IF Zen
Then this...
YES! IF Zen…then this…we must make a commitment to it. It is as when one falls in-love gratitude and commitment arise. But, we must remember gratitude is a deep understanding of appreciation and respect for what and how we devote our lives.
YES! IF Zen…then this…devotion arises.
IF Zen…then this…arises from our heart and soul. Not from our intellectual mind. We give our heart and soul to the high bird that is constantly waiting for us to awaken.
If Zen is to be more than a product in a spiritual supermarket, if Zen is true medicine it needs to address the ills of the 21st century.
Let’s take a look at some of the ills that plague the modern world.
anxiety
depression
fear, hate, delusion
confusion, lust,
autism, disability
lying, cheating, stealing
harm, hurt, revenge
mental illness
poverty
physical & mental injury
addiction
deception, cheating, beating
drunkenness, gambling
STOP for a moment and ask yourself what afllicts you? It can get much worse: murder, rape, breaking & entering.
The ills of the world, as we all know, are serious ailments that arise and embed in the person’s life. It often results in addictions and dependence. Both addiction and dependence inhibit freedom and weaken an ability to resist cravings.
Although the crowded closet of desires may seem “too late,” it is never too late.
Learned helplessness prevents us from staying with the aches and wounds of life long enough to heal. We give way as either a “victim” or as an “abuser.” we see ourselves strapped and even beated by our longings for something from the world.
Both often reside together and appear after the experience.
The abuser abuses and says, “I couldn’t help it.”
The victim is hurt and says, “I can’t do anything about it.”
Both show the helplessness. CAN you see this? IN you?
AND here is the place where the habituated pattern masquerades as medicine; drink, sex, lying, gambling, stealing, shopping, watching TV, eating, bingeing, talking, obsessing, worry, restlessness, laziness, dreaming may show up as a way to relieve the aches of helplessness.
Can you see the trouble? In you? Do you recognize the trouble? In you?
If you can’t see it, if you don’t know it, you are likely to fall into helplessness, dependence & attachment.
“I couldn’t help it” mind arises which unlocks all kinds of difficulties.
All kinds of excuses, defenses, attacks and accusations come up when we don’t see the trouble brewing in our own mind. We say to ourselves, “go ahead with it” when we need to say “watch it pass.” We repeat the pattern rather than repeat the practice.
Here is a simple place to jump in to the middle. Write down your answers.
Are you playing around, using what comes up in your head to shine yourself up?
Do you think you know?
Do you forget the practice?
Are you working diligently?
Ask yourself if you want to see the trouble in the mind, the trouble that bubbles up in the mind associated with the body you show up in?
Be honest with yourself. Do you really want to see? What are you doing in order to see?
Don’t Give Up. Get Help. Practice.
May you awaken.
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