In the midst of this pandemic, I believe it’s more important than ever to manage our minds. Our minds have the capacity to be expansive or be limited.
When times are tough, we tend to contract, set limitations, and retract into our “ego”.
We will see the best and the worst in ourselves during times like this.
We must now understand that we are having the ultimate human experience; there are so many emotions being felt right now. People are looking for villains; they are frustrated, angry, scared, and anxious now more than ever.
We will be tested in our humility.
So today I want to offer that you have compassion with one another and choose LOVE.
This is the time for prayer, meditation, and being present. Accepting our circumstances and rising up to show up as our best selves requires us to train our minds.
We know to train our bodies through exercise, diet, and relaxation but we don’t think to train our minds.
Training our minds is an absolute requirement to amplify the benefits of healthy behavior. For many of us, we live on autopilot, thinking, feeling, and doing the way we always have.
Times like now allow us to stop dead in our tracks and rethink our lives. So how about we develop the discipline to meditate?
Why Should You Practice Meditation?
Through seated meditation, we realize that we can find peace within. This peace within is the foundation to any spiritual path.
By training your mind through quiet meditation, your mind can become an ally, as opposed to an enemy. This creates a connection that is synergistic rather than manipulative.
If we want to awaken out of our habitual trance and choose to be of service to the world, we have to be responsible for learning our minds and how they work.
The more we understand ourselves and how our minds work, the more the mind can be an ally. When this happens, we can generate compassion and love more readily.
So we must train our monkey mind in order for this to happen.
Getting the Mind Ready for Love and Wisdom
In the book “Turning Your Mind Into an Ally”, Sakyong Mipham uses a great analogy of the flower and the rock.
The flower represents the “potential” for compassion and wisdom, clarity and joy to blossom in our lives.
The rock represents the solidity of a bewildered mind. He explains that if we want the flower to take root and grow, we have to work to create the right conditions for it.
The only way to do this is to soften up our hearts, minds, and lives. True happiness is always available to us but first we have to create the environment for it to flourish.
To me, the flower and the rock analogy perfectly represent the “Polarity” pillar in our Alkaline Method™.
Understanding that we need both extremes is key to cultivating compassion and wisdom.
Becoming aware that our minds are so inflexible and tend to get set in our ways is key to moving through the dichotomy of life with ease.
I want to offer that you make the effort to till the garden of your mind. It doesn’t work to throw some seeds on top of a rock and expect a flower to grow.
We must prepare the ground, which takes effort. We must move the rocks and hoe the weeds. Once we have softened the topsoil, only then can we find our true inner nature, compassion, and love.
This is what meditation allows.
Commit to Meditation Daily
So as we move through this time, let’s choose to nurture our flowers rather than to harden.
We have our true nature and teachings available to us at all times. Through our Bible, Sutras, Koran, or whatever your spiritual path may be.
It’s available like a radio signal in the air. Let’s tune into that signal by incorporating a short meditation everyday.
Sit quietly, take deep breaths in and out, and notice your breath. Your monkey mind will want you to get up and be distracted but as Eckhart Tolle teaches, be the watcher of your mind.
Without judgement, learn the workings of your mind. Start with just 1 minute of meditation and build up to 5 minutes or longer, but do so everyday.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. So let’s choose the Self Healing Journey together.
Thanks so much, I hope this message was helpful. I am so thankful for our community during times like this.
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See you next time.