The only reality we know is our concept of it.
Life is nothing till we call it something, and this is where mind training comes in.
Through it we learn to hold our concepts loosely, particularly those that allow unhelpful emotions to take over and cause us problems.
Karuna Cayton, The Misleading Mind
Here is one of the practices I referred to in the post this morning. It comes from the community established by Thich Nhat Hanh. I like it because it balances an awareness of the human condition and the inevitability of change with a focus on present actions.
I am of the nature to grow old. There is no way to escape growing old.
I am of the nature to have ill-health. There is no way to escape ill-health.
I am of the nature to die. There is no way to escape death.
All that is dear to me and everyone I love are the nature to change.
There is no way to escape being separated from them.
My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions.
My actions are the ground upon which I stand.
Thich Nhat Hanh, Plum Village Chanting Book
In most wisdom traditions there are practices where we remind ourselves of the fact that we will all grow ill and die, as a basic truth of human nature. In the Western Churches remembering those who have gone before us occurs at the start of November, as they took over the pre-existing importance of this time in the Celtic calendar. These practices are mainly designed to allow wisdom to grow and to encourage us to fully live each day, to see each day as a gift.
We must make good use of this life for the time we have left.
This brief flash of light, like the sun appearing through the clouds.
Kalu Rinpoche
This evening we celebrate Halloween which is based on the most important Ancient Irish and Celtic feast, that of Samhain. The Celtic year was divided into two parts, the bright half from the 1st of May until today, and the dark half, starting tomorrow. Today stood in-between, when Summer not quite fully over, but the old year was dying and winter was about to begin. On this in-between day it was felt that the normal barriers between the visible and invisible worlds were less strong. The normal Celtic sensitivity to the hidden world – their awareness that the other world was always there right beside them – was heightened, So for us too, it can be a day to be more aware of deeper dimensions, by not rushing past the “ordinary” or the routine, by not expecting real happiness to be elsewhere, but by tuning in to the “bits and pieces of everyday” as poet Paddy Kavanagh reminded us.
One comes to know the interior of the exterior. One comes to know the inside of every outside. It’s not only human beings that have an interior or an inside, but that the world around us as well can be known inwardly. Life is dense with those levels of experience, but we need to calm ourselves, get clear, get quiet, direct attention, sustain the attention, open up to what is normally invisible, and certain things begin to show themselves. Maybe gently to begin with, but nonetheless it deepens and enriches our lives. If we are committed to knowledge, then we ought to be committed also to exploring the world with these lenses, with this method in mind and heart.
Arthur Zajonc, Professor of Physics, Amherst College
Try pausing right before and right after undertaking a new action,
even something simple like putting a key in a lock to open a door.
Such pauses take a brief moment,
yet they have the effect of decompressing time and centering you.
David Stiendl Rast
We will not perish for want of information,
but only for want of appreciation
The beginning of our happiness lies in the understanding
that life without wonder in not worth living.
Abraham Heschel, God in search of Man
Mindfulbalance 