The Direction of Blending Zen…Ideas?
This blog is a great start, but I know that even a blog has limits to what purposes it can serve, though admittedly, it’s not like we’re pushing it to it’s limits just yet. In my mind however, I envision this site becoming much more than a blog. A resource for learning and understanding on various topics of spirituality.
For those who came along through Lotus Liberation, here’s a small history, even though I’ve mentioned it in previous posts at the beginning. I created the site as a place for me to talk about my process of blending some of the Zen/Buddhist philosophies into my life. Though I have left Mormonism, I’m not quite ready to abandon Christianity as a whole. My goal was to find a happy medium and learn how to blend the two together. There seem to be many people who find great success in it, so I wanted a place for me, as well as others to talk about the process, how we apply certain concepts into our lives.
I met up with Sattva and she had the suggestion to open it up to more people, to let others create posts and have it be more of a community based concept. This was perfect, as that’s ultimately what I did want to see happen. After she started the LL blog, I thought I might as well approach her about merging the two and getting it kicked off (she’s more of a go getter than I am), and so here we are.
With that said, I could really use all of your ideas on the direction to take this site…even if it’s just to not mess with a good thing. Any comments are welcome. Here were a few of the ideas that I had already.
Community Forums – For open discussion
Resources – I know there are a million sites out there that have information on Buddhism, etc, explaining the basics, but it couldn’t hurt to have some of the basics here with links for in depth information. This can even be Yoga resources, etc. No limits other than it being related to our topics in some way.
Downloads – This could really be part of the resources section, but I know there are a ton of PDF’s I’ve downloaded of various articles and other items I’ve found helpful or inspiring. This could be a place to share those (staying within copyright laws), or maybe to be a mirror for content from other sites, like some of the talks from AudioDharma, etc. Lots of thoughts.
What would you like to see here? How can we make it more useful to us and others?
If you build it…
April 26, 2008 by barefootbhakti
Filed under Website
they will come! Thank you ScottyDoo for picking up my project and running with it. As most of you know I’m extremely busy and up to my eyeballs in projects right now: opening a yoga studio in three weeks, three kids, two callings, etc. I’m also not the most tech savvy person out there.
ScottyDoo graciously offered up his blendingzen site to all of us and his talent to help maintain it. Much thanks! Please stay after the meeting today so we can set you apart….
Suffering
April 26, 2008 by barefootbhakti
Filed under Buddhism
Cue the depressing music… how can we address buddhist thought without talking about suffering?
Yesterday I had a phone conversation with a good LDS friend. We spent an hour talking about her life, her impending for-closure or short sale, and her college age daughter who is struggling with drinking and depression. She was trying to stay positive, but was deep in her story about all of the wrong choices her daughter was making, how bad the economy was – and the worry in her voice was thick. I really love and relate to her daughter (a past babysitter and yoga student/employee), and I was trying to explain to her that no matter what she says or does, she has absolutely no control over what is going on in her daughter’s mind. That it’s not her fault her daughter is so unhappy or that she is drinking. I tried to explain that the best way she can help her daughter is to just simply ask her about her experiences, listen, and hold a space of love and an attempt to understand. Lecturing her about her bad choices does nothing.
Then, she said something fascinating. She said, “Sattva, I’m not suffering, she is. I just kills me to see her suffering.” AH! I can relate to being so deep in my own suffering (worry, being in other’s business, etc) that I don’t even see what part of it is mine to own.
The Buddhist word Dukkha is the one we translate into the word “suffering” and it’s not exactly the best translation. That word was originally used centuries ago to describe the wheel on a cart that was slightly mis-aligned, or off. So, more accurately we all experience a feeling of being mis-aligned, or “off”, or imperfect in some way. I think that the word suffering is often mis-understood. In Buddhist terms, it really means feelings and experiences of discomfort, unease, worry, stress, etc. That’s a really big umbrella!
I remember when I was in yoga teacher training and I couldn’t figure out why we were having a guest speaker come talk about suffering. I thought suffering was for people in third world countries! That day I started to understand what suffering meant in Buddhist terms, and it was really eye opening for me. I started to observe my thoughts and how they affected me.
Since then, I’m coming to learn that my emotions are signposts for unnecessary suffering. If I’m feeling stressed out, sad or angry, then I know that on some level deep inside, I am attached to a thought that isn’t true. Somehow, I am not aligned with the truth of the universe – the truth of what is. It is so liberating to follow the suffering through my emotions, track down that rogue thought and disassemble it. Give it up – surrender it.
So, yesterday I found myself suffering while I listened to my friend. I wanted her to recognize her level of worry, suffering and clinging to thoughts that weren’t working for her. And then I noticed that I was feeling in combat with her, in frustration over the situation. My frustration was adding to hers and felt anything but peaceful. I realized that I was fighting what is. In that moment, my friend was just stuck, and she wasn’t ready to do years of work in 5 minutes! I took a few deep breaths and sat and listened. I brought up all of the wonderful things that I had seen her do to teach her daughter well. I listened to her financial woes without judgment. I pulled my own suffering out of the situation and tried to stop thinking so much, but just be there in full presence.
She seemed to feel better and her conversation got really honest. I didn’t mince words and was really honest back. It ended up being one of the most loving conversations we’ve had. I’m coming to realize that for me to create personal peace and really relinquish my suffering means not plugging into the drama around me. Making a choice in the moment to just let go and choose peace. Even in something as simple as a conversation.
Yoga Sutra Translations
I’m a bit of a nut when it comes to such things, so I’ll restrain myself a bit. But I thought I’d offer this for those who are interested: the (so far) most influential translation of the Yoga Sutra for me has been this one by Chip Hartranft.
He’s kindly made it entirely available for download, so I keep a pdf on my desktop. That allows easy text searches, even when I’m not on line.
Here’s a little of my story – Yogaman
April 25, 2008 by barefootbhakti
Filed under Yoga
for those of you who don’t know me…
I’m a yogi and have been practicing about two years. I have had a few fleeting times on my yoga mat where I seem to enter a different place of consciousness. I’m not sure how it happens. One time in particular, while doing a flow sequence of Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskara A/B), I seemed to enter a state where I was witnessing a conversation taking place between my mind and body. I did not hear words or anything, but I sensed the conversation taking place. I was in a moving meditation – just watching it happen. It was pure peace. That’s when I knew “I” wasn’t my mind or my body; that, along with yoga, sent me on a quest in search of the real me. I was the “witnessing presence,” as Eckhart Tolle describes in his Power of Now. This sounds so unreal and illogical to some, especially to church members. They just can’t understand it. It’s like they can only relate to one type of spirituality – the kind they get in church mostly. This type of experience is completely out of their realm of awareness.
I don’t discuss experiences like this very often, but I’m longing to do so with people whom I think can understand it or have had similar experiences. I’m hoping that people on this blog can relate to what I’m saying. I’ve been searching for a place where I can discuss events of this type with others who are or have been Mormon. Being Mormon and then having experiences like I just related turn your world upside down. TBMs don’t understand it, but neither to NOMs or PostMo’s. It is b/c it usually takes yoga or some form of meditation to get to this place. Does anyone relate to what I’m saying?
I don’t have these experiences as often as I’d like. I’m working on that. However, when it does happen, it recharges my batteries so to speak, in a way that nothing else ever could. This experience I just discussed also seems to resonate with an eastern view of spirituality rather than a western view (i.e., awakening). The two views aren’t completely incompatible, but they aren’t the same either. Having been on both sides, I like the eastern view better.
I welcome any thoughts you may have.
Yogaman.
Namaste!
Sitting on a lily pad
sthira-sukham asanam
This is my favorite verse from the Yoga Sutra:
The place/posture from which we view the world should be one of steadiness and ease.
I benefit from the frequent reminder that I do not need to sit in a place/posture of discomfort, contortion, and churning, that there is a still point where I can stand, from which I can perceive my existence.
I think it will be fun to explore the world with others through this blog.
greenfrog
Breaking bonds
April 24, 2008 by barefootbhakti
Filed under Yoga
“When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds: Your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great, and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.”
This quote by Patanjali is one of my all time favorites. It really resonates with my own personal experience of finding personal liberation by questioning my entrenched thought patterns. The world I once viewed as being antagonistic and negative has been slowly transformed into a friendly place and the brightness within myself spills out everywhere.
In yoga there is a concept called maya. It means illusion – the inability to see the truth that is right in front of us. I used to relate this to the Mormon concept of a veil over the earth, keeping us from our memory of a pre-existence. In a sense, that concept of a veil is actually true – we are fogged over of our memory of the fact that we are pure consciousness. That there is something beyond even the concepts in religion.
The most effective way to move through maya is to simply embrace it’s existence, be aware that we are all deluded in some form and start questioning thoughts. Pulling on the thread of “Is that really true?” on every level is the beginning of true freedom and liberation. A breaking of the bonds that limit and a transcendence to a completely friendly universe.
When Patanjali discusses discovering that you discover yourself to be a far greater person than you ever dreamed yourself to be, that is the delusion of maya and the embracing of our true divinity.
Welcome to Lotus Liberation and all of it’s many incarnations soon to come. Please join in…
**by Sattva
The Zen Mind: A Documentary
April 20, 2008 by ScottyDoo
Filed under Meditation, Zen
I got a copy of this wonderful documentary from EmptyMind Films titled: “The Zend Mind: A Zen Journey Across Japan”. It was a beautifully done film and I recommend you check it out. Here’s a intro for the video from EMF on YouTube.
