Ooh I was just reading an article on Lions Roar by Brenda Shoshana. Got her book about becoming Fearless on my to buy list 
2 Likes
Sharing a wonderful Pema Chodron article which feels particularly relevant for sobriety
4 Likes
Iâll add her to my list. Thanks!
1 Like
For some reason I thought she was connected to the book you mentioned. Which I now realise she isnât. But regardless I thought it looked good and hope it is a worthy addition to your list! 
2 Likes
I love to read and am always happy to give a new author a try. 
1 Like
I will add this to my list!
Just read this today and it was a wonderful read. Iâm looking forward to incorporating into my daily practice. Thanks!
3 Likes
Posted by Sharon Salzberg on FB, I wanted to share it here, as it deeply resonated for me. 
"The Buddha pointed out thousands of years ago that suffering is a fact of life. Or, as I sometimes put it:
Some things just hurt.
Our dominant cultural attitude towards pain is that itâs something to be avoided, denied, âtreated,â and Iâve found that it can be particularly tough for people â including me â to acknowledge painful emotions in the context of spiritual practice. One of the central tenets of Buddhism is the acceptance of suffering, but like many of the misleading expectations we hold about meditation, there is often a lot of self-consciousness about what being âspiritualâ should look like. Some of us may feel that the cultivation of compassion should be a practice that keeps us from feeling those âless virtuousâ emotions like anger, annoyance, impatience, and disappointment. And, yet, part of the cultivation is simple acceptance, including the acceptance of those things that just hurt.
Thatâs why the revolutionary statement that there is suffering in the world is so liberating. It doesnât include the idea of how we should feel in relation to those times when we suffer. In fact, the most radical part of this piece of wisdom is its simplicity â the fact that it is merely a recognition of what is. When I first encountered this idea in an Asian philosophy class in college, I felt instantly comforted, and the comfort was unlike anything Iâd experienced before. No one was trying to make sense of my pain or to rationalize it; no one was reassuring me that things would get better, or reminding me to look at the bright side â all things we are conditioned to say and believe in the face of suffering. For the first time, I felt a sense of permission and freedom to feel whatever I was going to feel."
6 Likes
I needed to read that. I know all that, sometimes a reminder brings peace!!!
THANK YOU
2 Likes
Those pesky feelings again and our desire to put them in the positive / negative slot. She has such a simple way of stating the practice.
2 Likes
My battle with the company that hit my truck, was an excuse to get off trackâŠ
Truth be told, it was a good lesson. I was perfectly fine when it happened. Then I tried to control the processâŠthen my mood went southâŠbeen awhile since i felt that wayâŠ
2 Likes
Well, fuck! This is me and meditation!
from âCutting Through Spiritual Materialismâ by Chögyam Trungpa, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche -
âFor example, if you have learned of a particularly beneficial meditation technique of spiritual practice, then egoâs attitude is, first, to regard it as an object of fascination and, second, to examine it. Finally, since ego is seemingly solid and cannot really absorb anything, it can only mimic. Thus ego tries to examine and imitate the practice of meditation and the meditative way of life. When we have learned all the tricks and answers of the spiritual game, we automatically try to imitate spirituality, since real involvement would require the complete elimination of ego, and actually the last thing we want to do is to give up the ego completely. However, we cannot experience that which we are trying to imitate; we can only find some area within the bounds of ego that seems to be the same thing.â
1 Like
Seems fitting! Something the entire human race needs to read on thr regular.
1 Like
I will have to mill about this one in my mind todayâŠdont know if how I processed it is right
from âCutting Through Spiritual Materialismâ by Chögyam Trungpa, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche -
âIf we become successful at maintaining our self-consciousness through spiritual techniques, then genuine spiritual development is highly unlikely. Our mental habits become so strong as to be hard to penetrate. We may even go so far as to achieve the totally demonic state of complete âegohood.ââ
I instantly go to my recovery when I read this. If, through my recoveryâŠi think I can control anythingâŠam I recovered?
I dont control anything. Life happens. Its ok to feelâŠbut those feelings dont dictate how I live.
Hell, i cant even express what that passage made my brain do.
This reminds me of the very first thing I learned when I quit meth. The ONLY way to grow is to suffer! While it isnât as eloquently put as the quote above the truth remains the same.
As I have read thru this thread I find myself that much more intrigued.
Thank you for sharing
4 Likes
Fill free to share as you go!
2 Likes
Ah I Love it thank you so very much. After this post I started throughout the day when I could to practice variations of loving kindness medi, and most recent the âMay I beâ to insert my intentions and goals and that is working really well at the moment. Both of those have always landed for me so long as I keep it up. Thank you for the links!!
3 Likes
I thought I shared it here. I stumbled over it during my yoga studies.
Thank you!!
1 Like