I camped along the Arkansas this past weekend while attending an Insight meditation retreat during the day. The longer bouts of silence and being with myself was harder than usual since my looping thoughts are worse during the luteal phase of my cycle.
Despite the challenge, I am so grateful for the space held and the Buddha teachings shared. I was reminded:
Our minds are always fabricating our experience. Buddhism suggests seeing the world through the lens of loving-kindness, mindfulness, equanimity etc
Meditation is about the relationship we have with our mind, it is an art that requires the skill of relaxation
The process entails awareness and okayness with whatever it is
Awareness shows us our behaviors and patterns
Meditation can be messy, the mind can be all over the place and we simply come back to the practice
Lingering in what is pleasant helps us relax - lingering in a pleasant body sensation or sound or visual
When managing chronic pain or illness, offer it compassion “oh this is difficult” or draw attention to another place in the body that feels less unpleasant or neutral and the pain may go to the background or if being with the body is too much bringing attention to the external (sounds, visuals)
The Buddha asks “How do you want to live this life?” What do you want to turn away from and turn towards? What in your heavy bag can you put down? What have you been carrying for such a long time it's all you've known? It's comfortable but perhaps has been oppressing you. Self-judgement, fear of abandonment, habitual worry, rumination? What does it feel like in your body to let go of such a load?
Life is still complicated but it can be a little easier then also carrying such a weight