10-28-2010, 12:00 AM
"Here’s the question to all of you: What’s your practice? What do you do to live in the Now? How do you retain your non-seperatness?"
My practice currently is to embrace any negative feelings as positives. Negative feelings have a tendency to separate...such as "oh there you go again getting angry, resentful, suspicious, sad, ashamed, impatient etc". So here's what I do... I say "hey, angry, great!" lol I see it as a positive. Because when we really break it down, negative emotions get a bad rap which is what makes them negative in the first place. Anger grows stronger if its unwanted by society...such as our parents may have told us "don't get angry it looks ugly in you" or something to that effect. Their advice did not make our anger diminish, but made us merely aware it was an emotion that needed to be contained according to social standards and often times hidden. So instead it oozed out in many subtle or else explosive ways and usually unwanted. To tell your emotions that you like them, that they are wonderful, natural, acceptable, wanted etc changes the old stigmas of them as negative. Pretty soon it starts to feel like the sky is the limit.
When acknowledging these feelings I don't seek to analyze them, just glad they are what they are. Such as I don't say "I'm angry and have every right to be" or else "I know I shouldn't be angry but I will accept it anyway". None of this is the consideration. Rather its the idea that any expression experienced is simply part of the universe and nothing can be taken away or extracted. Socially we learn the idea of trying to remove things unpleasant, and this actually causes these feelings of separation.
Another thing I don't do in this practice is try to accept others reactions. I don't say "they are angry and its natural" Instead I keep the focus on my feelings during expereinces.
This is a practice I do without those around me knowing I do it. Its about changing my internal barometer, not trying to show anything outward. I feel that if and when concern for outward takes precedence then these emotions will be viewed as negatives again. In my own sacred inner space however, I can rewrite, rewire how things function. And I agree with you, practice has to be sustained. Otherwise things return to inertia. I got the idea to do this practice from Yeshe Tsogyel after reading an excerpt of her I quote partially above where she meets some thieves and does not react to them in the usual way (fright or fight) and instead enlightens them by telling them all their ego reactions are natural gateways to spiritual understanding. She tells them essentially, "you are all in the best position to be enlightened, you have everything you need, but I'll gladly give you what I have too". Paradoxically it corresponds to the allegory of the empty house, of which thieves have nothing to steal and therefore can no longer be thieves. In this sense an empty house will be full, content.
My practice currently is to embrace any negative feelings as positives. Negative feelings have a tendency to separate...such as "oh there you go again getting angry, resentful, suspicious, sad, ashamed, impatient etc". So here's what I do... I say "hey, angry, great!" lol I see it as a positive. Because when we really break it down, negative emotions get a bad rap which is what makes them negative in the first place. Anger grows stronger if its unwanted by society...such as our parents may have told us "don't get angry it looks ugly in you" or something to that effect. Their advice did not make our anger diminish, but made us merely aware it was an emotion that needed to be contained according to social standards and often times hidden. So instead it oozed out in many subtle or else explosive ways and usually unwanted. To tell your emotions that you like them, that they are wonderful, natural, acceptable, wanted etc changes the old stigmas of them as negative. Pretty soon it starts to feel like the sky is the limit.
When acknowledging these feelings I don't seek to analyze them, just glad they are what they are. Such as I don't say "I'm angry and have every right to be" or else "I know I shouldn't be angry but I will accept it anyway". None of this is the consideration. Rather its the idea that any expression experienced is simply part of the universe and nothing can be taken away or extracted. Socially we learn the idea of trying to remove things unpleasant, and this actually causes these feelings of separation.
Another thing I don't do in this practice is try to accept others reactions. I don't say "they are angry and its natural" Instead I keep the focus on my feelings during expereinces.
This is a practice I do without those around me knowing I do it. Its about changing my internal barometer, not trying to show anything outward. I feel that if and when concern for outward takes precedence then these emotions will be viewed as negatives again. In my own sacred inner space however, I can rewrite, rewire how things function. And I agree with you, practice has to be sustained. Otherwise things return to inertia. I got the idea to do this practice from Yeshe Tsogyel after reading an excerpt of her I quote partially above where she meets some thieves and does not react to them in the usual way (fright or fight) and instead enlightens them by telling them all their ego reactions are natural gateways to spiritual understanding. She tells them essentially, "you are all in the best position to be enlightened, you have everything you need, but I'll gladly give you what I have too". Paradoxically it corresponds to the allegory of the empty house, of which thieves have nothing to steal and therefore can no longer be thieves. In this sense an empty house will be full, content.