Tuesday, June 26, 2007, 05:21 PM
My first profound meditation experience occurred on a beach in San Francisco after some years of practice. Sitting on a cushion made of sand, I was overwhelmed with the essential beauty, bliss and goodness of Life. All reservations, doubts, objections and arguments about ‘this and that’ were completely irrelevant- clarity, brightness and ‘all is just as it is, just as it must be’ rang true without thought, without hesitation. The first conscious impulse that arose from this experience was an immense longing, a hunger, to give something back. A resounding sound arose from the open space, “APPRECIATE” was the one word that echoed forth.
This story is not intended to convey any sense of personal attainment- the path is endless and our addiction to this separate self runs almost as deep as our oneness with Life. Everyday attachment to certain desires greets me like my face in the mirror. My purpose is to express my essential understanding about the importance and basic joy of GRATITUDE.
Most of us know this sentiment when something unexpectedly positive happens. When the rain predicted on your wedding day yields to a bright, blue sky, a spontaneous “thank you” arises. When someone sees you hurrying and offers their place in line, this feeling comes naturally. Many of us also know the glow of being in love or simply “in the flow” where our basic joy includes a constant sense of being graced by life. Often this experiencing is accompanied by the inner feeling that says: “I am so blessed”.
Can deep appreciation occur without unexpected, special or ‘big’ events?
Can one practice appreciation and have it feel natural?
Is there significant value in such a practice?
Is Gratitude one of the most important and underappreciated of human/spiritual experiences?
Early in my meditation history a very simple, ordinary experience began to occur. After sitting for 30 minutes, a time filled mostly with a ‘monkey mind’ full of thoughts, plans, conversations, etc., I would arise with an altered sense of time and perception. Little things, the light in the room, the shape of a lamp, the feeling of the air on my skin would, for a short while, seemed strangely satisfying. It was as if I did not need anything else beyond what was happening in the moment to be content. This sense of satisfaction became conscious after a meditation in which ‘just’ feeling my breathing was ‘enough’. After this I remember the thought, “if I can be happy/peaceful/satisfied ‘just breathing’ than I can have these experiences at almost any moment. Implicit with this satisfaction was a sense of appreciation, of simple gratitude for living. In experiences of dissatisfaction I noticed that appreciation was completely absent, as if my agenda/desire/goals were too thick to be penetrated by the simple gifts of that moment. The question arose as to whether attentiveness to gratitude could be a doorway to contentment. Could appreciation (and hence satisfaction) be intentionally cultivated through a practice of attention?
My next observation came within the context of my Feldenkrais work. It was 1978, in the early days of my practice, when I began seeing a twenty-nine year old psychologist who had recently become quadriplegic from a freak car accident. Bound to a wheelchair without sensation below his chest and with minimal arm movement, he was my first student dealing with such a challenging situation who was also a peer. He taught me lessons in appreciation in at least three different ways.
First, after he would leave each session, I would consciously experience deep appreciation for simple capacities: standing was a pleasure, bringing a glass of cool water to my lips a joy, etc. Without any intention, it was as if I could appreciate these things for the two of us. After some months of working together, I realized that my initial sense of gratitude for the ordinary had faded. There was a painful sense of loss. After recognizing the sorrow of this forgetting, I discovered that it was possible to recover the sense of appreciation. Now that it was not spontaneous, three things were required: 1) a pause in my ‘doing’, 2) a conscious entering into the present moment and 3) a subtle invitation toward “thanks”. This invitation often feels like opening to something that is already there below the surface. How wonderful to learn that authentic gratitude can grow with intention and to realize that gratitude was almost always just a moment away!
The second way that my student and friend taught me was in his deep gratitude (after months of anger, depression, denial etc.) for small improvements that he was attaining. I remember so well his glowing face after the first time he could hold his baby in his arms. We cried together. One time, he actually was almost ecstatic to discover that he could scratch a place on his neck for the first time. “What freedom” he said and meant it.
The third avenue of appreciation that was revealed to me came through his authentic sharing of his journey: his pain, loss, fear, anger and, eventually, acceptance. On one level, I was spending time with my worst fear, as an athlete and a ‘mover’, to lose physical function terrified me. His willingness to be real and to allow me to be part of the recalibration of his life taught me insights of immense value. Theoretically, I suspected that one could live a satisfying life within almost any condition. Here I was observing someone walking that path. My intention here is not to paint a rosy story; this was and is an intensely challenging journey. Yet, like Viktor Frankl’s observations in the prison camps of Germany, the deep meaning and fulfillment of life is not pre-determined by our conditions. What a liberating realization!
As a Feldenkrais teacher for more than 30 years, I have met so many people dealing with potentially devastating losses. My gratitude to these people for the gift of sharing their journey is immense. Among many other things, I learned that one does not need to lose their eyes to deeply value seeing, nor their legs to appreciate walking. Also, I learned that when loss occurs there is always a potential gift that accompanies it. As Ram Das said to me as he was adjusting to life after his stroke, “when I remember to surrender, it is really delightful to be cared for and carried by others, I feel graced”. Grace, both as a gift (to be graced by) and as a quality (to move with grace) is intimately tied to gratitude.
To what do we offer this gratitude? Think of the wonderful ritual of saying grace before meals. To what do we direct our gratitude. Some give thanks to God, others to Life, Nature, the Nameless or the All. Though each has a distinct flavor, the fact that one does not take the gift for granted but completes the exchange with a heartfelt ‘thanks’ seems most important. The specific direction of the gratitude is much less significant than the sentiment.
Gratitude requires a pause, a moment of ‘stepping off the train’ of thought, to stand back. This can happen at any time. For example, right now, if you pause in your reading, sense yourself sitting, breathing, hearing, seeing, is there anything that you feel grateful for right at this moment? {Perhaps pause in your reading}
Now, think of all the beings who are supporting you in known and unknown ways. For example, imagine all the people who helped to bring your last meal. The farmers, storekeepers, truck drivers. Think of the interplay of sun, rain, earth, human labor, your bodily capacities for digestion, etc. that allow you to stay nourished. If any of these were missing you would be hungry, perhaps desperate for food.
Why is gratitude so important? Perhaps more than anything, inherent in gratitude is the sense of connectedness to other(s). We are lifted out of our delusion of separation. All of our unnecessary suffering is based in the mistaken identification with an isolated self. From a spiritual or transcendent perspective this is the most important question for humanity. Can our sense of self grow to include the other(s) and eventually to include all apparent other(s)? For me, a most accessible road to the heart of the matter is to remember the gifts that are constantly being showered upon us. This remembering, this valuing of the ordinary is always just one thought away.
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.
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