Meditation — and True Reality
Meditation — and True Reality
“The wise ones, ever meditative and steadfastly persevering, alone experience Nirvana, the incomparable freedom from bondage.”~~~ Buddha
Since I already started working on this article last night, I’m going to go ahead and publish it even though I have something else on my mind today. I feel a real need to begin a conversation with you about our world — our Earth — and where we are in our relationship with it today. I’ll begin a series of articles on that subject starting with next week. I hope you’ll be back and that you’ll share in this conversation with me.
=====================================================
For today, let’s once again begin with our meditation. Although this one isn’t the same type of meditation video like the ones I’ve been offering each week, this one is a New Music Video inspired by Oprah & Eckhart Tolle’s A New Earth Web Classes. Be awakened and inspired. Know that YOU are awakening! Feel the peace, love and joy of Presence as you watch.
This is about 3 minutes long.
Here’s a link in case the video doesn’t play for some reason:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OBG7GjGHOc
====================================================
One of the things we’ve talked about often over the past several weeks (hmmm, or has it actually been months, now?) is the fact that we are clearly identified with the mind of our ego rather than seeing our true reality. Our personal world, (and the personal worlds of most of our fellow human beings), is/are the reality that what our ego-minds tell us is true. Once we learn to detach ourselves from this ego-world we will begin to get a taste of another Reality, our true Reality. What is that true Reality? It is just “what is”, right now, this moment, without all the mental images that our minds constantly impose on us. It is our Awakened self.
As mentioned before in this blog, our ego way of thinking will do everything it can to resist and reject our true Reality. It will use every trick in the book to get us to believe that our true Reality is false and will work hard to take control over our thoughts. One of the ways it does this is to make us feel as though what our minds are telling us is “right” and most of this other “spiritual stuff” is not real. It makes us think of ourselves as something better in our relationship with the world and others. Where this kind of thinking is used, the people who are believing it will tend to be conceited and insist on always being right.
Then there is the other side of the coin that the ego will often use, and that is to make us feel as though we are inferior to others. The ego will cause us to develop stories about ourselves to reinforce this belief that we’re not worthy. People who are buying into these stories will usually have low self-esteem and are often depressed.
It’s our ego-minds that are making us believe these stories about ourselves. We’ve been hearing the stories since we learned how to understand language. Sometimes the stories will have some partial truths in them, but usually are quite removed from our true, awakened Reality.
There can be a lengthy laundry-list of the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves.
“I am so creative. I am the princess (or the prince). I was abused as a child. I’m just a loser. I always do the right thing (or the wrong thing). I’m really smart. I’m really dumb. I’m different from you. I’m a loner. I’m a “people-person”. I’m special. I’m lazy. I’m very ambitious.”
You see what I mean? These are the stories we cling to because they give us our identity.
What can we do to break this cycle of stories that we allow ourselves to believe? How do we get to that place where we are able to see who we really are — right now — at this moment?
If you’ve been reading here for any length of time, you know that I believe that one way to break the cycle is to develop a regular practice of meditation. In order to quit buying into the ego-mind stories, we have to find a way to turn the thoughts off, even if it’s only for a short while.
As Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor says in her wonderful book, “My Stroke of Insight“, she has the “priceless gift of knowing that deep inner peace is just a thought/feeling away.”
For many of us the distance between our ego-thinking mind and our compassionate heart can seem miles apart. While it’s true that some of us can travel this distance easily, others of us are so committed to our “stories” about our angers, our frustrations, our jealousies, our endless mind-chatter, that even the idea that there is this beautiful place of peace, love and compassion in us all the time seems like a foreign idea. In Reality, this place is no more than a thought away.
This feeling of peace can happen only in the present moment. It’s not something that we bring with us from the past or project into the future. The first major step to finding that place in us — that place of true Reality — is our own willingness to be present in the right here, right now.
As always, I have to stress to you that one of the best ways to find that place in us, is through the practice of meditation — regular, daily meditation. Once we begin this practice, we’ll get a feel for what that place is like. Once we feel that deep, inner peace, the easier it will be for us to purposefully move there — to feel awakened — the sort of Awakening that the video above tells us is always ours.
Try it! You will love it!
This will be the last article devoted to meditation for now. That doesn’t mean that I won’t still be encouraging you from time-to-time about the importance of this practice. I’ll probably never stop doing that. It is vital to achieving true happiness in our lives. Next week we’ll venture off in another direction — closely related — something of which we are all aware — and that is the crisis unfolding around us. Come back and see what I have on my mind.
“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.”~~~ Buddha
I’d love to hear your comments on this. At the very end of this post (after the commercials and the tags) you should see a place where you can leave your comment. It will be a link that says “No Comments” — or “Comments”. Let me hear from you. Thanks.
=====================
Those glimpses we get of peace, love, acceptance and happiness when we’re meditating will soon grow into more than glimpses if we keep practicing. Keep those feelings alive. A meditation can be as simple as one, deep, conscious breath. When something happens in one of your moments to cause you to suffer, just stop and take one of those breaths and remember, “This too shall pass!” Another thing that is wonderful, especially at this time of year, is to have a fresh flower where you work. Just stop from time-to-time and look at it — don’t label it — don’t judge it — just be with it for a couple of moments. It really does work. I’m looking at mine as I write this.
“Each flower is a soul blossoming out to nature”~~~ Gerard de Nerva
—————————-
If you’re new to us here, be sure read the entire series about meditation. If you look on the upper left of the sidebar, you’ll see a list of the categories. Click the one called “Meditation” and you’ll be able to read the articles you missed. They start with the January 24, 2008 post. The video meditations that I included with the earlier articles may no longer function. I’m sorry about that, but those are out of my control. Hopefully, they’ll all still be working.
Do include meditation in your daily life. If you’re just starting out, make it a 10 minute meditation. If you’ve been doing this for a while, try to do a minimum of 20 to 30 minutes. The longer you can maintain your focus on just your breath, the better. And, remember, anytime you take a deep, conscious breath — that’s a breath where you’re putting your focus on that breath — that’s a meditation. Do it often every day — especially when you’re feeling stressed. I guarantee, you’ll find more peace and happiness in your life if you’ll do this.
“Those who really seek the path to Enlightenment dictate terms to their mind. Then they proceed with strong determination.”~~~ Buddha
Namaste!
And, as I always say in closing — remember these words …
You are the most precious gift you can give yourself. Every day look in the mirror and say, “I’m available to more good than I have experienced, realized or imagined ever before in my life!” Do this every day while you look into your own eyes.
You are special — and you are loved. You are the greatest gift you can be.
Shanti … (A sanscrit word meaning, “Let there be Peace. Peace, beautiful Peace. Peace within, Peace without. Peace in this world. Peace for all beings.”)
“Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.”~~~ Buddha
~~~ Ron
http://www.theleaderinside.com
http://www.wecould2.com
P.S. Remember, that if you have one of the “readers” — like My Yahoo, My MSN, or the Google Reader, or any of the others, you can get our blog sent to you automatically, whenever I post to it. Just click one of the buttons over on the left side to add it to your reader.
================================================================
Even though the live webcasts of the Eckhart Tolle New Earth classes are now concluded, you can still download the entire course. It’s being called “The Best Summer School Course Ever!” I highly recommend it. It’s completely free. All you really have to do is get the book, “A New Earth — Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose” by Eckhart Tolle. You can access the course online at:
http://www.oprah.com/obc_classic/webcast/archive/archive_download.jsp.
You’ll find everything you need there — all 10 classes. If you happen to have iTunes on your computer, you can also access the course by subscribing to it through the podcast link in iTunes. Check it out. Several million people around the globe took part in this amazing spiritual teaching. I hope you’ll soon be one of them. This is how we can create a new consciousness on the New Earth.
“Feeling will get you closer to the truth of who you are than thinking. ”~~~ Eckhardt Tolle —
Also, Oprah now has her Soul Series of Webcasts started. There is a series with Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor and more from Eckhart Tolle. You can get these from this site for downloading:
http://www2.oprah.com/spiritself/oss/ss_oss_archive.jhtml
I’ve listened/watched all of these so far, and I highly recommend them. If you have iTunes, you can subscribe to them.
================================================================
In my meditation I often use what I believe is a powerful aide to deep meditation. It’s the The Holosync Solution. I knew that meditation was a vital element to nurturing my soul — to opening myself to the universe — and this tool has allowed me to achieve and receive the benefits of deep, long-term meditation — and to achieve it much more quickly. If you’re having trouble “getting meditation to work for you” - then the The Holosync Solution is what you’re looking for.
Regular, daily meditation can give you …
(1) Increased intelligence and creativity.
(2) Lower stress levels — and with that — increased ability to handle whatever the world tosses your way.
(3) New levels of self-awareness and inner peace.
(4) The healing of emotional issues at the deepest levels.
(5) It is the proven path to finding the peace, love and compassion within all of us –
— it’s definitely worth taking the time for this powerful practice every day.
With a One-Year 100% Iron-Clad Guarantee, you can now do so with no risk whatsoever — just click any of the links that say … The Holosync Solution
— The Holosync Solution
================================================================
|
Receive a ====================================================================
Technorati Tags: peace, inner self, inner peace, Buddhism, Buddhist, The Secret, Law of Attraction, dreams, spiritual energy, action, value, inner balance, enlightenment, destiny, manifestation, meditation, patience, gratitude, tolerance, acceptance, body balance, life cycle, beginnings, endings, positive thinking, ego, silence, consciousness, staying grounded, cycle of life