Eight Step Recovery - Using the Buddha's Teachings To Overcome Addiction

Vimalasara

Reflecting on our common humanity

Sat, 30 Nov, 2013 - 02:53

Day 14 is a loving kindness meditation, reflecting on our common humanity. We can reflect that at heart, each and every one of us wants to be happy and does not want to suffer. Even though sometimes the way we go about this causes us suffering, our basic intention is to be happy. During the meditation we can cultivate loving kindness by reflecting on how we share with the rest of humanity this essential desire to be happy and to...

Vimalasara

The two darts teaching - working with difficult emotions

Fri, 29 Nov, 2013 - 07:01

Day 13 is a meditation to work with pain and difficult emotions. In particular we try to distinguish between the raw experience of pain and our mental reactions to the pain that makes it worse. The good news is: that it is possible to have a reprieve from mental and emotional pain. In the meditation we follow the breath as an anchor for the meditation. Then whenever we notice that we are experiencing bodily pain or difficult emotions, as best...

Vimalasara

vajrasattva

Thu, 28 Nov, 2013 - 05:56

Day 12 is the Vajrasattva mantra. Vajrasattva is an archetypal bodhisattva, the colour of sunlight on snow. He is particularly associated with absolute purity, our innate purity. There is a spontaneous laughter: “ha ha ha”, this laughter is the realization that we have always been pure, the purity has just been covered up with life. When you chant the mantra you can feel your shortcomings and unskilful actions falling away from you, being purified by Vajrasattva, eventually leaving you with...

Vimalasara

Principles to train the Mind

Wed, 27 Nov, 2013 - 04:50

Day 11 is a reflection on ethics. It has been said, that if your life is full of resentments, unsatisfactoriness, and the common toxic emotions, take a look at your ethical life. If we are to maintain sobriety of mind and abstinence, we must have a strong ethical foundation. We reflect on five fundamental guidelines that can help us to transform our body, speech and mind. The music has been composed and arranged by Yeshe Chodron, also known as Laurie Lesk

Vimalasara

A Gong Bath

Tue, 26 Nov, 2013 - 04:52

Day 10 is a just sitting meditation with a gong bath. In this meditation we sit or lie with a broad awareness, making as little effort as possible, and allowing thoughts, feelings and body sensations to arise and pass by like clouds passing through the sky.We are training ourselves to be in direct experience with whatever arises from moment to moment. As we do this we can allow the sounds of the gong bath to wash over us. The gong...

Vimalasara

Open my Heart

Mon, 25 Nov, 2013 - 05:13

Day 9 explores loving-kindness by reflecting on the heart, using the breath to breathe deeply into the heart. Loving kindness is the salve that can help to heal the heart from all the toxins we can accumalate in life. If you are a visual person, you could have an image of your heart as a flower that opens up towards the sunlight of loving kindness. Loving kindness can sometimes feel painful, that is okay, just trust it will pass. Loving...

Vimalasara

The air I breathe

Sun, 24 Nov, 2013 - 06:46

Day 8 is a meditation on breathing by appreciating the air you breathe. The meditation begins with a three minute breathing space. Awareness of thoughts and feelings. Gathering the breath and Expanding the breath into your whole body, (AGE). AGE is something you can do in your daily life, at work, in front of the computer, in a shopping mall, on public transport. In fact we can stop and pause anywhere and take a three minute breathing space...

Vimalasara

Avalokitesvara the Bodhisattva of Compassion

Sat, 23 Nov, 2013 - 06:52

Day 7 is the Avalokitesvara mantra. Avalokitesvara is an archetypal bodhisattva, who is particularly associated with compassion. One translations of his name is ‘He who looks upon the cries of the world’. When we chant the mantra of Avalokitesvara we can imagine Avalokitesvara compassionately helping all beings, ourselves included. If you wish, you could imagine rays of compassion streaming towards you from him and feel compassion arising in your heart. May you all be free from the root and the...

Vimalasara

Four basic needs of the heart

Fri, 22 Nov, 2013 - 06:27

Day 6 is a day filled with loving kindness. When we learn to cultivate the four basic needs of the heart; attention, affection, appreciation and acceptance towards ourselves, our whole world will begin to change. In the words of the Buddha: ” Don’t go by hearsay, or by your teachers. Just try for yourself.” Today’s music has been composed by Laurie Lesk Aka Yeshe Chodrom

Vimalasara

Breath

Thu, 21 Nov, 2013 - 04:53

One of my favourite Buddhist teacher’s Thich Nhat Hanh (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thich_Nhat_Hanh) has generously given us permission to use one of his poetic verses on the breath. Day 5 is a meditation to help connect to the breath. The breath can help us to pause and slow down, bringing more choice in how we respond to life. We come back to the breath several times during these three weeks, because breath is one of our best teachers. The music...