In this weekly support letter we offer you a bit of inspiration/wisdom as well as some questions to reflect on and an opportunity to draw your body awareness from the cushion into every moment of your waking life! Share your challenges and insights with us right here!
While our intentions are important, this quote from Larry Rosenberg cautions us about goals...
"It is important to emphasize, in discussing the art of meditation
(and the practice as you continue becomes an art, with many subtle nuances), that you shouldn't start out with some idea of gaining. This is the deepest paradox in all of meditation: we want to get somewhere -- we wouldn't have taken up the practice if we didn't - but the way to get there is just to be fully here. The way to get from point A to point B is really to be at A. When we (meditate) in the hope of becoming something better, we are compromising our connection to the present, which is all we ever have."
So, in this practice, we are asked to hold an apparent contradiction -
the willful effort of showing up with our best intention and the letting go of all expectation...but this week just for 3 minutes!!!
REFLECTION
In our first meeting we asked the question "Why Bother?" Pause for a moment to reflect on this...in your journal or on the blog
- What about meditation is of interest to you?
- What motivates you to engage in this practice?
- What is your intention?
- What will bring you back to your cushion or chair even when your resistance is high?
As we begin a seated practice, it is important to remember that meditation is in service to an awakening in our daily life. In focusing on bodily sensations this week, look for physical sensations in all the "between" moments of your life. Whenever you notice, ask yourself what sensations are present and feel them: the warm water in the shower, foot sliding into a sock, hot coffee on the tongue, hand reaching for the brass doorknob, derriere on the car seat, fingers on the keyboard, etc. Mindfulness is about intimacy with the present moment - allow yourself the luxury of really feeling what it's like to be an animal body. Don't worry-- it's not about being there in every moment! Even remembering to notice just a few times a day will begin to strengthen the continuity of your practice.
Post or comment with any questions, concerns, challenges etc and we will do our best to support you.
Each time you notice that you've wandered off is a celebration, an opportunity to begin again...
Jenn & Rebecca
I find this quote from Larry Rosenberg interesting. I was thinking today about expectations. Wanting to experience a certain sensation in meditation.
ReplyDeleteI became aware of how intensely focused I am on physical discomfort while in situations that require remaining seated. Attending teh BSO last night, there was a constant refrain of "I am so uncomfortable...how much longer will this go on..." It occurred to me that this could be a meditation opportunity like any other. It took quite a while, but by focusing on the breath, and on the music, that last part of the concert was much more enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteI love what Mary says above. I remember once at a meditation retreat realizing that I could never complain about "waiting" (waiting for someone, for something to begin, for something to end) because it's all an opportunity to practice being present. This was an ambivalent realization! In once sense it felt like a freedom-- no more waiting-- but in another more conditioned way, it felt like, "oh now I am never off the hook!" Ha ha ha :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you Mary, Rebecca! I too recall a time of discovering that lines at the market, the bank, wherever were really just opportunities for rest, quiet or making connections - both ways to experience present moment time directly. And usually when i let go and pay attention to now it suddenly feels like a gift. It really gets back to wanting, expectation, needing to fix or change for a future moment doesn't it?
ReplyDelete