Let practice become a path

Practice becomes a path when practice itself is no longer an issue. You just do it. It's a way you have found that brings a certain quality into your life.

Practice becomes a path when you understand that you cannot control what happens in your life and you cannot control your reactions to what happens.

Practice becomes a path when you know that all you can do is put in place a process that opens possibilities, possibilities other than the tyranny of reactivity and conditioning.

Practice becomes a path when you accept the direction that life offers you in each moment. 

This article by Ken McLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Faith and Belief

There are two very different ways to meet what arises in experience.

One is to interpret what arises according to our conditioning. This is a self-reinforcing dynamic and results in a closed system in which everything is explained, the mystery of life is banished, and no new ideas, perspectives, or approaches to life can enter. This I call belief.

The other is to open to whatever arises, to allow the reactions and stories of our conditioning to arise but not be swallowed by them, to open to the possibility of not knowing, and thus making a place in our experience not only for the mystery of life, but for new ideas and approaches. The willingness to meet experience this way I call faith.

This article by Ken McLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

What is life?

We ordinarily think of life as family, friends, career, things we find interesting to do, and so forth. That’s what we think life is. It’s what we are taught life is. But that isn’t what life actually is.

Life consists of precisely what we experience. 

What do we actually experience? We experience sensations: color, shape, sound, taste, smell, texture, touch; thought and feelings. So we have all the sensory sensations, and then we have thoughts and feelings. Emotions if you wish. That’s what life actually consists of.

From:  Mahayana Mind Training 3

This article by Ken McLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Passivity and Freedom

Passivity is insidious. It kills your mind (your attention, your intention, and your will) without you knowing it. Internal patterns of reaction (as well as families and institutions) use various mechanisms to keep you asleep. Here, for instance, are six:

Marginalization: The belief system makes ideas, perspectives, or insights that threaten it seem unimportant.

Framing: The belief system frames your thinking so that nothing that threatens the system can be thought.

Seduction: The belief system presents a picture of a world that seems to fulfill your dreams.

Alignment: The belief system tells you that in order to exist, be happy, or have influence, you have to conform to the belief system.

Reduction: The belief system freezes you by reducing complex situations to a single emotionally charged issue.

Polarization:The belief system limits your ability to choose by presenting issues only in terms of right and wrong, this or that.

Freedom is being awake, and being awake means not being passive with the tendencies that kill attention, intention, or will. What you experience is your life. To be free, meet experience directly, know it completely, and act without hesitation.

From:  The Warrior's Solution

This article by Ken McLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.