Monday, May 7, 2007, 11:48 AM
Some months ago I wrote an article on the centrality of openness as a basic attitude or reference point for living. I used a phrase from phenomenologist Martin Heidegger: “Opening to the Openness”. Because of our habit of dualistic thinking, let me say that the openness I am speaking about must include the capacity for ‘closing’, creating a boundary, saying ‘no’. We are opening to the full experiencing of the living moment and that includes taking care of life as the situation requires. The main point is that we are responding to the actuality of the circumstances and not predominantly to our assumptions, fears, pictures, hopes, etc., though hopefully one includes these mental patterns as part of the totality.
The same confusion arises for people when they hear the word ‘acceptance’. For many the word has a passive, almost resigned attitude. The acceptance I am speaking of has a ‘standing up’, seeing what is true in the moment and responding from that reality. Acceptance has bite, like biting into an apple. It is an active engagement with life. Openness is like a ROAR not a whimper.
I once heard the following dialogue:
“If someone attacks you with a knife, do you just accept it?”
“Of course not. You relate directly with the situation. You protect life. But then how do you relate with the attacker. Do you beat them from anger and fear? What if your grandmother became insane and attacked you, would you just let her stab you? NO. But then what, would you beat her? Once you took the knife away, you would do your best to take care of her. This is what we mean by acceptance in a hostile environment”.
Most important, can you adopt this attitude toward your inner voices, the hostile critics who live within?
An early and important influence on my understanding was Tibetan teacher Chogyam Trungpa. He understood the western mind so well and was incredibly articulate in English. I will close with a quote about openness from this great being:
"The everyday practice is simply to develop a complete acceptance and openness to all situations and emotions, and to all people, experiencing everything totally without mental reservations and blockages, so that one never withdraws or centralizes onto oneself.
This produces a tremendous energy which is usually locked up in the process of mental evasion and generally running away from life experiences.
Clarity of awareness may in its initial stages be unpleasant or fear-inspiring; if so, then one should open oneself completely to the pain or the fear and welcome it. In this way the barriers created by one's own habitual emotional reactions and prejudices are broken down."
Chogyam Trungpa, Rinpoche
Tuesday, March 6, 2007, 01:31 PM
'Just sitting' is the central practice of “The Embodied Life”.
What is this sitting? Formally it is called “sitting meditation” (Zazen). Unfortunately the word meditation has many images and conditioned ideas, maybe 'just sitting' is more helpful and less evocative of past learning.
'Just sitting' means that one gives oneself as completely as possible to Life while in a sitting position. Whatever arises in the moment is part of 'just sitting'. Sounds, sensations, smells, thoughts, feelings are the scenery or passing fragrances of 'just sitting'.
Reflection: you and I are representative of a great, great moment in the history of Life: after billions of years Life is becoming conscious of Itself through you and me. Please take your time with this sentence: after billions of years Life is becoming conscious of Itself through you and me. Consider this marvelous and transformative fact.
When did “red” become the living experience of 'redness'? When did a heart first thrill and appreciate that 'thrilling-ness' at the sound of a child's laughter? Other mammals clearly have feelings including attachment and loyalty yet the capacity to feel these things and know that one is feeling them (awareness) is very, very recent in biological time.
When:
- you clutch in your gut at the pain of another and long to ease their suffering,
- a taste is both satisfying and deeply appreciated,
- the curve of your lovers back absorbs you more than any landscape,
- your heart aches for an unknown mother's loss,
- a Beethoven sonata connects you to all of Life,
- sunlight and shadow absorb you into their ineffable dance,
- the truthfulness of an idea resonates through your whole body,
Then:
Love Dawns
You are experiencing the fruits of this great evolving experiment: stated again, it is that Life can know Itself through you. The corollary is that Life takes care of Itself through you. We can also call this the dawning of Love.
And 'just sitting'?
It is here that we dedicate ourselves to Life that is only Life, before our interpretations, opinions, and evaluations. THIS directness, this intimacy: beyond good/bad, right /wrong, happy/sad, comfortable/uncomfortable. THIS is our dedication to Life.
Friday, February 2, 2007, 12:13 PM
Q: How can I control my thoughts? My mind seems to be always busy and when I try to meditate it doesn't get much better. How can the “Embodied Meditation” that you teach help me?
A: First, it is important to know that your experience is not unusual, as most people, upon beginning a practice of sitting meditation are surprised by the wildness of their minds. As Zen teacher Uchiyama Roshi would say,” just as your stomach secretes acid to digest food, your mind secretes thoughts. That is its function”. Our practice is not to get rid of thinking but to see “who is thinking”? and “What lies beyond thought”?
True meditation is not about 'mind control'. While there are techniques that work from this goal, in my view they are shortsighted and often destructive because they assume a divided self: a controller and the controlled. This is not a prescription for deep peace, harmony or wisdom.
Embodied Meditation is based in the Zen practice of 'just sitting' where we cultivate an atmosphere of friendliness toward all that arises. You can imagine that you are in a rowboat floating down a wide, safe river with a gentle current. You don't need to control the boat from moment to moment, you will be carried by the river itself. Your 'job' is to enjoy the scenery and occasionally to steer the boat so that you don't get too close to shore.
Your life will unfold from moment to moment without 'your' control. As soon as you assume an attitude of control there is a basic separation from the flow of your life. How sad it is for me when I see people treating their life as a dangerous enemy that must be tamed!
Q: But what of all the wild thoughts and emotions that pull me around, making me feel crazy, anxious and unhappy? Are you saying that I should just passively let them happen and that by some miracle I will find peace?
A: In “Embodied Meditation” our emphasis is to gently orient the mind toward the basic reality of the moment which is the fact that we are sitting and breathing. There are numerous, ever changing sensations that can ground us in the living truth. Without fighting the thoughts and feelings, we gently and consistently return to the most basic, fundamental reality of life: our bodily sensations.
While you are meditating (and throughout your day) you will often come awake to the fact that you are lost in thought. This 'coming awake' is the spontaneous functioning of our wisdom or “True Self- we want to encourage, welcome and invite this natural occurrence. In the moment of coming awake, you can sense the residue from the previous mind state that has hijacked you. This moment is critical. Without judgment or analysis, sense what is alive in your body as you come back home to yourself. After a moment or two, gently guide your attention back to something that is alive, the sensations of your bottom on the seat, the breathing, the sounds-something that an expression of the living moment. Don't try to hold onto the living moment just gently steer your boat in that direction and let go into the flow of the river. If, in the moment of returning to presence, a judgment immediately forms (“”why are you thinking so much”, “what's wrong with you”, “”my mind is crazy”), sense this in your body, briefly say hello to this thought even if you really dislike it and let go.
Alternatively, when your thinking is very strong, at the moment of awakening to yourself, you can intentionally sense the next three breaths from beginning to end. After focusing the attention in this way, once again let go and enjoy the scenery of your life.
Amazingly, you do not need to meditate 'well' for there to be great benefits. Simply sitting each day for at least twenty minutes with the attitude presented here will transform your life. Practice daily for 3-4 weeks and I am sure the change will be very apparent to you.
For more information check out the meditation instructions below and check out the calendar for a retreat.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007, 01:16 PM
Cynthia Allen interviewed Russell on various topics such as his background, his thoughts on higher purpose and giving back to humanity, and his thoughts on the evolution of consciousness.
Click the link below and scroll down to have a listen.
| related link
Tuesday, December 19, 2006, 01:10 PM
The following is a dialogue between Suzuki Roshi, author of “Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind” and a student:
Student: “What is most important for Zen students?”
Suzuki Roshi: “The most important thing is to find the most important thing”.
How do we find the most important thing? For many of us the sense of 'the most important thing' is an intuition that we are here for more than making our daily bread, finding security or even our own enjoyment. No one else can really answer this question for us; it requires digging deeply into our own soul/spirit life.
The challenge of our everyday life is that so many urgent yet not fundamentally important items vie for our attention. Our daily 'to do list' always seems to make things other than 'the most important thing,' most important! How often do we create an extreme inner pressure- physically and mentally- as if we might die if that e-mail, phone call or other task were not handled immediately? How often is this really true?
Now, it is of course helpful to be responsive to the needs of others and take care of 'what is on our plate'. The questions are: what do you devote yourself to and what is the center of gravity of your life?
For those of us who have the luxury of being relatively free from concerns for food, shelter and warmth, a profoundly spiritual/human question is toward what will I dedicate myself to today? Amazingly, the busiest of people can almost always find time for that which is truly important.
If we look at the great traditions, from west to east, we will see different words for the same qualities. In the west, Truth, Beauty and Love are often used to express the highest and deepest transcendent qualities. In the east, these same values are often called Wisdom and Compassion. In essence, all paths point toward something larger than the self. They ask us for dedication to a practice as well as to a devotional attitude that becomes foremost in our life. This is called being on a path.
Those most moved by truth might become monks, scientists or philosophers either professionally or in another way. Their passion will be toward true understanding and meaning, not merely ego gratification.
Those most moved by beauty will thrill in the dance- i.e. the various manifestations of life through form, color, sound, pattern etc. Artists, naturalists and mathematicians are often taken by this quality.
The lovers amongst us seek the deep connection that only happens when the veil of our separateness lifts. Sometimes this is expressed as dedication to others in the form of service, care-giving, parenting, etc. Sometimes this appears as devotion to God, Life, the planet or something else that is 'larger than self.'
At a deep level, though we can relate to all these doorways and they are not at all separate, some are more resonant than others for each person. Whichever quality most ignites your soul, it is essential that your life have ample opportunity to express, practice and dwell in this arena. Without this expression, there will always be a lingering sense of dissatisfaction, the feeling- “is that all there is?”
Whether one resonates with spiritual or secular language the question is the same: am I remembering the most important thing? Deeply investigating this question might be a doorway to the most important thing!
Wishing you many blessings in this New Year.
With much love and peace……………Russell
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