed.
The ability to project acts as a mirror allowing us to experience our beliefs, thoughts, viewpoints and emotions on the canvas of life. We are able to see what we are creating with our vital energy through the mind's power and ability. We are also able to see what lays hidden within us. We constantly use this precious power to project thoughts, feelings and beliefs unconsciously. However, you may use it consciously to co-create with life your truest aspirations and dreams. It requires awareness, clarity, understanding, dedication and time for reflection to master this ability and use it to its full potential.
What is inside your head? Is it a horror show one minute, a soap opera drama the next, a romantic fantasy, a self-critical sitcom, a comparing and contrasting nightmare, a litany of the past, an endless, restless chatter or complete nonsense? Or are you actualizing the true state of the mind peace, brillance, spaciousness, stillness and ecstatic, luminous emptiness? What movie do you allow on the screen of your awareness, attach and absorb your energy into, and create from? Yes, you do have power here and recognizing it is the first step.
The ability to project is inherently neither good nor bad, it responds to how we use it. Mental Projection is a creative capacity of the mind. For many, this gift and ability is unrecognized and used unwittingly. What often happens is we project onto a person or a situation what we believe reality to be. We fail to assess the person or situation clearly and come to an accurate judgement. We then create self-fulfilling prophecies, based on our historical understanding of reality, expecting and requesting life to adhere to our perspectives, and as life is generous, it does so. So what mental projections aka movies are you allowing and playing?
This power often goes unexplored. I joyfully invite you to look objectively at what you are projecting to see what belief it is originating from and to see if it is true. When you find yourself unconsciously projecting, celebrate that as an opportunity to examine your beliefs and get to know the "you" you believe yourself to be. Ask those you love if what you are projecting onto them, or onto the situation you are in, is actually true. Be willing to see things differently, from another's point of view. Often, what we think is happening and what is really happening are two different realities. Explore, ask questions and be willing to be wrong.
So to reiterate; often what we mentally project and believe about people, situations and circumstances are untrue and unconscious. When we contemplate and examine our projections, we are afforded the opportunity to perceive reality clearly and refine our ability to project. We are able to choose consciously what we would like to project rather than accepting and creating unwittingly from the reality we've given our power to.
Have fun.
Love,
Lisa
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Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Dancing with Life through Meditation
I feel the need to begin by sharing the auspiciousness of where I am writing this. I usually send out my monthly email newsletters the beginning of the month; however, that timeframe was not flowing this month. Now that I am here, writing this in a most auspicious place, I laugh at the intelligence of life which is always present whether we are conscious of it or not. Contrary to our training, life simply asks us to be its partner, to trust and surrender to its flow, to listen and then follow through with action.
So I am participating in a Buddhist retreat at a beautiful temple in Point Richmond called the Dakini Temple where Anam Thubten, a Tibetan Rimpoche teaches. What an honor, privilege and synchronistic that I am writing during the lunch break on meditation, immersed in the energy, potency and environment of a Tibetan Master who teaches on exactly what I was intuitively guided the month previous to write about in this month’s letter. At times I was mistrusting, hearing the voices of habit in the mind, wondering when I am going to have the time to allow the message for the newsletter to flow through me, while simultaneously listening to my intuition that guided me to bring my computer today.
What a testament to intuitive living! This way of listening will lead you and bring you to places and people that will reveal their significance in the moment. Life is actually a dynamic, alive process and unfoldment. We’ve learned and been taught that the linear or rational way of living is the successful way to live and the only way. It’s predictable and lead by planning and strategizing. Intuitive living is founded on trust and surrender; listening and allowing life to unfold and lead, giving you the cues that you then can follow through with action.
In co-creating and collaborating with life the rational mind participates in the experience and is helpful, but not the sole and only leader dominating our experience. Have you ever notice how frustrating the rational or intellectual-only approach is? The rhythm of life doesn’t always align with our ideas or plans. Therefore we become like a fish out of water, flopping around wondering why we are depressed, unhappy, frustrated and struggling with life. We have forgotten to trust and surrender to life knowing our visions, aspirations and deepest heart wishes will flourish if that is our destiny in harmony with life rather than through pushing and making life meet our timing.
The fault is simply with our approach to life. We need to learn how to dance with life rather than stumble over our feet, putting our expectations, demands and timing onto life. We have simply forgotten how to listen, flow and be in harmony with the currents of life. This doesn’t mean you don’t have purpose, intention, desire or direction; rather, all that exists in concert with the flow of life and has its timing, seasons, cycles and rhythms. In remembering
this you re-learn how to partner with life effectively. Meditation helps you learn to dance with grace, power and acceptance rather than feeling tumbled, inundated and overwhelmed by life.
Yes, meditation is challenging and requires discipline and determination to commit to it and follow through with. However, I wholeheartedly encourage you. The benefits and jewels you will discover make the effort well worthwhile. In my experience, meditation is a “pearl beyond price”. It allows us to see and experience the nature of our mind, its habitual ways of thinking and the affect it has on us, others and our environment. This is key, for most suffering we experience in life is self-created and unnecessary. This may sound like a lofty thought and to those whose mind is unexamined it is. Many do not even realize this simple truth. Meditation is like a lamp that shines light in a dark room. Suddenly you can see the mind illuminated. You see clearly how you operate and the affect that has. You realize that all the thoughts, emotions and bodily sensations you attach and give meaning to create your suffering.
As you examine your mind through meditation you discover that these negative effects are simply habits. You begin to see life objectively and see what is actually happening inside yourself. You are not what or who you thought you were. What starts to reveal itself is the space between the thoughts. You realize that you exist beyond thinking, emotions and perceptions. You begin to experience the witness, the one who observes the thoughts you call “you” and “your own”. You come to know that thoughts are not ultimately who you are.
With consistent practice in meditation you realize you are actually not a “self” created by the mind and the experiences of your life. You are a much vaster, indefinable, energetic being; the source from which all thoughts, emotions and bodily sensation exist, arise and dissolve into.
However, if you are attached to your thoughts and believe them to be yourself, then you don’t experience the true nature of reality, or realize that thoughts and all phenomena are impermanent. They are energy and the nature of energy is that it’s constantly changing, existing and passing away like clouds in the sky.
As one meditates, these realizations begin to dawn on you. They give you the certainty and confidence to know who you ultimately are and to master both the ingrained habits of thought and the habit of thinking that the body, thoughts, emotions, situations and circumstances are the self.
Beyond the changing nature of experiences you come into a direct realization of the changeless nature of who you are: awareness/emptiness, luminosity/emptiness, the bliss that is all of creation.
If you would like to begin to meditate, I encourage you to simply observe the breath and or the thoughts and sensations of the body or the emotions. Begin with 10 minutes a day first thing in the morning and before bedtime then notice how as you experience the benefits of the practice it takes on a momentum of it own. Sit upright with feet flat upon the floor with the back straight and away from the chair or cross legged on a cushion on the floor. For further details on how to mediate and practices open to a teacher who is qualified or a book that speaks to you. Follow the flow of life; let it lead you through your intention to the situation and circumstances that will support you in this endeavor.
May you be happy.
Love,
Lisa
To Go to my Web Site, Click HERE
So I am participating in a Buddhist retreat at a beautiful temple in Point Richmond called the Dakini Temple where Anam Thubten, a Tibetan Rimpoche teaches. What an honor, privilege and synchronistic that I am writing during the lunch break on meditation, immersed in the energy, potency and environment of a Tibetan Master who teaches on exactly what I was intuitively guided the month previous to write about in this month’s letter. At times I was mistrusting, hearing the voices of habit in the mind, wondering when I am going to have the time to allow the message for the newsletter to flow through me, while simultaneously listening to my intuition that guided me to bring my computer today.
What a testament to intuitive living! This way of listening will lead you and bring you to places and people that will reveal their significance in the moment. Life is actually a dynamic, alive process and unfoldment. We’ve learned and been taught that the linear or rational way of living is the successful way to live and the only way. It’s predictable and lead by planning and strategizing. Intuitive living is founded on trust and surrender; listening and allowing life to unfold and lead, giving you the cues that you then can follow through with action.
In co-creating and collaborating with life the rational mind participates in the experience and is helpful, but not the sole and only leader dominating our experience. Have you ever notice how frustrating the rational or intellectual-only approach is? The rhythm of life doesn’t always align with our ideas or plans. Therefore we become like a fish out of water, flopping around wondering why we are depressed, unhappy, frustrated and struggling with life. We have forgotten to trust and surrender to life knowing our visions, aspirations and deepest heart wishes will flourish if that is our destiny in harmony with life rather than through pushing and making life meet our timing.
The fault is simply with our approach to life. We need to learn how to dance with life rather than stumble over our feet, putting our expectations, demands and timing onto life. We have simply forgotten how to listen, flow and be in harmony with the currents of life. This doesn’t mean you don’t have purpose, intention, desire or direction; rather, all that exists in concert with the flow of life and has its timing, seasons, cycles and rhythms. In remembering
this you re-learn how to partner with life effectively. Meditation helps you learn to dance with grace, power and acceptance rather than feeling tumbled, inundated and overwhelmed by life.
Yes, meditation is challenging and requires discipline and determination to commit to it and follow through with. However, I wholeheartedly encourage you. The benefits and jewels you will discover make the effort well worthwhile. In my experience, meditation is a “pearl beyond price”. It allows us to see and experience the nature of our mind, its habitual ways of thinking and the affect it has on us, others and our environment. This is key, for most suffering we experience in life is self-created and unnecessary. This may sound like a lofty thought and to those whose mind is unexamined it is. Many do not even realize this simple truth. Meditation is like a lamp that shines light in a dark room. Suddenly you can see the mind illuminated. You see clearly how you operate and the affect that has. You realize that all the thoughts, emotions and bodily sensations you attach and give meaning to create your suffering.
As you examine your mind through meditation you discover that these negative effects are simply habits. You begin to see life objectively and see what is actually happening inside yourself. You are not what or who you thought you were. What starts to reveal itself is the space between the thoughts. You realize that you exist beyond thinking, emotions and perceptions. You begin to experience the witness, the one who observes the thoughts you call “you” and “your own”. You come to know that thoughts are not ultimately who you are.
With consistent practice in meditation you realize you are actually not a “self” created by the mind and the experiences of your life. You are a much vaster, indefinable, energetic being; the source from which all thoughts, emotions and bodily sensation exist, arise and dissolve into.
However, if you are attached to your thoughts and believe them to be yourself, then you don’t experience the true nature of reality, or realize that thoughts and all phenomena are impermanent. They are energy and the nature of energy is that it’s constantly changing, existing and passing away like clouds in the sky.
As one meditates, these realizations begin to dawn on you. They give you the certainty and confidence to know who you ultimately are and to master both the ingrained habits of thought and the habit of thinking that the body, thoughts, emotions, situations and circumstances are the self.
Beyond the changing nature of experiences you come into a direct realization of the changeless nature of who you are: awareness/emptiness, luminosity/emptiness, the bliss that is all of creation.
If you would like to begin to meditate, I encourage you to simply observe the breath and or the thoughts and sensations of the body or the emotions. Begin with 10 minutes a day first thing in the morning and before bedtime then notice how as you experience the benefits of the practice it takes on a momentum of it own. Sit upright with feet flat upon the floor with the back straight and away from the chair or cross legged on a cushion on the floor. For further details on how to mediate and practices open to a teacher who is qualified or a book that speaks to you. Follow the flow of life; let it lead you through your intention to the situation and circumstances that will support you in this endeavor.
May you be happy.
Love,
Lisa
To Go to my Web Site, Click HERE
Saturday, December 19, 2009
The Nature of Identification
A world of infinite possibilities, healing, vastness and more exist all the time, simultaneously, alongside the one we are living. This world lies beyond belief. For most, this reality is either unknown territory or a brief, rather than a predominant, experience.
We have been trained to perceive a certain version of reality, unaware of this truth. We live in a world inside ourselves full if ideas, concepts and identities based on past experiences, unwittingly claiming this as reality and who we are. A more honest assessment would be that we are living a self-made version of reality.
To understand this we need to understand the nature of the mind, which is to identify with what it perceives. This is a natural ability of the mind, however we are unconscious of this capacity. We have been trained to use it's power of identification to thoughts, concepts, emotions and beliefs, to resurrect a self that is solid and real. However, this tendency excludes much of reality. When the mind identifies with what passes through it's screen as a solid, real, unmoving reality, we forget that life and it's contents are impermanent as well are unaware of other realities. Life is always moving, dynamic and flowing. Therefore, we need to become conscious of the mind's ability to identify and to wield it wisely with awareness, so that we can understand that life is not solid nor static, even if we try to make it so. Most of us are unconscious of this fundamental principle of life.
We need to recognize and realize the power of the mind, and that we can direct that power consciously, like a sword. We have the power to cut through the dizzying amount of content and information that passes through it's field claiming it as a self, a me, an I, what's real and rather flow with it and discover and know our true nature and reality. When we clearly see this, we can step back from our patterned perceptions and question our identifications and mental attachments. This leaves space for us to ask ourselves if what we are experiencing inside is the ultimate truth or simply what we have unconsciously accepted and been programmed to believe is reality.
When we do this, we will awaken to the power of the mind to consciously, concisely and with skill and knowledge, discover and live in realities that lie beyond the boarders of what we think is reality. We instead will glimpse the vast, luminous, and brilliant realities of unlimited potential that exist. As in the book "The Mists of Avalon," a magical island exist beyond the mists, analogous to our limited perceptions. Only those willing to accept the possibility of worlds outside their limited perceptions can enter Avalon. True reality has many versions and dimensions. Those who understand this and become skilled mentally penetrate and pass through illusions and see them for the mists they really are. You have all that you need inside yourself to discover these terrains.
To navigate these invisible, internal realities that we are constantly absorbed in and seldom question requires presence: that part of us that is inborn, that witnesses, that can see what is truly happening objectively. There is no greater journey then to see and know what we are loyal to, what we are giving our precious power, energy and attention to. It is a noble adventure and I invite you to take a more active, conscious participation in your life rather then assuming what you think is real and is all that there is.
I encourage you to place the search light of your awareness on this capacity of the mind to identify and reveal to yourself what you are believing rather than thinking it's who you are.
May you discover and experience the preciousness of this human birth, this life, and revel in its beauty.
Have a joyous and happy holiday season.
Much love and light to you and all those who are in your life.
"Out beyond ideas of wrong doing
and right doing, there is a field.
I'll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language, even the phrase each other
doesn't make any sense." -Rumi
Love,
Lisa
We have been trained to perceive a certain version of reality, unaware of this truth. We live in a world inside ourselves full if ideas, concepts and identities based on past experiences, unwittingly claiming this as reality and who we are. A more honest assessment would be that we are living a self-made version of reality.
To understand this we need to understand the nature of the mind, which is to identify with what it perceives. This is a natural ability of the mind, however we are unconscious of this capacity. We have been trained to use it's power of identification to thoughts, concepts, emotions and beliefs, to resurrect a self that is solid and real. However, this tendency excludes much of reality. When the mind identifies with what passes through it's screen as a solid, real, unmoving reality, we forget that life and it's contents are impermanent as well are unaware of other realities. Life is always moving, dynamic and flowing. Therefore, we need to become conscious of the mind's ability to identify and to wield it wisely with awareness, so that we can understand that life is not solid nor static, even if we try to make it so. Most of us are unconscious of this fundamental principle of life.
We need to recognize and realize the power of the mind, and that we can direct that power consciously, like a sword. We have the power to cut through the dizzying amount of content and information that passes through it's field claiming it as a self, a me, an I, what's real and rather flow with it and discover and know our true nature and reality. When we clearly see this, we can step back from our patterned perceptions and question our identifications and mental attachments. This leaves space for us to ask ourselves if what we are experiencing inside is the ultimate truth or simply what we have unconsciously accepted and been programmed to believe is reality.
When we do this, we will awaken to the power of the mind to consciously, concisely and with skill and knowledge, discover and live in realities that lie beyond the boarders of what we think is reality. We instead will glimpse the vast, luminous, and brilliant realities of unlimited potential that exist. As in the book "The Mists of Avalon," a magical island exist beyond the mists, analogous to our limited perceptions. Only those willing to accept the possibility of worlds outside their limited perceptions can enter Avalon. True reality has many versions and dimensions. Those who understand this and become skilled mentally penetrate and pass through illusions and see them for the mists they really are. You have all that you need inside yourself to discover these terrains.
To navigate these invisible, internal realities that we are constantly absorbed in and seldom question requires presence: that part of us that is inborn, that witnesses, that can see what is truly happening objectively. There is no greater journey then to see and know what we are loyal to, what we are giving our precious power, energy and attention to. It is a noble adventure and I invite you to take a more active, conscious participation in your life rather then assuming what you think is real and is all that there is.
I encourage you to place the search light of your awareness on this capacity of the mind to identify and reveal to yourself what you are believing rather than thinking it's who you are.
May you discover and experience the preciousness of this human birth, this life, and revel in its beauty.
Have a joyous and happy holiday season.
Much love and light to you and all those who are in your life.
"Out beyond ideas of wrong doing
and right doing, there is a field.
I'll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language, even the phrase each other
doesn't make any sense." -Rumi
Love,
Lisa
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
The Power of Patience
Patience is a healing, harmonizing energy. Have you ever witnessed a mother's patience with her child or her crying baby and how it soothes? That is the very nature of this energy. It acts as a healing balm to thought, emotions and states of distress; a support in times of internal transformation and change and an agent of equanimity and balance when insight and clarity is needed.
Patience neutralizes, pacifies and transforms energies and behavioral patterns. Have you noticed the nature and force of habit patterns? They are repetitive, either conscious or unconscious, and have a momentum to them that at times can leave you feeling powerless and overwhelmed; like you have no awareness, presence or ability to direct and focus your mind, energy and actions. Your ability to be objective, grounded and consciously choose your actions will seem out of your control.
This is where the power of patience is experienced. Its beneficial essence alchemizes energies and one's experiences, acting as a life boat that can help us from sinking into the ocean of repetitive patterns.
Patience is a valuable resource that, as you learn to access it, allows you to witness the loops and circuitry of egoic patterning and habits, so that new realities and answers can emerge.
When we take an honest look inside ourselves, at our ways of thinking, emotionally relating and taking action, what is the result? Often we realize that there are many different patterns and ways of behaving that need transformation. Patience is an essential energy in assisting in change. It holds and embraces us so we can clearly see what is happening, use our intuition and respond differently.
This sounds simple, but as you examine your inner dialogue and behaviors you realize how challenging this is to apply to your ingrained, habitual patterns as well as how necessary this precious energy is in relating both to yourself and others.
Begin by simply picking one pattern that you would like to shift. Be intentional and mindful throughout the day, observing this particular pattern and, as it arises, see if you can be patient with it. Breathe. Observe your thoughts, emotions and behavioural loops, and then see what else exists in your field of awareness. Other possibilities and ways of thinking and acting will be there. Infinite possibilities exist in life, and in patterning and consciousness. We just need to become savvy and present in order to wisely direct our energies.
Practice in the grocery line while waiting for your turn or on the freeway in traffic or when you are in a rush or when some repetitive pattern emerges, rather than allowing your thoughts, body, chemistry, emotions and actions to be dominated by dis-ease energies. Practice while in line at the bank and when you notice judgements arising about someone or something. There are numerous opportunities.
Patience is a helpful energy in change, and is essential ingredient in living wellness and well-being in mind, body, emotions and spirit. It allows from simple, mundane activities to personal relating to be more fulfilling. Enjoy and have fun practicing.
Love,
Lisa
Patience neutralizes, pacifies and transforms energies and behavioral patterns. Have you noticed the nature and force of habit patterns? They are repetitive, either conscious or unconscious, and have a momentum to them that at times can leave you feeling powerless and overwhelmed; like you have no awareness, presence or ability to direct and focus your mind, energy and actions. Your ability to be objective, grounded and consciously choose your actions will seem out of your control.
This is where the power of patience is experienced. Its beneficial essence alchemizes energies and one's experiences, acting as a life boat that can help us from sinking into the ocean of repetitive patterns.
Patience is a valuable resource that, as you learn to access it, allows you to witness the loops and circuitry of egoic patterning and habits, so that new realities and answers can emerge.
When we take an honest look inside ourselves, at our ways of thinking, emotionally relating and taking action, what is the result? Often we realize that there are many different patterns and ways of behaving that need transformation. Patience is an essential energy in assisting in change. It holds and embraces us so we can clearly see what is happening, use our intuition and respond differently.
This sounds simple, but as you examine your inner dialogue and behaviors you realize how challenging this is to apply to your ingrained, habitual patterns as well as how necessary this precious energy is in relating both to yourself and others.
Begin by simply picking one pattern that you would like to shift. Be intentional and mindful throughout the day, observing this particular pattern and, as it arises, see if you can be patient with it. Breathe. Observe your thoughts, emotions and behavioural loops, and then see what else exists in your field of awareness. Other possibilities and ways of thinking and acting will be there. Infinite possibilities exist in life, and in patterning and consciousness. We just need to become savvy and present in order to wisely direct our energies.
Practice in the grocery line while waiting for your turn or on the freeway in traffic or when you are in a rush or when some repetitive pattern emerges, rather than allowing your thoughts, body, chemistry, emotions and actions to be dominated by dis-ease energies. Practice while in line at the bank and when you notice judgements arising about someone or something. There are numerous opportunities.
Patience is a helpful energy in change, and is essential ingredient in living wellness and well-being in mind, body, emotions and spirit. It allows from simple, mundane activities to personal relating to be more fulfilling. Enjoy and have fun practicing.
Love,
Lisa
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