Mindfulness and the 12 Steps by Therese Jacobs-Stewart

Author:Therese Jacobs-Stewart [Jacobs-Stewart, Therese]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 1592858201
Amazon: B00BS03LB6
Publisher: Hazelden
Published: 2010-05-20T04:00:00+00:00

WHEN YAMA-MARA ARISES, we think we are in control. We can’t see the truth that everything is changing in every moment. Ultimately, we can hang on to nothing. Everything is of the nature to change. Eastern meditation teachers say that when buddhas look at the world, all they see is flux. They don’t see fixed phenomena; they see continuous movement and change. Modern science supports this view, now contending that the atomic particles of our bodies, the earth, the air, are always in motion. Everything is fluid. We are powerless to stop it. Even the present moment changes in the next breath.

Yama is the Sanskrit word for death. If we are overly afraid of loss and death, then we will be afraid to live fully. Recognizing that death will happen—to us, to those who have hurt us, to those who are dear to us—may make the moments we have more poignant, more precious. But it will not prevent death from happening.

Yama-mara shows her face in fear, rigidity, judgments of self or others, and manipulative behaviors. We cling tight to our idea of how things should be. We want experiences to affirm or congratulate us, to make us feel like we’ve got it all under control, thank-you-very-much.

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