Groundedness
and connectedness (earth), comfort and fluidity (water), joy and inspiration
(fire), flexibility and movement (air), and openness and accumulation
(space). If one or more of these five
natural elements is lacking or diminished in us, our soul will be damaged.
Allowing
the pain to freely arise, abide, and dissolve.
We
practice meditation not only to relieve mundane suffering and conflicts but
also as a spiritual path for this lifetime and for beyond this life as
well. Practicing meditation is a means
of liberating not only ourselves but all beings from all the causes of
suffering.
All
the issues, conflicts, and emotions you get caught up with from day to day,
hour to hour, or minute to minute, these are only reflections of the pain body,
pain speech, and pain mind. When you can
learn to draw your attention to the stillness of body, the silence of speech,
and the spaciousness of the mind your identity as pain body, pain speech, and
pain mind can start to dissolve, and you can enter through these doorways to a
lighter, more joyful sense of being.
We tend
to justify and rationalize our anger, but this only fortifies it. But if you become aware of the energy that
anger rides, you can work directly with that energy and shift it.
If
you listen to your inner dialogue, you may discern a certain view or logic at
work as you compare yourself unfavorably with others or indulge in
self-criticism. Sometimes we get stuck
there, and our whole existence becomes based on that pain. We love from that pain. We connect from that pain. We hate because of that pain. We do things in life because of that pain, or
we stop doing things because of that pain.
And that pain becomes our whole operating system. That identity is not who you really are. It
is a habit.
When you
want to make a change in a situation or in your own behavior, it is essential
to shift your attention from the story you are telling yourself about what is
happening to the inward experience you are having. The first place to draw your attention to is
your body, to experience the discomfort and agitation directly.
