Start Here Now by Susan Piver

Author:Susan Piver
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Shambhala

Laxity or elation

It’s possible that at some point in your meditation, you’ll fall asleep. Or if not fall asleep, you’ll drowse instead of practice. Or you may apply the technique in a loosey-goosey kind of way. A general kind of sleepiness (or laxity) descends on your practice.

It is also possible that the opposite may occur from time to time. Although it’s never happened to me, I know some people who report earth-shattering insights or great shock waves of energy.

While this is lovely, it is also considered a distraction.

The antidote to both is the same: let go and return your attention to the breath.

If you have a fabulous experience or an awful one on the cushion, it’s all the same. Don’t let either convince you that you’re doing it right or wrong. Just keep coming back. As long as you’re coming back—to your breath, to your cushion—there is no way you can do it wrong. (However, there is also no way you can do it right. So you can relax.)

I also suggest the following as a way to stay with your practice:

Find community. It is so helpful to practice with others. You can go to a Shambhala center if your town has one, or a Zen center, or a vipassana center. You could join the Open Heart Project. Most meditation centers have public sitting where you can get some instruction or just sit with others. It’s enormously supportive and inspiring to be with others who are working with their minds as you endeavor to.

Last, remember that if you take your seat, rouse the intention and aspiration to meditate, and apply the technique wholeheartedly, the practice itself will guide you down the path. All you have to do is walk through the gate.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.