Fragrant Heart Blog

Your attitude to your thoughts and images throughout the day, and even in your meditation practice will make a huge difference to the quality of your life.  There’s enough research to show that a positive attitude enhances our immune systems, which creates greater health and vitality.

When you are sitting in meditation and thoughts and images arise that are not so pleasant for you, what do you do?  Throughout everything written on Fragrant Heart I emphasize to accept and allow whatever arises in meditation, to observe the thoughts or images, and to understand that the job of the mind is to keep on creating thoughts and images throughout your life.  It’s the attachment to the thoughts and images that lead to suffering and misery. 

Say for example, when you go about your day and you have a persistent negative thought.  This is a thought that is really bugging you.  You just can’t get rid of it, and it’s making you feel bad about yourself. What could you do about that?  Yes, you could sit and meditate but maybe that’s not possible at the time.  Well, first of all accept and allow that thought or image.  It’s not going away no matter how hard you try to push it away.  Then turn the thought or image into something else.  Create a positive thought or image for yourself.  For example, you may have screwed up around something or someone, and feel that you are worthless. You could say to yourself, “Even though this didn’t work out, I am still a worthwhile person, and I have the resilience and capability to get through this.”  Doing this you are changing the thought or image. You are creating an attitude of positive thinking and compassion for yourself.  Keep on doing this until you feel a change in yourself.

Share this link with:

del.icio.usDiggFurlNetscapeYahoo! My WebStumbleUponGoogle BookmarksTechnoratiBlinkListNewsvinema.gnoliareddit

Email to a friend

I came across a very up to date book on all sorts of current topics in the field of mind, body and spirit.  It’s a book called, Peak Vitality edited by Jeanne M. House MA and featuring many recognized leaders in their field.  It was published in 2008.

In the book there’s an article written by Wayne Dywer PhD who has written many books on spirituality over the last couple of decades.  His chapter in the book is called, “Why Meditate?”  I’d like to quote one of the paragraphs he has written because you may find it of interest as another viewpoint on someone’s understanding of meditation. 

Wayne Dywer writes:

“When we meditate we begin to still the mind.  As we get more and more adept at moving into inner silence, we come to know the peace of God in our entire being.  We intuitively seek union with our generating source.  Silence, or meditation, is the path to that centre.  We can make conscious contact with God, transcend the limitations of a dichotomous world, and regain the power that is only available to us when we’re connected to the Source.  This is what I call getting in the gap.  It’s where we create, manifest, heal, live, and perform at a miraculous level.  The gap is the powerful silence where we can access the stillness that may have been unattainable in other meditation attempts.”

Meditation is one route along the spiritual path.  Meditation leads to greater empathy, and deeper compassion for ourselves and others. It helps us to accept our limitations, and at times helplessness as human beings.  It reduces our need to harshly judge ourselves and others.

I’ve just been reading a book by Linda Martinez-Lewi, Ph.D. called “Freeing Yourself from the Narcissist in Your Life” (published 2008). Although the book is about a specific behavioural disorder found in certain people she writes some wise words about the spiritual path. Although a counsellor herself, she does say that therapy alone has limitations.

I believe there is something greater that calls to each one of us to live who we truly are freed of the conditionings that stop us being able to embrace life with love, compassion and freedom.  Some people only discover this after some trauma, or crisis that shakes them to their foundations. 

Here is an insightful quote from Linda Martinez-Lewi’s book:

“Following a spiritual path is often discouraging, humbling, tedious, boring, mystifying.  It requires that we acknowledge our shortcomings and failures without defensiveness.  It asks us to become naked to ourselves and eventually transparent.  A person who possesses the spiritual quality of transparency is always the same, despite the people or circumstances that he encounters.  He moves through life with calmness, grace, and equanimity.  He treats everyone with respect and lifts the psychic weight of others. His heart is strong and soft, resolute and adaptable.” 

(Linda Martinez-Lewi uses the gender form of ‘he’ throughout the book but emphasizes the use of ‘she’ also.)

You may already be doing this, so here’s an idea to enhance your meditations.  Meditation is after all a spiritual practice.  Following a spiritual path means we become more aware of ourselves.  We become more mature.  We can face our demons, (our shadow side), and be more compassionate to ourselves, and the helplessness and limitations at times of being a human being.  We let go harshly judging others.  We let go resentments and blame as we accept ourselves more, as we stop judging ourselves so harshly.  We take greater responsibility for what we do and say, and how our actions affect others.  This is all part of maturing and it releases us from our inflated sense of self importance.  I believe, as we do this we become more empathic toward others.  We extend the compassion that we know and feel in ourselves toward others.

And here’s something to enhance that on a daily basis.  At the end of your meditation practice, quietly say to yourself, “May all beings be happy.  May all beings love.  May all beings be free.”  Set the intention and go about your day. 

How do you finish your meditation?  What is that like for you coming out of your practice?  Some people use an alarm clock, others have their own internal clock which gives them a fairly accurate knowing of when to stop. 

Whatever guides you to finish and go about your day can make a difference to your practice.  Become aware and mindful of the transition between meditation and those moments as you readjust to daily living.  Observe how your mind begins to operate again after a period of meditative stillness and calmness. 

Just be aware of those moments of transition and observe what that’s like for you.