Moving beyond addiction

The subject of addiction is a popular topic for mediation. Ponder the the following:

"You look very insecure, sitting up there in your tree", said one highly-ranked Chinese official to a Ch'an master who enjoyed his life perched in the treetops. "Oh ho, good sir, YOU look very insecure to ME, down there on the ground!" replied the delighted master.

This often referenced Chan story contains a message which, we are told, the official was wise enough to understand. It was the official, whose life and fortune depended upon external favour and considerations, who was insecure. These were his unconscious addictions, the foundation upon which his life was built, on "shifting sands". It was his attachment to these external conditions that created his insecurity, his instability and restlessness.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One day, the Buddha and his monks were walking down a road and were confronted by a frantic and miserable farmer racing down the road. He stopped them, saying "Good monks, I have lost my oxen, they were travelling this way. Did you see them?" The Buddha sadly replied, "No, we have not seen them. Perhaps they took the fork in the road back there." At this, the farmer wailed and continued his complaint. "Only this summer, locusts ate all my crops? What will I do?" and he ran crying down the road. The Buddha watched him go, and turned to his friends, saying "Dear monks, do you know how lucky you are? You never have to worry about your oxen or crops."

Thought and memory are the same. Until we know the difference between thought and awareness, no clarity arises. We are taught to take for granted our memories constitute who we are. Yet, 'who I am' in this moment, is not a thought. It is unrelated to what we think we have ot not. Rather, it is felt. As we are fully present, all that exists is awareness. Who is being aware? The monks know Being and no-One are the same, that is, everything. No-One is everybody. We cannot allow awareness to arise if we keep reverting to memory. The moment we feel a lack within, we feel separate, incomplete, like something is wrong or missing. This leads to addiction, the perceived need to fill a void. We do everything in our power to fill it, talk about it, do something to enable us to feel good about ourselves.

Alcoholism or other addictions allow people to experience what it is to feel uninhibited freedom. Becoming addicted to dark thoughts keeps one focused on and perpetuating the focus on the pain body. Until we realize the very nature of being is infinite. It cannot be destroyed. We forget we are whole, awareness. This starts the sense of lack, which brings separation, and the need to fill a voice from which emerges addiction and fear.  We are not afraid of something. We are simply fear. This fear exists because we are convinced something is lacking. We have lost trust not only in others but also ourselves.  The thought arises how could I be free of addiction? There is the amnesia of what is universal. You cannot prove it, you can only live it.

Similarly, when a person wants to know about love, he may read books, watch movies and hear about other people's experiences Yet, One does not know what love is until one begins to feel love, feel the love inside the self. Until he tastes love, feels it inside himself, he cannot know it.  Truth is not something we can prove. It is self-evident. We exist. When we wish to prove, we revert to memory and get lost in the quagmire.  As long as we live grounded in memory, we will fear death, old age, sickness , of so many things, everything.

The awakened sages call a person wise when all his undertakings are free from anxiety about results", says Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita. Jesus too said that the Kingdom of Heaven is ever-present. Of course, the problem is, everyone is not always fully present. We are in the future, we are in the past, we are in our memories, we are in our anxieties, we are in our fantasies! Why? Because we are attached to our story; our personal narrative. We play it inside our head constantly. As we cook, we daydream. As we drive, we fantasize. As we work, we consider what better job there is for us out there. And as we love, we all too often do the same thing. So rarely are we simply aware of what we do, simply mindful.

Get out of that dilemma

I am sometimes asked why share Zen stories as part of my workshops and group sessions. In a nutshell, Zen stories may confuse or leave one hanging, yet they do not impart information or knowledge. They are designed to to get rid of something, to get rid of a false problem with which you are wrestling so that the problem will disappear as the result of understanding the story.  In this way, they invite joining the dots like stars into constellations and evoke eureka moments.

There was a Master walking, engaged in forest meditation with a group of his disciples.  Suddenly, he picked up a tree branch and said to one of the monks, "what is it?" As the monk hesitated , did not answer immediately, the Master hit him with it.  Then, the Master turned to another monk and asked, "what is it?" That monk said, "Give it to me so I can see."   The Master tossed it and the monk hit the Master.  The Master said, "Well, you got out of that dilemma." 

When we look for the mind that seems to be giving us so much trouble and realize it cannot be found, this is a pointer to the solution to our perceived problem. A dilemma is like a physical stick that many people hold within themselves, dwell on, discuss or allow to fester. Focusing on dilemmas harms ourselves. Letting go, going with the flow, acting spontaneously, implies less thinking, and more savouring this moment as it is. A dilemma is a state of mind. Albert Einstein echoes we cannot solve a problem with the same level of consciousness that creates it.  We can always tune in, and allow the rhythm of the breath to guide us. The power resides within.

Shatter myths about peace

Once there was a famous wrestler we'll call “Great Waves.” He was muscular and strong and knew the art of wrestling. In private bouts he defeated even his teacher, yet in public was so bashful that even his students threw him down. He was at a loss for words as well as inner peace. 

Troubled, the wrestler decided to visit a Zen temple for help. There, a wise teacher advised him.

“Great Waves is your name,” said the teacher. “So spend tonight in the temple. Imagine that you are water. You are no longer a wrestler who is afraid. You are those powerful waves sweeping over everything in sight. Do this and you will never again be defeated.”

The teacher left. The wrestler sat still, trying to imagine himself as water. His mind wandered but soon he began to feel more and more like moving waves. As night advanced the waves grew taller and taller. They swept away the flowers and rushed over the statues. Before dawn the temple was nothing but the tide of a vast ocean.

In the morning the teacher found the wrestler in meditation with a slight smile on his face. He patted the man’s shoulder. “Now nothing can disturb you,” he said. “You are the waves. You will sweep everything before you.”

That day, the wrestler entered and won a big tournament, and was never again defeated by his thoughts.

Contrary to popular belief, no peaceful mind exists. Mind itself cannot be peaceful. Its very nature is to be tense and confusing. Mind cannot have clarity. Peace and silence exist without mind. Never attempt to silence the mind. Only as you understand the nature of mind does your life shift. 

Watch and you observe thoughts but never encounter the mind. Thoughts are not one with your nature. Thoughts come and go like visitors. They are like waves in the ocean. You persist as the host. All thoughts are borrowed. As this enters your visceral experience, everything transforms. Awareness is noticing what arises in gaps between thoughts and being that.

Recall martial artist Bruce Lee said, "be like water."  The most challenging adversary is the thinking mind. True confidence and inner peace do not reside in temples or remote places. As we turn inward, go inside our own hearts, here we find all we seek.

Moving beyond boredom

There is a Zen teaching story about a student who comes to the Master and tells him, "I'm getting really bored with just feeling my breath coming in and going out all the time. Don't you have a meditation practice that is more exciting?"

The Zen Master replied, "Well, yes. You are now ready for a greater teaching. Follow me." And so, the Master led the student into a courtyard and approached a large barrel of water. "Gaze into the barrel," said the Master. As the student eagerly leaned over and peered in, the Zen Master suddenly pushed the student's head into the water. Being quite strong, the Master was able to hold the student under the water for quite a while, even though the student struggled desperately. 

Finally, the Master let the student come up for air, and as the student gasped the Master asked, "So... is that breath boring?"

We are often taught to crave drama and struggle, yet do we really need them? We are also taught to believe the breath is "nothing special." After all, it happens without us. However, as we pay closer attention to the breath, recall what it is to breathe consciously, we move beyond boredom, into what we deny or overlook. In fact, as we focus on the breath, we engage in what truly matters, and what we seek is 'in plain sight' or 'in plain breath'.

While breathing exercises are growing in popularity, the rhythm of the breath itself is a language that can be decoded. Insight we gain has potential to positively impact our lives.  What is it you desire most? To reclaim power? find new confidence? Be more accepting of who you are? 

It is as if the answer or solution we seek has hidden Itself in the most obvious place. What are we ready to see about the nature of our choices? Which stage of awareness are we willing to reach? 

3 Tips to embody deep gratitude

Nurture the vision of gratitude and escalate into heartfelt appreciation. Embody those feelings as vibrations and sensations as though they are happening in this moment. What is a simple way to do experience the greatest joy and liberation? Inhale and exhale. Notice the sensations of love and acceptance amplify. As we focus, we are one with these sensations that expand and amplify who we are.

Watch what happens as we recall what it feels like to breathe fully and rhythmically. Notice a feeling of gratitude expands.  Sensations of appreciation enable us to unleash more of what we know. Be open to a system of smooth and constant rhythm of energy that feels like a refreshing and exhilarating ocean wave. Life is a series of inhales and exhales. Holding the breath is like choosing to consciously pause life, recalibrate  into freedom, clarity and joy.

Consider these tips:

1) Do breathwork regularly to allow good sensations to nourish the entire body

2) Feel energy growing and expanding throughout the body

3) Discover going beyond comfort zones transforms us (where strength, growth & freedom happen)