The Zen Buddhist practice of “Koans” is meant to transport your mind beyond concepts, penetrating into the true nature of reality. “Reality” being a perspective that is hidden from the ordinary mind, never to be understood through concepts, logic, and reason. Just like with Zen, the true nature of Aikido is a “Koan”, a truth that is hidden from view of the ordinary mind. Even more so when in the midst of conflict. So what is “The Aikido Koan” that will reveal the mystical nature of conflict?
In this installment of my “Meditation Coaching Demo” series, I work with 2 meditators who are at different stages on their meditation journey. The first session is with a yogi who has over 30 years of experience in meditation. His depth of experience allows us to explore some extremely subtle phenomena of advanced meditative states. In the second session, I work with a yogi on the fundamentals of the practice, specifically facing the challenging mental states when establishing the practice of mindfulness.
In this second installment of my “Meditation Coaching Demo” series, I’m sharing 2 sessions from meditators who have distinctly different practices. Dave is using a mindfulness-based practice which he also applies in his Aikido practice and interactions at work. Hila has a “mantra” based practice and uses guided meditation and the repetition of a mantra for the basic preparation of her daily Nia routine. I think you will gain a lot from these 2 different meditation approaches in this installment of my Meditation Coaching Demo Series.
If you want to establish mindfulness and deepen your meditation practice then there is no substitute for working with a meditation teacher and guide. Part of my role in my meditation courses, trainings, and retreats is to closely follow my student’s meditation and help them fine-tune, clarify, and stay on track in their practice. For this reason, I am creating a series of recorded meditation interviews showing you the process of how I work with students. Welcome to the Meditation Coaching Demonstration Series.
Part of any commitment to a higher “Path” of practice (martial arts, meditation, yoga, etc.) is the need to put in the time to develop skills in your given field. But whereas developing skill is indispensable on any Path, gaining Mastery is an entirely different matter. The development of skill is in the realm of the possible. Mastery, on the other hand, is in the realm of the mystical. To gain mastery you must commit to the inner Path of learning from the Tengu.
Life is fundamentally creative. Yet, creativity does not happen in a vacuum. Be it the birth of a baby, the birth of a work of art, or the birth of a star, there must be a creative tension for this process to be activated. And of course, YOU have to get out of the way. This is the topic of discussion I had with Brooke McNamara in our Community Call on Zen & The Heart Of Creativity.
Is awakening a sudden experience, or is it a gradual process. Do you wake up with a radical explosion into seeing the non-dual nature of reality? Or do you come to “unity consciousness” through a series of smaller steps of insight until gradually you are living a life of non-duality? In this Dharma Bite meditation teacher Patrick Cassidy speaks about “Integrating The Non-Dual Perspective.”
What does it mean to be “Awake”? There is a common assumption that once a person “awakens” they are somehow, forever and always in an elevated state of spiritual perfection. However, the fact is that awakening is an evolving process. One where you will move through stages that oscillate between wakefulness and forgetfulness. Between egoic identification, and the end of all identity. In this Dharma Bite, psychiatrist and meditation teacher Dr. Dominique Cassidy explains this process as “The Wisdom Of Oscillations.”
Spiritual traditions have always taken as their goal the liberating experience of awakening to absolute reality. This experience may be called emptiness, oneness, non-self, non-dual, unity consciousness, unconditional love, or God. Whatever the name may be, the experience is always one of wholeness and perfection. Nothing needs to be added, and nothing can be taken away. Because when you glimpse through a window into the absolute… everything is always, already, present.
What does it mean to have a “balanced mind”, and how can mindfulness meditation help to cultivate it? Mindfulness-based meditation practice has very positive effects on the mind that are experienced as temporary states. A long term committed practice will transform these temporary, positive states into permanent traits… into new a way of being. Buddhism lists these beneficial qualities as “The 7 Factors Of Awakening”, with the culmination in that list of “equanimity”, an exquisitely balanced mind. In the below interview excerpt Vipassana meditation teacher Sayadaw Vivekananda speaks about how “mindfulness cultivates equanimity”.
