The March Curse. I thought perhaps I’d broken it, but dang… March has traditionally been the worst month of the year for me. Breakups, illness, depression, you name it. Two years ago, March was not going so well, but I vowed the Curse wouldn’t get me. And it didn’t. I felt ok. I somehow didn’t let what was going on in my life get me too down. Last year, March was actually wonderful, both internally and externally. March 2019? My life circumstances, as well as my interior world, have felt pretty crap. I’ve been trying to work it SO hard, and utilize what I understand about mindfulness to guide me, to transform my thought patterns. However, I’ve been struggling. One day last week I was walking to the subway in the early evening, and something about the beautiful, waning light of the day brought the practice of metta to mind. So I did a metta prayer as I strolled. Metta comes from the Pali language, and can be translated to 'loving kindness". Loving kindness is something we can try out in seated meditation, but it truly can be practiced just about anywhere and anytime, if you have five or ten minutes of time to yourself. This is the meditation, and it is traditional to start with directing loving energy toward yourself. There are many variations of this prayer. This one is from Jack Kornfield, Buddhist practictioner and author: May I be filled with lovingkindness. May I be safe from inner and outer dangers. May I be well in body and mind. May I be at ease and happy. Next, you can think of someone you love, or who has cared for you greatly in your life: May you be filled with lovingkindness. May you be safe from inner and outer dangers. May you be well in body and mind. May you be at ease and happy. After this, you can keep moving outwards, extending these loving wishes toward various people in your life, even people you encounter only casually. Perhaps a sales clerk, barista, or a co-worker. Next, this wish is directed towards someone you might describe as an enemy, or who you have negative feelings towards. It's difficult. And it's profound. Finally, these thoughts are directed to all of creation. Prior to last week, it had been quite some time since I’d practiced loving kindness in this way, but just five minutes of it turned my mood right around. I regained a sense of connectedness and calm. My problems, my thoughts didn’t melt away, but they did lose their hold on me somewhat. Things came back into focus. Hey, research has shown evidence of the value of this ancient tradition: https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/feeling-it/201409/18-science-backed-reasons-try-loving-kindness-meditation I don’t really need research to understand, intuitively, why metta is such an effective practice. It makes perfect sense. Sharon Salzberg, another well known meditation teacher, says, "during metta meditation, people are amazed to find out that they have a capacity for lovingkindness, both for themselves and for others. Due to our past conditioning, many of us do not trust our capacity to love". Also, I recently went to a show, spontaneously and solo - José González and the String Theory. Gorgeous and so healing. I include a link to 'Leaf Off/The Cave' because when González wrote this song, he was inspired by Plato's cave allegory and the search for truth and enlightenment. Can we leave the cave (comfort and ignorance) and seek the light (truth)? Shaina Lehan
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February 2019
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