"The lesson which life repeats and constantly enforces is 'look under foot.' You are always nearer the divine and the true sources of your power than you think." John Burroughs
"If we are not totally blind, that which we are seeking is already here. This is it." Alan Watts
One essay in BECOMING is entitled 'Look Where You Want to Go.' It addresses our tendency to focus on what we don't want. We don't accept what is and stay present with the challenging situation or experience -- No. We rarely do that! Rather we get stuck in our thinking mind and we obsess about the difficulty: we ruminate, brood, wallow, criticize ourselves...
This is not the only way! We can drop into our Being, become aware of what is, breathe consciously, notice what is, create space, and bring a whole different person to the challenge.
Check out the section on 'Breathing Space,' in the book, Mindful Way Through Depression, which, by the way, is not just about depression, but about 'freeing yourself from chronic unhappiness.' Jon Kabat-Zinn and others teach a practical and transformational path that leads in this direction.
BECOMING addresses these themes as well, in a personal yet universal manner. BECOMING is now available on line, at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble , and in the UK Check it out and tell your friends!
Lots of dimensions to this post. It is helpful to be reminded to appreciate the present. Said so many ways -- smell the roses and the coffee -- it is still hard to accomplish. I see two sides to Look-where-you-want-to-go-and-don't-wallow, and Appreciate-the-present. I'm actually OK with the Thinking Mind, but sometimes it can use some redirection!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your book reference and reminder to "look where we want to go" vs wallow in difficult, hurtful or fearful situations that instead keep us stuck.
ReplyDeleteYour book sounds interesting - I'm going to see if my library/network or libraries has it or can order it.