We are Called

    “In Europe there is a long tradition of telling, during long train journeys, one’s whole life story to complete strangers. It allows the heart to ruminate on matters we are fearful of broaching in the company of those it may concern.” David Whyte, “The Heart Aroused. Poetry and the Preservation of the Soul in Corporate America.” Crown Business, 2002.

    Now that to me sounds like a beautiful, meaningful adventure, for both storyteller and rapt listener. But in our present culture, honest meaningful self-disclosure and deep listening seems like a rare & precious gift - mostly found in highly-skilled psychotherapists' offices.

    “That which is threatening to the ego is liberating for the heart.” Amaro Bhikkhu

    “The human mind (ego) was not designed by evolutionary forces for finding truth. It was designed for finding advantage.” Albert Szent-Györgyi, Nobel laureate 

    Indeed, our usual way of being - perceiving, thinking, speaking & behaving - is more or less adversarial & at best transactional. Most of us are unconsciously trapped in primitive survival mode - not life but ego survival: opinions, status, popularity, influence, etc, resulting in at best shallow 'ordinary unhappiness.' While struggling to keep (our ego) from drowning, we cannot hear the gentle call of our heart towards truth.

    And yet, some of us can sense a great, wise, unconditionally loving force always subtly inviting us back to our authentic Self. Saints, mystics, artists, writers & poets are this force's messengers.

     Like we from time to time, Frodo finds himself desperately overwhelmed and understandably, just wants to back out of a dire situation, in the movie, "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” 2001 (Prime Video).
    Frodo: “I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.” 

    But Gandalf, the wise old wizard reminds Frodo - and all of us - of our vital role in the greater scheme of things.
    Gandalf: “So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring. In which case, you were also meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought.” 

“Your task is not to foresee the future,
but to enable it.”             Antoine de Saint-Exupery 

    These are dark times and each one of us is being called to remember & embody the very best in us! This involves: being aware of who & what is right here in front of us right now, sensing what is needed, and wisely, lovingly nurturing so that we may all collectively flourish.

    “It is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing. It is not how much we give, but how much love we put in the giving.” Mother Teresa

    “Were one asked to characterize (spiritual life) in the broadest & most general terms possible, one might say that it consists of the belief that there is an unseen order, and our supreme good lies in harmoniously adjusting ourselves thereto.” ​William James,​ ​“The Varieties of Religious Experience"

“There is a light in this world,
a healing spirit more powerful
than any darkness we may encounter.
We sometimes lose sight of this force
when there is suffering, too much pain.
Then suddenly, the spirit will emerge
through the lives of ordinary people
who hear a call
and answer in extraordinary ways.”
Mother Teresa

    “There is more hunger for love & appreciation in this world than for bread.” Mother Teresa

    “The important thing is not to think much, but to love much, and so to do what best awakens us to love.” Saint Teresa of Ávila

    Many have ruined the term 'God,' hence the increasing use of less tainted, non-partisan, non-proprietary, more descriptive terms like love, force, truth, universal intelligence. Saints - like Mother Teresa, mystics, and serious meditators, contemplatives, artists, writers & poets still use the term 'God' in its original potent, meaningful manner:
    "Former CBS anchor Dan Rather found himself unprepared for a television interview with Mother Teresa. Ron Mehl described the newsman’s encounter:
    “When you pray,” asked Rather, “what do you say to God?”
    “I don’t say anything,” she replied. “I listen.”
    Rather tried another tack, “Well, okay … when God speaks to you, then, what does He say?”
    “He doesn’t say anything. He listens.”
    Rather looked bewildered. For an instant, he didn’t know what to say.
    “And, if you don’t understand that,” Mother Teresa added, “I can’t explain it to you.”

 

Flow in Mindfulness Meditation

      Shinzen Young defines 'flow' - the technical term in Basic Mindfulness Training (not Csikszentmihalyi's construct) - "as the movement, change, energy, or force present within a sensory experience. ... Flow is not something separate from specific sensory experiences; it is a characteristic that appears within a specific sensory experience as a result of continuously bringing clarity and equanimity to that experience."

     The downloadable pdf "What is Flow" found under "For Students", then "Further Reference",  

http://www.shinzen.org/index.htm contains very useful information for those deeply engaged in meditation.

pocoloco   www.dpreview.com

 

Self, Ego and Selflessness

     "... the end of polarities is the completion of all skillful means, all practices, and all methods that were used to surmount ignorance. When ignorance is no longer pitted against wisdom, there is nonreferenced ease. ... We have to extract the 'me' from our salvation and prohibit identification with the self's return. Many people can understand selflessness; few can keep the self from meddling its way back in. This is not accomplished by forcing but through understanding. To understand exactly what the self is is to end the self. Once understood, it assumes its rightful place in our functional lives but never again assumes a place of power and authority. It takes just one polarizing moment that has gone undetected for self-centered living to resume."

       Rodney Smith. Awakening. A Paradigm Shift of the Heart. Shambhala, Boston, 2014.

"polarities" refers to opposites, the divided mind, boundaries etc
"nonreferenced" means unconditional - independent of causes and conditions
"functional" a healthy ego is described in Western psychology as like a verb (functional) rather than a noun (a solid object)
"polarizing moment" as soon as we identify with one (versus another) view, opinion, preference, the fictional "solid self" is re-created. This imaginary solid "identity" causes suffering.

 

October near Lewis Lake, Nova Scotia, Canada

Acceptance, Letting Go of Force

     "Even the lapses of mindfulness we struggle to resist have their own value on a spiritual journey. The darkness of forgetfulness feeds the light of remembering like winter feeds spring. As we begin to move outside the strongly conditioned self-reference model of events, where each experience implies something about me and what I need to do about it, into a more universal understanding of how reality operates on its own, we see there is nothing missing or out of place. From that view the absence or presence of self-awareness is simply the current configuration of reality, and any tension we exert to correct it sustains the dichotomy of 'the aware me' pitted against 'the unaware me.' ... we see this is a resurgence of the divided mind, and any force in either direction ultimately obstructs unification. Relaxing and accepting whatever reality presents is the only way to heal the rift and end the egoic notion that we are in charge."

       Rodney Smith. Awakening. A Paradigm Shift of the Heart. Shambhala, Boston, 2014.

 

View from The Port Pub, Port Williams, NS

Wrong Concentration during Meditation

     "there can actually be wrong concentration, which has nothing to do with samatha or vipassanā, because both of these have right concentration. 
     Wrong concentration happens to a lot of yogis. They use too much energy to focus because of greed, because they are trying to get something; so they develop this heavy concentration. That can be dangerous. Because it’s wrong concentration, of course it’s dangerous. The motivation behind that kind of concentration is greed actually. They want something so badly they use a lot of energy to focus, thinking that’s how they’ll get it, and sometimes that energy builds up to a level that they themselves cannot control. That’s because there is a combination of the power of focusing and the power of the defilements. So it is really very out of control. Double trouble."          Sayadaw U Tejaniya

       Destined to Teach. Āyasmā Kumāra interviews Sayadaw U Tejaniya, 1996
       http://sayadawutejaniya.org/teachings/
 

Vatican Modern Art Collection

Control, Force, Effort, Striving, Pushing towards Goals in Meditation

     "What if you let go of every bit of control and every urge that you have, right down to the most infinitesimal urge to control anything, anywhere, including anything that may be happening with you at this moment? If you were able to give up control absolutely, totally, and completely, then you would be a spiritually free being."

     "We think there’s someplace other than here to get to — that’s what drives the whole pursuit. Only when the pursuit ceases, is it possible to recognize what comprises you: pure being, pure consciousness. This is actually the very substance of your own self and being."                                                     Adyashanti


 

Tantramar Marsh from Middle Sackville by Peter Manchester   www.fogforestgallery.ca