Establishing a New Way of Being

     "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes." Marcel Proust

     Many of us, even if we like & admire this quote, basically don't trust or believe in its value - "it's not practical!" We're not motivated to put it into practice. We assume that looking at "bad" situations "from a different perspective" is a useless game of pretending - that it doesn't actually change anything, we'd be simply fooling ourselves to try to feel a bit better.
     That certain practices fundamentally change who we are & our relationship to life is a foreign concept to most of us. 
     But the real problem is that our automatic default response to any adversity - & many arise daily - is adversarial - "me, myself & I" against the hostile world. This IS "natural" & appropriate for animals & cave-dwellers - BUT NOT for civilized humans today!
     Now we must PRACTICE to establish a new default way of being: open-hearted, nurturing presence. This is critically practical - because our old default reptilian ways are literally killing everything.

     "Practice refers to the discipline of cultivating a crucial capacity of mind, such as wisdom or concentration. Practices are rehearsals of desired qualities, which eventually become spontaneous, natural ways of being."
       Walsh R. “Essential spirituality. The 7 central practices to awaken heart and mind.” John Wiley & Sons Inc, NY, 1999.

Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia, May 4, 2014

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.

Marcel Proust

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/marcelprou107111.html#ZuwzHpI8UKHfwDdc.99

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.

Marcel Proust

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/marcelprou107111.html#ZuwzHpI8UKHfwDdc.99

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.

Marcel Proust

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/marcelprou107111.html#ZuwzHpI8UKHfwDdc.99

Vedana - 2,500 years Ahead of Neuroscience

     "There are three kinds of vedana (feeling or sensation of mind, not body) - pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral. ... the root meaning of the word vedana is 'experience,' moment after moment. In response to different forms of contact (visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, gustatory, mental) with objects (sight, sound, touch, smell, taste, thought), a feeling arises. When it is pleasant, greed and attachment are likely to follow. When it is unpleasant, aversion is liable to arise, and thus condemnation. Lastly, a neutral sensation generally precipitates delusion because it often does not make enough of an impression on the mind and thus is not observed or understood clearly; that is, there is no mindful awareness.

     'These are the three roots of all evils: Greed brings attachment; aversion brings hatred; delusion brings more ignorance ... Greed will not allow you to give, to share. The positive side, nongreed, becomes dana - you can share, you can give.'  And dana ... whether small or large, as long as it is given with sincere intention, purifies the mind of greed."

        Knaster M. "Living this life fully. Stories and teachings of Munindra." Shambhala, Boston, 2010.

     An overlapping perspective on this phenomenon is the Western psychology's "approach-avoidance dichotomy" - search for "approach" on: http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/

     A third overlapping perspective on this phenomenon is neuroscience's primitive brain stem, its influence on our perception, which in turn promotes reptilian reactivity (as opposed to well-considered executive control). Search the above blogsite for "brain stem."
 

Buddha at IMS, Barre MA   http://www.dharma.org/