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Finding the path.....
Bunks
Australia Veteran
in Meditation
I have slowly noticed that I have been sliding away from the Dhamma over the last couple of years since this Covid pandemic began.
The underlying anxiety seems to have caused me to fall back into my old unhelpful / unhealthy worldly habits.
It's time to adjust and find the path of peace again. My body and mind really need it! Too much Dukkha.
Peace to you all 
9
Comments
Today I connected to an unexpected inspiration from a musical favorite of mine Stuart Murdoch from Belle and Sebastian. He has live recordings he does in light of Buddhist interest. Not musical but he did 2 nice guided meditations and nice talking in between. For me it was quite profound. Stu's meds on Belle and Sebastian on the Facebook platform.
Maybe something will come back like that from what draws you to the dharma? I think you are right that you can adjust things very much in the present moment but with a sense in light of knowing that the unhelpful habits don't end up where you want to be and at the very least you have to endure some bad moments or even days when the things bring you to where they usually lead.
In other news I did training with my dog: "heel” "circle" "go to your place" "stay" "free" and tried to introduce "shake". My dog is great and he's asleep right now so he can't bother me while I listen to this meditation and write a little about it here. He has been great for me since having him and has been a little over year now. Love the fur friends.
Peace
Thanks for sharing @Jeffrey.
Perhaps we can make this a space where people can share the spiritual challenges they're having and ways we can get back on the horse (so to speak).
We get's a horse? I want's a pony …
Underlying anxiety, madness (my speciality), group think and crazy dharma are still
part of our fall and get up again. There is success but only for the fanatics persistent.
Should we try dog chan like @Jeffrey or is it dzogchen …
meanwhile …
When I feel a certain dissatisfaction or ‘wanderlust’ I tend to go looking at expressions of the dhamma that are new to me. Some time ago I went through a phase of Zen, before that through a phase of Stephen Batchelor reading. When you immerse yourself in these things for an extended period you get to know their unique qualities, and it’s quite enriching.
But that’s just me, I kind of divorced myself from strongly adhering to a single stream of Buddhism a while ago. Where I ended up is away from dogma, towards the search for the words of the enlightened, some within Buddhism, some outside.
Your path may be quite different, I would say trust your inner wisdom.
Sometimes a dose of suffering and confusion helps us to calibrate and reinforce the necessity and strength of our spiritual path. I wish you the best to find your way back.
I actually "found" a Theravada "European" (time zone wise, not implying any nationalist tendencies..) group of Upasikas to help me with my practice. Buddhism does feel to me like a therapy / support group sometimes...
Clarity, honesty, moderation, true happiness.
Thanks @Kotishka
I also recently stumbled across a meditation group that sits in a zoom session every hour, 24 hours a day from Monday to Friday.
It's nice to dial in and sit with other people.
Link below if anyone interested in joining.
https://www.mindfulleader.org/meditate-together
Well I joined. Zoomed in and was blocked due to taking too long to figure out how to link in and … will try again … Thanks for link @Bunks
Good luck @lobster - it's a nice way to join others.....
Metoo
However we of a dharma persuasion are going far deeper. A healthy ego is a useful tool, just as a balanced personality makes life easier. We all start from where we are and find the benefits of involvement as needed.
The role of the sangha is to provide support for awakening. Most of us have other needs to address, including the need for [insert personal requirements] …
The dhamma that we slip from or over shows that focus and balance is still required. How to get it back?
Go to bed @lobster
Indeed.
I got in this time. I think we did about 15-20 minutes of meditation. Then we were asked what we could leave behind … so I immediately left.
Tee hee. Too wikid? Maybe too subtle …
I just got out of a session too. There is a lovely American elderly lady who takes some of the sessions. She speaks very slowly and deliberately and is very sweet.
I’m really enjoying it.
I've decided to go back and re-read my favourite book from each of the three traditions I have practiced over the years:
Ah 3 books. I'll join.
Must admit the last buddyhist books I read were all unwanted, sold for pennies or attached to a library. Lately I have been cutting out the waste and reading leaves (not tree tea), trees and people as books.
In fact on one level every experience is booked.
Sounds like a plan, it helps the digestion of knowledge to revisit old favourites. I’m on my second read-through of Adyashanti’s Emptiness Dancing. Three Buddhist tomes will take a while though… it might be useful to combine the reading with reflections on the periods of your life that those teachings were active and the practical changes that they wrought. Perhaps make it a retrospective of the years, and the evolving practice.
Thanks @Jeroen
It’s good to recall everything is an illusion too…
Hello, have any reservations for Experience at now o'clock?
Believe it or knot … Now includes the passed away and going to happen …
https://web.archive.org/web/20060206080848/http://pages.britishlibrary.net/edjason/alchemy/string.html
As an operative alchemist it is my duty to tie knots to unravel …
It is a hard call but sometimes one is herd and sometimes the heard are unheard …
Is Now simply the present reality lens we are tuned in to?
The monkey mind flips the lenses of our perception of reality constantly.
Discovery of Now = skillful Samatha meditation?
We can stay focused on one present lens.
Then to meditate on which present lens holds the right view?
Discovery of the best lens = skillful Vipassana meditation?
Through this the realization no lens is the best lens?
How lost am I?
It is what occupies our perception. The reality lens you mention, is an interpretation of that input.
Yes. We hear, see, feel, taste etc (sense gates) and the monkey meanders off into its dream flipping realities …
Yes.
All meditation is an advanced practice.
All paths walked with right understanding lead to progress no matter how long the detour?
Here are three that helped me…
I’ve just purchased Brad Werner’s Hardcore Zen to read also. He’s had an interesting life…
Have you seen some of his videos @Bunks
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/hardcorezen