“Trying harder and putting in that extra bit of exertion was so counterproductive!”
Throughout our time together, we slowly learned we were not responsible for each other’s happiness. True happiness can only be found within ourselves.
If we want to release tension or rumination, we emphasize the exhalation and the gap at the end before the inhalation. If we want to energize, we emphasize the inhale, and the place at the top of the inhale.
When we have committed to the path of meditation, we tend to impose this desire for consistency on that, too, so should we experience any sort of dip in our meditation practice, we feel uncomfortable, dissatisfied, insecure — all those bugaboos start vying for our attention.
Once I was giving a teaching on love. The theme of the talk was that everyone has love within them. No matter what the circumstance, who you are, or where you are in the world, you have love 24 hours a day — even when you are feeling anger or hatred. During this talk, it looked to me like all the students were very happy. I was, too.
If our modern relationship to food had a motto, it would likely be borrowed from that potato chip brand’s famous slogan: “Bet you can’t eat just one!” There’s a lot to unpack in that playful dare, but it certainly sums it up.
Meditation charges the mind like a battery. If you want to embark on an artistic endeavor, or a scientific, environmental, or academic line of inquiry, a culinary creation, or a musical composition – wherever your creative impulses take you! — meditation enhances that creativity. It gives you the necessary energy to engage creatively.
Although the good qualities are right there within us and all around us, if we fail to recognize them, there’s not much they can do for us. But if we recognize them, it opens up a world of possibilities.
The golden thread that runs through all of the Joy of Living is awareness. Mingyur Rinpoche introduces us directly to awareness by virtue of a practice he calls “open awareness.” To use the traditional analogy of the ocean and the wave, this is an introduction to the ocean — the vast, clean, pure expanse that is our inheritance. It is our abiding nature, always there, and can never be made better or worse. This is who we truly are.
Just as you are beginning to wake up, bring your awareness to your feet. “Bringing awareness” just means to simply feel them, be aware of their existence. Slowly, in a relaxed way, move your awareness up to your legs, torso, and head. Whatever sensations may arise, whether pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral, just let them be as they are.
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