Contentment as it is
A few days ago I had a small birthday gathering with a few very close friends. After an amazing organic, vegetarian, pot-luck dinner we turned down the lights, lit the candles and shared some meditation time.
We did formal shamatha meditation and then contemplated where we each are at in our lives right now and our hopes for next steps. We then shared what we came up with with one another with an understanding that we were speaking to express, not to communicate. Each person listened as a witness, not as someone in search of understanding. There was no element of evaluation of what was said, just the attention to listening from the heart.
Finally we closed with a second round of meditation and sharing, this time reflecting on what is perfect in life just as it is. Interestingly, several people had real difficulties with this step and were grateful for the opportunity to discover that about themselves. One said she could not find anything about herself she could consider as not needing any improvement. The other said he could not see that about himself and had a hard time seeing that about anything in the world either.
We discussed this blockage and came away with a deeper understanding of how important it is to work with the issue of satisfaction. Many people find it hard to ever be satisfied with anything, whether in themselves or in the world. Yet we are powerful creators. We are each scripting this story for ourselves, and if we are to create it as something we will experience as contentment, we must find it within ourselves to perceive perfection within what is, no longer searching for the ever elusive "what could or should be."
Allow contentment to find you and fill you. Breathe in. Breathe out. Rest in perfect gratitude and peace. If not now, when? If not here, where? What is truly missing in this innocent new moment?
Posted by Indigo at
1:50 PM
Comments:
Interesting post.
I often can see what is good but cant stop wondering what else is out there... I guess I dont fully appreciate today.
I was actually glad to hear that there are other people who find it difficult to do as well(oh that makes me sound like a shallow person... but at least I am honest!lol). I cant seem to get into that zone you described either... the breath in and out thing... tried it... tried 3 types of yoga (and once my Mom died I knew I really needed it for stress so I went into it openly and longingly looking for inner peace... but it didnt come to me... I cant seem to tune out the world or what comes floating into my mind.)
I think it must be a learned skill. Perhaps I will give it a go again. The whole meditation thing.
Thanks and I found you through Dave
# posted by
kate : Thu Mar 22, 03:40:00 AM HST
Dear Kate,
Your comment about having tried "the breath in and out thing... but it didnt come to me...I cant seem to tune out the world or what comes floating into my mind." suggests you are thinking of the request to breathe in and out in the post as one that is supposed to endure through time.
Actually the steady experience of such peace is usually only experienced by very advanced meditation practitioners. What I am really suggesting is just that you give yourself a moment, a pause, and decide to open to the contents of that moment fully. You can go back to anxiety or agression against what is in the very next moment if you want. Just give youself a pause.
If you do that a few times a day it will make a huge difference in your life. Many times at first you will just notice your resistance. That's useful information. You are a learning organism. Just noticing the existence of resistance to happiness and fulfillment will subtly be teaching your inner self that the cost is too high. It's not getting what it wants most. This will propel an inner force towards change, which over time will reveal itself on the surface.
Sometimes you will also experience actual satisfaction and peace, albeit for just a moment. But this is also incredibly useful, because it is a teaching to your inner self what the prize of stillness feels like and how juicy it is.
You need to teach yourself to have new goals and that is best done by experientially learning the cost of pursuing your old ones (which are only purchased with busy-ness, striving, and ever evasive contentment) and the complete satisfaction available as soon as those old goals are dropped. You don't even have to do anything. You just have to stop doing. This is not taught as an idea, but as a moment by moment experience, within just a few moments each day.
It is a gradual process, giving the ego nothing to feel a sense of spiritual pride at accomplishment about -- but the most powerful one, I believe.
# posted by : Thu Mar 22, 11:31:00 AM HST
What a great post. I agree that it can be hard to express and feel satisfaction. Much more difficult to acknowledge than happiness. I have had to work hard to find satisfaction...which I define as gratitude for where I am in the moment and not constantly focusing on achieving the next step. But once there, it really unlocks LOT of true happiness, doesn't it?
# posted by
Amber : Wed Sep 12, 05:46:00 PM HST
Hello
Egypt violated the rights of Sudanese refugees
More than 10000 refugees, mostly in Egyptian prisons
Egyptian authorities have killed more than 100 of them
They resort to Israel to receive the safty of injustice Egyptian authorities, what is happening is a shame in the face of humanity
In my blog was portrayed by the suffering of these
Am asudanes bloger inegypt
Thank you for your support
# posted by
oehalim : Fri Oct 19, 02:43:00 AM HST
The Goodness Blog 
Comments:
I often can see what is good but cant stop wondering what else is out there... I guess I dont fully appreciate today.
I was actually glad to hear that there are other people who find it difficult to do as well(oh that makes me sound like a shallow person... but at least I am honest!lol). I cant seem to get into that zone you described either... the breath in and out thing... tried it... tried 3 types of yoga (and once my Mom died I knew I really needed it for stress so I went into it openly and longingly looking for inner peace... but it didnt come to me... I cant seem to tune out the world or what comes floating into my mind.)
I think it must be a learned skill. Perhaps I will give it a go again. The whole meditation thing.
Thanks and I found you through Dave
Your comment about having tried "the breath in and out thing... but it didnt come to me...I cant seem to tune out the world or what comes floating into my mind." suggests you are thinking of the request to breathe in and out in the post as one that is supposed to endure through time.
Actually the steady experience of such peace is usually only experienced by very advanced meditation practitioners. What I am really suggesting is just that you give yourself a moment, a pause, and decide to open to the contents of that moment fully. You can go back to anxiety or agression against what is in the very next moment if you want. Just give youself a pause.
If you do that a few times a day it will make a huge difference in your life. Many times at first you will just notice your resistance. That's useful information. You are a learning organism. Just noticing the existence of resistance to happiness and fulfillment will subtly be teaching your inner self that the cost is too high. It's not getting what it wants most. This will propel an inner force towards change, which over time will reveal itself on the surface.
Sometimes you will also experience actual satisfaction and peace, albeit for just a moment. But this is also incredibly useful, because it is a teaching to your inner self what the prize of stillness feels like and how juicy it is.
You need to teach yourself to have new goals and that is best done by experientially learning the cost of pursuing your old ones (which are only purchased with busy-ness, striving, and ever evasive contentment) and the complete satisfaction available as soon as those old goals are dropped. You don't even have to do anything. You just have to stop doing. This is not taught as an idea, but as a moment by moment experience, within just a few moments each day.
It is a gradual process, giving the ego nothing to feel a sense of spiritual pride at accomplishment about -- but the most powerful one, I believe.
Egypt violated the rights of Sudanese refugees
More than 10000 refugees, mostly in Egyptian prisons
Egyptian authorities have killed more than 100 of them
They resort to Israel to receive the safty of injustice Egyptian authorities, what is happening is a shame in the face of humanity
In my blog was portrayed by the suffering of these
Am asudanes bloger inegypt
Thank you for your support
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