Week Three Essay Question
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Hi everyone.
David here, openhearter from Spain!
This week I made a very simple, yet very useful, adjustment in my morning routine that made me feel connected to the paramita of Discipline, akin coming back to what is important to us, in this case, my meditation practice.
Luckily, I am on holidays this week, and when I don´t have to work, sometimes I proscatinate my meditation practice a little bit, as I sit down for it after I do other things that I am humanly inclined to do when I wake up, as preparing breakfast, answering messages, cleaning, etc. I always end up sitting down and doing my practice, but somehow I don´t feel I benefit as much from it doing it in my midday or early afternoon. So this weeek I committed myself to do it differently.
What I am doing now is waking up, preparing a short coffe while I walk my dog for ten minutes, which allows to connect with the energy of the new day and nature, and before I do anything else, I sit down and I do my practice. It may sound as a very small achievement that maybe doesn´t even deserve this public recognition, but I am very proud of it, and I feel I really benefit from starting my day that way, it provides a different frame to everything that happens after, and I feel I prioritise what is really meaningful to me. Also, my dog is happier.
Maybe in the future I will be able to do it fasting without that very first coffee, but right now I am not at that point, and I allow myself that little indulgence with compassion.
Thanks for reading.
Kindest regards to all of you .
David -
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Hi David,
I completely understand the “coffee first” issue! I don’t have a dog anymore but I do walk for an hour each morning (not before coffee) but before any other activity. Like you, I do all the other stuff before I do my practice because it seems I won’t wonder what is out there to address while sitting. But you have encouraged me to have coffee first and then do my sitting practice before the rest of the stuff! Have a good vacation. -
I have been thinking about “discipline” this week. Actually, I am very disciplined with my walking, yoga practice and a meditation practice even if it is shorter than I would like to be doing. But what I have been thinking about is my attitude towards these practices. Someone last week (sorry I don’t remember her name) equated discipline to devotion, being devote. So for the last few days, I have been starting my yoga and meditation practices with more devotion and using the three steps Susan talked about for keeping the practice sacred. I have started with an offering and remembering all the teachers I have had for the last 20+ years who have been so generous in sharing their knowledge with me. I have ended with dedicating the practice to others. This week I have dedicated my practice to the families who lost loved ones in Baltimore. After practicing for years, these three steps have given my practices new meaning.
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I have been contemplating discipline. I like the idea of discipline as the practice of coming back — it seems more forgiving and spacious. Or even returning to who I am and how I wish to be. Regarding my meditation practice, I find that if I think of it as an invitation rather than a “should” or “must,” it sets a nice tone for my practice. I am also encouraged by these words from the Dalai Lama in his book Beyond Religion: “Mental cultivation is about mental discipline, yes, but it is not meant to be a punishment.
On the contrary, it is something to be enjoyed. We should try to take delight in our practice. When we succeed in doing so, our joy helps us to progress more quickly.” I suppose this could also apply to my everyday life and interactions with others. -
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I have been contemplating compassion for some time now. It’s something my practice has enabled me to feel much more. I seem to have compassion for others much more easily than for myself. I have a lot of physical problems lately and instead of resting and not doing as much i end up pushing myself more It’s a problem because i need the rest but don’t want to give in the weakness. So my biggest work is feeling compassion for myself as well as all sentient beings. And it opens my heart even more. Compassion begins at home.
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Dear Ann,
I just read your response about compassion. And, how difficult it is to have self-compassion especially as you struggle with physical problems. I now can relate very much with this. For the last week I’ve been in lots of pain. The doc seems to think it is aggravated osteoarthritis of the hip. However, with pain meds of Celebrex I’m hardly getting much relief. I certainly need to work on patience as well. He has suggested that it might take a week to feel better and I’ve only started the meds since Monday eve.
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I pick a word of the year every year and, inspired by Susan and seeking to deepen my practice, I chose “discipline” this year. I am a super Enneagram 3—more about that later—but I lean towards workaholism and constant striving for achievement and validation. Historically, my concept of discipline has been harsh and associated with all of the “must do” things that should be accomplished as evidence of my worthiness, both to myself and to others. It is a relief to switch the script to discipline as coming back, returning to now, being present to feel and listen, and receive the truth of what is happening, not trying to manipulate the moment into what “should” happen next. So here I am, trying to be here, and coming back to now, again, and again, and again.
Also, I am so appreciative of everyone’s openness and sharing. All of the transitioning and struggles with self-judgement going on with everyone truly resonates. So comforting to feel seen and in good company: )
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Hi to Penelope and thank you for the suggestion of practice as an invitation. I am longing for connection to my spiritual self yet not always devoting time to listening to her. I now see a cardweight embossed paper invitation with scrolling font from her that elegantly asks for my presence on my cushion and on my yoga mat, and yes also on the red carpet of living fully in my life.
I have been contemplating generosity this week and have realized I can be more generous towards myself. I have been fantasizing and being, and of course also striving but more gently. The transcendent component I think is people around me see me as generous…but I am still exploring the quality of transcendence.
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This week has been a bit chaotic with moving, but I have come back often to exertion. I have not been able to be as regular with my practice as usual, but I still keep coming back to my routine even if I am not feeling inspired. I always manage to feel better after giving this time to myself, and I know by doing this I benefit others. I know that there is always more to learn and that is the fuel that keeps me going.
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Hi everyone, such busy times!!! Good job on your efforts!
I have been courting Meditative Absorption this week, and even encouraging my students to try it out also. I tell them it is like watching life through a movie screen ( since everything is life size haha) and seeing people’s reactions plus our own. Then asking myself if I can see things for what they are, instead of what I think they are.
Interestingly enough, I am seeing many correlations to the previous week, when I admitted my favorite limb of the eightfold path is right view. To ne, these two are the same.
Maybe I will get a chance to ask Susan her take on this. -
My focus this past week has been on “generosity”. I’ve noticed it more with little things that I can do or not say…it doesn’t need to be about me. Then I’ve noticed how others are generous with me. Giving and receiving generosity brings such a spark of beauty to my life.
Betsy, Columbus, OH-
Hey Buckeye Betsy I chose generosity also. I think Susan said something about everything else flows out from generosity, once you master it (paraphrasing). Thank you for reminding me that it can also be what you choose to NOT say or do. I can easily get caught up in some argument or debate that, upon realizing at some point, is so petty. It’s generous to both sides when I just stop talking or adding to the argument. 🙏
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The paramita I have been resonating with recently is “exertion”. I have been having a lot of experiences with the buddhist nature of exertion and it was invigorating to (re)learn the paramitas and remember that exertion is a transcendent action. It has been very prescient to me in recent years the concept of realizing an energy within yourself, and realizing a capacity to keep on giving especially. That you actually do have so much to give. At times voices of your mind might tell you negative things: that you are “too tired” for something, that you can’t afford to help another, that you need to give up on a project or an effort. Of course, it is important to protect and support yourself above all else. But often you actually do find in your heart an almost boundless exertion, an ability to give to others or to continue on. And if it is present in your heart, you may be astounded how far your body and mind can go. Whether, for me, that be in an intense physical effort, helping others at work, or simply small kindness actions when you already feel tired or low yourself.
I am reminded of a quote from a show I have watched with close friends: “Set your heart ablaze!” If I breathe for a moment and look within, during a difficult effort, I may find that in fact my heart is ablaze, and has been the whole time. That each of us may in fact possess a tremendous inner strength, inner pool of energy and compassion, for that has indeed been our nature all along. -
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Hi, Laura
Thank you for your sweet comments. Connectivity is so important to me.
How are you doing with “generosity”?
I must say, it’s not been top of my mind as I’ve been dealing with some undiagnosed pain. However, now upon reflection, the generosities I’ve been receiving has blown my mind. Neighbors who I hardly knew: walking my dog daily for over a week, as example.
“Buckeye” Betsy (though I’m not originally from Columbus, though have lived here 40 yrs!!, so “Buckeye” doesn’t quite fit for me. But brought a smile to my face. -
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