Posted by Roo on July 5, 2002, at 10:05:51
In reply to Re: Any other people into Zen out there?, posted by tabitha on July 4, 2002, at 2:10:22
I like Pema Chodran a lot too. Just read her last
night and it really helped me to gain perspective.
Sitting IS hard....to just sit there and be with the
pain and all the thoughts...and to just notice them...not
reject them, but not BUY or believe them either...not to judge
yourself for having them...that's hard...but I guess the idea
is that the more you just notice it all, and start to become
an expert on your feelings (without having to 'figure them out' or
do anything about them...just noticing the process)...it takes
the power out of the emotional states...you see it for what it is...
as Cheri Huber says "it's just stuff...it doesn't mean anything"
You should check out Cheri Huber, I think you'd like her---she's
written lots of books and they are all easy to read--it's almost like
she writes for a 5 year old. A lot of them are in childlike handwriting...
I'll have to check out Charlotte Joko Beck, never heard of her...I've been having LOTS of really uncomfortable emotional storms lately...
and I'm in between meds (not on anything at the moment) stuff I feel is
really ugly like rage, anger, bitterness, jealousy, the wish for revenge--and
it'll boil up threatening to consume me, and yet it's a really good opportunity
to practice just watching it all...watching how I whip myself into a frenzy...how
I fan the flames...and to just let it be and not beat myself up about it or try to
rid myself of the feelings but to try and become an observer...like I'm watching a
movie or something. Sometimes I can actually see how absurd it all is...how my mind
tries to create drama to get me off center. How I cling to unhappiness and drama b/c I'm
scared of the open space, the unknown...Interesting stuff. My mind can wear me out though. It gets tiring.
poster:Roo
thread:348
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/faith/20020527/msgs/388.html