March 18th, 2017
Affirmation: There are literally billions and billions of thoughts I can choose to think. I chose the ones that serve me.
Word of the Day: vaunting (adj):
____
Attachment
Visualize yourself blindfolded in a swimming pool. You are fairly certain that the edge of the pool is within arm's reach, so you're desperately flailing and struggling to grab onto it. You are exhausted, anxious to give your tired arms and legs a break, ready for some relief.
What you do not realize is that the edge is nowhere near you. In fact, there is no edge to grab onto at all because you are not really in a swimming pool. You are in a limitless ocean. Your fruitless attempts at trying to grab onto an edge that isn't there are stressing you out and are yielding only more angst, frustration, and despair.
What if you decide to pause now? Imagine yourself taking a slow, deep breath, filling your lungs completely and exhaling slowly. You finally realize that there is nothing close by to hold onto. Attaching yourself to anything right now is merely an illusion and a delusion. There is only water surrounding you.
You realize that instead of struggling against the water around you, you can accept it, relax, and float, riding the waves and the current, allowing this ocean of life to carry you along rather than fighting it.
Today I invite you to consider these questions:
What are you desperately trying to hold on to in your life?
What is it costing you?
What do you fear will happen if you let go?
How is it affecting you?
What "waves" and "currents" are you encountering in your life right now? These might be thoughts, feelings, work challenges, illness, etc. How might you accept and allow the waves to "carry" you rather than fighting against them?
Now, imagine that the thing you are trying to hold onto does not exist. Visualize yourself letting it go, and watching it float away as you float in the ocean of life.
How would this change your situation?
What does unskillful clinging mean and look like to you?
What does mastery over your attachments mean and look like to you?
What are those things you are attached to (tangible and intangible)?
I would love to hear your thoughts!
Affirmation: There are literally billions and billions of thoughts I can choose to think. I chose the ones that serve me.
Word of the Day: vaunting (adj):
1. having a
boastfully proud disposition: a vaunting
dictator.
2. marked by
boastful pride: a vaunting air of
superiority.
Wax
When I see you and how
you are,
I close my eyes to the other.
For your Solomon's seal I become wax
throughout my body. I wait to be light.
I give up opinions on all matters.
I become the reed flute for your breath.
I close my eyes to the other.
For your Solomon's seal I become wax
throughout my body. I wait to be light.
I give up opinions on all matters.
I become the reed flute for your breath.
You were inside my hand.
I kept reaching around for something.
I was inside your hand, but I kept asking questions
of those who know very little.
I kept reaching around for something.
I was inside your hand, but I kept asking questions
of those who know very little.
I must have been
incredibly simple or drunk or insane
to sneak into my own house and steal money,
to climb over my own fence and take my own vegetables.
But no more. I have gotten free of that ignorant fist
that was pinching and twisting my secret self.
to sneak into my own house and steal money,
to climb over my own fence and take my own vegetables.
But no more. I have gotten free of that ignorant fist
that was pinching and twisting my secret self.
The universe and the
light of the stars come through me.
I am the crescent moon put up
over the gate to the festival.
I am the crescent moon put up
over the gate to the festival.
____
Attachment
Visualize yourself blindfolded in a swimming pool. You are fairly certain that the edge of the pool is within arm's reach, so you're desperately flailing and struggling to grab onto it. You are exhausted, anxious to give your tired arms and legs a break, ready for some relief.
What you do not realize is that the edge is nowhere near you. In fact, there is no edge to grab onto at all because you are not really in a swimming pool. You are in a limitless ocean. Your fruitless attempts at trying to grab onto an edge that isn't there are stressing you out and are yielding only more angst, frustration, and despair.
What if you decide to pause now? Imagine yourself taking a slow, deep breath, filling your lungs completely and exhaling slowly. You finally realize that there is nothing close by to hold onto. Attaching yourself to anything right now is merely an illusion and a delusion. There is only water surrounding you.
You realize that instead of struggling against the water around you, you can accept it, relax, and float, riding the waves and the current, allowing this ocean of life to carry you along rather than fighting it.
Life is a whole lot easier when we understand this metaphor.
Detachment as release from desire and
consequently from suffering is an important principle, or even ideal, in the
Bahá'í Faith, Buddhism,
Hinduism, Jainism and Taoism.
It is
impossible to live in the world without attachments, or indeed to eradicate
them. Our affections for others, the desire to succeed in our endeavors, our
interests and passions, our love of life itself—all of these are attachments
and potential sources of disappointment or suffering, but they are the
substance of our humanity and the elements of engaged and fulfilled lives. The
challenge is not to rid oneself of attachments but to become enlightened
concerning them.
The key, then, is the giving up of
unskillful clinging. In their proper
perspective—when we can see them clearly and master them rather than being
mastered by them—desires and attachments enable us to lead interesting and
significant lives.
From a
Buddhist perspective:
“It
is our small ego, our “lesser self,” that makes us slaves to our desires and
causes us to suffer… practice enables us to break out of the shell of our
lesser self and awaken to the “greater self” of our inherent Buddha nature.”
Today I invite you to consider these questions:
What are you desperately trying to hold on to in your life?
What is it costing you?
What do you fear will happen if you let go?
How is it affecting you?
What "waves" and "currents" are you encountering in your life right now? These might be thoughts, feelings, work challenges, illness, etc. How might you accept and allow the waves to "carry" you rather than fighting against them?
Now, imagine that the thing you are trying to hold onto does not exist. Visualize yourself letting it go, and watching it float away as you float in the ocean of life.
How would this change your situation?
What does unskillful clinging mean and look like to you?
What does mastery over your attachments mean and look like to you?
What are those things you are attached to (tangible and intangible)?
I would love to hear your thoughts!
This is in line with what Deepak said to me today - 'Take the stand of witnessing awareness' - without clinging, possessiveness or ownership, or the need to control people, events or outcomes.
ReplyDeleteI love that advice - I need to remind myself of it daily!
Delete