Continued Consciousness

Gold Flakes

Today, I surrendered myself into an unusually deep meditation.

In the depths of it, I found within myself, tiny flakes of pure joy which reminded me that everything is going to be just fine.

Having a Great Day

this is going to sound like some wishy-washy self help book, but I just want to share a little insight I had on the way home from work.

I recently got a new job and started at the bottom of the totem pole. It was a very rocky start to say the least. Those two weeks were very unsettling for me. I skipped out on my usual meditation/running regimens. I didn’t get enough sleep, and I drank too much coffee. But today, I realize I’ve grown immensely in the two weeks. Because of this, I began to feel comfortable and relaxed for the first time since I began.

Now that I’m here, now that I’ve accomplished this feat, I realize that I have no more of a right to be happy than I did yesterday, or any day since I began this job. I let myself feel intimidated and undeserving until I proved myself. I’m sure that’s no way to live.

I imagine this is how a retired CEO feels, after working for 40 years to cover up his inner sense of inadequacy.

The thing to gain from this post is simply that positive states of mind are not reserved for the accomplished. 

Spaciousness

I recently moved in to a new room in a house with some great guys. I didn’t take anything except clothes, my laptop, zafu, guitar, and some sheets. I don’t have any furniture. The room is 95% empty space.

And I love it.

Why do we tend to focus on buying gadgets to trap us inside of our rooms? I know I had computer monitors, guitars, amplifiers, musical equipment, shelves of books.

Instead of finding stimulation alone in a room, why don’t we spend our day at the park? Then the room can be a place of peace to come home to.

I’m sure many of you will find this advice obvious. Well, it’s not so obvious for me, and I’m writing this for the people who may spend a lot of time in their rooms (where are you reading this post from??)

Commissioning a Symphony in C

I often think of this stanza from a good ol’ cake song, Commissioning a Symphony in C. They help me remember that thinking about things that could be, things that will be, and things that don’t exist, are a short path to unhappiness. Peace comes from acceptance of the moment!

You’re sitting there thinking your thoughts
They are not about what is but what is not
You are sitting there breathing in your breath
You are seldom breathing life but mostly death

Loving-Kindness

I love mindfulness in plain English. Before every meditation session, release yourself temporarily from your ego by using these words (or similar words) with intention.

1. May I be well, happy and peaceful. May no harm come to me. May no difficulties come to me. May no problems come to me. May I always meet with success.

May I also have patience, courage, understanding, and determination to meet and overcome inevitable difficulties, problems, and failures in life.

2. May my parents be well, happy and peaceful. May no harm come to them. May no difficulties come to them. May no problems come to them. May they always meet with success.
May they also have patience, courage, understanding, and determination to meet and overcome inevitable difficulties, problems, and failures in life.

3. May my teachers be well, happy and peaceful. May no harm come to them. May no difficulties come to them. May no problems come to them. May they always meet with success.
May they also have patience, courage, understanding, and determination to meet and overcome inevitable difficulties, problems, and failures in life.

4. May my relatives be well, happy and peaceful. May no harm come to them. May no difficulties come to them. May no problems come to them. May they always meet with success.
May they also have patience, courage, understanding, and determination to meet and overcome inevitable difficulties, problems, and failures in life.

5. May my friends be well, happy and peaceful. May no harm come to them. May no difficulties come to them. May no problems come to them. May they always meet with success.
May they also have patience, courage, understanding, and determination to meet and overcome inevitable difficulties, problems, and failures in life.

6. May all indifferent persons be well, happy and peaceful. May no harm come to them. May no difficulties come to them. May no problems come to them. May they always meet with success.
May they also have patience, courage, understanding, and determination to meet and overcome inevitable difficulties, problems, and failures in life.

7. May my enemies be well, happy and peaceful. May no harm come to them. May no difficulties come to them. May no problems come to them. May they always meet with success.
May they also have patience, courage, understanding, and determination to meet and overcome inevitable difficulties, problems, and failures in life.

8. May all living beings be well, happy and peaceful. May no harm come to them. May no difficulties come to them. May no problems come to them. May they always meet with success.
May they also have patience, courage, understanding, and determination to meet and overcome inevitable difficulties, problems, and failures in life.

(Source: urbandharma.org)

Treasure Hunting Inside

As humble as my meditation practice is, I feel like a treasure hunter. I’m always finding treasure within. Today, during my meditation:

I learned that our modern world tends to make us believe that we are incomplete. That we aren’t good enough. That we’re doing everything wrong, and we should be ashamed. But the truth is we are complete, in fact we’re perfect. No matter which path we take, it’s perfect. The only sin that exists is not enjoying it.

It’s something I’m sure many of you have seen for yourselves.

Always Remember The Goal

The goal is to be continually conscious.

Psychology, the descriptive science

A very psychologically oriented friend has been explaining to me my MBTI psychology. Apparently I am an INTJ. This means that I have some interesting psychological quirks. For instance, I have trouble understanding the importance of social rituals. 

Apparently I am limited in social abilities. But what this friend doesn’t understand is that I am not my psychology. I can not let myself be defined by it. I shouldn’t say, “well, I’m an INTJ so I’ll never understand relationships.” Rather, it is a temporary and vague measure of the traits which I manifest most often.

My true self is deeper than these manifestations. I am that which experiences life, not the compulsive mind-robot which thinks.