#630 Satisfying the Heart's Longing

     "Choose a question that speaks most deeply to your longing. Sitting in an upright posture, settling in to your breath and body, breathe your question in. You can ask, for example, 'Who am I?' And then breathe out, 'Who am I?' However you frame your inquiry, stay with it. If your mind wanders, gently return to your question.
     The discursive mind, our companion ever since we developed the capacity for language, enjoys being in charge of everything, and will rush in to give obvious answers: 'I'm a women, I'm Melissa, I'm sixty years old, I'm a teacher, a parent, a wife. I'm horrible, I'm wonderful.'
     Every time one of these answers arises simply set it aside and ask again. Eventually, this kind of answer stops coming, and may be replaced by a feeling of profound wonder. This feeling, sometimes called 'great doubt,' is highly valued in Zen.
     If you are not working with a teacher, at this point in your practice you must be your own Zen master. Patiently and firmly redirect yourself away from intellectual understanding and toward immediate and intimate experience. Don't settle for anything that doesn't completely satisfy your longing.
     In this state of great doubt, something surprising might reveal itself to you. As you continue to set aside all of your conventional answers, you also set aside all of your expectations and explanations. The mind will want to turn your experience into theories and memories. Don't let anything turn solid.
     Keep asking and don't give up. Eventually you will learn to live a new kind of life - one that is continually surprising, profoundly ordinary, and full of wonder."

       Melissa Myozen Blacker. "Who Am I?" Shambhala Sun, March 2015
 

#432 "I try, and I try, ... but I can't get No Satisfaction"

     "The desire for a more meaningful and authentic existence may be experienced as a vague sense of longing that cannot be satisfied by the attainment of external ego goals. Once the transitory nature of egoic satisfactions has been recognized, whether they are in the realm of material possessions, personal achievement, or interpersonal relationships, attention may be turned to inner development in a search for deeper meaning.
     Carl Jung suggested that the first half of life was appropriately devoted to external accomplishments and the development of ego, while the second half should be devoted to the inward journey and letting go of ego. Although healthy ego functioning may precede confrontation with existential issues in healthy human development, it appears that the process is not necessarily chronologically sequential. Ego development may be satisfactorily completed in early childhood, and a call to inner development can be experienced at any age. It is no longer necessary to make a choice between devoting oneself exclusively to outer or inner development. On the contrary, it appears that optimum well-being demands both. Perhaps if the inner life were not so badly neglected in the educational system, there would be less need for remedial work in psychotherapy in order to redress the balance between inner and outer development.  
     When inner experience has been ignored or repressed throughout adolescence & early adulthood, it can become a source of considerable pain, anguish, & existential despair. 
     If, on the other hand, existential concerns can be acknowledged in conjunction with one's work in the world, one may discover inner resources for guidance, inspiration & deep satisfaction that transcend the boundaries of isolated individual existence."

        Vaughn F. The Inward Arc. Healing in Psychotherapy and Spirituality. iUniverse.com Inc, Lincoln NE, 1995, 2000. 

     See also: http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/2013/10/408-deterioration-and-improvement-both.html

tko   www.dpreview.com

#410 Direct Engagement with Life

     Whenever our immediate perception of what's in front of us, or within us, is less than 100% accurate, then our response - our behavior - has to be proportionately inappropriate. Most of the time, our perception is distorted by our emotional attachment to memories of past ups or downs, which in turn project cravings or fears into our future. In this manner, our perception of reality ie what's actually happening right now, right here, is distorted - partially or completely hidden from us. We're continuously reliving past fantasies or nightmares (even though our memory of events is continuously revised ie is inaccurate). So quite literally, most of us live in a trance most of the time.
     The sooner we become aware of this terrible waste of our "one brief & precious life", the more seriously we practice to become mindful - to wake up to seeing things as they are, and behaving appropriately, kindly.

     See: http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/2012/06/141-reminders-to-prioritize.html

Dale Chihuly   http://www.chihulygardenandglass.com/