Today, instead of trying to alter the mind, simply let it settle…like a glass of chalky water. I am on retreat at Dzoghen Beara in West Cork. The meditation room looks out over a vast expanse of water, with ever changing light, a series of rocky inlets and little groups of gulls flying by, heads to the wind, making only intermittent progress.
We started with our posture; make it majestic; be like a
mighty leopard, ready to spring; alert, poised and yet totally calm. The next
favourite of mine, to recommend, is to return from distractions. In my case,
since I’ve stopped worrying about myself, I moved swiftly on to worrying about
everyone else. That does not create a much better resonance, maybe even
fractionally worse. Because I can direct my thoughts successfully but of course
you can’t direct anyone else’s.
So first I got distracted for a moment by thoughts of my two
uncles who I lost recently. I wondered if they’d got to heaven okay. I did a
little clearing of any turbulence that might be holding them to this plane. I
wondered if they were now officially guardian angels. I started asking them
advice on decisions. Then I pulled myself back to an awareness of my breath,
what I was gazing at and the present moment. I moved on to gratitude for all
the people that are still alive, like my parents and Jani who is looking after
Harmony Hall. Then I thought of the volunteers here. One has just finished a
masters in dance at Limerick University. I wondered if I could do that. I
laughed to myself that I applied to do a masters in mysticism at queens last
week and only half way through the email communication did I realize I’d
applied to Queens in Canada, rather than in Belfast!
At last my mind quieted and I was able to sit for a while,
without self judgement or expectations. The good news from Buddha is that our
true nature is beyond suffering and is happiness. That’s the same for everyone.
Keep coming back to that!
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