Sat for 20 minutes last night and for a few minutes first thing this morning. Feeling particularly grateful for it, as I've been feeling anxious (not about anything dreadful - my overdraft mostly), and mostly able to breathe through it and not succomb to an escalating spiral of anxiety. This is a blessing indeed.
Had a snitdeve day today. Didn't want to sit, wasn't going to sit, didn't sit (well not so far anyway). I hate it when I get like this. And it's nothing more than an acute attack of wanting my own way. Yuck. And there's nothing for it but to draw the line and move on.
Yes, a very happy Thanksgiving to all US meditators tomorrow.
Ah, Ruth what I wouldn't give to escape to France during the holidays! I hate 'em, I'm afraid. I'll know practice has really transformed my mind if I ever really enjoy a thanksgiving or a christmas or a 4th of July.
Finally sat again last night, largely because of this group reminding me to. Thank you. I hadn't sat (except for Sunday at the sangha) for almost a week, I think.
The funny thing is, the thing I'm trying to figure out, is that for all my frustrations and resistance I've already seen that it makes a difference. I'm concluding it all keys around my expectations and whether I'm keeping them reasonable. Ruth's comment about even if you have to bring yourself back a thousand times in a sitting to the breath, that is the practice hit home.
Thank you all for your encouragement, your understanding... and for being here. Really, Dale, I'm very grateful to you for running this little blog for us. I know I wouldn't have come as far as I have, in my efforts toward consistency, without it.
I had an interesting discussion last night with a couple friends about reincarnation, rambling discussion of multiple personality stories of people with no education speaking fluent Russion and other stories of children who have memories and can inexplicably identify specific people in old photographs... the child looking up at the father who's changing his diaper, saying "I used to change your diapers"... all very odd. I have no idea what to think on this subject!
I'm off to sit right now, for just 5 minutes. Because I can. ;-)
The standard Tibetan teaching on reincarnation is that you take your karma and your propensities (those are the same thing, really) with you when you're reincarnated, but nothing else. No memories -- memories are stored in the "sixth consciousness," which doesn't survive the transition at all. Some "highly-realized beings" can see into their past lives, somehow or other -- the Buddha is said to have been able to see all of his former lives, as well as those of other people -- but they're not remembering, in the ordinary sense of the word.
I've never been particularly interested in reincarnation, on those terms -- without memory the continuity seems mainly negative. So in my practice it mostly works as a sort of ominous prospect. Do I want to go on living in this confusion and dissatisfaction, bobbing about on the waves of compulsion and obsession, for thousands and thousands of years? That's *really* scary.
Thank you, Moose! I turn a clear profit on running this blog, in terms of support :-)
10 Comments:
Sat for 20 minutes last night and for a few minutes first thing this morning. Feeling particularly grateful for it, as I've been feeling anxious (not about anything dreadful - my overdraft mostly), and mostly able to breathe through it and not succomb to an escalating spiral of anxiety. This is a blessing indeed.
Happy Thanksgiving to those celebrating tomorrow!
Had a snitdeve day today. Didn't want to sit, wasn't going to sit, didn't sit (well not so far anyway). I hate it when I get like this. And it's nothing more than an acute attack of wanting my own way. Yuck. And there's nothing for it but to draw the line and move on.
Yes, a very happy Thanksgiving to all US meditators tomorrow.
woooah thanksgiving. I miss that from my Stony Brook days!!! the BEST festival!
Sit right now, Mary!
{{{Jean}}}
Ah, Ruth what I wouldn't give to escape to France during the holidays! I hate 'em, I'm afraid. I'll know practice has really transformed my mind if I ever really enjoy a thanksgiving or a christmas or a 4th of July.
Finally sat again last night, largely because of this group reminding me to. Thank you. I hadn't sat (except for Sunday at the sangha) for almost a week, I think.
so that's my thanksgiving :-)
love
d
The funny thing is, the thing I'm trying to figure out, is that for all my frustrations and resistance I've already seen that it makes a difference. I'm concluding it all keys around my expectations and whether I'm keeping them reasonable. Ruth's comment about even if you have to bring yourself back a thousand times in a sitting to the breath, that is the practice hit home.
Thank you all for your encouragement, your understanding... and for being here. Really, Dale, I'm very grateful to you for running this little blog for us. I know I wouldn't have come as far as I have, in my efforts toward consistency, without it.
I had an interesting discussion last night with a couple friends about reincarnation, rambling discussion of multiple personality stories of people with no education speaking fluent Russion and other stories of children who have memories and can inexplicably identify specific people in old photographs... the child looking up at the father who's changing his diaper, saying "I used to change your diapers"... all very odd. I have no idea what to think on this subject!
I'm off to sit right now, for just 5 minutes. Because I can. ;-)
The standard Tibetan teaching on reincarnation is that you take your karma and your propensities (those are the same thing, really) with you when you're reincarnated, but nothing else. No memories -- memories are stored in the "sixth consciousness," which doesn't survive the transition at all. Some "highly-realized beings" can see into their past lives, somehow or other -- the Buddha is said to have been able to see all of his former lives, as well as those of other people -- but they're not remembering, in the ordinary sense of the word.
I've never been particularly interested in reincarnation, on those terms -- without memory the continuity seems mainly negative. So in my practice it mostly works as a sort of ominous prospect. Do I want to go on living in this confusion and dissatisfaction, bobbing about on the waves of compulsion and obsession, for thousands and thousands of years? That's *really* scary.
Thank you, Moose! I turn a clear profit on running this blog, in terms of support :-)
so my thanksgiving offer to all of you is
'Who wants to come house/cat sit in Provence in between the 9-14th december?'
buddha and incence and mountain vibe all waiting for you...
missed you dale. lovely to have you back and know we coule help you here.
Happy Thanksgiving, everybody. I am very thankful for all of you!!
And am going to sit right now.
Post a Comment
<< Home