I AM impressed. Despite being a Buddhist, I still found the book-well, all her books, actually-rather daunting. The fact that Brian can break any of her books down into five major themes is astonishing. Kudos, Brian!t
I have felt that excitement facing a variety of painful, wild events. I know it now as my own. See, when you feel fear it means you are open enough to feel the emotions and experiences of being human, and that is closer to being conscious. I spent so much time waiting, meditating without knowing I was doing it, feeling nothing, boredom, Deep Boredom, until I was hit with a surge of the underlying terror and knowing it for what it was. Breakdown can become breakthrough if you feel the bottom, and see it- it will dissolve. It happened with me; it can happen again. I consider enlightenment something that can happen multiple times, and suffering can return if you do not take what you learned from enlightenment and practice your connection to Being, or the Now, consistently. Being is as important a human need as breathing. This was a really good summary of her book and breaking down the different parts. You have a clear voice.
"Approaching challenges with a deeper level of grace." Yes! And great reminder that the point of meditation is not to become a good meditator. Very reassuring after a busy-mind meditation! Thanks, Brian :-)
Your analogy for death and rebirth, with respect to Easter and Passover, is spot on! Your are a wise man, Guru Johnson! Thank you and Pema Chodron for the analogy of the mountain! You have help me come to terms with a huge challenge in my life! "If you can walk with crowds and keep your virtue!" The goal of being good at meditation is similar to an olympic weightlifter who believes he will be a great football player, because he is strong weightlifter.
Hi Brian, I loved the big idea #1. I'm facing some challenges (things are falling apart) and now I can attack it more confident because this is an opportunity to grow :) I'm luck! I read some books and at end felt that I wasted my time. You always make a book more fun. How did you choose your books? Have a blessed day and thank you always for your feedback :)
cristian cris Awesome re: big idea #1 and your mindset shift! Sending love to you as you move thru your challenges!! I hear ya on the books! I don't love every one I read and I hear ya on the feeling of wasting your time. haha. I try to make sure I'm going to like a book before I start it by flipping thru and lightly dipping in to some sections and I think it's important to abandon a book if it's just not awesome. Big waste of time to complete a book that you already know you don't love, eh? I find my books via recs from cool people in our community and recommendations from authors I love. I like to keep this Campbell gem in mind as well: Moyers: “How do we know these things [how experience bliss]?” Campbell: “I’ll tell you a way, a very nice way. Sit in a room and read--and read and read. And read the right books by the right people. Your mind is brought onto that level, and you have a nice, mild, slow-burning rapture all the time. This realization of life can be a constant realization in your living. When you find an author who really grabs you, read everything he has done. Don’t say, “Oh, I want to know what So-and-so did”--and don’t bother at all with the best-seller list. Just read what this one author has to give you. And then you can go read what he had read. And the world opens up in a way that is consistent with a certain point of view. But when you go from one author to another, you may be able to tell us the date when each wrote such and such a poem--but he hasn’t said anything to you.”
Hi Brian, you often say that habits should be doing on daily basis. Does it mean every single day? What about weekdays? If someone doing something every Monday to Friday, could it become a habit? Greetings from Indonesia :)
Yudha Agung Pribadi Hi Yudha! 7 days a week makes it, paradoxically, easier to form a habit. The break slows down the momentum and makes it easier to slip. Greetings right back from California! :)
Not so easy to face fear when a bear is chasing you. This advice way too generalized or meant for smaller problems. When people have big life-changing fears you don't just refer to a TedTalk and embrace the fear.
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