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Shattering The Great Doubt

I have just returned from a quite beautiful week in Wales. Still very much re-entering the space we refer to as 'normal'. It seems anything but. The retreat I attended was called 'Shattering the Great Doubt', also known simply as a Koan Retreat. For those you unfamiliar with the term 'Koan' it is a short story, statement, dialogue or exchange between master and student, that is used as a form of practice in the Rinzai tradition of Zen. We are asked to meditate on , and merge with the koan, observing how it 'triggers' us or prompts and provokes habits, patterns and ways of being. It is something that must be experienced to be truly understood but that is a brief and simplistic overview. I met with 18 other curious souls to investigate and come face to face with ourselves in a rustic, electricity-less farmhouse in the middle of the welsh countryside. The schedule would involve a week of silence, meditation, great food, working for the b

Love or Attachment?

Attachment can show up in any number of ways. Sometimes very obviously and other times quite subtly. If we are willing to look deeply and observe our motives, expectations, desires, we can see clearly where we are being snagged by some form of attachment. Just lately I have become acutely aware of this in my own experience. I have a loved one that is trying to find her feet and work through some of her 'stuff'. As much as I can I am trying to support her through this journey and yet with some honest and compassionate words from a very dear friend of mine I was able to see that I was becoming attached to the desire for my loved one's well-being. Now, on the surface you may say that wishing another well is perhaps a reasonable or normal thing and yet it has become abundantly clear to me that it is simply a rather subtle form of attachment and actually is not an expression of unconditional love but instead a demand or expectation placed upon another. You see, each tim

If This Was Your Last Day

Just consider for a moment, how would today be different if you knew it was your last?   How would you be? What would matter? What might you notice?   Maybe you would take it slow.   Maybe you would savour each moment.   Maybe you would tell those that mattered that you loved them.   Maybe you would resolve an old and now meaningless conflict.   Maybe you would watch the sunrise.   Maybe you would taste each meal and be grateful for each meal you’ve failed to taste.   Maybe you would just watch.   Maybe you would embrace what truly mattered. Maybe you would smile or laugh, taking yourself just a little less seriously.   Maybe you would sing at the top of your voice without a care in the world. Maybe you would be kinder or more compassionate towards yourself and others.   Maybe you would finally give yourself a break. Maybe you would listen to the birds.   Maybe you would meet someone fully and without judgement.   Maybe you would notice the subtle