Hey People,
As you know of late I’ve been trying to do some work on myself and how I approach my life, and thoughts, etc. I’ve come to realize that I need consistent, daily support, or guidance in some way; call it what you will. I was raised as a Catholic, but like many of my generation I did not keep practicing, and it’s teachings just didn’t work for me. I know lots of practicing Catholics, and I fully appreciate their belief system.
I mentioned previously that I have read up quite a bit and taken interest in other Religions, Spiritual philosophies. But I never kept anything up. Of late I have realized that I need to focus on daily practice of some kind to keep my mind and how I live my life in a more stable place. I’m not suddenly becoming born again ‘anything’. I’m simply acknowledging that I need that structure, and some form of teachings to try and keep my mind focused on what’s good for me.
I’m achieving this very well by spending forty five minutes to an hour every morning after meditation reading some books with messages I find helpful, and that make sense to me. I’m not concerned which religion they are; what I like and find helpful is all that matters.
I’m still reading and practicing Tonglon, which is taught in the book I talked about in my previous post. Today I have been learning about those things that are perhaps toxic in my life, or even within my mind : ) Pema talks about Poison, which comes in the form of good and bad: Passion, Aggression, and Ignorance; discussing how we can use all of these as medicine. She says these three things are triggered “by people and situations in our lives”.
If we even look back over a couple of my posts from last week you can see a perfect illustration of how I have allowed others and their judgments to affect me. Pema discusses how when we fixate on something, whether good or bad, we are making it into something solid and that this is a trap as it is using up the precious energy of our minds, and makes us feel bad.
A trigger usually causes one of three responses: A pleasant one causes craving, an unpleasant one causes aversion, and a neutral one causes ignorance. This is simplifying the ways in which we react to people and situations. It is very handy to know this for both us and for understanding, or observing others.
An important message that Pema expresses, and of course the main teaching of the Tongln practice is that it is vital that we do not try to force either of these unwanted feelings to go away, or let certain feeling hang around in our mind. When we do the above our reaction is usually one of two things: we act out, or we repress!
So how do we stop ourselves from acting out or repressing, from grabbing or mulling over? Pema names these unwanted feeling or situations as a character called ‘Mortimer’. I have decide to call mine ‘Little Miss Trickster!’ The objective is not to allow Little Miss Trickster to grab me by the hand and make me follow her around, nor is it for me to try to make her disappear… It is simply to acknowledge her and basically watch her patiently walk by with compassion and an open heart. She will walk out of the picture at some point, as all thoughts do. The result aimed for is that we are turning the ‘poison’ into medicine! Teaching us to be more gentle and deepening our awareness of our minds tendencies and how they can trap us and stop us from experiencing a happier, simpler, and more calm life.
Daily diving into these teachings is very important for me, and I find it very helpful. I go into the day feeling calmer and happier, and less imprisoned.
From Little Miss Trickster, and Treya, Bye for now!
Hope you’re all ok…
: )
Hey People,
As you know of late I’ve been trying to do some work on myself and how I approach my life, and thoughts, etc. I’ve come to realize that I need consistent, daily support, or guidance in some way; call it what you will. I was raised as a Catholic, but like many of my generation I did not keep practicing, and it’s teachings just didn’t work for me. I know lots of practicing Catholics, and I fully appreciate their belief system.
I mentioned previously that I have read up quite a bit and taken interest in other Religions, Spiritual philosophies. But I never kept anything up. Of late I have realized that I need to focus on daily practice of some kind to keep my mind and how I live my life in a more stable place. I’m not suddenly becoming born again ‘anything’. I’m simply acknowledging that I need that structure, and some form of teachings to try and keep my mind focused on what’s good for me.
I’m achieving this very well by spending forty five minutes to an hour every morning after meditation reading some books with messages I find helpful, and that make sense to me. I’m not concerned which religion they are; what I like and find helpful is all that matters.
I’m still reading and practicing Tonglon, which is taught in the book I talked about in my previous post. Today I have been learning about those things that are perhaps toxic in my life, or even within my mind : ) Pema talks about Poison, which comes in the form of good and bad: Passion, Aggression, and Ignorance; discussing how we can use all of these as medicine. She says these three things are triggered “by people and situations in our lives”.
If we even look back over a couple of my posts from last week you can see a perfect illustration of how I have allowed others and their judgments to affect me. Pema discusses how when we fixate on something, whether good or bad, we are making it into something solid and that this is a trap as it is using up the precious energy of our minds, and makes us feel bad.
A trigger usually causes one of three responses: A pleasant one causes craving, an unpleasant one causes aversion, and a neutral one causes ignorance. This is simplifying the ways in which we react to people and situations. It is very handy to know this for both us and for understanding, or observing others.
An important message that Pema expresses, and of course the main teaching of the Tongln practice is that it is vital that we do not try to force either of these unwanted feelings to go away, or let certain feeling hang around in our mind. When we do the above our reaction is usually one of two things: we act out, or we repress!
So how do we stop ourselves from acting out or repressing, from grabbing or mulling over? Pema names these unwanted feeling or situations as a character called ‘Mortimer’. I have decide to call mine ‘Little Miss Trickster!’ The objective is not to allow Little Miss Trickster to grab me by the hand and make me follow her around, nor is it for me to try to make her disappear… It is simply to acknowledge her and basically watch her patiently walk by with compassion and an open heart. She will walk out of the picture at some point, as all thoughts do. The result aimed for is that we are turning the ‘poison’ into medicine! Teaching us to be more gentle and deepening our awareness of our minds tendencies and how they can trap us and stop us from experiencing a happier, simpler, and more calm life.
Daily diving into these teachings is very important for me, and I find it very helpful. I go into the day feeling calmer and happier, and less imprisoned.
From Little Miss Trickster, and Treya, Bye for now!
Hope you’re all ok…
: )