tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166459572149699816.post6724710711329644639..comments2024-03-24T23:13:15.572-07:00Comments on Mind Deep: Four Important Mind StepsMarguerite Manteau-Raohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17956537059369707663noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166459572149699816.post-39993316454111770552013-11-17T02:44:32.703-08:002013-11-17T02:44:32.703-08:00Hi Marguerite,
funny that I was listening to Ayya ...Hi Marguerite,<br />funny that I was listening to Ayya Khema recordings this morning during my walk and the part about labeling confused me (even though i have heard it from different teachers)... so i googled the question and came to your page! :)<br />I am still not completely clear about how to label my distracting thoughts. I feel like I need some examples. For example, if my thoughts are memories or a moment I imagine in the future... what kind of label would I place on that? Of if I am thinking about, as an example, what I should wear tomorrow for work... how would I label that thought?<br />Always appreciate your sharing of your experience!<br />MicheleAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166459572149699816.post-75973857492784372102011-08-08T07:27:00.435-07:002011-08-08T07:27:00.435-07:00Nice! Absolutely . . . Hence the importance of min...Nice! Absolutely . . . Hence the importance of mindfulness and investigation, to see this possibility and degree of freedom we have in choosing happiness.<br />Thank you.Marguerite Manteau-Raohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17956537059369707663noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166459572149699816.post-71227467055610748952011-08-08T00:14:36.997-07:002011-08-08T00:14:36.997-07:00Lovely piece. Reminds me of Stephen Covey's id...Lovely piece. Reminds me of Stephen Covey's idea that between stimulous (what happens) and response (how you react) is a space in which you can exercise your independent choice. <br /><br />An idea which, I imagine, he might have gained from Buddhist teachings; the Dalai Lama suggests that between stimulus and the suffering apparently caused by that stimulus there is space for us to make our own sense of things. <br /><br />The suffering we feel is the result of the making sense rather than being an intrinsic part of the stimulus; therefore the suffering doesn't have to be the way it is. It is, in the end, what we make it.<br /><br />Gary MAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166459572149699816.post-11313525020147422032011-08-07T17:28:19.369-07:002011-08-07T17:28:19.369-07:00Thank you Jack. Actually, it is my teacher Gil Fro...Thank you Jack. Actually, it is my teacher Gil Fronsdal who helped validate what I had found in my own practice. That there is never really a neutral state, but rather either insufficient awareness, hence the impression of a neutral feeling state, or when one looks more closely, a blend of pleasantness and unpleasantness. <br /><br />Regarding reprogramming the feeling, my understanding of this and also my experience is that pleasantness and/or unpleasantness are an integral part of the way we experience the world. Where the freedom to choose comes into play is in the third step of assigning a label to either state. If we are truly wise, we 'know' that both states just that, impermanent and not to be made a big deal of. Also, using Ajahn Chah's image, even the most beautiful flower carries within it the seed of decay and wilting. So no need to get excited about the pleasantness of sight. Same with unpleasantness. That too shall pass. No need to attach aversive labels to it.Marguerite Manteau-Raohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17956537059369707663noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166459572149699816.post-27764464273976816512011-08-07T17:14:28.386-07:002011-08-07T17:14:28.386-07:00Marguerite, thank you for this post, and thank you...Marguerite, thank you for this post, and thank you for introducing me to Ayya Kehma. I wonder if the feeling step is always a +1, 0, or -1 state, or perhaps there are shades of gray. Similarly, could one learn to reprogram the feeling in step two? For example, I enjoy chocolate ice cream, and the sight of a cone always evokes a positive feeling. However, if I were to eat too much, the sight might then cause a negative feeling.Jackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02945334623631261125noreply@blogger.com