The book is written by Lodro Rinzler, a meditation practitioners and teacher aimed to reaching a younger generation. Maybe you’ve heard a talk on a college campus tour or read his column onHuffington Post, either way something can be learned from his writings. Part one, getting your act together. How? Meditation. (I know I said I wouldn’t preach but Rinzler teaches meditation and it’s a book about Buddhism, you had to expect this at some point.)
The introduction explains that this is not your normal mediation book and it’s not designed to target only a Buddhist audience so I challenge you to keep an open mind as we continue. One of my favorite aspects of Buddhist teaching is the importance of remaining present, be present with your breath, be present with your emotions and be present with the world. Again this can be easier said than done, so insert meditation practice here.
I’m not a gifted mediator and I have to continually regroup and remind myself to focus on my breath and bring myself back to what’s happening, the important thing to remember is it takes time. Five to ten minutes is normally all the time I have in the morning to mediate to myself with a clear mind before I tackle a busy day. It’s not prefect, but it’s learning. Baby steps people, it’s about progress and self-reflection.
“One of the beautiful things about Buddhism is that it does not worship Buddha as a god or deity, but instead celebrates the Buddha as an example of a normal person like you and me who applied a good deal of discipline and gentleness to his mediation practice, and ended up opening his mind and heart in a very big way.” (p 6)
I don’t know about you but hearing that the person I’m following is normal, celebrated and not worshipped is humbling and puts things into perspective. The Buddha was once an average person, he was in his twenties, confused and like most people wanted to make a change. Buddhism, for me personally, is not about following a specific path to enlightenment but finding your own path and sharing those experiences with the world and finding peace within yourself.
We must first, “love ourselves, so that we can be available to love the world” (p 10).
I mentioned earlier being present with your breathe, well what exactly does that mean. I won’t go into the specific mediation practices and focuses on breath (but I would suggest this book if you want to know more) instead I’ll tell you what it means to me. Being present with my breath means when I’m stressing about an assignment or family drama, stepping back and paying attention to what’s actually happening. Maybe taking a step back from the computer, clearing my mind of deadlines and questions and focusing on breathing in and out and keeping that focus and presence when I refocus on the task at hand. This type of breathing recognition helps you pay attention to what’s really going on around you and how you’re reacting. When your mind is racing a mile and minute your breath will ground you in the present.
“Being aggressive, you can accomplish some things, but with gentleness, you can accomplish all things.” —Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche (qtd. p 20)
Don’t be so hard on yourself! It’s not going to help anything, I promise, I’ve learned the hard way. Be gentle and forgiving to yourself and learn to accept yourself. When you can be kind to yourself and you can share that kindness with others, you will begin to open your heart to the world. Let the goal be to leave a positive mark on the world, a mark that begins with you and your place in the world. Learn to accept and love yourself and the rest will come. When you are able to posses both an open-mind and an open-heart, you will influence the world in a positive way, but the first step remains within ourselves. Remember that you can not change the world without first accepting yourself and accepting the world.
Keep an open-mind and share your open-heart. Establish your core beliefs and let your life stem from those beliefs. In Buddhism, it would be called a mandala, a way to organize your beliefs and thoughts into rings stemming from the inside-out. When you stop and focus on your breath think about your personal mandala, what are your core beliefs and how does the present activity reflect that, where does it fit on your path.
So, if you’re like me and stress about school and grades (or maybe work deadlines), stop and focus on your breath. I take a moment to ground myself to the present I ask myself where this falls on my mandala, will an A in a particular class versus a B+ really effect my career, effect my ability to be successful in grad school, effect my ability to travel, effect my spiritual journey, etc. The answer most likely is no, those extra 3 points that I’m driving myself crazy for and giving myself a headache over will not matter in five months. This is a grounding thought for me, it brings me back to the present moment when I’m able to put things in perspective against my own personal mandala or beliefs. Relating everything you do back to your core beliefs will help infuse your life with positive thoughts. Don’t get caught up in measuring yourself against someone else’s mandala because they are on their own path.
“Having a core motivation you believe in breeds a sense of ease and skill around working with others. You let your motivation shine, and other people are attracted to your passion and commitment.” (p 28)
Buddhism is not about being a “robot,” it’s about learning to feel your emotions and control them, not letting them control you. Again, I won’t go into the mediation and practice but once again focusing on your breath and putting the situation into perspective can help. Do not let your emotions control you and spin you out of control, instead calm yourself and deal with the emotions in a healthy manner. The controlling of emotions, helps promote peace and kindness on the outside and on the inside you are able to development a gentle relationship within yourself. A relationship of learning to listen to your emotions and what they’re telling you, forgiving yourself for the thoughts or actions, and learning from the experience.
There will be times when you feel jealously, anger, or annoyance towards people you see on a daily basis or even work with, this is natural, but instead of lashing out either outwardly or in your head, take a step back. Accept what you’re feeling and know you’re not perfect, find your breath and ask yourself why, are you only focusing on yourself, are you honestly paying attention to their situation, just remember that they’re like you too. Everyone of us to flawed in some way and looking to improve our lives, when we can accept we’re all on the same path you’ll be more accepting.
If there’s anything you take away from part one, let it be this: getting your act together is about living in the moment and focusing on the present. Do not let yourself get so caught up in the routine and daily grind of your life and job that you forget to stop and look around, smell the roses, experience the beauty of the world as it’s presented to you.
“Treating our world as sacred is one way we can relax. It can be refreshing to take a break and just be present with the world around us, and experience the beauty of our life.” (p 43)
So pause. Take a minute to listen to the world around you. Close your eyes and listen to your breath. Listen to your body. Feel how you are alive. Feel your inner strength. Focus on your path. You are who you’re meant to be. You have goodness in your heart, allow yourself to unlock it. Share your love with the world.
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