Coogee Buddhist Group

We Determine Our Experience of Life

On Tue, 17 September, 2013 - 00:23
Dhammalata's picture
Dhammalata
How is your personal practice of meditation going? It is very cool to come along and meditate in a group setting. Actually for most of us it’s essential – at least for periods of time but it is very important that there is also a personal dimension to your meditation practice.

Ideally meditate every day even if it’s just for a few minutes. Prioritise and commit to a regular meditation time that suits you. For me it’s early morning before the busy-ness of the day gathers momentum but for you, depending on the nature of your life it may well be at some other time. The important thing is that you find a time that supports meditation as an integral part of what you do. Just as you are unlikely to go through the day without sustenance of food, drink and exercise you should not go through your day without time to quietly be with yourself and your deeper aspirations.

The Buddhist tradition tells us that our experience of life is completely determined by the state of our mind. The meaning we create around events, our responses to the apparently same stimuli will be determined by the health and vitality of our mind. So for one person the rain can be a horrid nuisance and an unpleasant experience and for another a wonderful expression of the ever changing and fascinating dance of life (even when it changes our plans to play tennis or washes away the new lawn seed we’d just planted).

I hope you can come along and meditate with us on Thursday night – we will be doing the Mindfulness of Breathing practice – using our breath to allow the mind to become a deep, clear and still pool into which we can peer with gentle interest …….

Much metta to you all and especially to Natalie and her new baby Oliver who entered the world at about midday Saturday!

Dharmalata

PS: Our first Dharma study group kicked off on Sunday and will now be bi-weekly. The next one is Sunday September 29th. Please let me know if you are interested in attending.

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