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Meditation is the practice of forgetting self.

What does that mean to forget self?  Most of us take ourselves to be our stories.  How we grew up, what we aspire to be, and how we see ourselves compared to others. 

So meditation is the practice of noticing these stories and letting them go.  

The only thing any spiritual teacher can tell you is that you are not what or who you take yourself to be.

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Let go and come home.

Peace on you.

 PREFERENCES CLOUD REALITY

Meditation is the practice of standing free of preferences

The Great Way is not difficult

for those who have no preferences.

When love and hate are both absent

everything becomes clear and undisguised.

Make the smallest distinction, however

and heaven and earth are set infinitely apart.

If you wish to see the truth

then hold no opinions for or against anything.

To set up what you like against what you dislike

is the disease of the mind.

When the deep meaning of things is not understood

the mind's essential peace is disturbed to no avail.

by Hsin-hsin Ming

 MEDITATION

Meditation is the practice of giving up expectations.

Is it not expectations that cause anxiety and stress?  Expectations are serenity killers!

When thoughts arise, during the meditation practice period,  just  notice them [without judgement], then give them over to God by saying something like:

"YOU ALONE I TRUST - THANK YOU"

Empty yourself utterly, and you will come to see that you need do nothing to solve a problem that you do not have.

Peace on you

WHAT IS SANITY?

In the various recovery programs like AA, the second step states "Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.".  The goal therefore is sanity with God's help.

What is sanity?  Sanity  is coming to realize that:

Nothing is mine.

I control nothing.

Everything passes.  

In virtually every spiritual discipline arriving at this state is called 'Enlightenment'.  

Living with both feet planted in this truth is beyond words.

Peace on you.

 AN EMPTY CHAIR IS WITHOUT BURDEN

Given that we are not our stories - that almost all of them are wrong, the question arises: "How can we free ourselves from these crazy stories?".

Silent meditation is a powerful way. In Silence our stories appear as thoughts - they are always just right there.  We can let them go!

 Try this simple technique while sitting in Silence: 

1.  Notice the next thought that arises,
2.  treat all thoughts the same -  just use the mantra "NOT TRUE",

3.  repeat 1 and 2.

We all have a tendency to hang on to the 'positive' thoughts and drop the 'negative' ones.  This is a mistake.

The way to get rid of the 'bad' thoughts is to give up the 'good' ones.  Trying to keep the 'good' ones makes the 'bad' ones real.   

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Peace be upon you.

 STORIES

We are not the stories we tell ourselves.  Almost all of them are wrong! 

When we sit in Silent meditation stories/thoughts about ourselves of all manner arise.  They come and  disappear like clouds in a vast sky.  In time we come to see the impermanence in them.   

Who sees that they are impermanent?

Seek that one!

Then, as Thich Nhat Hanh says:

"we don't suffer anymore."

Peace be upon you.

God's Mercy and Compassion 

Every chapter in the Quran, all one hundred and fourteen of them except one, begins with the statement that God is Entirely Merciful and God is Entirely Compassionate.  Mercy is God's essential nature and it is with Compassion that He acts it out. 

Muslims pray five times each day at specified times in the spirit of remaining mindful of God and His Mercy.

I have been doing this for quite some time. It has had a profound effect on the peace I feel in my heart. 

Peace be upon you!

THE ORIGINAL DEFINITION OF YOGA

From the Upanishads:

"He who has no ill will to any being, who is friendly and compassionate, who is free from the feeling of 'I' and 'mine,' even-minded in pain and pleasure, forbearing, ever content, steady in meditation, self-controlled, and possessed of firm conviction, with mind and intellect dedicated to Me, he, My devotee, is dear to Me."

In the 1980s and 1990s, yoga began to be marketed more as a form of exercise and physical fitness rather than a spiritual practice. 

"First something is a great idea, then it becomes a cause, then it becomes a business and finally it become a racket."

Eric Hoffer

Peace be upon you.

 

Meditation is the practice of letting go of the world.  With practice the light behind the world shines though.

Peace be upon you.

 Glory be to Allah ( the Arabic name for God), He is far above whatever they attribute to Him - indeed the Most Wise.

Peace be upon you.

Is not so much anxiety caused by forgetting that there is life after this life?  I find much comfort in this verse in from the Quran. I read it often before meditation.

"Know that the worldly life is merely play, amusement, ornamentation, a boasting among yourselves and the desire for increases in wealth and children. The example of which is abundant rain that produces plants which delights the disbelievers. But then it dries up so you see it turning yellow to eventually become ruined remains. In the Hereafter there is severe punishment as well as forgiveness from God and consent. This worldly life is no more than a deceptive enjoyment."  [57:20]

 Have you noticed that, when you think about yourself and your problems, you feel worse. This is especially true when we drop into rumination over some pressing matter. 

There are so many forms of meditation that are relaxing, like breath-focus or mantra-type meditations. These meditations do work but, they do not have long-lasting effects. 

To make any deep change in our lives, we must change our core beliefs.

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 WORRY HIDES THE PEACE WITHIN

 "In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few." - Shunryu Suzuki

But Jesus, overhearing what was being spoken, *said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid any longer, only believe.” -Mark 5:36

And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. - Matthew 18:3

Let go … let God … the direct path to the peace within

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