Zen Shin meditation is a unique Buddhist practice established by Rev. Koshin Ogui , a former resident minister at MBT and also former bishop of the Buddhist Churches of America.
Zen Shin combines Shin Buddhism’s awareness of Oneness with the discipline of Zen practices.
Meditation Instructional Videos
The presenter is Eli Brown who is a Lay Dharma Leader and active participant of our Zen Shin Sangha
Opening Instructions
Eli guides in the opening instructions of Zen Shin meditation. This can be used as a reference video, or as the beginning to a self timed meditation.
Seven Minute Meditation:
Eli guides you through a seven minute Zen Shin meditation with instructions and opening block hitting.
Fifteen Minute Meditation
Eli guides you through a fifteen minute Zen Shin meditation with instructions and opening block hitting.
Zen Shin Messages
During each Zen Shin Meditation session or Mind/Body Seminar a Zen Shin message is given by a session leader. During this time when physical gatherings are not occurring recent Zen Shin messages are published here. About the authors: Susan Gilkey and Terry Cichocki are both MBT Minister’s Assistants and Lay Dharma Leaders of our Zen Shin Sangha.
Please note: Any ideas and opinions expressed in these talks are those of the individual authors.
Two items have helped me pull together the events of the past few days In Minneapolis with the week’s topic which is gratitude. One of these is a short video a friend forwarded. It is called “I Just Want to Live”. It’s a Keedron Bryant remix of a song by Good Charlotte. You can google it. I feel it succinctly expresses everything that needs saying about the death of George Floyd and the culture within which it took place. The other was a news item about the protest in Flint, Michigan last night. In that troubled city, as elsewhere there was much tension between the protesters and the police. Then, the sheriff removed his helmet, put down his baton and instructed his police to do likewise. He turned to the protesters and asked what they wanted. Their reply? “Walk with us. ” Amid hugs and fist bumps, they moved on together.
Gratitude is like the gravity that brings us down to earth and holds us steady and comfortable in this lurching, convulsing world of ours. Gratitude is the force that reminds us of the simplicity and the naturalness of life and of our intrinsic reliance upon and interconnectedness with others. Gratitude restores the fullness, potential, freedom and power of this moment. True gratitude expresses the reality that here and now is all we have. Gratitude arises with the realization that this moment and all its vastness of sustenance, learning, experience and opportunity comes about as a result of innumerable factors outside ourselves yet also never separate from us. A oneness is created in this realization which elicits humility and joy. It comes down to simple human feelings and awareness. It comes down to the capacity to truly live , feel and think in this moment. It is a matter of experiencing and expressing a common humanity which is accessible, responsive and truthful.
Through gratitude there is courage and honesty to stand up and call out injustice. Gratitude reveals the true profundity of being alive. Gratitude reveals the truth that nothing matters more than having life and the awesome power of this moment. Also revealed is the enormous responsibility it carries . Since there is life, through gratitude there is spontaneous compassion for others and deep concern for the well-being of others. Any other response contaminates that gratitude , diminishes life’s authenticity and results in suffering.
Again America sees a white policeman kill a black man. George Floyd was detained over a counterfeit twenty dollar bill. Nine minutes in the lives of all of us.
Isn’t enough enough?
That’s all this weekend’s events are about. Let no one change the narrative. Let no one blame the victim. Let no one blame provocateurs. Don’t let this time be just the latest .
HUMOR – by Susan Gilkey
Rev. Ogui, founder of zenshin meditation at Midwest Buddhist Temple, used to offer the following advice:
- Don’t take yourself too seriously
- Don’t lose your sense of humor
- Don’t lose your sincerety.
This week’s message concerns humor and laughter. It was easy to compile these quotes because there are so many on the subject. “A smile is a frown turned upside down”, “If life gives you lemons, make lemonade”, ” Smile and the whole world smiles with you” are some of the more familiar ones we hear all the time. From the handout, the one that I continue to reflect on is by Mevlana Rumi, founder of Sufism. The quote goes like this: ‘Whoever is wise laughs: nothing tyrannizes their hearts. What strikes the oyster does not damage the pearl.” Rephrasing that in current jargon might be that laughter is our spiritual PPE! Rumi’s words are so lyrical and profound. Laughter is what cushions the jolts and upsets of the everyday life of every life. It restores our sense of balance, restores our sense of confidence and our sense of connection and solidarity with one another. Laughter in a very real sense protects what we hold most dear, most important and most central in our lives. Laughter very much protects our sincerity and our ability to be genuine and to love.
Buddhist teachings indicate that the causes of suffering, the afflictions or the poisons, are greed, anger and ignorance. These separate us from one another. These deny the reality of interdependence and change. These spring from self absorption and selfishness and derive from a false understanding of the self itself. Laughter is an antidote to all three of these afflictions. Laughter is an antidote to the causes of suffering , just as powerful an antidote as compassion, our ability to care about other people and be concerned with the well-being of others. Laughter builds bridges instead of walls. John Cleese, co-founder and star of various TV shows such as Monty Python’s Flying Circus as well as Fawlty Towers and also numerous movies such as The Life of Brian (if you are too young to be familiar with John Cleese you are in for an absolute treat. well worth a look!!), also features in this weeks quotes with “Laughter connects you with people. It is almost impossible to maintain any kind of distance (he is not talking about our contemporary literal social distancing, but rather figurative distance) or any sense of social hierarchy” (read any kind of division be it political, social, ethnic, racial, religious, etc and sadly there are so many kinds)” when you are just howling with laughter. Laughter is a force for democracy”. I think we could say further that laughter is a force for universal awareness, for really seeing others, for seeing our shared humanity and a force for empathy and compassion. Laughter thus is a force for enlightenment.
KINDNESS – by Susan Gilkey
I recently came across a particularly helpful quote from His Holiness Dalai Lama. It is the quote from Tuesday May 5, Cinco de Mayo from ” Insight from the Dalai Lama 2020″, my quote-a-day desk calendar (a heartfelt shout out to Terry Cichocki who from her vast reservoir of thoughtfulness gave me this calendar). Reading these every day is part of my daily practice and is an integral part of the daily routine. I feel that having a daily routine of some sort consisting of a practice, be it meditation, yoga, quiet reflection, inspirational reading, chanting, martial arts, tai chi, music , art or any potentially spiritual mind/body practice is extremely helpful at any time and maybe all the more so during times of great uncertainty and upheaval. These practices help manage stress and further, these daily practices develop mind/body awareness, concentration, and balance which can lead to a greater sense of perspective leading towards restitution of inner peacefulness. Over time our practice points our way forward in making sense of life and of our experiences. It guides and informs our personal journey . A daily practice of months and years becomes a treasure, a place of solace and joy, and a sure source of caring for ourselves and for others. So when so much is in flux and our normal routines and habits have been disrupted, WHY NOT BENEFIT FROM THE DISEQUILIBRIUM ! Try new routines which include a daily practice of some sort, one that fits into the shape of the day, one that is enjoyable and comfortable and one that can be stably and steadily maintained every day.
Well, back to this quote! Here it is: “The three factors that seem to have the greatest influence on increasing out happiness are our ability to re-frame our situation more positively, our ability to experience gratitude and our choice to be kind and generous.”
This quote has a lot to offer it seems to me. First of all it is truly a guide to alleviating suffering in our lives. And also it is a powerful statement of what it is to be a good human being, someone who can maintain personal equilibrium and inner peacefulness and as a result someone who can benefit others as much as possible.
Let’s look at each of these factors individually.
First, there is the ability to re-frame our situation more positively. The first three elements of the Eightfold Path, a fundamental Buddhist teaching, are Right View, Right Thought, and Right Speech. These are how we perceive and express everything in our lives internally and externally. We realize most crucially that these are malleable. Without consciously doing so, we are all the time modifying how we construe our experiences. To take it one step further, we can realize that we have the capacity to make this modification consciously and with the intention to construe all of life from a less selfish perspective ,in a less narrow way , a less antagonistic or defensive way and a more magnanimous way. In other words we can re-frame everything more positively.
Secondly, there is the ability to experience gratitude. Within this ability is the realization of interdependence. Everything that is, everything we experience, everything that ever was or ever will be is conditioned upon causes , conditions and effects in a way that is orderly , methodic and follows universal laws and principles. In other words life is interdependent. We may not be able to perceive and understand all of these workings because of the infinite complexity of the interrelationships of the factors, but we can understand that there is an orderliness, reasonableness and goodness that underlies it always. This is the virtue or naturalness of all things. In other words, it makes sense even if we are limited in our capacity to appreciate this vast interconnection. So all that we are and all that we have is the result of this interdependence which involve a vast multitude of other people, places and things. Within this vast framework we have agency also. Through the capacity to deepen our understanding of the true nature of things, we increase our experience of gratitude. All things even difficult experiences come to us in the same way and subsequently are accepted, integrated and changed in the same way. This experience of gratitude, or the acknowledgment of the true nature of how things are, can also be expressed with other words such as acceptance, appreciation, awareness , relief, devotion, thankfulness, thanksgiving, praise, awe, humility, mindfulness, thoughtfulness , oneness, etc.
Thirdly, there is the choice to be kind and generous. Through kindness and generosity we practice compassion. The choice to be kind and generous takes us beyond our self absorbed preoccupations and endless sense of personal suffering into the real world of everything, everyone and all beings and our relationships with it. Our choice to extend kindness and generosity creates in us a positive energy oriented outwards yet which affects us inwardly as well. It is absolutely true that in the joy of others lies our own and that to lose oneself (in compassion towards others) is to find oneself. This capacity for compassion is the capacity for love . To love and be loved is always to build bridges and cause walls to dissolve.
Separation, isolation and suffering is transcended by our choice to be kind and generous.
So, thanks to Terry Cichocki and the Dalai Lama and everyone and everything that went into the calendar that sits on a shelf in my home.
That’s my sharing.
Palms together at the heart,(gassho) : gesture of kindness, warm heart, respect, gratitude, oneness of all people. Bow.
HOPE – by Susan Gilkey
I recently came across a memorable quote from His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Here it is:
“Although meditation can sometimes mean sitting in a particular formal posture and stilling the mind, it can also include continuously familiarizing ourselves with positive thoughts.”
This expanded definition of meditation makes meditation even more useful these days. Positive and hopeful thoughts, speech and action can serve as a counterbalance and antidote to much of the difficulties we face and especially the negativity they can engender. Often out of self-defense or resistance to change, we may respond with denial, anger, fear, blame, hostility or depression. These prevent or protect us from being involved or even alive in the moment. None of these help us with coping, being responsive to others or being responsible. So, a conscious, deliberate effort can be made to conceive of a deeper, more positive and hopeful context and understanding. In addition, we can recall that everything we experience arises from our own inner life and how we view and interpret the world around us. This is the essence of Buddhist teachings, the reality of the consequences born of our actions: the reality of causes, conditions and effects and the truths of interdependence and impermanence.
Today’s handout concerns different perspectives on hope. There are several which particularly appeal to me. One of these is “Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out“. Another one is “Our human compassion binds us the one to the other as human beings who have learned how to turn out common suffering into hope for the future”. Also “Perhaps hopelessness is the very soil that nourishes human hope”. And lastly, “Uncertainty is the refuge of hope”.
These quotes suggest something different than the usual understanding of hope as meaning everything will be the way we want or think is best by which we mean “all right“.
Instead hope is grounded in reality, in engagement with what is and a willingness to participate and to be open to the unfolding of the life we are in the midst of. The daunting, fraught, uncertain, and even “hopeless” reality we experience is exactly where we can create hope. Hoping carries an element of space, potential, waiting, expectancy and patience, an ability to abide, a staying power which is positive and full of compassion and appreciation. Hoping welcomes whatever comes and remains present for communicating and interacting with it from a stance of listening, caring and concern.
An interesting example of hope put into action is the now mandated wearing of cloth masks in public. This type of mask does not protect the wearer. This type of mask protects others from the wearer. The message is “I hope you stay well. I hope we can all work together to care for each other. Only together can we move forwards as one humanity”.
We know from our meditation practice that the operative element is practice. There is no arriving; there is only journey, the day to day living, the keep doing, keep going. So it is for the cultivation of positive thoughts, speech and action. It is also a practice.
Let me close with another of today’s quotes, “Hope is the pillar that holds up the world”. We cannot forget that the world needs holding up all the time.
This week’s topic is peace. I chose this topic as a way to begin to think about much of the language used concerning the corona virus pandemic. Right speech is part of the eightfold path. The words we choose are very important. First let us review the eight fold path since this is such an instructive framework to guide our life and especially our focus and orientation in living:
- 1. Right View
- 2. Right Thought
- 3. Right Speech
- 4. Right Action
- 5. Right Livelihood
- 6. Right Effort
- 7. Right Concentration
- 8. Right Meditation
I list these in a line, but a circle would be more appropriate. Insofar as the significance of right speech, it is helpful to recall the following wise saying: Watch your thoughts, they become your words. Watch your words, they become your actions. Watch your actions, they become your habits, Watch your habits, they become your character. Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.
Nowadays I believe it is EXTREMELY important that collectively we move away from words and images that frame the current situation and all its components as an enemy, a war, a fight, a lockdown, a race, winning, blaming, punishing, judging etc. These words and concepts promote a sense of conflict, division, and an us/them or us/it mentality. The aggressive and bellicose language often applied to the Covid 19 pandemic promotes separations along economic, political, sectarian, religious, racial, ethnic, national, regional interests. When we use this kind of language we create additional stress and also ultimately create a situation where nothing will be learned through this huge and tragic internationally shared experience.
We need to actively and mindfully adopt speech that promotes a sense of worldwide community, international cooperation and mutual aid and support. First of all it is important to recognize and accept that illness is natural and a part of life. We have to go through this. We cannot get around this. And world wide pandemics are part of the spectrum of illness. Indeed with climate crisis and habitat disruption the risk of pandemics is known to be greater. This is something that should be stressed in the current pandemic discussions and offers a significant opportunity to make changes world wide to protect the climate. Of course we rely on public health science and research to help decrease the impact of the pandemic but this is based upon acceptance.
So what are some useful words and images that are constructive alternatives? Healing, responding, helping, innovating, understanding, cooperating, listening, assisting, caring for each other, working together, supporting, protecting, sharing, coming together, coping, learning, living through this together, and growing wiser and more compassionate as one world. Our words matter. Use them thoughtfully, carefully and lovingly.
COURAGE – by Susan Gilkey
ZEN SHIN INSTRUCTIONS: ring a bell. palms together at the heart. silence the bell. bow.
hands on the legs, move upper body from right to left and forwards and back find the center point . keep the back softly straight, sit down through the center into the cushion or chair, into the earth, sit up through center top of head lifting to blue sky above. relax face and shoulders. place hands in lap, palms facing up, fingers overlapping, thumbs touching, forming an oval with hands find a spot on the floor and softly focus on it, eyes half open half closed. keep mouth closed breath through nose. count breathing, odd number follow inhalation, even number follow exhalation. continue until ten then start at one. Whatever thoughts arise, sounds heard, let them go with deep exhalation. continue for 15 minutes. ring bell, place hands together at the heart, silence bell, bow.
So nice to sit together! please note that there are videos available on the MBT website that Eli was kind enough to make of zen shin sessions of variable duration as well as chanting and walking meditation. There are various Dharma Talks as well as the weekly family service video
Today’s handout and Zen Shin Message concern courage.
What an important quality for everyone to cultivate. And what inspiring examples and teachers of courage we have all around us. Our thoughts go first to the hard working and altruistic health care workers all over the world who put the well being of their patients before all else. Everyone feels so grateful for their selflessness and compassion. And everyone fervently hopes that they will remain healthy. There is courage also exhibited by state and local governments making policies and decisions to benefit all.
However, there are other even more compelling and poignant teachers of courage we are aware of these days. These teachers are the people who are ill with the virus and also the families of those who are ill . When a person becomes sick, they must have the courage to admit this and communicate this to family and friends. What a burden they must impose upon those they love. They might have unwittingly infected loved ones ,and everyone will need to stay apart with complicated daily routines. Of course that is provided the person who is sick feels able to stay home. What a greater demand for courage from all if the person feels unable to stay home. The person must be in hospital …alone. Neither family nor friends may be there. And no one knows if they will be together ever again. What courage to face such uncertainty. What courage to bear up under the living of those days and weeks.
What this teaches us about the true nature of courage is that it is a matter of the heart, of not losing heart, not losing the ability to care, of doing the right thing, doing what we can and of loving. Courage is not a hardening but rather a yielding to the reality of what is , a trusting , a listening , a mindfulness, a being present and being responsible. There is a nice Zen koan that says ” climb to the top of a pole , then take one step more. ” Keep doing, keep going. When we learn this kind of courage, our lives are changed.
ETHICS/ INTEGRITY/ ACCEPTANCE – by Susan Gilkey
A Buddhist sense of ethics and integrity has its foundation in the eight fold path. So we remember it is: 1. Right view 2. Right thought 3. Right speech, 4. Right action, 5. Right livelihood, 6. Right effort, 7. Right concentration and 8. Right meditation.
An important role is also played by the four noble truths which serve as background for the eight fold path. And we remember that is: 1. there is suffering, 2. there is arising. 3. there is cessation and 4. there is a path, (which is the eightfold path. ) These are basic Buddhist teachings of the truth about the reality of the world and the way we can live a good life in it.
However in our daily living , we need more accessible and practical considerations of morality. The current situation brings into sharp focus the importance of directing our actions with intelligence and compassion. I feel that acceptance is the most ethical approach we can bring to bear on the situations we face during this corona virus pandemic. Acceptance is not a passive submission. Acceptance is a very active dynamic willingness and ability to be involved constructively in the real situation at hand. Acceptance strives to see and understand with clarity what is really happening. Acceptance helps transcend responses of denial, anger, complaining, self absorption, distrust, depression, pessimism , misunderstanding and fear which can be so damaging and that basically seek to remove us from the situation . Lately we all can recognize many of those reactions in ourselves. But if we are honest we know that none of them have been helpful either within ourselves or coming from others.
Acceptance moves us squarely into the situation and gives us tremendous freedom. We cannot be free of this pandemic situation, but within it we can have freedom . Through our Buddhist perspective we have learned the value of impermanence. I am not referring to the notion that “this too shall pass” . That is true but its not helpful since it doesn’t offer enough guidance of how to live in this moment when “this” is still going on. The impermanence I mean is that our response , our feelings about and within the situation can be changed by our focus and our perspective. Acceptance allows us the freedom to make this change.
So for instance we may start by feeling fearful or helpless. But we can recognize that these feelings arise from a rejection of the situation and a sense of isolation and powerlessness. Because we have learned the reality of interdependence and the creative power of compassion and caring for others, through acceptance we can feel confident we have something important we can contribute even if it is small. We remember Mother Theresa’s wonderful words, ” we cannot all do great things but we can all do small things with great love”. This give us a sense of purpose and connection. In addition acceptance allows to see how much we are cared for by others and the many reasons we have to feel grateful. We have learned that compassion and gratitude are some of our greatest practices . These restore a sense of balance and rightness to the living of these days which gives us the capacity to smile , laugh and love. And sharing these together whether near or far we can get through this in a way that has human dignity , integrity and sincerity .
We are here now. What a precious gift.
So, what can we do?
In the face of the fear, anxiety, panic, dread, social isolation, we may feel adrift. As though these times will never end. That we will forever endure these kinds of stresses.
Yet, nature is growing. It is spring.
Have you noticed the buds on the trees? Elms and maples are flowering. Allergy sufferers, sorry to say, pollen counts are getting higher.
Walk outdoors. Turn off the news with its dreaded counting of our lives torn asunder.
Smell the air. Taste the air. It feels less gritty. Yes, you may be thinking that’s not a good idea right now. But trees and plants are nature’s air filters. If you walk among the trees, away from others, you will benefit. With us being home more, there are less air pollutants in the air and water. Wait, can there be a benefit to all of this?
Nature created this virus and she can take it away. We have to trust in the evolution of our earth. She has a message for us with the state our world is in. What is that message for you?
How can we contact each other now through this time? Nature will help us. She will heal us. She can make you feel whole again. She can teach us.
Look at the tiny early spring flowers. They are there, hidden among last year’s Fall leaves. They are nurturing early bumble bees that need nectar in the spring. Crocuses, Winter Aconite, Grape Muscari, Snow drops all peeking out their flowers and buds from the winter duff. They are hopeful that tomorrow will come and yet they help others in their spring beauty. Their wholeness is for the community to be able to live. Their beauty to enjoy.
Walk and be near or hug a tree. They are so strong and resilient. Their energy is ours to share. They are ready to help us heal. They are sentinels for humanity’s strife.
Meet a fellow walker. Nod and smile a hello. We need each other more than ever. Let us be inspired by nature’s ever-changing resilience to learn again how to honor each other, help each other in our own creative and curious ways. The time has come to re-learn all we’ve come to know. Look to nature for your inspiration. She will not fail you.
Bowing head in gratitude,
Gassho, Terry
Open your treasure house! – by Susan Gilkey
Nowadays , the external factors and routines we have always relied upon in structuring, organizing and guiding our day to day lives are changing or disappearing. Here in Illinois we have to shelter in place. We stay, work and study at home. Well ok but how can we stay at home if we are homeless? We limit our movement to the bare essentials and mostly keep away from other people. Well ok, but how can we socially isolate and practice personal hygiene if we are incarcerated or detained together with 10, 20, 30 or 40 other people and communal toilets and sinks? And no soap? The structures, commitments and schedules that ordered our days are completely different or absent. All of our assumptions and expectations are upended. We are faced externally with an apparent lack of everything we relied on and need. Outside there is little other than uncertainty and fear.
So, yes we must look within. Outside is a very disturbing, turbulent, unpredictable and dangerous reality. Outside not too many answers or guidance. Outside quite a grim outlook.
Time to open our treasure house! Fortunately, as human beings there is much we find there of great value and merit. We naturally have the ability to love and care for others. We have a natural capacity to develop community and extend support to each other. We have a natural intelligence and ability to seek and discern the truth. We have the potential to know right from wrong. We know that life unfolds one moment at a time, one breath at a time. We cannot get ahead of ourselves in life. We can be only here and now in this particular situation. Patience, kindness and awareness are necessarily at the center of life which is this moment. The moment of now is truly the moment of eternity. This moment and every moment is vast and still. It happens just once and is unrepeatable. There are infinite possibilities. There are infinite possibilities for greater understanding, innovation, change, letting go and forgiveness. We can begin to learn what it is like to be in another person’s shoes. We have the capacity to see something other than our own small self absorbed reality. We can have empathy for another person. We can have respect and concern for one another. We can have a different perspective and point of view. We can be helpful to one another , just by being ourselves. We can make a difference just by being ourselves. We can be hopeful and cheerful. We can smile and laugh. Maybe we cannot hug the same, but caring and love are communicated in a thousand other ways.
The movement of life truly is from inside to outside. Life is like a spring always flowing and coming from within the earth . When we look inside, when we open our treasure house, we can experience a sense of liberation from external stresses , and an assurance of inner strength and balance. There is much we naturally have that we can bring forth to help us cope with a difficult and unpredictable time.
by Susan Gilkey
Recently there was a radio program concerning longevity where several individuals from a village in Sardinia were interviewed. They were all over 100 years old. Chief among various factors contributing to living so long was having a sense of purpose in life. It was very important to have a sense of meaning and purpose with which to greet every new day. This sense of purpose helped these centenarians maintain their health and strength.
Rev Ogui, a previous minister at MBT and founder of the Zen Shin Meditation service, used to like to remark that no one can take over living our lives for us. That of course is certainly true. There is much that others can and do provide for us. But the actual living of our life, that is solely up to us. No one can take over the responsibility that each one has for directing and carrying out the moment by moment living of our lives.
These days in the midst of the Covid19 pandemic, there are many challenges. How we face these challenges is of great importance and provides us with the potential for a strong sense of purpose. Each of us carries responsibilities for our behavior which significantly affects our life and the lives of every member our families and of the community. So it is that we are urged to wash our hands often and thoroughly . It is important to keep an appropriate distance from others, to cover a cough or sneeze and to minimize contact with other people. We are asked to work from home and stay home as much as possible, going out only as necessary. Public places are closed and gatherings are discouraged. No one can meet these challenges for us, only we ourselves. Key to meeting these challenges is keeping a calm mind and a sense of meaning and purpose in the midst of so much uncertainty, potential fear and disruption of daily life and routines. Facing these challenges constructively gives us a strong sense of purpose
Without a calm mind, we can lose our ability to make use of our intelligence. Without mindfulness we can lose track of our purpose and lose our ability to observe ourselves and life around us. It is obvious that our meditation practice is useful in such times. Our understanding of reality guided by Buddhism helps us a lot also. Impermanence and interdependence are wonderful guides. Keep doing, keep going. Our teachers always urged us so. That way we are less likely to get discouraged or to become overwhelmed. That way we can hold onto the reality that life happens one moment at a time, one hour at a time, one day at a time. With a calm and confident mind, we can see what we are able to do to be helpful and compassionate towards others. To see beyond our own personal worries and realize that we are all in this together.
Moreover, we already have everything we need to handle these challenges. We have our human intelligence, our creativity , our sense of humor, and especially we have our capacity for kindness , compassion and for warm-heartedness. We understand that these human abilities as well as thoughtfulness, courtesy and a positive outlook contributes so much to stressful situations. To maintain these valuable contributions to our day to day life for ourselves, our families and our community nowadays gives us a strong sense of purpose. And gives us reason for optimism and hope in the midst of unpredictable times. And besides when wasn’t life unpredictable really anyway?
Contentment – by Susan Gilkey
These days with precautions and practices concerning Covid 19 , this is a helpful topic. Contentment can be seen in two ways. First of all, it means being satisfied with what we have. So in this sense it signifies first of all the practice of gratitude. There is a nice quote about gratitude that says it transforms what we have into enough. Another nice quote is that it is through gratitude that the spiritual life opens up. In addition to entailing gratitude , contentment is a useful antidote to greed which can cause much imbalance and suffering. Secondly, contentment can mean being filled up with everything that the present contains. Everything and every aspect of the present moment is considered and appreciated. Nowadays it is important to change our handwashing practices in order to be protected from and decrease the spread of infection. Handwashing should be done for a minimum of 20 seconds. This feels like a long time! Feelings of impatience and agitation can arise. But acquiescence with handwashing guidelines is necessary. Here practicing contentment is helpful. First of all it is fortunate that there is something can be done to protect ourselves and others which is so simple and readily available. Secondly, it is possible to take this handwashing like a mini-meditation. In meditation what is done? It is counting the breathing from one to ten paying attention to having spine straight and feeling the inhalation and exhalation. Why not do the same thing every time for handwashing with the same letting go of thoughts as they arise concentrating on breathing in and breathing out during counting. Just twice counting to ten slowly is enough to get to 20 seconds. It helps bring out an awareness and appreciation for the present moment and the peacefulness within it.
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