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How Does This Moment Want You To Be With It?

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AYTT graduation

I'm just home from leading a nine-day training on teaching meditation.  This is part of a 500-hour Advanced Yoga Teacher Training program at Kripalu Center.  This group of 40 was made up of active and experienced yoga teachers.  The retreat was deep, still, filled with tears and laughter. I kvell when I think of each of these gifted and dedicated leaders taking meditation out into the world.

We covered a wide variety of techniques:

  • Breath-based Meditation
  • Sensation-based Meditation
  • Mantra Meditation
  • Walking Meditation
  • Standing Meditation
  • Body-scan and Lying Down Meditation
  • Conscious Eating
  • Open-eyed Meditation (Tratak)
  • Loving Kindness Meditation
  • Slow Motion Prana Meditation

We focused on core, simple techniques that help practitioners shift from thinking to 'being.'  Through the days of practice and sharing about techniques and their effects, I'm reminded how each moment requires caring attention and a question of 'how this moment wants me to be with it.'

The yogic approach to meditation speaks of the balance of 'chitta and prana.'  Chitta is mind and awareness.  Prana is energy and feeling.

We are constantly seeking balance between the two.  If you come home in your head and wound up tight from a hard day at work, you'll want to do something to loosen up:  go for a run, do some yoga, pop a beer, take a nap, cook a meal.

Signs of 'too much prana' are those times when you are over-emotional, have 10,000 idea but just can't complete one, feel confused and lost.  You'll want to get your 'chitta together' and focus on what's most important.  You might talk to someone to get some perspective or try to get centered, get some perspective and cultivate a sense of priorities.

Some meditation techniques, like counting breaths or steps when walking, are designed to cultivate one-pointedness and concentration. Other techniques, like slow-motion moving meditation and chanting, can open us up to a greater sense of flow and expansion.

I'm honored to have had this time with such dedicated and sincere teachers.  More photos at my flickr site.  I've got a lot of shots here so folks can pick the ones they like best.

Buddhism Wins Best Religion in the World Award

Brilliant!

Buddhism Wins Best Religion in the World Award

Wednesday July 15, 2009 Linda Moulin | 15.07.2009 | 16:55

Tribune de Geneve

In advance of their annual Leading Figure award to a religious figure who has done the most to advance the cause of humanism and peace, the Geneva-based International Coalition for the Advancement of Religious and Spirituality (ICARUS) has chosen to bestow a special award this year on the Buddhist Community.

"We typically prefer an under-the-radar approach for the organization, as we try to embody the spirit of modesty found in the greatest traditions," said ICARUS director Hans Groehlichen in a phone conference Monday. "But with organized religion increasingly used as a tool to separate and inflame rather than bring together, we felt we had to take the unusual step of creating a "Best Religion in the World" award and making a bit of a stir, to inspire other religious leaders to see what is possible when you practice compassion.

"Groehlichen said the award was voted on by an international roundtable of more than 200 religious leaders from every part of the spiritual spectrum.  "It was interesting to note that once we supplied the criteria, many religious leaders voted for Buddhism rather than their own religion," said Groehlichen."Buddhists actually make up a tiny minority of our membership, so it was fascinating but quite exciting that they won."

Criteria included factors such as promoting personal and community peace, increasing compassion and a sense of connection, and encouraging preservation of the natural environment. Groehlichen continued "The biggest factor for us is that ICARUS was founded by spiritual and religious people to bring the concepts of non-violence to prominence in society.  One of the key questions in our voting process was which religion actually practices non-violence."When presenting the information to the voting members, ICARUS researched each of the 38 religions on the ballot extensively, offering background, philosophy, and the religions role in government and warfare.

Jonna Hult, Director of Research for ICARUS said "It wasn't a surprise to me that Buddhism won Best Religion in the World, because we could find literally not one single instance of a war fought in the name of Buddhism, in contrast to every other religion that seems to keep a gun in the closet just in case God makes a mistake.  We were hard pressed to even find a Buddhist that had ever been in an army. These people practice what they preach to an extent we simply could not document with any other spiritual tradition."At least one Catholic priest spoke out on behalf of Buddhism.  Father Ted O'Shaughnessy said from Belfast, "As much as I love the Catholic Church, it has always bothered me to no end that we preach love in our scripture yet then claim to know God's will when it comes to killing other humans. For that reason, I did have to cast my vote for the Buddhists."

And Muslim Cleric Tal Bin Wassad agreed from Pakistan via his translator. "While I am a devout Muslim, I can see how much anger and bloodshed is channeled into religious expression rather than dealt with on a personal level. The Buddhists have that figured out." Bin Wassad, the ICARUS voting member for Pakistan's Muslim community continued, "In fact, some of my best friends are Buddhist."

And Rabbi Shmuel Wasserstein said from Jerusalem, "Of course, I love Judaism, and I think it's the greatest religion in the world. But to be honest, I've been practicing Vipassana meditation every day before minyan (daily Jewish prayer) since 1993.  So I get it."

Groehlichen said that the plan was for the award to Buddhism for "Best Religion in the World" to be given to leaders from the various lineages in the Buddhist community. However, there was one snag. "Basically we can't find anyone to give it to," said Groehlichen in a followup call late Tuesday. "All the Buddhists we call keep saying they don't want the award."

Groehlichen explained the strange behavior, saying "Basically they are all saying they are a philosophical tradition, not a religion. But that doesn't change the fact that with this award we acknowledge their philosophy of personal responsibility and personal transformation to be the best in the world and the most important for the challenges facing every individual and all living beings in the coming centuries.

"When asked why the Burmese Buddhist community refused the award, Buddhist monk Bhante Ghurata Hanta said from Burma, "We are grateful for the acknowledgement, but we give this award to all humanity, for Buddha nature lies within each of us."   Groehlichen went on to say "We're going to keep calling around until we find a Buddhist who will accept it. We'll let you know when we do."

Oy, I'm Such a Geek

My original iPhone died.  Some condensation got into it and the cost of fixing it equals the cost of a new one.  Since I have gotten so dependent on this device, I didn't have much choice but to upgrade.  So I've got the new iPhone 3Gs which has an upgraded lens for the camera and can now shoot videos. Here's my first video (!), shot in my car in the parking lot of the Apple Store in South Portland, ME.  I ran this through a filter, giving it an 'old movie' look.  Pretty amazing technology ...

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTKk-3VDo1k]

On the Road Again

Hard to believe it's been so long since I've posted.  Most of this summer has been away from home.  A trip to the Cape with Tara's family and up to Maine to see my family.  I'm back in DC for two nights and take off again tomorrow morning for nine days at Kripalu Center, leading a nine-day training in teaching meditation. So it's on the road again.  I'll post some photos and thoughts from my travels soon.

Into the Light

Day to Day Changes

Much of this summer I'm on the road.  In a few days I'm off to New England to the Cape and to Maine to see my family, then I shoot back for just a few days to drop off the dogs before I head back up to Western Massachusetts to lead a nine-day meditation training for yoga teachers. I've loved being home and not going anywhere.  Each morning Tara and I roll out of bed and head to the river with the dogs.  Every morning, rain or shine, we notice the incremental changes.  Having lived in the New England mountains for a few decades, I'm sensitive to the first signs of fall, and I say almost each day (so far), "Hey, it's still summer!"

Below are a few photographs I've taken in recent days.  For you camera geeks, these photos were taken with a Canon T1i with a 70-200 2.8 IS L Series lens.

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Lower water means more exposed rocks and more kayaking challenges.

All of a sudden these Common Female Mergansers started hanging out together.

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Home from Retreat

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There's nothing like stepping away from email, vmail, telephone, tv, movies, newspapers, magazines, radio and web.  Add to that days upon days of transformational practices and some very interesting material can arise. These two retreats were simply exquisite.  We laughed, we cried, we despaired and inspired each other.

I managed to get out of the building twice to hike and shoot some photos.  One of my favorite spots on the Kripalu property is a creek deep in the woods.  I used to hike it a lot and now it has no formal path leading to it.  It's almost impossible not to feel uplifted there.

In late afternoon light I walked up the center of the creek in my sandals shooting what caught my attention and trying to slow the camera down enough to catch the movement of the water.  Later in the week I got back in mid-day for some rare direct sunlight.

If you can do full screen, that would be best. The soundtrack is by Fredrick Karlsson, an Icelandic artist. I highly recommend his work.

A meditation on water, nature and light.  A bit over three minutes.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFWcGytuKko]

Don't Go!

Despite my dog's attempt to not let me leave without him, I'm heading up to Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health to lead two programs.  The first is a three day program with my friends Shobhan and Danna Faulds called the Energy Intensive:  Yoga, Meditation and Breathwork. The second program is called The Still Small Voice Within:  Meditation, Focusing and Intuition Training.  This four-day intensive is all about cultivating awareness through vipassana, developing a more refined sense of the 'here and now' in the body through Focusing and taking time to reflect on the questions we carry inside and how we can open to greater wisdom and compassion.

Nothing passive aggressive about this dog...

To .. uh, Bee

Bee side angle

Be Who You Want to Be

Happiness is possible when you are capable of doing the things and being the things you want to do and to be.

When we walk for the sake of walking,

when we sit for the sake of sitting,

when we drink for the sake of drinking tea,

we don’t do it for something or someone else.

Awakening means to see that truth—

that you want to know how to enjoy,

how to live deeply,

in a very simple way.

You don’t want to waste your time anymore.

Cherish the time that you are given.

–Thich Nhat Hanh, from Answers from the Heart (Parallax Press)

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I Believe

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A wonderful, lively and articulate interview with Hyan Gak Sunim, passed on to me from my friend Francesca Vanegas, director of the Florida Yoga Institute.  This interview is with Hyan Gak Sunim, her first meditation teacher in RI at the Providence Zen Center  back in 1990. He now lives in Seoul, Korea and has become well known in the international community of this Kwan Um School of Zen. As Francesca invited me, have a cup of tea and enjoy this 26 minute interview!  The "I Believe" series with Dennis Wholey, part of PBS, is quite ambitious.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3661730521946953220

Enough is Enough

A few years ago I directed a conference at Kripalu Center called "Change Yourself, Change the World," which featured Arun Gandhi, Julia Butterfly Hill and Wayne Muller.  Wayne, who is the Founder of Bread for the Journey, a micro-lending non-profit, is also author of Sabbath: Restoring the Rythmn of Rest, on the topic of taking time for self care.  Here's a clip from him speaking on "Enough is Enough." [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldgJjrgtrDg]

Thanks, Judi.

Happy to Be Alive

I've had a few near death experiences, the most dramatic being from going into anaphylactic shock from bee stings.  This article from the New York Times speaks of the joy that can emerge when we realize how easily our life can end.  I found the comments on the article as entertaining and touching as the article itself. Thanks, Ellen!

Fear of Transformation

Me, succumbing to irrational exuberance in Iceland. This week I've been talking about Transitions and Transformations.  Who isn't going through some kind of change these days?

Buddhism points to the Three Characteristics of Reality.  Impermanence, Suffering, and "No Self."  The more we examine the moment-to-moment phenomenon, the more we can realize the possibility for freedom in the midst of change.

This reading below is long, but one of my favorites.  It speaks to how we cling to identity and fear the unknown.  The more comfortable we become with the mystery, the more we find ourselves free to enjoy the journey.

FEAR OF TRANSFORMATION

Sometimes I feel that my life is a series of trapeze swings.  I’m either hanging on to a trapeze bar swinging along or, for a few moments in my life, I’m hurling across space in between trapeze bars.

Most of the time, I spend my life hanging on for dear life to my trapeze-bar-of-the-moment.  It carries me along a certain steady rate of swing and I have the feeling that I’m in control of my life.  I know most of the right questions and even some of the right answers.  But once in a while, as I’m merrily (or not so merrily) swinging along, I look ahead of me into the distance, and what do I see?  I see another trapeze bar swinging toward me.  It’s empty, and I know, in that place in me that knows, that this new trapeze bar has my name on it.  In my heart-of-hearts I know that in order for me to grow, I must release my grip on the present, well-known  bar to move to the new one.

Each time it happens to me, I hope (no, I pray) that I won’t have to grab the new one.  But in my knowing place I know that I must totally release my grasp on my old bar, and for some moment in time I must hurtle across space before I can grab onto the new bar.  Each time I am filled with terror.  It doesn’t matter that all my previous hurtles across the void of unknowing I have always made it.  Each time I am afraid I will miss, that I will be crushed on unseen rocks in the bottomless chasm between the bars.  But I do it anyway.  Perhaps that is the essence of what the mystics call the faith experience.  No guarantees, no net, no insurance policy, but you do it anyway because somehow, to keep hanging onto that old bar is no longer on the list of alternatives.  And so for an eternity that can last a microsecond or a thousand lifetimes, I soar across the void of “the past is gone, the future is not yet here.”  It’s called transition.  I have come to believe that it is the only place that real change occurs.  I mean real change, not the pseudo-change that only lasts until the next time that my old buttons get punched.

I have noticed that, in our culture, this transition zone is looked upon as a “no-thing” a no-place between places.  Sure the old trapeze bar was real, and the new one coming towards me, I hope that is real too.  But the void between? That’s just a scary, confusing, disorienting “nowhere” that must be gotten through as fast and as unconsciously as possible.  What a waste!  I have a sneaking suspicion that the transition zone is the only real thing, and the bars are illusions we dream up to avoid  the void, where the real change, the real growth occurs for us.  Whether or not my hunch is true, it remains that the transition zones in our lives are incredibly rich places.  They should be honored, even savored.  Yes, with all the pain and fear and feelings of being out-of-control that can (but not necessarily) accompany transitions, they are still the most alive, most growth-filled, passionate, expansive moments in our lives.

And so, transformation of fear may have nothing to do with making fear go away, but rather with giving ourselves permission to “hang-out” in the transition between the trapeze bars.  Transforming our need to grab that new bar, any bar, is allowing ourselves to dwell in the only place where change really happens.  It can be terrifying.  It can also be enlightening, in the true sense of the word.  Hurtling through the void, we may just  learn to fly.

From the book, Warriors of the Heart by Danaan Parry