Practising Mindfulness

Category: Love and Kindness

  • Power Over The Self (knowing when you have it)

    Image by Thị Hồng Phương Phan from Pixabay

    There is a moment of recognition. A feeling of certainty. So strong is the certainty that once you experience it, you will know you have finally gained control over the self

    I am now in my 61st year. Today, I feel the certainty that I have control. Yesterday, I was exposed to the anger and frustration of people I sensed have little control over themselves. These people are still attempting to control circumstances outside of themselves. Something we have no control over. The result is fear, anger, and frustration. We have no control over what happens to us. What we can control is how we react.

    Progress for me came in the form of recognising how important it is to stop reacting to the crisis of others and seek to protect myself from this. There is no gain for me to become involved with the drama others are constantly experiencing

    So many of the people I’m currently exposed to seem to be living in a drama. It seems to me that the universe (useful belief) is exposing me to these people in order for me to learn how to better deal with it.

    I need and enjoy a feeling of equanimity. These days, it’s a feeling I’ve fallen in love with. I adore equanimity. I love feeling calm, balanced, and at ease within myself. I love feeling in control of my mind. It’s beautiful. Equanimity is a thing of beauty.

    I can name the year I found myself on the path toward equanimity: 1998. Will it take 27 years for others to find the things I have? Probably longer. It’s of no concern to me.

    And because I deeply understand this now and feel okay, there’s a better chance others might want to follow my example

    Others sense neediness, fear, and loneliness. Would any sensible person choose to follow the examples set by fearful, lonely people? No. And it’s an awareness of these things that we must have if we’re to set useful and powerful examples to others.

  • The Strawberry and Custard Tart

    I’ve noticed in one of my local supermarkets that there’s a certain dessert that, although very expensive, is very difficult to get hold of

    On the rare occasion I can find them on the shelf I buy a packet of two. One for me and one for my partner. They are delicious. A short crunchy pastry cup filled with sweet custard and topped with fresh half strawberry’s . . . yum! And this is the very reason they’re in such short supply; they’re so lovely. And here ‘s the thing; they are very expensive. Even so, they sell out, so very quickly. The lesson being: if something is right people will pay for it. It will be in demand. Especially if it satisfies a craving and makes us feel good.

    Is it not the case that the whole of humanity is craving something good? With this in mind how would it be if you were the Strawberry and Custard Tart? How do we need to be so that we’re craved after and in demand?

    In short, the simple answer is, we all need to be excellent examples, of human beings. And there are some excellent examples out there. They just disappear of the shelves rather quickly.

    Quite the opposite are the extreme examples the media like to make so much fuss of. The humans that feel they have the right to dictate how we live, and even if we live at all, are most certainly not Strawberry and Custard tarts. More like a burger made of meat manufactured in a lab. Yuck!