The Dark Side of Meditation {part 3}
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To go in the dark with a light is to know the light.
To know the dark, go dark. Go without sight,
and find that the dark, too, blooms and sings,
and is traveled by dark feet and dark wings.
~Wendell Berry
I have a question for you -
Do you equate peace with effort? Does it feel as though you must work to attain peacefulness?
I think for many of us, it does feel this way - as though we are trying to get somewhere or attain something within this practice.
The idea of enlightenment can easily feel as ‘trying to attain’ if we aren’t mindful. Let’s look at the story of the Buddha as an example - he tried EVERYTHING… All the practices, the harshest asceticism, but ultimately, what is it that worked?
He sat all night under the Bodhi tree - open and receptive to all that Mara, the personification of temptation and distraction, threw at him.
He didn’t attain anything; he remembered.
I wonder what this does for you when you think about your practice being as simple as remembering who you really are and what you really already know.
Does it invite you to lie back? To soften some? To simply linger, waiting, watching?
In the last 3 episodes, we have been exploring endarkenment - the opposite, necessary component of meditative practice to balance enlightenment. The qualities we’ve explored to know the dark are:
Embodiment
Fierce compassion {as bravery, empowerment, clarity, authenticity, balance, fulfillment, wisdom or vision}
And lastly: Receptivity
We wait. We listen. We receive.
Don’t chase the light. Remember you ARE the light.
Join me for this final episode in our Endarkenment series as we discuss receptivity and share a 20-minute guided meditation practice.
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