Monday, July 18, 2016

what is freedome?

What is Freedome? Excerpted from an article by Padma Shyam at www.meditativeawareness.com.

First, sit quietly in meditation and simply watch for some time. Then, start to observe that your mind is forever changing, but you, the watcher of the mind, are forever unchanging. You are always simply present as the watcher of all these happenings. You observe that you are not any of these changes in your mind: you are always watching and knowing the changes. This unchanging watcher is yourself, and this you is never attached to or caught up in the ever-changing mind.

You might think that you are not meditating because you’re noticing so many thoughts. But the fact is that these thoughts and perceptions are going on all the time in your mind, all day long. In meditation, you simply take some time to pause, sit, close your eyes, and watch your mind’s activities. Your mind will continue as usual: thinking, perceiving, dreaming, and carrying on a running commentary! But during meditation, you are just watching all the activities, senses and thoughts.

By sitting regularly in meditation, day by day, you start to relax about all the activity in your mind, and not be concerned about it. You come to realize that your mind can be more active or less active, but it doesn’t disturb you. You continue to sit and watch throughout any thinking that goes on. You get the sense that the content of your mind might be happy or might be upset, but you are still just sitting in meditation, still, relaxed and watching anything that comes. Instead of expecting to change the contents of your mind, you come to see that you are already free from what your mind is thinking. You don’t need to worry about what your mind is doing, because you are just sitting and watching it all, like watching a show on television.

The way to cultivate and grow into freedom consciousness is, firstly, to become aware of what you’re paying attention to at any given moment. It’s been observed by people who meditate, that the mind is infinitely creative in putting its attention on a vast number of things and thoughts. There’s no end to the mind’s power to pay attention to every possible kind of form and event. The more you are aware of what your mind is paying attention to, the more you can become the master of your own mind, and not merely following the mind, being a slave to its constant fluctuations.
Padma Shyam: Founder of Padma Meditation & Yoga. Padma hosts the Canadian television series “Padma Yoga,” and in her workshops offers the Padma Meditation Teacher Training Program.    www.padmayoga.ca



Thursday, July 7, 2016

it's a jungle out there.



“A morning-glory at my window satisfies me more than all the metaphysics of books.” Walt Whitman.

driving from dharmsala and mcleod ganj back to my home was a five-hour jaunt across the middle ranges of the himalayan mountains. i had to wind my way east along a lonely stretch of road through the kangra valley to mandi and then north again by the pundoh pass in to the kullu valley, called the valley of the gods. i had a very small van and it was a dark night, well after midnight, when i turned a corner near palampur and caught sight of a leopard in the headlights.
by the time i stopped, the majestic creature had not moved an inch. really, we were face-to-face with only a windshield between us. large, long, muscular, with a tail almost as long again, we stared at each other. a moment later, it lept off to one side of the road, back to the other side, turned and bounded back again and off into the jungle. i continued to sit there for a while, appreciating what i'd just witnessed.

nearly thirty years on, i still remember that mystical night. i can still clearly see in my mind's eye the big white-ish cat with brown in the middle of the black spots, its steely gaze, its powerful jumps. i still feel blessed to have witnessed it. that was one of those visions i know will always stay with me, like the marauding elephants at the 1976 kumbh mela, like the mountain lion with her cubs outside the village of mahal, or  very much like the one i had just last night. i saw a racoon!

you have to understand that, since moving out of the village to right beside the gatineau park, i haven't seen so much as a gerbil. only dogs. this area's teeming with dogs. we've got beagles, border collies, scottish terriers, lots of mongrols, labs and huskies of course. what we don't have are deer, bear, even skunk or, until last night, racoons. for all that, you gotta cross the highway and trot off into the park, or go into the jungles of wakefield. just not here.

i awoke around 2:30 and shuffled in to the bathroom to do what aging guys all over the world have to do in the middle of the nights. as i sleepily leaned against the wall, i kept hearing a whimpering sound other than my own. i could tell the difference. so i looked out the window and, believe it or not, i really couldn't believe it. there was a racoon. then i saw another and another. there was a whole herd, or gaggle, or flock of 'em, big and small. i guess it was a family.

i followed them from window to window with a growing realization that that vision was as impressive to me last night as the leopard, elephants or those lions of so many years before. after all, isn't life life? why shouldn't i feel as fortunate to see racoons? why shouldn't we feel as fortunate to see each other, every time?

“Ten long trips around the sun since I last saw your lovely face, but only joy and thankfulness that on a tiny world in the vastness, for a couple of moments in the immensity of time, we were one.” Ann Druyan.

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

seize the moment.


dear nathan; good morning. i just wanted to let you know how much i've been enjoying your blog. i feel the postings are all interesting, entertaining and full of wisdom. you are an interesting man. thank you. sincerely; salina. 
dear salina; it was really nice of you to send me such a lovely message. are you still of child-bearing age? if so, call me sometime. i'm free most days. sincerely; nathan.

dear nathan; i like your blog a lot. i was reading it today and laughing while my dog felicite slept on my lap. sincerely; marie. 
dear marie. i'm bummed that felicite didn't find the blog funny. was it a language problem? i really should have my postings in both languages. anyway, i'm glad at least you like it. regards; nathan.

dear nathan; i love your blog and thought maybe you might answer my question: i'd really like to meditate, but i'm too busy. how can i feel some peace? i'm so tired of being anxious and unhappy. sincerely; francine.
dear francine; peace rises up from deep within us all eventually. it can be at the very end of life or on any given occassion. that depends upon us. we've just gotten too damn busy. but, the certainty is that peace, bliss, rises up from deep within us, because it's always there. so why not now? no time? make time. easy to say, here's the way:
if you seize the moment and practice one-pointedness, mindfulness in its purest form, you will soon discover those tasks that used to take a half hour now take only twenty minutes. later on, those same tasks will take fifteen minutes. why? because you will be one-pointed, focussed. that has far-reaching effects on every aspect of our lives. seize the moment. the practice brings ones scattered, agitated mind back to rest. the same mind that gets us into troubles can get us out. train it. seize the moment. sincerely; nathan. ps; please read my posting: 'i am not a teacher' on my blog for a detailed description of technique.

dear nathan; i love your slog, read it religiously. sincerely; murray. 
dear murray; thank you for your support. i totally appreciate it. are you still of child-bearing age? if so, give me a call sometime. sincerely; nathan.