Tag: Fear

Working with the stuck situations in our lives

Karl DuffyLeave a comment

How do I communicate to the heart so that a stuck situation can ventilate? How do I communicate so that things that seem frozen, unworkable, and eternally aggressive begin to soften up, and some kind of compassionate exchange begins to happen?  It starts with being willing to have a compassionate relationship with the parts of ourselves that we feel are not worthy of existing on the planet. If we are willing through meditation to be mindful not only of what feels comfortable, but also of what pain feels like, if we even aspire to stay awake and open to what we’re feeling, to recognize and acknowledge it as best we can in each moment, then something begins to change.

Pema Chodron

At times we need to face what we are afraid of

Karl DuffyLeave a comment

The tendency to pretend everything is okay, while avoiding unpleasant realities, can be seen in external social relationships and internally as well.  But to train your heart and mind you need to stop pretending. Destructive patterns thrive on being hidden. That is what allows them to maintain their power. But if you are brave enough to arouse these powerful forces, to confront them, and to examine them, you can begin to free yourself from their control. Ironically, in order to develop true peace, you need to be willing to rile things up.

Judy Lief

The energy that is in our fear

Karl DuffyLeave a comment

When we come face to face with the fear and pain in our psyche, we stand at the gateway to tremendous renewal and freedom. Our deepest nature is awareness, and when we fully inhabit that, we love freely and are whole… When we stop fighting the energy that has been bound in fear, it naturally releases into the boundless sea of awareness. The more we awaken from the grip of fear, the more radiant and free becomes the heart. 

Tara Brach, Radical Acceptance

Not getting carried away by the wind

Karl Duffy1 Comment

The goal of attention, or shamatha, practice is to become aware of awareness. Awareness is the basis, or what you might call the “support,” of the mind. It is steady and unchanging, like the pole to which the flag of ordinary consciousness is attached. When we recognize and become grounded in awareness, the “wind” of emotion may still blow. But instead of being carried away by the wind, we turn our attention inward, watching the shifts and changes with the intention of becoming familiar with that aspect of consciousness that recognizes  Oh, this is what I’m feeling, this is what I’m thinking. As we do so, a bit of space opens up within us. With practice, that space—which is the mind’s natural clarity—begins to expand and settle.

Yongey Mingpur Rinpoche

An underlying reality

Karl DuffyLeave a comment

It is good to examine the reasons why we find fault with others or gossip or blame them for things that have happened. Often we will see, if we look deeply enough, that these behaviours are rooted in fear. Fear and anxiety evolved to keep us from physical danger. Our brains use the same mechanisms when it comes to emotional danger also, and depending on the upbringing we have, we can find that we expend a lot of energy each day dealing with fear. This underlying fear is not easy to work with; however, acknowledging it and becoming aware of our instinct to run away  or cover it up with distractions, relationships and busyness,  is a necessary starting point. We practice looking at what scares us and opening to all that life offers. We develop a greater compassion towards ourselves and our confidence can grow.

If we are honest with ourselves,

most of us will have to admit that we live out our lives in an ocean of fear.

Jon Kabat Zinn

The key to our happiness: the natural warmth of the heart

Karl DuffyLeave a comment

Meditation is one of the keys
to unlocking the natural generosity of the heart.

Underneath the greedy and selfish thoughts and feelings that are part of the human condition lies a pure desire to help.

We experience this in our mindfulness practice.

When we let go there is a natural acceptance
and feeling of care.

Noah Levine