Peace on earth

Well, we have come to the end of another year. I offer for your contemplation today the lyrics to a U2 song - Peace on Earth - and a video if you'd like to hear it:

Heaven on Earth, we need it now
I'm sick of all of this hanging around
Sick of sorrow, sick of the pain
I'm sick of hearing again and again
That there's gonna be peace on Earth

Where I grew up there weren't many trees
Where there was we'd tear them down
And use them on our enemies
They say that what you mock
Will surely overtake you
And you become a monster
So the monster will not break you

And it's already gone too far
Who said that if you go in hard
You won't get hurt?

Jesus can you take the time
To throw a drowning man a line
Peace on Earth
Tell the ones who hear no sound
Whose sons are living in the ground
Peace on Earth
No whos or whys
No one cries like a mother cries
For peace on Earth
She never got to say goodbye
To see the color in his eyes
Now he's in the dirt
Peace on Earth

They're reading names out over the radio
All the folks the rest of us won't get to know
Sean and Julia, Gareth and Ann and Breda
Their lives are bigger than any big idea

Jesus can you take the time
To throw a drowning man a line
Peace on Earth
To tell the ones who hear no sound
Whose sons are living in the ground
Peace on Earth
Jesus sing a song you wrote
The words are sticking in my throat
Peace on Earth
Hear it every Christmas time
But hope and history won't rhyme
So what's it worth
This peace on Earth

Peace on Earth
Peace on Earth
Peace on Earth

May we move beyond the grief and the cynicism and the despair and do our part in making it so. Never forget that peace begins within. Our meditative practice is foundational to peace. Let us enter the New Year with renewed commitment.

Equanimity

I found an equanimity exercise that is really very powerful. Take a look:

Visualise in front of you three persons: at the left a good friend, in the middle a stranger, to the right an enemy or someone you cannot stand.

- Concentrate on the friend in front and examine your feelings towards him or her.
- Now concentrate on the stranger and examine your feelings towards him or her.
- Now concentrate on the enemy and examine your feelings towards him or her.
- Return to the stranger and realise that this person can easily become your friend or enemy in the future.
- Next, look at the friend and realise that this person may become your enemy in the future when cheating or hurting you.
- Now, look at the enemy and realise that this person may become your friend in the future when helping you.
- Again look at your friend and try to strongly feel love and appreciation.
- Now look at the stranger and try to hold this feeling towards this person.
- Again look at your friend and try to strongly feel love and appreciation.
- Now try to hold this feeling while looking at the enemy; is it really impossible to feel some love and compassion for this person?
- Try to realise that all three, friend, stranger and enemy are completely equal in trying to become happy and trying to avoid suffering.

It is a very effective exercise to realize that a friend may one day be an enemy and an enemy may one day be a friend. I have certainly experienced both.

I have found it most helpful to remember that my enemies are motivated by the same wish that I have - that is, the wish to be happy. It helps me to have compassion on them to realize that they want what I want and so we at least have that in common.

Friday cat blogging!

Henry

Photo by Ellie Finlay

Taming the mind

Are you willing to tame your mind? That's really what it's all about - the meditative tradition, that is. Here's something I just found on the subject:

Religion does not mean just precepts, a temple, monastery, or other external signs, for these as well as hearing and thinking are subsidiary factors in taming the mind. When the mind becomes the practices, one is a practitioner of religion, and when the mind does not become the practices one is not.

--His Holiness the Dalai Lama

External signs such as ritual, ceremonies and the like certainly help bring us to mindfulness but if we don't use those reminders as a means of working skillfully with our consciousness it is all to little or no avail. True religion is about transformation - whatever our belief system may be.

Meditation on jealousy

The last few days I've been looking for material on afflictive emotions. This week, for example, we talked about loneliness during the ongoing classes.

Today, I came across a meditation on jealousy that I think will really help those who suffer from this malady. It is constructed largely in the form of reflection questions:

- Think about a situation that makes me feel jealous.
- How does jealousy feel?
- Are there any thoughts that keep on repeating themselves in my mind? - What is the object I really want to have, that the other has no right to?
- Why do I have more right to this than the other?
- Does my jealousy help me in getting it?
- Is this object really that important in my life?
- Would I be really happy when I had it, and could I remain happy?
- Why is it so difficult to feel happy that this other person has it?
- When I rejoice in the good fortune of the other, both of us will be happy!
- Try to really give the object to the other, and feel happy about your generosity!

I really like that next to the last point. This is, of course, the Divine Abode* called sympathetic joy - the ability to rejoice in the good fortune or success of another. It strikes me that this is the central antidote for jealousy.

Just because you're not eaten up with jealousy doesn't mean you don't have it. Look for subtle signs that you might be experiencing it even unconsciously. Perhaps a way to get started is to examine all the ways you could practice sympathetic joy but, for some reason, don't.

We will increase our level of happiness immeasurably if we learn to let go of all the jealousy hidden in our innermost experience.

* The four Divine Abodes are: compassion, loving-kindness, sympathetic joy and equanimity. They are sometimes called the four sublime states.

Wednesday life form blogging

Photo by Cynthia Burgess

A good night's sleep

Here's how:

If we have a good heart, we experience much happiness and relaxation. We have no reason to feel angry or jealous and we have a very happy mind. When we speak, sweet words come out. Even our face is happy and smiling. At night we go to bed with a happy mind and have a very comfortable sleep, without any worries.

Otherwise, if we live our life with a very selfish, ungenerous mind, we think about nothing else except me, me, me: "When will I be happy? When will I be free from these problems?" If our attitude is like this, jealousy and anger arise easily, strongly and repeatedly, so we experience much unhappiness in our life, many ups-and-downs. During the day we have a cold heart and at night we even go to bed with a cold heart and unhappy mind.

-- Lama Zopa Rinpoche

The right kind of surrender

From Meditations for People in Crisis:

When it seems humanly impossible to do more in a difficult situation, surrender yourself to the inner silence and thereafter wait for a sign of obvious guidance or for a renewal of inner strength.

-- Paul Brunton

The paradox of surrender is that in letting go we become stronger. The way this works is that our ego gets out of the way and lets our deep wisdom nature come forth. Never be afraid to surrender to the inner silence. This is where our "spiritual friend" resides - however we understand that reality.

Remember the "root prayer":

I pray for your blessing, great and completely worthy spiritual friend. I pray that you will cause love, compassion and pefect charity* to arise in my mind.

("Perfect charity" is my translation of bodhicitta - a Sanscrit word that literally means "awakened heart-mind" and refers to the most profound kind of compassion possible.)

Just so you'll know

I came across an article today that explained these Christmas customs:

1. Christmas Greenery Ancient Egyptians used palm branches, while northern cultures preferred evergreens, to brighten the home during the winter. Continuing a custom that dates back to the 16th century, German immigrants were the first Americans to purchase and decorate Christmas trees, typically in the pine family.

2. Old Saint Nick Today's "jolly old elf," Santa Claus, is based on a real saint who lived in Turkey in the 4th century. Saint Nicholas was renowned for his generosity and love of children. According to historical sources, he would drop coins down the chimney to preserve his anonymity and the dignity of his recipients.

3. Gift Giving Once frowned upon as a pagan custom dating back to the Romans, gift giving is an integral part of our Christmas tradition. Santa's alias, "Kriss Kringle," means Christ child in German, and referred to a medieval legend that the infant Jesus distributed presents.

4. Mistletoe Kissing Remember the following Norse fable the next time you sneak a smooch under the mistletoe: Frigga, goddess of love and beauty, wanted to make the world safe for her son, Balder. Everything on earth promised to do him no harm except the one plant Frigga overlooked, mistletoe. Loki, an evil spirit, made an arrow from the mistletoe's wood and killed Balder. Frigga's tears became the plant's white berries and revived her son. In her gratitude, Frigga promised to kiss anyone who passed under the mistletoe, just as we do today.

5. Candy Canes The striped confections we now love to crunch were once straight white sticks of sugar candy. In the 1600s, in Cologne, Germany, traditional folktales reveal that the candies were bent at the end to remind children of a shepherd's crook and to keep them quiet in church.

I would love to give each of you a wonderful candy cane right now. Not to keep you quiet :-) but for celebration! I hope your day is going well.

Lengthening of light

Photo by Cynthia Burgess

Merry Christmas everyone! We are past the Winter Solstice so the days are starting to get longer again. Here's a meditation by Susan Kramer (who has a regular on line meditation column) about the growing light:

During lengthening days of light
May our actions be lighthearted
Upon right and noble impulses.

During quiet hours beyond dusk, before dawn
May we take time to think over events from the day
Plan for good in the morrow.

In light of day
May we extend our personal borders
Caring and sharing expansively.

So the world glows bright from our presence
May we blaze as beacons of harmony
Lighting the path ahead.

To nurture efforts toward lasting peace
May we with act with kindness toward all
Embracing our family and friends wholeheartedly
Ever gracing our world-wide family lightheartedly.

May the day be lovely for you. If you are with family or friends, may that coming together be peaceful and joyful. If you are alone, may you truly know that you are with the world-wide family this day and always.

Christmas blessings to all!

Christmas Eve prayer blogging

Christmas Meditation:

Let us join our hearts and minds together in the spirit of meditation and prayer.

May these moments of quiet lead us to the heart of the season, which is peace.

May we breathe deeply of peace in this quiet place, relax into its warmth, know we are safe here, and let us open our hearts to the evening's story.

Like the wandering couple, may we find that our greatest trials issue forth from our greatest joys.

Like the harried innkeeper, may we find ways to be of help to others.

Like the lumbering beasts, may we be silent witnesses to the unfathomable glory of life.

Like the shepherds on the hill, may we know that we need never be afraid.

Like the journeying wise, may we always have the courage to follow our stars.

Like the angels, may we cry peace to a troubled world.

Holy one, to these prayers for our own transformation we add our prayers for all of those who suffer and grieve this evening. May they find comfort.

And we add our prayers for all those involved in war; may they be safe.

And may this season of peace and goodwill nudge our world towards its ideals, for then will Christmas truly dawn.
Amen.

--Christine Robinson

Meditation in the morning

I agree with this. Even if you believe you can't spend any time formally meditating first thing in the morning, pause. Just pause:

Something precious is lost if we rush headlong into the details of life without pausing for a moment to pay homage to the mystery of life and the gift of another day.

-- Kent Nerburn

Attitude matters

Our attitude toward our distractions in meditation actually matters. It's important not to be harsh with ourselves or disappointed. Here's an excerpt from a little article entitled "Meditation: Getting Started" from Psychology Today. It's on using the breath as a support:

Let your awareness permeate your entire body as you breathe, noting any sensations that arise. Now settle your respiration in its natural flow. Observe the entire course of each in- and out-breath, noting whether it is long or short, deep or shallow, slow or fast. Don't impose any rhythm on your breathing. Let the body breathe as if you were fast asleep, but with your mind vigilant.

Thoughts are bound to arise involuntarily, and your attention may also be pulled away by noises and other stimuli from your environment. When you note that you have become distracted, instead of tightening up and forcing your attention back to the breath, simply let go of these thoughts and distractions. Don't get upset. Just be happy that you've noticed the distraction, and gently return to the breath.

I like the instruction to be happy that we've noticed the distraction. You know, it's possible to go a long time without noticing. So it's progress to notice! It's so important to be gentle with ourselves. This will help the mind settle and become tranquil.

Friday cat blogging!

Simon

Photo by Cynthia Burgess

About gratitude

How true:

A life of gratitude accepts the bad with the good. Genuine gratitude is not a zero sum game in which thankfulness increases the more fortunate you are and decreases the more adversity you experience.

-- Dan Clendenin

This is beautiful

I will love the light for it shows me the way,
yet I will endure the darkness for it shows me the stars.

-- Og Mandino

Winter Solstice

Tonight is the Winter Solstice - 7:22 p.m. EST to be exact. Here's a little information about the Solstice:

Solstice derives from an ancient Latin word meaning "stop," or "to stand still." According to Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, it refers to one of two points when the sun is furthest from the celestial equator.
...
To the ancients, it appeared as if the Sun and Moon stopped in their flight across the sky—this is the longest night of the year and was a time of both anticipation and rejoicing at the Sun's rebirth out of the Goddess.

The Sun's representation as the male divinity, or celestial ruler, predates Christianity. As with other rituals and celebrations, the Church felt that by assimilating this holiday into the Christian beliefs, it would help convert those who still followed the Olde Way.

The Winter Solstice marks a crucial part of the natural cycle. In a real sense, the sun begins anew its journey toward longer days, times of new growth and renewal of the world once again. In a spiritual sense, it is a reminder that in order for a new path to begin, the old one must end and that spring will come again.

This is the night to begin burning your Yule log if you're lucky enough to have a fireplace:

The term Yule stems from the Anglo-Saxon "yula" or "wheel" of the year. In ancient pagan ritual, the Yule Log was lit on the eve of Winter Solstice and burned for twelve hours. Later, the Log was replaced by the Yule Tree, but instead of being burned, it was adorned with burning candles.

Or, just remember the day as you turn on your Christmas tree lights tonight!

Meditation and body heat

Has it ever come to your attention that advanced meditators can generate amazing body heat? It thought you'd like to read an article about it. It's called "Meditation changes temperatures:
Mind controls body in extreme experiments" and I thought it was really fascinating. Here's an excerpt:

In a monastery in northern India, thinly clad Tibetan monks sat quietly in a room where the temperature was a chilly 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Using a yoga technique known as g Tum-mo, they entered a state of deep meditation. Other monks soaked 3-by-6-foot sheets in cold water (49 degrees) and placed them over the meditators' shoulders. For untrained people, such frigid wrappings would produce uncontrolled shivering.

If body temperatures continue to drop under these conditions, death can result. But it was not long before steam began rising from the sheets. As a result of body heat produced by the monks during meditation, the sheets dried in about an hour.

Attendants removed the sheets, then covered the meditators with a second chilled, wet wrapping. Each monk was required to dry three sheets over a period of several hours.

Why would anyone do this? Herbert Benson, who has been studying g Tum-mo for 20 years, answers that "Buddhists feel the reality we live in is not the ultimate one. There's another reality we can tap into that's unaffected by our emotions, by our everyday world. Buddhists believe this state of mind can be achieved by doing good for others and by meditation. The heat they generate during the process is just a by-product of g Tum-mo meditation."

Herbert Benson, of course, is the doctor who wrote the now classic book The Relaxation Response that I recommend for everybody. It teaches a secular and scientific approach to meditation.

Perhaps none of us will get so advanced that we can melt snow but we probably can get to the state where we discover our hands getting warmer and we can definitely experience "the relaxation response" - a state that is the opposite of stress.

Wednesday life form blogging

Photo by Cynthia Burgess

Two on meaning

Here's an observation on the subject of meaning:

Meaning does not come to us in finished form, ready-made; it must be found, created, received, constructed. We grow our way toward it.

— Ann Bedlord Ulanov

And another:

Insights from myth, dreams, and intuitions, from glimpses of an invisible reality, and from perennial human wisdom provide us with hints and guesses about the meaning of life and what we are here for. Prayer, observance, discipline, thought and action are the means through which we grow and find meaning.

— Jean Shinoda Bolen

I was privileged to hear Ann Belford Ulanov speak at Virginia Theological Seminary some years ago. She is a riveting speaker and comes across as utterly authentic. I do recommend her works and Jean Shinoda Bolen's as well. (Click through on Ann Ulanov's name for a PBS interview with her on the subject of 9-11.)