Understanding Medicine:

With all the things going on in the world, both political and biological, uncertainty and impermanence are no longer conceptual.

The more vulnerable we are, the more scared we get and the more we realize how precious our relationships and connections are to the people and the planet around us.

Why wouldn't we go out of our way to be extra loving, as this is the medicine we all want.

If you have resentments, let them go.

If you have anger about your past, just release it. It doesn't serve you anymore.

Clinging to the wounds of the past just holds you in bondage in the present

If you're holding grudges, drop 'em.

If you want to tell somebody you love them, do it.

Attention, appreciation and love has always been the most potent medicine and especially during times of stress and uncertainty.

Tomorrow is a potent illusion.

Today is where the medicine is created

Understanding:

In this life, there is much to experience.

Whether it be in the inner world or the world around us, there is much to observe and take in.

Not all of it is pleasant yet it is part of the reality that we experience and are affected by.

Some of it we can have agency over, much of it not so much.

So how do we manage to stay balanced, healthy, and engaged even when the conditions around us are challenging and dont feel safe?

How can we maintain a semblance of calm and reason when beings around us are scared, angry and reactive?

What I have been taught is to PAUSE ...and return to a place of perspective that serves all beings ....Understanding.

We all want respect. We all want to be appreciated. We all want to be loved...

But what is really emerging in this present-day reality and confusion is beings REALLY want to be heard.

They want to have rights and they want their opinions to have value.

They want to feel like their lives matter and that they and their families are important.

THIS IS NOT STRANGE. It is normal and reasonable.

The Important element to focus on though is:

How do we go about getting our needs met and also allow others to have the same benefits...even if our goals and needs are different?

THAT  IS  THE  ISSUE.

It is this simple yet profound understanding that allows us to be more kind, reasonable, and flexible when in the middle of fear and challenge.

It is Understanding that allows compassion and forgiveness to arise.

This is NOT a checkout or disengagement, and no one's rights should be disrespected but..

It is a conscious choice on how to deal with the difficult and interact with the reactionary.

Then with this wisdom, we can have more space, bandwidth, and skillfulness in dealing with the chaos that impacts us all.

And always return to the LOVE.

                          Inner Freedom

This incarnation can be both beautiful and challenging.  So many things outside ourselves vie for our attention and energy. Family, jobs, relationships, and society itself, can tax our emotions and deplete our resources, mentally, energetically, and spiritually. If we do not have methods for self-regulation, healing, and release we will be exhausted, miserable, and eventually, be imprisoned in our own suffering. Even if our outer world seems fine, external sources of validation and success will ultimately never bring us happiness and peace of mind. 

So, sometimes we have to look deeper at what it is that fulfills us and brings us joy or what it is that is hindering us from living our best lives. This work is an inner job. 

Not always pleasant, not always immediate but if there are things that are uncomfortable within us, we have to go inside to address them. It’s the inner world where our wounds and seeds of imbalance live and so we have to return to the roots to identify, examine, and heal them.                                        Most importantly, all of this work has to be done with a mindset of understanding, compassion, and patience.   All beings want to feel safe, respected, and loved so the process should always be non-judgmental and kind in this process of uncovering truths.

Two elements that are essential in supporting this work are meditation and mentorship. This process is always beneficial when done with support from others who have experience in this work and have our best interest at heart but ultimately it needs to be done by ourselves for ourselves. 

 Then we can be inside a prison or outside in the world and still have a sense of peace and Inner Freedom

Recognizing Mind:

Recognizing Mind:

It is essential for people who practice contemplation to be able to recognize their mental environment.

If we are able to recognize the conditions of our mind, as well as, the external environment and how this affects our mental health, then we are also able to navigate these conditions more gracefully and with kind awareness.

It is the awareness of the continuous inevitable fluctuating of conditions that allows us to be free of taking everything personally.

Awareness does not judge, It just perceives.

It is the hungry and insatiable mind that always needs to be fed with stories, answers, and solutions to the un-fixable that creates the suffering.

A difficult neighborhood to live in.

Sometimes it is the surprise awareness that we are not responsible for everything that happens there that frees us.

When we soften ourselves and take a vacation from judgment, we get the space to actually see clearly in a relaxed state of mind.

Ahhh........ Relief.

When we are able to recognize conditions, we are also able to recognize potential freedom.

This is the medicine of Dharma practice...and self-kindness.

Honoring Impermanence:

Ultimately, there is NO avoidance.....Ever.

So, embracing impermanence is one of the most freeing things we can do.

If we remember that the past is over and the future does not exist and both good and bad will rise and fall continually, we can finally let go of trying to control things...and just RELAX.

Then we can get down to business and live and love in the present.

NOW... is what is precious.

Relinquishing Self:

If there was something that we could do that would make things just a little bit easier for someone or a situation why would we be resistant?

Whether it be sitting with someone who is passing, or going out of our way and setting aside some time to support an elder, or being a little more loving, kind and patient with a partner, or wearing a mask whenever we go out in public to be mindful and show concern to make other people feel safe.

Why wouldn't we do something like that?

Does it threaten our ego?

Does it make us less safe?

Or does is it just irritate our self centered attitude?

When I think about all the times I could have just honored someone else's needs and given a little extra to make things easier, I'm just amazed that I did NOT have the willingness or the awareness to do it.

Sometimes, it’s just paying respect to the needs of the moment and relinquishing the attachment to self that is the greatest offering

Engaged Rage :

When the universe is in chaos and we're in pain,

Even in our Rage, can we stay engaged and respond skillfully with our spiritual practice to dismantle what isn't working?

Spiritual Bypass is unacceptable