Addiction and the Eight Fold Path

  ADDICTION AND THE   EIGHT FOLD PATH                                                               

                                                                                                                                                   PHOTO BY SOCK PUPPET
                                                                                           

Hi

     For those of us who study Buddhism one of the first things we come in contact with are the Four Noble Truths. The semantics change and meanings are slightly different but they boil down to life is suffering, we suffer because of our ignorance, thinking, view, suffering can be experienced without pain, and we do so by following the Eight Fold Path.

    I think we all have a different ''wording" to these ideas but the concept is basically the same. In talking to some people who are addressing their addiction and evolving towards remission I became aware that the way the Eight Fold Path is classically presented presents an opportunity for resistance and internal manipulation. As most of us in remission know addicts become master manipulators and continue if given the resistance to work with.

     To be in remission means to change most of everything the ego has held as true. The Four Noble Truths speak to this and the Eight Fold Path suggests a platform for the process.

• Right View
• Right Thought
• Right Speech
• Right Conduct
• Right Livelihood
• Right Effort
• Right Mindfulness
• Right Meditation

     As you can see this may cause some difficulty in accepting primarily brought on by the word Right. Yes I know. This has been addressed lots of times and the word "right" doesn't mean right in the sense of right and wrong. At least we believe the word "correct" or a similar word should be substituted. Personally it all still feels like, "Well, if you want to be good and correct do this." Which if you think about it is somewhat true but I really think of it in terms of evolving. So it's more like evolution will occur when following this path. Evolution in the sense of change not in the sense that evolution is good or bad. I mean if your evolving you are the one who decides what to do with it.

     So the primary problem has always been with the word "right.' So the way I have been addressing the issue is to use the word "aware." So if we choose one of the paths, let's say Effort what we have is Aware Effort. We are no longer evaluating the process of effort. We are now simply seeing effort in awareness. Different but the same concept.

• Aware View
• Aware Thought
• Aware Speech 
• Aware Conduct
• Aware Livelihood 
• Aware Effort
• Aware Mindfulness
• Aware Meditation 

     The interesting thing is that if we are aware of our effort we are usually feeling like we are evolving instead of struggling. Instead of acting as the agent of the act we are allowing the act to grow by itself. If we are aware of our thoughts we become partners with them instead of trying to resist them or manipulate them. By the act of resting in awareness my speech becomes aligned with my internal principles. In effect we are no longer resisting on any levels but allowing ourselves to evolve into a process that speaks to our hearts. 

     Of course as a side benefit this all reminds me that what I practice is awareness. Plain and simple. The more aware I am the closer to my heart I become. 

     My encouragement would be to see how all this feels to you within your own practice. 

     A few people have asked about the video in production and there have been a few technical problems that will soon be solved. Thank you!

     As always I welcome any comment or input. I love to hear new perspectives and thoughts. 

Bryan 

The Hourglass and Meditation.

Hi.

     We are in the middle of starting to do video blogs and honestly I can't imagine learning more stuff than I ever thought I wanted to learn. But it's also pretty cool and fun.

     In the meantime some friends asked me to explain the "Hourglass" I use in meditation and remission classes so here it goes.

     Take an hourglass and some imagination and, at least in my case, it becomes my entire universe of time and the moment. I use a three tiered hourglass I recieved as a present several years ago. Any hourglass provides the framework for the concept.

     The sand at the top represents the time we have. We don't know how much time is left and cannot actually foretell the amount. We all have a different amount of time. So it's pretty much an unknown to us all.

     The sand in the bottom chamber is the time "passed." We have some idea of how much this is but again it's not real important to the here and now and what we do next.

     Most of us spend way too much time in the future and past. Oddly enough both of those areas are pretty much unknowns and at best pretty foggy and vague. The past because we, or should I say I, rarely remember what happened with any real accuracy. Much of what we "remember" from the past is edited to a large degree. Just sit in when families are talking about past events. Everyone has a slightly different story about what happened. We are all different in the process of how and what we remember.

     So now we address the area I fell in love with. The middle area where the time and our lives meets. In the entire universe and space-time the narrow point is where we are in this second. Does time pass us rr do we pass through time? Or do we move at the same moment? No idea myself. But I like the questions.

     People who are in remission are very concerned about the present and past. They do the best they can to live with memories of what they have done and hopes about what can happen in the future. My focus is on right now. Here's why.

     If I don't like my past I know for a fact that I can build a new past. I can build it right now this second. What I do right now is my new past. I can build it anyway I want in this second.

     The same idea applies to my future. Right now is my future. What I do is connected to what I am going to do next. So staying right here is a vital thing in my life.

     The entire universe is only happening this second. Anything that's going to change is going to change right now. Any influence you have will happen right now. What I think is the past are my thoughts right now. What I think is the future is simply my thoughts right now. After this second life becomes a "memory.' But in truth that's only a human concept. The future and past and now are all one thing. The same hourglass and the same never ending now.

     It is a simple concept and like most simple concepts are first response is "I know that." And we may know that. Concepts are fun. Here is the real thing. Can we live like this? Can we live in the moment and thus build a new future and past? I really think it's a powerful way to live.

     All comments, thoughts, and suggestions are always welcome!

     We are working on the video and hopefully we can upload on YouTube soon!

Bryan

Zen and Addiction. Why Meditate?

                          ZEN AND ADDICTION                              

Hi.

        Having studied addiction from inside out, meaning being addicted, going into remission, and working with people who suffer from addictions. And. My long term history of studying Zen I decided that the link between Zen and what people call recovery needs some exploring.

        In general people do recover by themselves. I know that there will be some interior feedback from those of you who have recovered via "systems" but the truth is that you recover from the inside out despite having anyone else in your life who supports you. I would concur that we all need that external support and encouragement to sustain our lives. It's just that no one, absolutely no one, can recover for you.

        As a counselor I would sometimes be praised when people would manage to stop using heroin, for example, and blame me for their recovery. No way. I had nothing to do with it. The truth is that they were ready. Synchronicity occurs and I was there. It could have been me or anyone else. If you check this out over time you will find that the "recovered" person will realize sooner or later that everything around the recovery was a result of them making the decision and commitment.

        So people ask me why practice Zen meditation?

        Because it is about you and you. Your remission that is. And you probably haven't spent a whole lot of time with your mind. So now you ask why should I do that? I mean here I am in my "recovery" and doing fine. Why mess it up?

        Well. You don't have too. No one is saying that. But if you really want to commit yourself to "knowing" you then I would encourage you to meditate.

        We all have what the mental health people refer to as the "unconscious mind.' It really isn't unconscious at all. It's relatively noisy for those of us who sit with it. I prefer to think of it as sub-conscious. Lurking just under the surface. If you sit, with a little discipline, you will start to recognize the amount of information that the subconscious is constantly feeding you. It 'talks" all the time. It directs you down paths that you might not take if you were aware of it. It's influence is awesome. The reason is that we rarely pay any attention to it. We just follow along.

        A prime reason why lots of people give up "meditation" is because the sub mind will tell them it's useless, annoying, they can't "do it", or they will try at some later date when they are "ready." That later date rarely comes.

        When we start meditating the sub mind will want you to quit immediately. If not sooner. Why?
It's been running the show for such a long time it will fight for it's survival. Once you know it's there and what it's doing you will have a hard time letting it run the show and/or ignoring it.

        What's this have to do with addiction? Everything. It's the thinking part that over rode what we knew all those years. At a certain point the rational mind is highly aware that what ever addiction is present is not in our best interests. Yet we continue to use.

        It's time to shine a light on the sub mind. Time to let the genuine you come forward.

        You may notice that much of what makes up you original mind is non-verbal. This can come as a slight shock at first. Much of what people are aiming for in meditation, or at least Zen meditation, is the ability to live in the pre-verbal state.

        Living in this per verbal state will pretty much anchor you in the moment. And, will definitely help you to stay free of addiction status.

Still working on a video blog. Perhaps next week we can address more concerning addiction and the pre verbal state.

Any and all comments or perspectives are welcome. 

Be kind and keep going.

Bryan







                                                                         

STARTING OUT. ZEN AND MEDITATION

PANDA ZEN

BEING WITH LIKE MINDED PEOPLE 

Hi.

        So you have made the decision to start to meditate! You have been meditating at home and studied on the Internet and done some sitting. You also see a need to be with a group or Sangha
as it's sometimes called.

        Good.

        The next step will be to look in your area and find out who is "sitting" within a distance that you can commit to driving once a week. There are lots of different kinds of sitting groups. And all sorts of different approaches. It really does get confusing, Just keep in mind that we meditate just to do it. We are seeking process not outcome. There may be some sort of outcome but it really doesn't matter.

        My encouragement is that you should "shop around" for a bit. See what the different "schools" of thought have that might attract you from where you are right now. Sometimes there are some really "charismatic" people who are the guiding teachers and can "attract" people through personality and presentation. That's good. Nothing wrong with that. Just keep in mind that it's not a personality thing but a spiritual thing. So my encouragement would be to look around.

        Find out the sitting hours.

        Go.

        Be anxious and nervous. We all are the first several times. It's OK. It will wear off and pretty soon you won't be in that anxiety anymore. Give it some time and effort.

        Showing up is the hardest part. Usually there is a component of the group that will focus on new people just coming to practice. This might include some beginning "classes" and some education on how to "sit."

        Remember that a lot of this will be opinion. Take what you can from where you are and then evolve.

        Study on your own. Never stop learning.

        Make a commitment to sit with the group and on your own. Sitting on my own has always been my primary focus. Groups are wonderful. Sitting on your own has it's own benefits. Like what to do when you find yourself without a group.

        Don't worry about how you are doing. It doesn't matter. Just sit. Don't compare yourself. If you grew up like I did you have a lot of internal criticism in you head. It's only purpose is to discourage you.

        If you find yourself sitting with a group for a while find a way to give back. It sorta solidifies that whole "I am part of something" feeling. And it's good for you to give. Me too.

        Be serious enough but don't be too serious. This is your choice. Something that you are doing to support you. There is no right or wrong way to sit. Don't let anyone convince you of that. Try everything.

        Find out for yourself. Try it and see. Keep what works right now and keep evolving.

        Give what you can. The only groups I sit with are on a "donation" basis. This is a personal decision. If you can afford to and have the desire to help finance a system then do so. Remember that you can learn awareness anywhere.

        There are people who feel that they need to do something and go somewhere "special" in order to focus on practice. Really? " If you can't find the truth where you are then why are you looking somewhere else?"

        So explore and have fun. Have the experience and remember it's all OK.

Thoughts and comments are welcome!!! If you are just starting in meditation let me know what your experience has been. 

Bryan

     

     

Time and the Buddha Clock

                                    Time!
 
                                                 

I have always found time fascinating.

And the idea that we are all given a certain amount. Perspective about time is really important. I have done some work with end stage cancer patients and they all became critically aware of time.

Do any of us live our lives in the knowing that we have a limited amount of time?

Do we wait too long before:

Taking that time for ourselves
Writing that book we wanted to write
Learning to play an instrument 
Telling someone we care for no other reason than we do
Making contact with that someone from the past we can't stop thinking about
Getting that pet 
Eating well
Exercising
Taking a class.
Going somewhere just for the heck of it.
Reading that one book we wanted to read.
Giving hugs.
Cleaning that room or the desk.
Writing a real letter to that person we always needed too.
Donating a few minutes a week somewhere to be of service.
Sitting in the sun.
Sitting under the moon.
Looking through a microscope.
Looking through a telescope.
Attending a play.
Hearing live music. 
Crying for no reason.
Laughing for the same.

And more.

We only have so much time. How are we using our time? Not how we spend it. It's not ours to spend.
It is ours to use.
Until we can't.

Take a minute today and think about your time.
Use some to enhance your life.
Every day.

Keep going for as long as you can.

Bryan

Spirituality and Being By Giving.

         
         THE SECRET OF GIVING TO GET.

        Once upon a time there was man who was miserable. He was lonely, sad, angry, and felt like the world wasn't doing what was "right" by him. He justified this position by saying that he was getting screwed by the universe and nothing ever went his way and he was unlucky.

        The man proceeded to "share" his misery with everyone he met, anger, loneliness, bitterness, and fear. No one much liked this man and that only added to his feelings of being lost and uncomfortable. The man went on with this miserable existence for years while trying to achieve some momentary ease by being opinionated about others and acquiring numerous possessions.

        One day the man was walking in the forest and grumbling to himself about his anger,frustration, miserable existence and bitterness.

        In the distance he became aware of a light coming towards him along the path in the woods.  As he come closer he could see a very strange sight and he stopped walking. The light was from a woman walking towards him talking to a wolf who was walking with her. He knew she must be very special perhaps a shaman or windtalker. She was surrounded by a soft light and had a small smile etched on her face. She was so serene, calm and at ease. She was everything he wanted to be and he knew she had everything he wanted. As she came even closer he started to feel more anger and bitterness which he aimed at the women and he felt his fear of the wolf.

       Soon they all  faced each other.

      "What the hell are you so happy about he challenged her?"
      No reply.
      "Do you think you're better than me? The mans rage started to peak.
      No reply
      The man couldn't control himself and proceeded to unload a lifetime of anger, shame, frustration,       and greed upon the woman.
      No reply.
      "Why you and not me? What makes you different?"
 
      Finally the man ceased screaming and started sobbing. After a minute he felt a hand upon his shoulder and the wolf leaning against his leg. Then he felt the embrace  against him and she whispered:
   
       "BECOME THE THING YOU SEEK THEN YOU WILL ALWAYS HAVE IT."

The universe and time stopped. The ebb and flow of he man changed direction. Barriers fell.
     
When the world started again the woman and wolf were gone. The mans tears continued but               they had changed to tears of release.

The man spent the rest of his time giving to others the things he wanted to have. By giving he         automatically had what he wanted, the experience had always been there but he had spent so               much time waiting to get he forgot to give.
       .
        We spend a lot of our time focused on getting our needs met. There are not only a lot of different kinds of needs but as individuals we also make decisions what our needs are and we get to prioritize them.

        I would like to focus on a very specific area of need. Emotional needs and how we can use something that we have available to us everyday to meet these need.
That something would be us, I know it sounds really simple doesn't it?

 HOW IT WORKS FOR ME.

Here are some of the states that I am already sharing with others.

• Example: When we experience Anger we give a lot of anger to the world. We do it when ever things are not the way we want them to be.  

• Example: When we experience Sorrow and Sadness we project it and in fact rarely hold back on sharing our misery and sadness whenever we can. 

• Example: When I feel Loneliness and it's friend gossip I avoid others and feel detached. How many times have we "decided" that someone doesn't meet with our approval? We decide that somehow this person is irritating, confusing, to us they seem fill in the blank, and we don't really want much to do with them. This is the art of sowing loneliness and having opinions. 

        Notice that these are not things that we want to experience ourselves but we share freely of them to others. We like to think that these are all experiences that happen to us from the outside in as though coming at us from the world. We don't like to think that we generate anger, we don't like to believe that we generate greed, and we certainly don't want to believe that we generate sadness. 

        But we do.

        Our default model:

        Let's say you want to feel love.  We have been conditioned to act and behave like we need to find love, acquire love, make sure it's safe, and don't accidentally lose it along the way. Sound familiar? 

        Or we take a different and more familiar tact. We wait. We wait until the universe comes into alignment and love appears. The are a lot of problems with this theory. The biggest one being that we may wait until we die. Love may never appear. 

       So What do we do instead of grasping or waiting?

      IN ORDER TO EXPERIENCE BEING HAPPY ALL I NEED IS TO GIVE HAPPINESS                  AWAY.

       IN ORDER TO FEEL LOVE WE LOVE OTHERS AND IMMEDIATELY HAVE LOVE

      

       IN ORDER TO FEEL CONNECTED WE HAVE TO CONNECT.

     
       IN ORDER TO HAVE FRIENDS WE GIVE OUR FRIENDSHIP.

       IF WE WANT TO HAVE INTELLIGENCE WE GIVE  INTELLIGENCE..

       IF WE WANT COMPASSION WE ARE COMPASSIONATE. 

       IF WE WANT TO BE ENCOURAGED WE CAN GET THAT BY ENCOURAGING.

       Is there really a way to get any of this without the act of doing it?

       I already know that if I want to have anger all I have to do is be angry. Why do we miss how this works in all other areas? Is it because I would rather believe that anger is bad so that I couldn't possibly be the one who generates it?

        And something added for you.

        If you give it away what you will find is your experience of it will grow and the source will continue  to feed you. At times we act like we were given all things in small amounts that if we use it will  will never get it back.We attempt to gain it from others and hoard it. But by the act of giving it   away we posses more than we could ever imagine having. We will have more happiness, love,
encouragement and joy than we ever imagined, just by giving them away.

 
      Healing The Hole in my Heart

      I was waiting
      And it never came.
      Confused and empty I waited wanting.
      Nothing but time melting me quicker
      than I would ever know.
      Until I did.
   
      Pieces fell off.
      Wasting me
      Pretending .
      Until siting one day
      The Mobius self said
      My wanting was a vacuum of my own choosing.
      An endless sinkhole of fear and need.
   
      So I gave away.
      Not back.
      Not to receive in turn
      But away.
      Caring, Kindness, compassion, friendship,
      Smiles, and joy, and time and energy
      And
      THE HOLE STARTED TO MEND.   


WE HAVE MORE TO GIVE THAN WE EVER NEED. 
      
WE RE A CONDUIT FOR ALL THAT MATTERS
      
WHEN THE CONTAINER DISSOLVES
WE SEE
. 

     

Spiritual Burnout: Repair and Moving On.

Hello!

There comes a time in those seeking a spiritual "base" start to become what I can best describe as "stale" and without feelings of gain. This happens at different times during a persons seeking along the way. The standard is to lose faith in the teacher or guide. This really sucks because it can appear to undermine all your effort and comes with a sense of wanting to abandon the whole direction. My main suggestion is to make sure that anyone you are willing to have mentor your valuable self needs to at some point echo the Buddha's word and let you know that she or he wants what they teach to be challenged. Any guide, teacher, or head of a religion should welcome anyone who challenges the teachings. There are a few reasons that this can happen.

1. Loss of excitement and enthusiasm: Most of this know the feelings. In seeking a spiritual path we become enamoured and then enthused about a certain school, teaching, teacher, or method. This feeling of something new and exciting will often carry us for a while. Sooner or later this is going to wear off. Like any relationship we sooner or later start to see what we did not see before. A school starts to be compressive, a teaching does not seem to apply to our daily lives and struggle, a teacher may, who at first seemed all knowing, becomes shallow and self serving, or the method gives up it's glamour and becomes part of the norm. I am sure there are many other reasons but these few seem pretty predominant. Take a break. That might be all you need if it comes to being burned out. Get away for a while. Read and process something new in the area you are interested in. Lots of books and information about almost any path. Don't be afraid to explore.

2. Sometimes we become so focused on the outcome that we lose sight of the process. This, in part, comes as a result of "wanting to achieve" an end result. It no longer is about the slow, small, painful steps that are needed to make sure that we are acting with integrity and honesty. We just want to "achieve" enlightenment or the end reward or move up and on. It doesn't work that way. Anyone who offers you a quick and easy way to the spiritual path is selling you their ego and filling the bank account with your money. Outcome in spiritual growth has never been achieved and focus on outcome results in burnout. Take some time out and make some decisions about being in the process of the system. Look at objectives and goals that you have and ask yourself if they are realistic and doable. Accept that growth usually comes in bits and pieces.

3. The environment hinges entirely on the 'social" aspects. This can be subtle but has effected more people than you might think. Relationships with others is fine and can help build a positive group. As long as people don't gossip,cheat, tell lies, steal, insult, or demean each other. I have a few friends who have stopped attending due to social interactions that turned sour and they decided to leave. I think that the focus needs to be primarily on the teachings and helping others. When the environment becomes to social it's easy to have conflicts and become lost. A spiritual path can be fun and interesting in part due to the people we meet. The main focus however needs to remain on the path and what we learn from it. There is nothing wrong with enjoying people as long as you have your priorities set.

So we need to remain aware of how we are on this path. Lots of ups and downs and round about progress on any path of spiritual understanding.

If you think of other obstacles let me know.
Always glad to hear from you.

Bryan