A magnificent bewilderment of stars – when the mind drops in a moment, thoughts fall away into nothing. We realize the ephemeral quality of life and how small we really are. The mind is bewildered into the great, expansive realm of not knowing.
This guided meditation helps you observe and nurture anxiety. As the Buddha said, “Whatever has the nature to arise will pass away.” Through this practice we begin to know this experientially and realize that fear and anxiety aren’t so solid. Our practice is precisely opening to this.
A compassionate, open heart begins to melt away the distinction of inside and outside, self and others. There is only this heart, this compassion, this moment. Perfect in sadness or in joy.
This guided meditation is from Stephen Levine’s book, A Year to Live. The meditation helps us to let go and experience our great nature, unhindered by conditioned patterns that normally holds us back. Many students have said this meditation helps them release the resistance and fear of dying. Give it a try! I suggest preparing a comfortable place to lie down as most of this meditation is done in a prone position.
To develop a wise and balanced practice, we need to cultivate both emptiness and compassion. Tipping too far into emptiness, our hearts can close to the suffering of the world; tipping too far into compassion we may become overwhelmed by suffering because we because we can’t see emptiness at the core. This talk explores the balance of the two.
Buddha taught that the ultimate human suffering arises from creating a fixed idea of self and clinging to “I” and “mine.” We often feel this imagined self is flawed and incomplete and must be fixed. Letting go of this identification leads to compassion, interconnection and freedom.
The radical teaching of Buddhist mindfulness is cultivating presence when the mind wants to turn away. We begin to remember that all emotions and moods are sankhara – impermanent conditioned states and not our identity. This is a doorway to freedom.
The Buddha said these two people are hard to find in the world – the one who is first to do a kindness, and the one who is grateful and thankful for a kindness done. When we practice gratitude, we incline our hearts toward generosity and kindness. Gratitude, for both the welcome and the difficult in our lives, also brings us a greater sense of connection, expands our container of awareness beyond the separateness of “I, me and mine” and into a deeper connection with life.
In this talk I explore how we can skillfully meet our fear and the unwanted visitors who keep knocking on the door, especially in this challenging season of political unrest. I also share how I overcame the trauma and fear of being stalked for a year.
This is the second part of a podcast I did with Adam Hill at Radnor Lake.
From Adam:
“In this episode, we discuss Lisa’s perspective on the mystery of the path, overcoming painful obstacles, and the immersion she feels while seeking photographs in nature.”
The Lotus Blooms in The Mud 