An empty mind

To see the empty nature of mind is liberating. It’s like a room full of furniture. Originally the room is empty. The furniture is brought in piece by piece. The person living there knows that anything they brought into the room can also be taken out — chairs, beds, tables, and so on. Similarly anything brought into the mind by prior causes and conditions can be taken out — afflictive emotions… all kinds of suffering. Nothing is stuck. This empty nature is the direct route to freedom. Once we know it, it is only a question of doing the work. As Suzuki Roshi put it, “People who know the state of emptiness will always be able to dissolve their problems by constancy.” Constancy here means continuing with our practice of right effort. Once we know the peace of an empty mind, we only need to keep letting go of the sources of suffering. The field of awareness, like vast space, is intrinsically empty. 

Guy Amstrong, in his new book,  Emptiness, A Practical Guide for Meditators

In face of our fears

If we realize that our greatest enemy is fear

and what it does to us,  and how much it launches these automatic protective programs, 

then we realize that there’s a kind of daily summons to stand up in face of our fears

and risk being who we are and risk potential loss of our comfort zones

and the consensual approval that every child needs, 

but which becomes a kind of constrictive burden for the adult

James Hollis  

A good attitude for the week

If you don’t like something, change it.

If you can’t change it, change your attitude.

Don’t complain.

Maya Angelou

Sunday Quote: Awareness

Very foggy here in Ireland this morning. Autumn starts early – a “season of mists and mellow fruitfulness

It is more about seeing the moments of joy that are already there rather than having to work hard at creating them.

We are put on earth a little space, 
That we may learn to bear the beams of love.

William Blake

Finding ourselves as we journey

Sometimes everything
has to be
inscribed across
the heavens

so you can find
the one line
already written
inside you.

Sometimes it takes
a great sky
to find that

first, bright
and indescribable
wedge of freedom
in your own heart.

David Whyte, The Journey

Not listening to outside voices

 

Childhood events and interactions can cause wounds which manifest later in the form of an inner  critic, making us feel smaller when faced with stressful situations. It is good to practice resting in our inner innate goodness – the light that comes from within – and not give other persons power over our moods or thoughts.

The object of this learning
is to remove outside authority
from your inner life.
Eliminate the old habit of
listening to others about your
own comfort and convenience

Moshe Feldenkrais