Types of Meditation

Free session by Sangha Live tomorrow night: The Art of Savoring

In the practice of meditation, we are often focused on the task of getting to the cushion and paying attention, but how much of this task are we actually enjoying? To really enjoy ourselves in meditation, we need a practice that goes beyond attention and mindfulness alone. We need to find joy in the micro moments of being present and aware.

Enter the art of savoring. When we savor, we don’t just pay attention to what is happening, but we also become curious about, appreciate and prolong our momentary experiences. In this Sunday teaching, Lama Willa will explore the topic of how to restore joy to our practice by learning to relate to this moment with more openness, interest and depth. We will learn that it is possible to cultivate the conditions for the arising of a spontaneous joy in practice that makes every meditation session feel like your first.

Teacher: Willa Blythe Baker.

@StarryEyed That is a wonderful example, Starry! It reminds me of Mindfulness for Health, the book by Vidyamala in which she tells a story of a woodcutter who seemingly has no time to sharpen his axe and therefor has no other choice than to work with a blunt instrument while 'he huffed and he puffed'. LOL.

Yup, that's roughly the same story, @StarryEyed. How are you today? A bit of space around whatever is there?

I am trying to get by. It sounds as if you are in quite the right headspace, so I'll not add more than saying for me there is self-doubt.

@StarryEyed

That's a powerful phrase, Starry! Thank you for your kindness, I know it is out there but at the moment it is hard to see past those that rejected me.

With the holidays coming up I am feeling unhappy about it for the first time in a decade. We haven’t been doing anything around Christmas for the past seventeen years, for me those are days nothing out of the ordinary (every day can be Christmas, right?!).
There is only a handful of people that I am still in touch with from before I got ill. This past year there has been quite a bit of news coverage for PAIS (those ill with ME, LC/PC, etc.) and still no one who I used to be close with or friends with has reached out. Not acknowledging my difficult circumstances or suffering, yet they get to celebrate the way they are able.
That is me being human, I know, but geez it hurts. There is so much grief… 

Oh wow, what a thoughtful response, Starry. That really means a lot.

Yeah, I know my pain is validated, but somehow I cannot shake off the feeling that I am not good enough. Otherwise, why would all these people have chosen to behave differently ever since I got ill? The answer to that question has of course nothing to do with me, but it feels personal. Even if these people have not been a part of my life for over ten years. Weird how our brains work and keep hanging on to patterns, right?

What makes it so hard today, is the fact that my partner will be gone tomorrow. I am very nervous to be on my own, thankfully I’ve got a lovely neighbor who will be at home and knows about my situation.
He’ll be going to a birthday party where there will be lots of those mentioned people and also will be visiting his parents. My relationship with them is practically non-existent.
Indeed, what you say about feeling irrelevant sums it up with all the celebrations and cups of coffee and cake and chatting while I’ll be on the sofa at home. On my own.
But this is similar for lots of us. We chronics deserve a medal, don’t we?!

Unlike you I am not yet able to process the situation easier, but at least I am learning to be kind to myself. Sure, I do know I am not less, but the grief continues in this cold world.
And yeah, you even made me smile saying I need to sit with my feelings and then… sit some more :)

Thank you, @StarryEyed

PS - about avoiding those feelings having the opposite effect: for anyone experiencing feelings of being excluded, don't hold back and feel free to share. It might be the only way to make this harsh world a tiny bit softer…