Tag: awareness

WEEK 4 – Resting in stillness

by Andy, posted in Compassion_for_self, Meditation, Meditation_practice, Mindfulness

“Stillness is not the absence of movement, rather a viewpoint from which you observe movement”

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  1. Read all the steps and notes below before starting this meditation.
  2. Get comfortable and completely relax remaining as still as you can. Notice your body breathing as if you noticed for the first time.
  3. Don’t be concerned if your mind is racing or thinking of this or that – let it – just choose to focus on your breathing for now
  4. Regardless of the activity in your mind, dedicate the next ten minutes to allowing yourself to experience whatever comes up for you whether it’s thoughts, feelings, visions or emotions.
  5. Set a timer for 10 minutes (choose a gentle alarm!) and start when you are comfortable and ready.

NOTES

  • Allow everything in this present moment, no matter how negative or how positive. Nothing is wrong or ‘shouldn’t be’. There are no mistakes.  You are never ‘doing it wrong’; there’s just what is!
  • Without engaging in any effort nor with any striving, simply choose to look deeply with curiosity at whatever your experience is in this present moment.
  • Imagine you are watching the movie of your life, the ‘little me’ life of concepts and thought forms with all its dramas and complaints; it’s upsets and it’s manic times.
  • Notice how ‘you’ are watching all this – and wonder, with curiosity, ‘how is it possible that ‘I’ can be aware of my own thoughts.
  • Notice the eyes of compassion and grace as you notice these things – rest in the awareness of all that comes up free from condemnation and judgement.
  • Do this every day of the week
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Negativity

by Andy, posted in Quotes, Well-being

Whenever there is negativity in you, if you can be aware at that moment that there is something in you that takes pleasure in it or believes it has a purpose, you are becoming aware of the ego directly. The moment this happens, your identity has shifted from ego to awareness. This means the ego is shrinking and awareness is growing.

ECKHART TOLLE

There is a saying – “if you can’t think of anything nice to say about someone, then don’t say anything at all”. I wonder if there is some truth in that. All negativity can be traced back to the ego but how do you protect yourself from being taken advantage of? When someone is ‘out to destroy you’, is that often a construct of your own mind, a delusion? What about when you are the victim of crime or torture or you are the target of injustice at work or by the state? How do you deal with that? It’s all about context. Am I just being right or am I being like Mandela, standing in truth AND reconciliation? Let’s be real my friends but starting from a place of peace and stillness of the heart – not from the righteous indignation of the ego – we will know the difference.
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Photo of Central Park framed by the arch of a viaduct
Central Park, Chelmsford Jan 2014