For a long time we, as a collective, have stood helpless in the face of an ever-sickening society. Whether it is declining health, decaying infrastructure, depression, suicide, addiction, ecological degradation, or concentration of wealth, the symptoms of civilizational malaise in the developed world are plain to see, but we have been stuck in the systems and patterns that cause them. Now, Covid has gifted us a reset.
Charles Eisenstein, The Coronation
A million forking paths lie before us. Universal basic income could mean an end to economic insecurity and the flowering of creativity as millions are freed from the work that Covid has shown us is less necessary than we thought. Or it could mean, with the decimation of small businesses, dependency on the state for a stipend that comes with strict conditions. The crisis could usher in totalitarianism or solidarity; medical martial law or a holistic renaissance; greater fear of the microbial world, or greater resiliency in participation in it; permanent norms of social distancing, or a renewed desire to come together.
What can guide us, as individuals and as a society, as we walk the garden of forking paths? At each junction, we can be aware of what we follow: fear or love, self-preservation or generosity. Shall we live in fear and build a society based on it? Shall we live to preserve our separate selves? Shall we use the crisis as a weapon against our political enemies? These are not all-or-nothing questions, all fear or all love. It is that a next step into love lies before us. It feels daring, but not reckless. It treasures life, while accepting death. And it trusts that with each step, the next will become visible.
We’re all doing our best, and I hope you’re all doing OK.
Every day – especially now – is an opportunity to practice how we want to live moving forward.
Everything is just practice for the next thing. We master something and we move on to master something else [and is a thing ever really completely “mastered”?], and so on.
For example: many people think that the pinnacle or final goal of meditation is being clear of all thoughts, or having no thoughts at all, resulting in an ultimate state of bliss.
The fact is that we have brains, and as such we are constantly thinking [we are humans, not robots] and as such we might find ourselves thinking we’ve reached the top of the mountain only to stumble upon a strong gust of windy thoughts and stumble back down again.
We often put too much pressure on ourselves to push our thoughts away as if they are “bad,” but as my teacher says: what we resist will persist.
Tara Brach says that, “Observing desire without acting on it enlarges our freedom to choose how we live.” If we can at least openly witness the thought or desire, that simple action can offer us the potential to move forward without being burdened by it.
On a recent 10 Percent Happier podcast episode, Jon Kabat-Zinn explained, “The mind is so unruly you’re never gonna actually get anywhere – and the irony is, you’re already exactly where you need to be, and the awareness is like the best friend you will ever have.”
What these two prolific teachers are getting at is that the simple yet profound practice of paying attention [over and over again] to ourselves and our thoughts can liberate us from suffering. It doesn’t mean we won’t experience pain, but it will certainly lighten the load, and the more we practice the more natural it becomes to live in this way.
The Yoga Sutras say that there are 2 types of thoughts; they are either “painful” or “painless.” In Buddhism, thoughts are either “useful” or “useless.” Right now we might be having a LOT of stressful or “painful” thoughts – which is only human – and being able to witness and breath with the thoughts teaches us how to not get stuck simply by redirecting our attention.
As a result, we learn how to witness each moment, and then the next moment, and then the next. When we practice non-judgmental observation of ourselves and our thoughts, we are more able to access this same skill in the moments when we aren’t sitting still in meditation.
In Insight Meditation and the Shambhala Tradition, Tara Brach among others teach us to name the thoughts as “thinking” and return our attention to the inhale and exhale [or ourselves and our senses] over and over again.
A friend of mine says that we need to name it to tame it. We can acknowledge and label the breath and the thoughts as an observer so as not to get swept away by them.
By being aware of both the flow of thoughts and of what we are thinking, we learn that nothing is permanent, which we can put into practice as we move and grow in the world.
As such, we create a better relationship with ourselves and one another.
Charlotte Kasl Ph.D writes, “How you feel is how you feel, what you think is what you think. Instead of stopping the flow of these thoughts and feelings, be with them, observe them, explore their origins. They are your teachers. All transformation starts with awareness.”
By meditating – meaning sitting still and being quiet with ourselves – we are able to witness not only the fluidity of the thoughts and the ways in which they move like the waves of the breath, but also what in fact we are thinking.
And by noticing both of these aspects – how the thoughts flow and what the thoughts are – we give ourselves space and permission to let everything exist without trying so hard to change or achieve anything. We offer ourselves the opportunity to practice observing over and over again, leading from one thing to the next, without berating ourselves for not reaching a specific goal.
Stress weakens our immune system, and so now if ever is the time to practice working with any stressful thoughts that might be causing us suffering; to learn how to breathe amidst the intensity. In doing so, we can put it into practice wherever we are; whatever the circumstances.
Put one foot forward in front of the other. Take it one day at a time and go at your own pace.
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Let’s practice this thing called life.
Onward.
Photo: Grant Henry Media / Brooklyn, NY.
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