Quotes
James Hollis
“…the psychological and spiritual maturity of an individual, of a group, even of a nation is found precisely in its capacity to tolerate ambiguity and ambivalence and the anxiety generated by the two.”
Francis Weller
“The work of a mature human being is to hold grief in one hand and gratitude in the other and to be stretched large by these two presences in our life.”
Amor Towles
“…in moments of high emotion - whether they’re triggered by anger or envy, humiliation or resentment - if the next thing you’re going to say makes you feel better then its probably the wrong thing to say.” (from Rules of Civility)
Carlo Rovelli
“A thing is something which remains equal to itself. A stone is a thing because I can ask where the stone is tomorrow. A happening is something that is limited in space and time. A kiss is not a thing because I cannot ask where is the kiss tomorrow. It just happened now.
But now we don’t understand the world as made of stones, but rather we understand the world as made by kisses, by happenings. In other words the elementary quantities or ingredients for describing the world are not things which remain through time but processes that repeat themselves. A stone is just a common flickering of electrons which remains for a brief moment and then it fluctuates into powder for awhile.
To better understand the world we shouldn’t reduce it to things we should reduce it to happenings and the happening is always between different systems, always relations, like a kiss which is something that happens between two people.”
Hafiz -
Don’t surrender your lonliness so quickly.
Let it cut more deep,
let it ferment and season you as few human or divine ingredients can. Something missing in my heart tonight
has made my eyes so soft
my voice so tender,
my need of god absolutely clear.
“…the psychological and spiritual maturity of an individual, of a group, even of a nation is found precisely in its capacity to tolerate ambiguity and ambivalence and the anxiety generated by the two.”
Francis Weller
“The work of a mature human being is to hold grief in one hand and gratitude in the other and to be stretched large by these two presences in our life.”
Amor Towles
“…in moments of high emotion - whether they’re triggered by anger or envy, humiliation or resentment - if the next thing you’re going to say makes you feel better then its probably the wrong thing to say.” (from Rules of Civility)
Carlo Rovelli
“A thing is something which remains equal to itself. A stone is a thing because I can ask where the stone is tomorrow. A happening is something that is limited in space and time. A kiss is not a thing because I cannot ask where is the kiss tomorrow. It just happened now.
But now we don’t understand the world as made of stones, but rather we understand the world as made by kisses, by happenings. In other words the elementary quantities or ingredients for describing the world are not things which remain through time but processes that repeat themselves. A stone is just a common flickering of electrons which remains for a brief moment and then it fluctuates into powder for awhile.
To better understand the world we shouldn’t reduce it to things we should reduce it to happenings and the happening is always between different systems, always relations, like a kiss which is something that happens between two people.”
Hafiz -
Don’t surrender your lonliness so quickly.
Let it cut more deep,
let it ferment and season you as few human or divine ingredients can. Something missing in my heart tonight
has made my eyes so soft
my voice so tender,
my need of god absolutely clear.
Outline -
The Walking Three Blocks Practice
1st block - This block is about feeling your way into this often very, very, subtle spaciousness that is always present for us to dip into. We did a couple exercises to potentially trigger a glimpse of that subtle spaciousness. It's a "feeling into" as opposed to a "figuring out". Loosen up the rational mind. That subtle spaciousness is personified by an absence of wanting and not-wanting or raga and dvesha. We see this in that famous Rumi poem: “out beyond the fields of wrong and right there is a field, Ill meet you there…”
Practice: While walking the block see if you can suspend, for brief moments, having opinions, briefly dipping into non-opinionated presence. If at first its too difficult to feel into that kind of open presence you can begin first just noticing the opinion making mind, the mind that is always fluctuating between like/dislike. Try observing it without dialoguing with it.
2nd block - This block is about resuscitating our inner ability to engage play by shifting stagnant patterning. The aim here is to get the chitta (mind/heart system) back into a more fluid movement of tension and release and to help the chitta out of stuck places.
Practice:
Two options here:
1. Work with releasing tension. Find points in the body where there is tension and soften. Use the walking body to soften and release that tension.
2. As you walk behind someone gently try to walk like them. The idea here is just to pull yourself out of habitual patterning.
3rd block - This block is simply about increasing our capacity to feel pleasure. We looked at how feeling pleasure is an incredibly vulnerable place to be and often we unconsciously block ourselves from relaxing into the fullness of pleasure.
Practice:
Two options here:
1. As we walk this block we are trying to 'orient to pleasure'. Tune in and feel what is most pleasurable at the moment and let yourself absorb that.
2. What Else is Here - This is a practice taught by Stephen Snyder. When we are feeling emotional or physical pain. We ask ourselves what else is here? “Besides my back pain, besides my anxiety, what else can I find?”
Practice: While walking the block see if you can suspend, for brief moments, having opinions, briefly dipping into non-opinionated presence. If at first its too difficult to feel into that kind of open presence you can begin first just noticing the opinion making mind, the mind that is always fluctuating between like/dislike. Try observing it without dialoguing with it.
2nd block - This block is about resuscitating our inner ability to engage play by shifting stagnant patterning. The aim here is to get the chitta (mind/heart system) back into a more fluid movement of tension and release and to help the chitta out of stuck places.
Practice:
Two options here:
1. Work with releasing tension. Find points in the body where there is tension and soften. Use the walking body to soften and release that tension.
2. As you walk behind someone gently try to walk like them. The idea here is just to pull yourself out of habitual patterning.
3rd block - This block is simply about increasing our capacity to feel pleasure. We looked at how feeling pleasure is an incredibly vulnerable place to be and often we unconsciously block ourselves from relaxing into the fullness of pleasure.
Practice:
Two options here:
1. As we walk this block we are trying to 'orient to pleasure'. Tune in and feel what is most pleasurable at the moment and let yourself absorb that.
2. What Else is Here - This is a practice taught by Stephen Snyder. When we are feeling emotional or physical pain. We ask ourselves what else is here? “Besides my back pain, besides my anxiety, what else can I find?”