Lotus Flower

With that in mind, after I return, and have a place settled with a guest room purposely for students,

you 3 would live with me to cut your expenses on hotel and outside food for a week. I would rather us altogether, and eating altogether, maintaining the state of the Great Compassion Dharma straight for a week.

Hopefully, it will hold and you all can go on your way with great momentum and a deep resolve to attain the fruit of the way.

 

Before anything, let's keep things in our emails regarding the time and date. Also, there is one condition inwhich I can pass them to you all. Lots of stuff.

 

Peace and Blessings,

Lin

I believe that being all together is very important.

I know that even after only two days I have seen changes in my life, so I do believe that after 7 days it would make enough of an impact for me to carry it with me after leaving.

Thanks Lin. I got your email

Awareness - paying attention - being present - being open - allowing.

No filtering.

If we determine what is relevant we are thinking and are no longer in the moment.

If we are fully present we know what to do. We know what is relevant. We are in harmony

with others and we act accordingly.

VERY well put. I really like how you have communicated this. Thank you!

Just sit in full-lotus all night long.

Well, I am a beginner at that, so I can only do it for a little while before it hurts WAY TOO MUCH! I am doing some stretches though, so I am sure I will be able to sit for extended periods of time soon...all night, well, maybe not just yet

Does mindfulness have a flavor? Do moods intrude upon it? Or if it has one then you're not truly mindful?

 

There are times taking long walks where its beautiful and everything around me seems special. But during the daily grind, say doing laundry, it seems like I'm mindful, keeping my attention within my body, concentrating on what I'm doing and its lacking that sense of -this is wonderful-.

 

Is the walk more mindful then the laundry? Is either true mindfullness. Is caring about such things mindless? Chop Wood, Carry Water and let the mind take care of itself.?

 

Michael

I believe that if your emotions "intrude" upon your mindfulness and you recognize it then you are being mindful of the mood itself. It is not to say that all we do in life will be pleasant for that will never be the case. If you are looking for that wonderful feeling in everything then you are not being mindful of what is happening at the moment. You are then having that mood intrude, but I feel that can go the other way too. If you are looking outside and see that there is a beautiful landscape in front of you and are not just absorbing it for what it is, but are looking more at how it feels and describing it then you are taking it one step further beyond mindfulness.

Mindfulness seems to being aware of all around you but not to let anything pervade you...anything being emotions or other thoughts, etc.

Hope this makes sense. I just woke up and have not had my coffee yet

I think this is great!!!!

I would say mindfulness is paying attention to whatever is relevant in the present moment. Mindfulness of driving would be different than mindfulness of mind if you're engaging in a particular form of meditation. Personally, I also believe that it involves an awareness of being aware as well--- intentional awareness.

I think the question to ask is, how do we determine what is relevant in the present moment?

Check out the book "Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life" by Stephen Hayes.

http://www.amazon.com/Get-Your-Mind-Into-L...2094&sr=8-1

Sorry for the long winded post above (in fact, I just added to it! ) but this is an area that I think is critical, at least to me, for where I'm at right now.

Thank you for the suggested reading. I will be sure to check that out.

Actually, I am glad that you did expand on your post.

Care to elaborate on why you believe it is critical for you right now?

What mindfullness means to me is to pay attention to what is going on. By attention, I mean to really attend deeply in the moment. This is an active thing but very receptive - sort of an active receptivity if you will. It is not easy but can be cultivated over time with practice. It takes enormous energy in the beginning to sustain but gets easier.

 

Think about your normal behavior when someone is talking to you. Don't you start thinking about what you want to reply rather than paying attention to them? Or get distracted by something else? Don't you jockey around for the right opportunity to interject your thoughts and ideas? What if you really paid attention? Looked at them as if you've never seen them before - their eyes, hair, skin, and so forth. Really listen to their words and beyond their words to their meaning. Paid attention to their clothing, their body language, the environment, the feel in your own body, how you are reacting to them. I don't mean to think about these things - open up to experiencing these things, it's very different.

 

What seems to work for me is to completely immerse myself in the senses - pay attention to the sights, sounds, touch, smells, and so on, in whatever situation is present. The more I am paying attention, which is receptivity (yin), the less there is thought distracting me from being present. As soon as I get lazy and ease up on the 'active receptivity' practice, the thoughts flood back in and the moment is a memory.

 

Mindfullness is an interesting word - it really should be mind-emptiness. The mind must be empty to receive. On the other hand, it is filled with the moment, the experience, not the thoughts or the analysis. So it starts empty but fills with experience, with reality. Once the moment passes, it fills again with thought.

 

Are you familiar with the ACT (Acceptance Commitment Therapy) method? Mindfullness has a very important role in ACT. I think that many of the Eastern concepts like mindfullness can have a profound effect on mental health although they are not easy practices, particularly for people raised with Western conditioning.

You certainly have touched upon a lot of the views that I have been exposed to in my classes. The fact that you mention how one should pay attention to what others are saying, etc. We have to do that as counselors. We have to give our full attention to our client at the time they are speaking for we, without a doubt, will miss some key point/piece if we do not. This is one thing they try to teach us.

I have not heard of ACT although, now that you have brought it to my attention, I will want to research it. The more knowledge I have, the better.

I believe mental health in its entirety is not easy, but to give tools to clients it makes it that much easier.

being mindful is simply paying full attention to whatever it is you're doing

Only of what you are doing? Not of what others are doing around you? Or other things that are happening around you?

With so much talk regarding "being in the moment", being mindful, etc. I would like to know what everyone's view of this is.

What I mean is your definition of it? Where it fits into your life.

I am in grad school right now for mental health counseling and it is a "HOT" topic there. I just wonder what differences there are from what they are "teaching" us about mindfulness and how everyone views it here?

When I do make a full return to NY, I will pass it to those who showed up to our Feb 16-17th Dharma Cultivation. But it would have to be for more than 2 days, and we will have to have the Great Compassion Dharani Sutra on hand. It will be more intense than those 2 days we had. when Dan, Jen and you can coordinate about 7 days free from daily life when I return, I'll do it.

 

Peace and Blessings,

Lin

I think with how much we all want you to share that we can definitely free up 7 days

LOL. Nice guide.

 

Welcome Lotus Flower.

 

Sean

Thanks Sean. I shall heed Oolong's words of wisdom

Hopefully next time you can share the 42 Hands and Eyes Lin. Did you pick that avatar "randomly" Jen?

I actually own that piece of artwork, so I took a picture of it for the avatar Dan bought it for me this Christmas..had it shipped from China.

Amazing how things happen like that. He know I would love it, so he bought it as a nice gift and now there is even more of a connection with it since I met Lin and found out more about it

Thank you for the tips also. Intrigued me already ha ha

welcome to taobums!

Thank you Yoda

We were standing right across the street from the temple. I keep thinking what a difference in how we interacted from that picture to the one outside the restaurant

I like the pic of Lin

Just wanted to say hello.

 

I am new here, but if you are reading this and know joeblast, oolong rabbit or Lin you have seen my picture from the cultivation weekend

Can you tell I was in a hurry? hee hee3

I will send that to you soon though..that is what happens when I don't have the proper tools either hee hee

Thank you

Just wanted to say hello.

I am new here, but if you are reading this and know joeblast, oolong rabbit or Lin you have seen my picture from the cultivation weekend