Human qualities often come in clusters. Altruism, inner peace, strength, freedom, and genuine happiness thrive together like the parts of a nourishing fruit. Likewise, selfishness, animosity, and fear grow together. So, while helping others may not always be “pleasant,” it leads the mind to a sense of inner peace, courage, and harmony with the interdependence of all things and beings.
Afflictive mental states, on the other hand, begin with self-centeredness, with an increase in the gap between self and others. These states are related to excessive self-importance and self-cherishing associated with fear or resentment towards others, and grasping for outer things as part of a hopeless pursuit of selfish happiness. A selfish pursuit of happiness is a lose-lose situation: you make yourself miserable and make others miserable as well.
Inner conflicts are often linked with excessive rumination on the past and anticipation of the future. You are not truly paying attention to the present moment, but are engrossed in your thoughts, going on and on in a vicious circle, feeding your ego and self-centeredness.
This is the opposite of bare attention. To turn your attention inside means to look at pure awareness itself and dwell without distraction, yet effortlessly, in the present moment.
If you cultivate these mental skills, after a while you won’t need to apply contrived efforts anymore. You can deal with mental perturbations like the eagles I see from the window of my hermitage in the Himalayas deal with crows. The crows often attack them, diving at the eagles from above. But, instead of doing all kinds of acrobatics, the eagle simply retracts one wing at the last moment, lets the diving crow pass, and then extends its wing again. The whole thing requires minimal effort and causes little disturbance.
Being experienced in dealing with the sudden arising of emotions in the mind works in a similar way.
By Matthieu Ricard
From; This is your brain on bliss
Sunday, 6 December 2009
Friday, 4 December 2009
Loving Yourself
When I was a child I was taught "Love your neighbour as yourself".My interpretation of this was that loving your neighbour was the important part and that to love oneself was selfish.
Since working with Lester Levinson's release technique this has changed. While at a releasing workshop last summer we were given what appeared to be a simple exercise.
"Look in the mirror and keep releasing (letting go) disapproval of yourself until you have only love feelings for yourself."
Sounds simple, but there was a huge resistance in me to doing this exercise.Being the persistant type I kept at it wondering all the while what the block could be.
Then a memory came back. As a child I loved to play in front of the mirror dressing up and pretending all sorts. When my mother cought me she would scold me and warn me that if I didn't stop "Barnaby" (the devil) would appear to me in the mirror and take me to hell. ( Maybe this is how I got my aversion to seeing myself in the mirror and to loving myself.) In any case once this memory came back a huge weight lifted. I could genuinely begin to love myself and my image in the mirror. This change in my way of relating with myself has transformed how I see and relate to many others in my life. Loving feelings and apreciation come much more frequently. John (my husband) tells me it is like living with the person he got a brief glimpse of when times were really good.
Since working with Lester Levinson's release technique this has changed. While at a releasing workshop last summer we were given what appeared to be a simple exercise.
"Look in the mirror and keep releasing (letting go) disapproval of yourself until you have only love feelings for yourself."
Sounds simple, but there was a huge resistance in me to doing this exercise.Being the persistant type I kept at it wondering all the while what the block could be.
Then a memory came back. As a child I loved to play in front of the mirror dressing up and pretending all sorts. When my mother cought me she would scold me and warn me that if I didn't stop "Barnaby" (the devil) would appear to me in the mirror and take me to hell. ( Maybe this is how I got my aversion to seeing myself in the mirror and to loving myself.) In any case once this memory came back a huge weight lifted. I could genuinely begin to love myself and my image in the mirror. This change in my way of relating with myself has transformed how I see and relate to many others in my life. Loving feelings and apreciation come much more frequently. John (my husband) tells me it is like living with the person he got a brief glimpse of when times were really good.
Wednesday, 2 December 2009
Tuesday, 1 December 2009
Cultivating An Eagle Mind
Human qualities often come in clusters. Altruism, inner peace, strength, freedom, and genuine happiness thrive together like the parts of a nourishing fruit. Likewise, selfishness, animosity, and fear grow together. So, while helping others may not always be “pleasant,” it leads the mind to a sense of inner peace, courage, and harmony with the interdependence of all things and beings.
Afflictive mental states, on the other hand, begin with self-centeredness, with an increase in the gap between self and others. These states are related to excessive self-importance and self-cherishing associated with fear or resentment towards others, and grasping for outer things as part of a hopeless pursuit of selfish happiness. A selfish pursuit of happiness is a lose-lose situation: you make yourself miserable and make others miserable as well.
Inner conflicts are often linked with excessive rumination on the past and anticipation of the future. You are not truly paying attention to the present moment, but are engrossed in your thoughts, going on and on in a vicious circle, feeding your ego and self-centeredness.
This is the opposite of bare attention. To turn your attention inside means to look at pure awareness itself and dwell without distraction, yet effortlessly, in the present moment.
If you cultivate these mental skills, after a while you won’t need to apply contrived efforts anymore. You can deal with mental perturbations like the eagles I see from the window of my hermitage in the Himalayas deal with crows. The crows often attack them, diving at the eagles from above. But, instead of doing all kinds of acrobatics, the eagle simply retracts one wing at the last moment, lets the diving crow pass, and then extends its wing again. The whole thing requires minimal effort and causes little disturbance.
Being experienced in dealing with the sudden arising of emotions in the mind works in a similar way.
By Matthieu Ricard
From; This is your brain on bliss
Afflictive mental states, on the other hand, begin with self-centeredness, with an increase in the gap between self and others. These states are related to excessive self-importance and self-cherishing associated with fear or resentment towards others, and grasping for outer things as part of a hopeless pursuit of selfish happiness. A selfish pursuit of happiness is a lose-lose situation: you make yourself miserable and make others miserable as well.
Inner conflicts are often linked with excessive rumination on the past and anticipation of the future. You are not truly paying attention to the present moment, but are engrossed in your thoughts, going on and on in a vicious circle, feeding your ego and self-centeredness.
This is the opposite of bare attention. To turn your attention inside means to look at pure awareness itself and dwell without distraction, yet effortlessly, in the present moment.
If you cultivate these mental skills, after a while you won’t need to apply contrived efforts anymore. You can deal with mental perturbations like the eagles I see from the window of my hermitage in the Himalayas deal with crows. The crows often attack them, diving at the eagles from above. But, instead of doing all kinds of acrobatics, the eagle simply retracts one wing at the last moment, lets the diving crow pass, and then extends its wing again. The whole thing requires minimal effort and causes little disturbance.
Being experienced in dealing with the sudden arising of emotions in the mind works in a similar way.
By Matthieu Ricard
From; This is your brain on bliss
Wednesday, 25 November 2009
I love to practice Dr Fehmi's attentional exercises. Here is an expert from one I particularly like.
As you continue to read this page allow yourself to be aware of the 3-dimensional physical space between your eyes and the words printed. Let the awareness occur gradually as you continue reading . Because we are conditioned to sense only objects and exclude space, it may take some time for you to become aware of this visual sensation of physical space. Once you do become ware of the space, pause for a few seconds as you gently maintain this awareness.
Now, without shifting your eyes from the screen gradually begin to sense the space that is to the right and the left of the screen. Let your peripheral field of vision widen spontaneously at its own pace to take in that awareness and once you develop that awareness , enjoy it for a few seconds.
Now allow your visual background to come forward, to become as important as your visual foreground; in other words, the whole article, the full screen, the table and the walls behind the screen can be made foreground, simultaneously with the words you are reading. This, too, should be carried out effortlessly and naturally . It may seem difficult at first , but it is well within our capacity to focus in this way. Sit for a few seconds as you gradually maintain this awareness and allow background and foreground to become equally important.
As you continue reading , also include the appearance of space that surrounds your entire body. Allow time for this perception to take place as your visual awareness opens and broadens into 3 dimensions. Now permit yourself to become aware of the space between the lines you are reading, even s you continue to read. Also bring in to your awareness, the space between the words themselves and then the space between the letters of the words your awareness of visual space can continue to expand effortlessly while your awareness of letters, words and concepts continues.
If you notice even small changes during the reading exercise you have begun to experience some of the benefits of open focus.
Last night,I became aware that I was reading in open focus,paying equal attention to the spaces and the words. My heart filled with gratitude at how a simple daily practice can become second nature. Often the simple changes that occur naturally as a result of our daily work become so much a part of us that we don't acknowledge that something significant has shifted. Events like last nights are to be noted and honoured as their memory encourages us in more sparse times.
So do pay attention to the gains from your work as it is all worth your effortless effort.
( Exerpt from Dr Fehmi's "Open Focus Brain" )
As you continue to read this page allow yourself to be aware of the 3-dimensional physical space between your eyes and the words printed. Let the awareness occur gradually as you continue reading . Because we are conditioned to sense only objects and exclude space, it may take some time for you to become aware of this visual sensation of physical space. Once you do become ware of the space, pause for a few seconds as you gently maintain this awareness.
Now, without shifting your eyes from the screen gradually begin to sense the space that is to the right and the left of the screen. Let your peripheral field of vision widen spontaneously at its own pace to take in that awareness and once you develop that awareness , enjoy it for a few seconds.
Now allow your visual background to come forward, to become as important as your visual foreground; in other words, the whole article, the full screen, the table and the walls behind the screen can be made foreground, simultaneously with the words you are reading. This, too, should be carried out effortlessly and naturally . It may seem difficult at first , but it is well within our capacity to focus in this way. Sit for a few seconds as you gradually maintain this awareness and allow background and foreground to become equally important.
As you continue reading , also include the appearance of space that surrounds your entire body. Allow time for this perception to take place as your visual awareness opens and broadens into 3 dimensions. Now permit yourself to become aware of the space between the lines you are reading, even s you continue to read. Also bring in to your awareness, the space between the words themselves and then the space between the letters of the words your awareness of visual space can continue to expand effortlessly while your awareness of letters, words and concepts continues.
If you notice even small changes during the reading exercise you have begun to experience some of the benefits of open focus.
Last night,I became aware that I was reading in open focus,paying equal attention to the spaces and the words. My heart filled with gratitude at how a simple daily practice can become second nature. Often the simple changes that occur naturally as a result of our daily work become so much a part of us that we don't acknowledge that something significant has shifted. Events like last nights are to be noted and honoured as their memory encourages us in more sparse times.
So do pay attention to the gains from your work as it is all worth your effortless effort.
( Exerpt from Dr Fehmi's "Open Focus Brain" )
Tuesday, 24 November 2009
"God's Wings
After a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park , forest rangers began their trek up a mountain to assess the inferno's damage. One ranger found a bird literally petrified in ashes, perched statuesquely on the ground at the base of a tree. Somewhat sickened by the eerie sight, he knocked over the bird with a stick. When he gently struck it, three tiny chicks scurried from under their dead mother's wings. The loving mother, keenly aware of impending disaster, had carried her offspring to the base of the tree and had gathered them under her wings, instinctively knowing that the toxic smoke would rise. She could have flown to safety but had refused to abandon her babies. Then the blaze had arrived and the heat had scorched her small body, the mother had remained steadfast...because she had been willing to die, so those under the cover of her wings would live..
'He will cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you will find refuge.'
(Psalm 91:4)
Thanks to Corinna for this story.
'He will cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you will find refuge.'
(Psalm 91:4)
Thanks to Corinna for this story.
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