Tag: Stress Reduction

Anchoring the mind in stormy weather

Karl DuffyLeave a comment

Our breathing is a stable solid ground that we can take refuge in. Regardless of our internal weather – our thoughts, emotions and perceptions- our breathing is always with us like a faithful friend. Whenever we feel carried away, or sunken in a deep emotion, or scattered in worries and projects, we return to our breathing to collect and anchor our mind. We feel the flow of air coming in and going out of our nose. We feel how light and natural, how calm and peaceful our breathing functions. At any time, we can return to this peaceful source of life.

We may like to recite: “Breathing in I know that I am breathing in.
Breathing out I know that I am breathing out.”

We do not need to control our breath. Feel the breath as it actually is. It may be long or short, deep or shallow. Conscious breathing is the key to uniting body and mind and bringing the energy of mindfulness into everyday life.

Thich Nhat Hahn

An intimate awareness of an overall process

Karl DuffyLeave a comment

Aware of my body, I breathe in. Relaxing my body, I breathe out.
Calming my body, I breathe in. Caring for my body, I breathe out

Thich Nhat Hahn

Breathing is the movement of life, the vital process that connects the body with its environment. The more we open and deepen awareness of the breath and the body, the m0re we understand the intrinsic dynamism of our entire experience. Nothing stands still for a moment. Breath, heartbeat, body, feelings, thoughts, environment are facts of an indivisible, interactive system, no part of which can really be claimed as “me” or “mine”

Stephen Batchelor, Buddhism without Beliefs.

Take a step back

Karl Duffy3 Comments

The life view of getting things done and getting ahead moves in one direction; stepping back does not seem to be in accord with that view. It’s non-productive, so we don’t have time for it. But what we realize is that if we don’t step back , time has us. We are on the run, on the treadmill of work, career and getting ahead; on the vehicle of what we can get out of life, a vehicle that’s driven by a blind driver. But if we can’t afford ten minutes or even five minutes, that blind driver is going to stay in the driver’s seat. If we can step back, and not be anything or be nothing – not adopting some view that life’s a waste of time, but just curtail being wasted by time –  then there is room for a subtle inner light to dawn. For a moment we can stop putting the pressure on, and stop running to find something to be filled by.

Ajahn Sucitto, Turning the Wheel of Truth.

Sunday Quote: Imitate the Trees

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Imitate the trees.

Learn to lose in order to recover, and remember that nothing stays the same for long, not even pain.

May Sarton

Learning to surf

Karl Duffy2 Comments

As human beings we have a tendency to scramble for certainty whenever we realize that everything around us is in flux. In difficult times the stress of trying to find solid ground – something predictable and safe to stand on – seems to intensify. But in truth the very nature of our existence is forever in flux. Everything keeps changing, whether we are aware of it or not. So this is where we find ourselves, right in the middle of a dilemma. And it leaves us with some provocative questions: How can we live wholeheartedly in the face of impermanence…? What is it like to realize that we can never completely and finally get it all together? Is it possible to increase our tolerance for instability and change?

Pema Chodron, Living Beautifully with Uncertainty and Change

Underneath

Karl Duffy6 Comments

Meditation is based on the premise that the natural state of the mind is calm and clear. It provides a way to train our mind to settle into this state. Our first reason for meditating might be that we want some freedom from our agitated mind. We want to discover the basic goodness of our natural mind. To do this requires us first to slow down and experience our mind as it is. In the process, we get to know how our mind works. We see that wherever the mind is abiding—in anger, in desire, in jealousy, or in peace—that is where we also are abiding. We begin to see that we have a choice in the matter: we do not have to act at the whim of every thought. We can abide peacefully. Meditation is a way to slow down and see how our mind works.

Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche