Five Hindrances – going beyond emptiness

I have recently watched this talk on five hindrances to self-mastery by Master Shi Heng Yi. I read about Five Hindrances, a concept new to me – desire, anger, restlessness and worry, sloth, torpor and boredom and doubt (I memorised it as DARED – desire, anger, restlessness, emptiness, doubt). The sloth, torpor and boredom sounded very familiar – non-doing confused for inaction, feeling lost, stuck, feeling numb and depressed in the face of the unknown, feeling empty. In other words emptiness understood on only one level, seen by the mind wallowing in self-pity as existential emptiness, dark void, terrifying abyss – “if there is no self, no me, then what is the point!”

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Non-doing does not mean inaction. Love yourself through stuckness.

While there will always be a part of you that finds comfort in complacency and overwhelm in the presence of change, the key is to encourage yourself in every step, and to be patient when results may vary, so you can support yourself in learning that positive change won’t always be fast or easy but it’s never as difficult as we believe it to be.

When we love ourselves too deeply to be stagnant and respect the divine too deeply to stand in the way of our next incredible milestone of expression, the beauty of tangible change is a gift to receive and never a punishment to endure. To find this truth and embody it fully, we must dare to love ourselves more, not less, no matter the time it takes to change, regardless how often we seem to miss the mark, and despite the kicking, screaming, begging and pleading that only needs more of your loving support to shift old patterns into new possibilities.

— Matt Kahn

My take aways from the above quote:

  • Complacency feels good because no risks are taken. Comfort zone is defined by fears.
  • Non-doing does not mean inaction.
  • It is natural to be overwhelmed by change and uncertainty.
  • Love yourself through complacency, inaction, stagnation, stuckness.
  • Trust the dharma, the process, the Universe, move out of its way and let it unfold.
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Change the world by being yourself #happiness #selflove

via Action for Happiness
Source: http://www.dancingbananagirldesign.com

What is it with us and self-love? Even the most advanced practitioners and spiritual seekers seem to struggle with it and specifically the thought of being judged by others. The infamous “what will people think” is a big one. For some people, what they think others will think or say dictates how they dress, behave, live, what they say and do, or don’t do. 

Why do so many of us have this deep rooted sense of unworthiness? What is the source of the lack of self-love so many of us – even those who grew up in a happy childhood and abundance – suffer from? How does this happen? I don’t know and plan to learn more about this one day. Today I wanted to share five practical tips and methods that I found useful in gradually learning to love myself more and worry about what others think less. 

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The light of the void. The void of the light #RamDassMusic

Source: Yours Truly

Where do you stand in relation to hope? Are you hopeful? Or is it hopeless? Both of them are traps. Best place to stand is half way between hope and hopelessness. Standing nowhere, being everywhere. Doing what you do.

— Ram Dass
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When you change the way you see things…

Source: https://instagram.com/growthmonkeys
via Action for Happiness app

…which is why I call the game Levels and Lenses 😊 if something is not going right, if I am stuck or suffering, and I can snap out of the victim mode and become aware, I change change the lenses, take different level perspectives, until I arrive at the vision of reality where it makes sense, I am at peace, one and in love with everything, where I am home.

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Open your heart and love

Source: Tricycle
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Silent illumination – the meditation month challenge with Tricycle.

At the moment I am working through the Tricycle Meditation Month as a 30-day meditation challenge. I am working through 4 stages of the silent illumination practice as taught by Chan Buddhist teacher Guo Gu. The links for each week of the meditation month are below. This is a free course, but the quality of the teaching is amazing so if you take it, make a donation if you can. Happy meditating, fellow nomads! 

Week 1 (method from 10:20, progressive relaxation) 

Week 2 (method from 9:32, nostrils sensations, stomach rise n fall, all body breathing)

Week 3 (method from 17:25, sight or sound contemplation, just experiencing, moment by moment, pure awareness) 

Week 4

And a sit (combination of weeks 1 and 2 I believe). 

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Emptiness as freedom. The Void by Alan Watts.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1PFxAiVwfis&feature=youtu.be

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Have a smartphone? Now you can trip on light #psychedelic #consciousness

I  heard about stroboscopic light and its ability to induce psychedelic like states before but never had a chance to try it. It had to be done in person with an expensive machine. Well, hail the age of technological disruption, clever folks at Lumenate brought this technology to the masses and now anyone with a smartphone can trip on light (as long as they are not epileptic or sensitive to stroboscopic light – always read medical warnings and do research beforehand!). I took out a paid subscription but there is free trial also. I have just spent a week meditating on light every night and I must say it is pretty good. There were insights, realisations and tears 🙂  Again, read the medical warning carefully, be safe and let me know if you tried or try it – how did you find it? I am just glad to be back in the presence of light after a long covid winter and what seemed like a tough emptiness practice.

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When you realise you are stuck… surrender into the hopelessness #RamDass

When you realise you are stuck… you be stuck. You really be stuck. In the moment of stuckness is the key to the next liberation. It is the denial… trying to get unstuck that is feeding the stuckness. If you sit with it and you say – isn’t it a far out melodrama… you start to get space. Realise the total hopelessness of your predicament. You can’t get yourself out of being stuck anyway. And it is in that surrender into the hopelessness, herein lies the hope. You gotta let the horror show be to let the changes to occur.

— Ram Dass

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Emptiness Survival Kit. Part 1: Face The Emptiness. Day 1: The sun rises in the evening.

Ride your horse along the edge of the sword

Hide yourself in the middle of the flames

Blossoms of the fruit tree will bloom in the fire

The sun rises in the evening.

– Zen Koan Continue reading

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You Are It All Already

@VasylMushykArt

I love who I am and what I have attracted to myself up until now.

I do not need another thing or even one tiny change

in order to be happy or complete.

I know in my heart that I am not going to get it all,

but that I truly am it all already.

The universe is endless, I am the universe, and therefore

I am without boundaries.

— Wayne Dyer

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Merry Thisness and a Happy New Now! #Christmas #2021

by Cliff Pollard

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Ways to celebrate Winter Solstice and Great Conjunction online – today and tomorrow

Below are 3 events that I am aware of and am taking part in to mark these two great events.

I will be watching solstice at Stonehenge live (today 16:01 GMT and tomorrow 08:09 GMT). I am not an astrologist but I’ve heard there is something unique about it this year (a zero angle or something?), so I am game. Below is where to watch it:

http://www.youtube.com/englishheritage

Winter Solstice Festival from The Shift Network already started and today is the last day. I’ve attended some sessions yesterday, they were great so I am definitely tuning in today. Tickets are free, the event is in the US so starts at 10pm GMT: view programme and register here.

Finally, tomorrow at 18:22 GMT you can join in a 20min World Peace Meditation to mark the Great Conjunction (“Christmas star”, closest orbit between Jupiter and Saturn), contribute to the worldwide Ascension and enable the global awakening and consciousness shift that hopefully this energy event will catalyse. All info and how to join here.

Many of us are stuck at home, it gets dark early, many are struggling, so hopefully these three events can help connect and feel part of the global community as well as usher in a new, more conscious era in humanity’s history filled with more light and love. It is also a good way to rehearse sending off the 2020! See you on the other side! ☀️ ⭐️ 🪐

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“We aren’t lonely – not because there are others there, but because there is no one at all, including us.” — Ram Dass

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