Whole mind -Mindlessly mindful

I often talk with meditation practitioners about their experiences during meditation. Quite often I hear about the places that they meditate. This is because many of us put quite a good bit of stock in where the meditation takes place. Most of us also speak of meditation in terms of “awareness” or “mindfulness” when we describe meditation. But for me there are several directions that meditation can take that are within my control as I begin meditation. These directions quite often get lumped into a single meditative amalgam. So I would like to discuss Mindful meditation and how simple it is and what it is not. Mindful to many people is what we are at the beginning of a meditation when we are following the breath, the heart beat or performing a task. Mindful meditation follows a distinct pattern and takes account of a focused action –our whole mind is “on point”. Mindfulness requires no more effort than making tea as with the tea ceremony, or breathing as with the breath meditation but I find that that is where some, myself included have fallen short. Once we begin to be mindful there is that subtle distraction that very subtly invites some small part of our mind to sneakily slink off in another direction. Like the wonderful lark singing in the background while I raked the Zen garden. No sorry –for that moment I raked and listened AND was in that instant no longer mindful. So over the years I have found simple things to do that seem to hold my mind fixed –I think we all do. One of these things for me is balancing stones another is drawing. When I can get the time, when schedules allow I like to sit especially if I can sit with my kids and do one-liners. This method of drawing is very raw -and is viewed as so elementary that it is very hard to find in galleries or professional presentations, but it is so very fun and meditative. It is a simple as writing calligraphy, or kanji. This is very similar to the ideals behind Zen gardens, where raking / lining the pebbles or sand takes your full attention.
A one-liner requires the artist to use a single line to define the outline and some detail of the subject in one continuous line. this is a great way to get budding artists to see their subject in layers with definable profiles and linear definition. And it's downright fun. At first try to draw an apple or cup with a single line -DO NOT lift the pencil until the drawing is completed. When you lift your pencil -your done. For a tougher and more conscious drawing, try to do this WITHOUT crossing over the lines you have drawn. I like to put a tiny "A" at my starting point and a "B" at the end, so I can follow my line when I look at the drawing in the future, And so that the viewer can have a few moments of mindfulness as well.This drawing method is very meditative from the stand point that it involves both sides of the brain to the exclusion of all else. You cannot help but become completely mindful.

Addicted to... anything

I recently had an interesting conversation with a close friend about addiction. She has had a lifelong bout with alcohol but has been free of that addiction for several years. She is now addicted to exercise. I know that sounds silly, but it can be just as dangerous. We all have tendencies and compulsions that we cater to unconsciously and most of them are harmless. But for some people the compulsion to “ease the pain” or “forget the present” or “drown their sorrows” becomes habitual. With exercise as with drugs there is a high. This is caused by endorphins which bind to opioid receptors in neurons, blocking the release of neurotransmitters and thus interfering with the transmission of pain impulses to the brain. *This reaction mimics the effects of addictive drugs like morphine. People can literally run themselves silly. But in the case of people with addictive tendencies over exercising can lead to injury and death. For these people exercise is just another outlet for their addiction. These people might gravitate towards marathons, body building, or in the case of my friend martial arts. She initially enjoyed the ideals and structure behind the martial art she was learning. Within a few months she had a regular schedule and had converted her garage into a mini dojo. She also began sparring with the people in her class. With most addicts there is a feeling of depression and the acceptance of some amount of pain associated with the activity of choice. Hitting and getting hit became her addiction. She began fighting at a mixed martial arts dojo six nights a week. Then found a group that met on Sundays to round out her week. Exercise and fighting became her primary focus. She lost weight, got injured and knocked out many times and still kept pushing herself until her sponsor recognized that she was addicted again. This time the drug was adrenaline.
I find it very interesting that almost everyone knows someone or is someone who has an obsession with something. For some its drugs or porn , and for those main stream addicts video games, marathons and even religion. This is where this subject really hit home for me. This is because I have a family member who is zealous about religion. The particular religion isn’t important but his total and detrimental obsession is. He eats and sleeps and drinks “The word “. To hear him speak you would think the world is on the brink of implosion and her people were preparing for annihilation. He recommends bomb shelters and hoarding non perishable goods. He has become obsessed with convincing anyone who he knows that our current way of life here in the U.S. is about to vanish. He left his job to become more involved and travel with his religious group. He left his family to be closer to his deity and the people who needed his help. So when I began thinking of addiction in terms of a compulsion or genetic disposition that can manifest itself in almost any action I realized that there are far more addicts in the world. And I am convinced that there are folks who are addicted to Meditation and Buddhism to their detriment. I pray for these people who are so deeply involved in positive action that it has become harmful. I hope that they find understanding and can learn the middle way.*(for an interesting study of these effects please see : MK McGovern’s “The effects of exercise on the brain”)

So what do we feel about the past?-Today when a person begins to take action to his or her own detriment -to the bewilderment of others, we call them crazy -when this action is a repetitive and self destructive we are in the realm of clinical dysfunction -In this modern day we would be dealing with a certifiable psyche -but this is what Siddhartha, Yasodhara and Rahula did and many others before and since, What is fasting, penance, "fervor"? When someone trains their whole life for the Olympics, having been injured time and time again, would we consider these folks “Addicted” –I might.Buddhism teaches us to be mindful of ourselves and of our life but in most instances those men and women who we revere as gurus have themselves turned their back on the middle way. I am still educating myself and dissecting my thoughts on the idea of addiction.

Freestyle Buddhist

When I was a kid my family went to Disney World once a year. I was not allowed on many of the rides because of my size and my heart condition. I wanted to get on the roller coasters --- I don’t know what other people think about their direction or focus or even their current state in life. I don’t think I’ve ever asked. I have of course said “How ya doin?” that’s almost automatic and doesn’t get much response. Then there’s “What are your goals in life?” Which is way too formal and is more fitting for a job interview or at high-school graduation. But I know that I am just cruising through this life. Easy come easy go. Don’t get me wrong there are up’s and down’s, Life throws those around a lot –I like the ride. Like a rollercoaster in the dark -Space Mountain- click click click –then swoosh there is a hard left at 2 g’s –LOVE THAT! Yep, I am cruising. Three weeks ago –Pneumonia, now I am running up stairs. Two months ago my car was fine –now I need a new one. I could get all freaked out and say –Where’s the money gonna come from? But it’ll come –it always does. My wife and I take things as they come. Sometimes we need to sit across the dinner table and think things through but those times are becoming far less often –maybe once a year. The Big things from 20 years ago are really tiny now –we have raised two kids, had numerous life threatening emergencies, at least 10 surgeries, scary test results. We’ve been through close to 30 hurricanes, 4 floods, Grandparents failing health, parents failing health and 5 layoffs. It’s a rollercoaster. I love it –I am just here riding along thinking of what happened on that last turn, and I know there’s gonna be some more. But I didn’t design this ride and even though I might think I can guess what’s gonna happen, even though I have heard all the stories from the old timers and I’ve read the history, the odds, and the guide books. There is no way I can predict what this ride is gonna do next –so I just cruise. Relax –take a slow breath –(spit out your gum before you choke on it.) and enjoy the ride.

Haiku

Charged with character
Bent, worn and withered by life
Subtle in beauty

The farm gate



Melted by water
Rock torn, battered, bumped and bruised
Smoothly polished bright

Round stone

Bugs and their place

This weekend I had company over. The weather was gorgeous, and so we ateoutside. By sundown the mosquitoes were on the hunt. I try not to killmosquitoes, so when I caught one on my arm, I tried my best to brush itoff. I started this habit a couple years ago, about the same time Ibecame serious about Buddhism. Sometimes, accidentally, the mosquitodies in the process.If I spot a spider in the house, I try to catch it and release it outside. The same goes for flies, wasps beetles, ants, or other creepy crawlies. You get the picture.I have to admit, sometimes I feel silly. It is, after all, only a bug, right? What's the big deal?As a parent raising kids in the woods in a very rural small town I have watched my kids and their friends reactions to almost every outdoor encounter imaginable. If there's one thing that I've learned from watching it's that kids and adults are not that different. The same attitude that upsets me in kids especially as they hit the teen years is prevalent in most adults I know--namely that they think the world exists for them.Literally, that the world was created for them: animals exist so we canmake Big Macs out of them, and trees grow so we can cut them down tomake notebooks out of them.They think that the world was created for humans to do with as they please. To them, Earth is a giantplayground for people to have fun in. Or worse still, a giant diaper...(you imagine the rest)That's why Buddhism is so radical. Buddhists understand that, not only does every action have a consequence (karma), but that the world is a vast interconnected network, so thatwhat I do affects you, and vice versa. In that way, Buddhists are committed to living mindfully to insure that they cause as little harm as possible (which is not to say that you won't find so-called"Buddhists" doing unsavory or unethical things--far from it!).To come back to our little blood-sucking insect, the reason I don't kill them is not because I think I'll generate bad karma or that squishing the bug will have disastrous environmental consequences in theunforeseen future, but because I know that the way I treat a bug translates to how I treat other people, to how I interact with the world as a whole. If I think that a bug is annoying and squash it forentertainment or because its mere existence is "inconvenient" to me, then how tolerant and compassionate can I really be? (Alan Watts has a great spiel about this, where he criticizes humans for being selfish: we feed off of the world, consuming countless plants and animalsthroughout the course of our lives, but can't even spare a single drop of blood for another creature. How true it is!) The way we treat an insect, as small and insignificant as it may appear to us, reflects ourrelationship to the entire world.That being said, what would I do if my house was infested with termites? I'd hire an exterminator. The Buddhist precept against killing is just that--a precept. It's not a commandmentpassed down from "on high," something to be clung to at all costs; it's ageneral rule for living. And like all rules, life will force us intosituations where we must make exceptions. My house is built out of wood,the byproduct of dead trees. That's a fact, one that no amount ofidealism will change. We live in a world where we must kill other beingsin order to survive. As unfortunate as that is, it's a biologicalfact--right up there with the truth of impermanence itself.But I find that being aware of killing even the smallest thing needlessly is far better than no awareness at all.And still...I'm still far from seeing myself and "others" as the same, but I try mybest not kill mosquitoes, or spiders, or ants. They are part of thisworld too, and have every right to live. (Until they threaten theintegrity of my home, that is!) If my body or circumstances demanded itI will kill an animal. But only if I had to. For how I treat all life them reflects how Iview this world.None of this makes me better or superior than anyone else. And yet, I do think it makes a difference--admittedly a small one, but a difference nonetheless. I try to make the world a better place, or at the very least, not a worse one.I think that, more than anything else, is what makes me proud to be a Buddhist.
- The honey bee may have a sting, but to all that flowers he is king.Without his kind the fauna dies, so have a care for things that flies.The mosquito may whine and bite, as some flies and yellow jackets might.These little things bring out the show as bats and swallows swoop at night.The spider’s legs and web will scare, but she controls the biting bugs with care.She keeps their swarms to smaller mass so do not harm her as you pass.As for viruses and diseases being spread -this is true but killing the insect after it bites you -that’s just a reaction. Respect is the term I choose to use when we are out doors at my home in the woods in Fl. We have all sorts of biting insects that we repel with camphor and citronella and geranium, and we have special screens designed to block these little creatures. We Respect these insects and when it's time for them to hunt -we do our best to create a no fly zone. After all If your living on a river in Australia-you have a respectful awareness of crocks and snakes -if you live in Mississippi in the swamp you respect gators, and snakes, skeeters and black flies. If you live in NY -you are respectfully aware of muggers and pickpockets. For me it is as simple as knowing we all live here with creatures programmed to eat other things -So rather that kill them for it -we simply make ourselves less appetizing.Besides -there are far too many ways that we humans could make this world uninhabitable because we think we would be better off if we killed off some tiny thing.