Chapter 5 Flashcards
Is it possible to sit with our difficult thoughts and feelings?
Yes absolutely, we must. Otherwise, if we fight them, it’s just craving or aversion. We can watch a difficult feeling coming and going, examine the sensations it brings to our body and observe it. We can just observe, welcome it even, breathe with it, be supported by the earth and the blue sky above. This might be hard at first, but eventually it becomes a practice, you might even welcome it or feel a sense of energy from it. Just sit with it and let the feeling exhaust itself.
Page 78-79
How are our body and mind related?
How we hold our body has a profound effect on our mind and vice versa; your posture and your mental states are intimately related. For example, when I am mentally fatigued I am more slumped. When I am excited my body is more alert.
Page 79
What does meditation teach us about reactivity?
It teaches us that we don’t need to react. We can allow it to be as it is. The thing about doing this is that things never stay the same for long anyway. When you observe it closely, you will notice that it changes and transforms into something else, or disappears altogether.
Page 80
What is “big mind”?
It is a feeling state that includes a sense of expansiveness. It begins with our own bodies and extends into the environment: the earth beneath us, the sky above, and the breathing world all around us.
Page 81-82
How can you work with emotions in general?
All emotions can be felt in the body. You need to try to open up around the emotion, rather than grasp at it. Craving and aversion both tighten rather than open up our sense of ourselves. So encourage yourself to open up with kindness and pay close attention to your body. Don’t allow judgement to creep in.
Page 86-87
Connecting with the material …
(Page 91)
Socrates: “The unexamined life is not worth living.”
Life is about living authentically, being as fully ourselves as we are able to. It does not depend on outside validation but your own inner sense of being fully yourself.
What is “beginner’s mind”?
Take a spirit of inquiry with every meditation you do. Don’t go into a meditation “expecting” a particular outcome - good, bad or otherwise.
Page 91-92
Pointers of loving-kindness meditation:
*Make it an inquiry into your heart.
*Keep it as simple as possible.
*Establish a connection with your body & breath and maintain this throughout the meditation.
*Keep to very simple direct thoughts.
*Remain aware of the body, particularly around the heart and the belly.
*If you have trouble with stage one, just think of the love and kindness you would give a child experiencing the same emotions.
