Dropping the Armor & "Coming out" as Authentic Human Beings

     During a workshop at a recent meeting, a friend and colleague publicly described her difficult life as a vulnerable, fully human being for the first time. This self-disclosure was a very challenging "coming out of the closet" event for her (it had nothing to do with sexuality). So why was this so difficult? Because she's a health-care professional, and members of her profession are typically rigidly armored and pretend to be invincible - ie live "divided lives"!
        Don't most of us fail to relate to each other honestly, as vulnerable humans? Isn't it tragic how we all to some extent try to hide our FEARS by putting on a show of invincibility (armor) and even aggression? Few of us realize that those who look and behave the most stoic or even aggressive are usually frightened, while those with a gentle smile may be the most fearless and resilient among us.
     Each moment of time we spend being armored, we learn to be more heavily armored - and we become less and less sensitive to our own and others' needs. However, each time we "out" ourselves as normal, imperfect (not false modesty, but genuine honesty), we become progressively more genuine AND approachable, inviting human beings.
     Since we're ALWAYS training in one direction or another, should we not choose the direction carefully?

     For more on armoring, see: http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/2012/04/110-armoring.html

Letting addictions go AND Engaging the flow of life

     “Each time you cut a habitual pattern by becoming aware of it, you become a bit dissociated in the sense that you can no longer continue doing or believing in the same old thing. At this time, you may feel somewhat disconnected from your life, even if what you are cutting has clearly been a negative pattern.

     But it is not enough to disengage from habitual patterns. It is important to continue in your practice and look directly into the absence. As you go deep inside, connect with the quality of openness, the unbounded space inside yourself, and become aware of that spaciousness. As you abide there, warmth and creative energy will spontaneously arise and bring about personal transformation.”

Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Quarterly, Fall 2012

Gaspereau Valley, Nova Scotia

Active participation in the flow of life

     “become aware of negative emotions or obsessive thought patterns that interfere with the flow of life … By bringing non-conceptual, naked attention to whatever you are feeling or sensing, the impermanent nature of your perceptions is revealed. You witness the dissolution of that which appeared solid.”

Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Quarterly, Fall 2012

Gaspereau Valley, Nova Scotia

The glue that holds everything together

     “In an outer sense, precepts are the ethical guidelines of sila first taught by the Buddha and kept by all Buddhist traditions. In an inner sense, precepts are the person you have become, the life you have lived, and the actions that you take. … And in an innermost sense, precepts are the universal, transpersonal moral glue that ties everything together.” 

Lewis Richmond, Zen priest in the lineage of Shunryu Suzukin Roshi

Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Quarterly, Fall 2012

Domaine de Grand Pré, Nova Scotia

Amazing Life

Mighty spaceships
could

pass by us

slowly

in broad daylight

unseen

Critical Spirituality - A Holistic Approach to Meaning

     Spirituality is “that which gives life meaning, in a way that connects the inner sense of meaning with a sense of something greater.

     Using this definition of spirituality makes it clear why it is important for human service workers to include spirituality in their work with clients and colleagues: how can you understand what is happening for another person in a holistic way if you do not have a sense of what gives life meaning for them?

     We need to be asking critically spiritual questions and seeking spiritual growth in order to create the kind of life-affirming communities and societies that we want for ourselves and our clients. Critical spirituality is about seeking meaning in a way that creates wholeness individually and leads to communities that live in sustainable, inclusive and socially just ways. Implicit here is that as critically spiritual workers we also need to include our own spirituality; we need to be able to reflect critically on what gives life meaning for us and the implications for how we practice.”

       Gardner F. Critical Spirituality. A Holistic Approach to Contemporary Practice. Ashgate Publishing Co. Burlington VT, 2011. 

See Rod Meade Sperry's editorial "Welcome to the Big Tent": http://shambhalasun.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4097&Itemid=0

Photo: bijan64   www.dpreview.com

The Right Attitude for Meditation

     "Meditation is acknowledging and observing whatever happens - whether pleasant or unpleasant - in a relaxed way."
     This is great in theory, but serious practice when your health is a question mark (and it actually always is).

     "Meditating is watching and waiting patiently with awareness and understanding. Meditation is NOT trying to experience something you have read or heard about."
     Mercifully, when life gets seriously challenging, stuff you've read or heard about fly out the window, so in a way, it's easier to learn from what's in front of your face.

         Ashin Tejaniya “Don’t Look Down on the Defilements – They Will Laugh at You."

http://sayadawutejaniya.org/teachings/

Photo: seysincinv   www.dpreview.com