Managing our stream of strong emotions is like having charge of maintaining and channeling a powerful river. If we fail to look after the river by clearing away debris and removing obstacles to the natural flow of water, then over time there will be log jams, overflow of the riverbanks, and uncontrollable flooding that destroys or hurts [...]
Category: Benefits to Meditation
Experimenters with the Human Condition
Each of us has everything it takes to be full human being. Think of the progression to full humanity like the seeds of an apple tree. Every apple seed holds the promise of growth to a new apple tree, and each seed contains all of the genetically inherited experience of previous generations of ancestoral apple trees. Yet also [...]
Mindfulness, Resentment, and the Inner Child
As infants we were instinctively aware that we could not survive without our caregivers. This produced "original fear". Even as we grow from infant to child, we were aware of the feelings of needing someone to protect us, defend us and nurture us. We were dependent. As we mature, our bodies and minds change and develop from [...]
Mindfulness’ Role in Resentments
To understand "original fear" (from a previous post) with resentment, we must first understand resentment, which is the replaying in our minds of a past event. Resentments cause suffering but why can't we just let go? Understand resentment; "re" means again, "sentment" comes from sentimental - emotions from the past. Resentment comes from our subconscious brain that stores all the memory of [...]
Mental Massage Therapy
As our bodies require a good circulation of body fluids to eliminate toxins, our conscious minds can benefit from a type of psychic circulation that comes from mindfulness and meditation. We instinctively rub or massage a painful spot on our body to stimulate circulation and remove the toxins that are causing the pain. When we [...]
The Ties that Bind Us
Everyone has internal stores of pain, anger and frustration caused by our judgments toward others who have been unkind or insulting to us. Taking these slights personally causes internal formations that are like ropes that bind us and obstruct our freedom. If we don't know how to cut these internal ropes and transform them, a [...]
Lesson on Anger
When I was a child I reacted to an incident with anger and I spoke to one of my playmates very aggressively, and told her that I would never play with her again. She began to cry and threw something at me, and told me to get away. I stormed home, where my father seeing [...]
Elusive Mindfulness
We forget that people are so naturally creative and observant that they can perceive the truth and create new truths within their own experience, if they are willing to observe it. Creating a blank canvas or framework for the truth, and having some faith in the process, is all that is required, but that is a tall order [...]
Letting Go of Results
In Europe and North America we are results driven people, this proven by the paradox that we likely come to meditation and mindfulness practice because of pain, anger, depression or fear, with avoidance of these symptoms as the goal. The "goal" paradox is, that the benefits of meditation/mindfulness appear when we deliberately unfocus on fixing [...]