Mindfulness Meditation: Simply Complex But Easily Achievable

People do either one of two things when I tell them that part of my teaching program as a Wellness Mentor involves meditation: A) They’re on board with the concept and will sing the praises of practice to the high heavens or B) They look at me sheepishly and say that they know that they should do it but just can’t focus or find the time.

I don’t try to proselytize anyone and I only try to lead by example. I tell them how mindfulness has benefitted me for over thirteen years and I can guarantee that it has made me mentally healthier and stronger neurochemically. I don’t practice every day in a sitting pose but I’m always making an effort to sit with my food and enjoy it without distractions, focusing my energy on creating a painting or drawing, staying present and listening to friends when we converse and so on. There are lots of ways to practice and sitting meditation is only one part of the program but it’s awesome when you get into it.

You only need 10 minutes in a quiet spot without distractions and you don’t have to clear your mind or stop thinking. Meditation isn’t about grabbing a hold of that wild stallion in your mind and trying to reign it in and control it. It’s about being present, letting your thoughts come as go as the will and trying to come back to a center point which is your breath. That’s it!

Why is it so hard for many people if it seems like such a simple endeavor? Because folks, we are incredibly complex beings who have billions of neurons and millions of life experiences that have created so many energetic pathways and thinking processes. But trust me on this, finding that ten minutes just to relax and let your mind be as it may will make you feel good. Sometimes it can get frustrating but the more you do it, the easier it becomes and also becomes addictive in the best sense.

U R Good!

THE HEART OF GOODNESS

You don’t need to rely on anybody else’s goodness. You have a resource already, which is your own goodness. You are already good, and you can actually transmit that goodness to others. In Buddhism, we call this buddha-nature. Examine yourself and your state of being. You will find that you have the heart of goodness in you.

• Chogyam Trungpa

http://www.shambhala.com/great-eastern-sun.html?utm_source=bronto&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Image+-+cover+image&utm_content=Quotes+of+the+Week+%7C+The+Heart+of+Goodness&utm_campaign=OD+9%2F25%2F12

taken at MFA, Boston Sept. 2012

Laugh Monk, Laugh!

The other day, I did a search on YouTube to find the proper pronunciation of an ancient Zen monk named Mokurai for a reading that I was doing on my Soundcloud page (http://soundcloud.com/paulotus/sound-of-one-hand). What I discovered was an American monk who also had the name Mokurai shoe said that he was from a place called Silent Thunder Mountain.

After a couple of minutes of video chaos as Mokurai was setting up his camera, the monk came into frame with a very austere presence with nary a hint of joy in his demeanor. Ironically, Mokurai’s somberness caused me to giggle. I wanted to grab him, shake him and exclaim, “Mokurai! Dude! Enlighten up! You have some keys to universal wisdom and that’s a great thing. Laugh man, laugh!”.

Here was a man who was referred to as a “guru” by one of the comments below him and he seemed humorless. He may have been nervous in front of the camera but I suspect it was his regular, übersolemn personality. This is what I want to get away from with my trainings and writing – the image of that monk or nun who is conveys a sense of austerity around Buddhism.

Attracting the + Energy

We are energy beings and we’re filled with electrical vibrations which in turn means that we have plenty of positive and negative ions coursing through our body systems. In a more philosophical sense, we have positive and negative emotional and spiritual energy. We can either invite the good energy into our lives or attract the dark stuff. While it’s not always our decision whether darkness enters our lives, we can choose how we cope with it and how to shield ourselves. Yup, it’s all around but you don’t have to give into it.

Cultivating the positive energy takes work and determination. Ironically, it’s easier to give in and be cynical and pessimistic about how difficult life is and be overwhelmed by the negatives of life. Once you do this, you set up a pattern of inviting in adverse energy into your life which includes negative people.

Personally, I like to work hard and everyday, I ponder how fortunate I am to be healthy and surrounded by love. I put up a shield when I feel like any dark souls are trying to draw my energy. If my depression comes a knockin’, I put in extra effort to stay in the light and have my friends and/or family around. when my dark nights visit me. Of course, I also try to meditate more too.

We have choices about our energetics and the more we get the positive ions flowing, the more we’ll attract the same.

I like to surround myself with the positive energy of nature. The banyan trees in Florida always rejuvenate me..

Hate Is Hell

In this world, people who hate are in their own private hells. It’s sad but my hope is that we can help them see a secular heaven in their present lives that is filled with faith, hope and love. I want to inspire the haters and help them to see the beauty of this existence.

Hope, 2012 – copyright Paul E.G. Lee

Nirvana & Heaven Are All Around

Many people are living their lives expecting to eventually enter the gates of heaven, paradise or reach Nirvana but only some of them realize that these places already exist in our worlds. Now I’m not saying that there isn’t some beautiful place at the end of our lives that we arrive at but I’m still a skeptical about it. What I’m saying is that there is so much more paradise in our lives that can lie outside of our everyday awareness. I find mine in simple moments like meditating, hiking, eating a grand meal, swimming or just being with people who I love.

It’s really easy to find simple Nirvana in your lives. You just have to open your awareness and you’ll find them more and more.

WHAT ARE WE PRACTICING? – Pema Chodron

The painful thing is that when we buy into disapproval, we are practicing disapproval. When we buy into harshness, we are practicing harshness. The more we do it, the stronger these qualities become. How sad it is that we become so expert at causing harm to ourselves and others. The trick then is to practice gentleness and letting go. We can learn to meet whatever arises with curiosity and not make it such a big deal.

- Pema Chodron, When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice For Difficult Times

Understanding Ourselves: Get Back To Your Roots The Hominid Way (Part 1)

my colored pencil rendering of a model by the brilliant paleoartist Viktor Deak

I have a passion for the study of paleoanthropology as well as trying to get a handle on our human origins; it’s a key to understanding ourselves as people and where we come from. This science can also help us better understand our mental health, our humanity and our neurobiology.

When I say understand our origins, I mean digging back at least 3 million years or more. Studying this science fits in with my pursuit of wellness psychology, social psychology, positive psychology, and health psychology.

Since I was young, I’ve always had a fascination with our hominid ancestors and was particularly struck by the fossil known as Lucy, an Australopithecus afarensis that was discovered in Africa in 1974. She became this magical icon for me and represented my human connection to primates so much so that I drew a version of her based on paleoartist Viktor Deak.

If you want to know how big a nerd I was when I was 10, my parents bought me Lewis Leakey’s classic book “Origins” for my birthday and I jumped for joy with equal excitement of getting my G.I. Joe Egyptology action figure set.

boy, did I love this set!

My fascination with all things paleoanthropologic continued through high school with a human origins class, in college with another human origins class and also a primatology class. Attending American University in D.C. I was able to go to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, check out the cool prehistoric human fossils and then go to the National Zoo and sit and watch the gorillas, orangs and monkeys numerous times. and has continued with my studies in psychology and art.

(To be continued….)

Episode #4: The Fork and The Flame: Maintaining Yourself And Your Energy In The Midst of Change

Here it is, #4 in the Fork & THe Flame series with Chrystal Kubis and myself. Please enjoy!
We like to bring the laughter to wellness!

The Fork & The Flame Episode 3:

Here’s episode # 3 or Chrystal Kubis and me discussing and how we overcome tricky situations with gusto and humor!