We can look directly at the disturbing emotions and other problems we experience in our lives as stepping stones to freedom instead of rejecting them or surrendering to them.
- We can befriend them, working through them to reach an enduring authentic experience of our inherent wisdom, confidence, clarity, or joy.
One of the main benefits of meditation practice is the opportunity to use difficult conditions (and the disturbing emotions that usually accompany them), to unlock the power and potential of the human mind.
- Many people never discover this transformative capacity or the breath of inner freedom it allows.
Simply coping with the internal and external challenges that present themselves on a daily basis leaves little time or reflection
- Taking what might be called a mental step back to evaluate our habitual responses to our day to day events, and consider that perhaps there may be other options.
Over time, a deadening sense of inevitability sets in – “This is the way I am, this is the way life works, there is nothing I can to do change it.”
- In those cases, people aren’t even aware of this way of seeing themselves and the world around them.
- This basic attitude of hopelessness sits like a layer of sludge on the bottom of a river – present but unseen.
- Basic hopelessness affects people regardless of their circumstances.
Re-source: Re-associate
Do not in any way try conquering problems or getting rid of the sense of loneliness, discomfort, or fear that haunts our daily lives. On the contrary, we can find our freedom only through embracing the conditions that trouble us.
Instead of trying to block distractions or give into them, we can welcome them as friends.
- “Hello fear, How are you? Why don’t you stick around awhile so we can get to know each other.”
This practice of gently welcoming thoughts, emotions, and sensations is commonly referred to as “mindfulness” – to become conscious.
- What we are becoming conscious of are all the subtle processes if mind and body that ordinarily escape our notice because we are focused on the “big picture” – the dominant aspect of experience that hijacks our attention, overwhelming us or provoking an urge to escape.
craving and resource “Joyful Wisdom” – embracing change and finding freedom – by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche with Eric Swanson
