It is meant in no way as an offence. It is talking about some inner issues I felt and still feel in my road of recovery.
None taken.
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From a wise friend:
âWorld peace starts in us, at our levelâ
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So, recently I was told to relax. That i had a"clinical" approach, like I was writing a research paper. While, I could see the point, and for the most part could agree with itâŠi couldnt see how ir was badâŠsoâŠi slowed down a bit and tried to âenjoy the rideââŠread this today
from âCutting Through Spiritual Materialismâ by Chögyam Trungpa, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche -
âThe lord of speech is involved in spiritual practice as well. In following a spiritual path we may substitute a new religious ideology for our former beliefs, but continue to use it in the old neurotic way. Regardless of how sublime our ideas may be, if we take them too seriously and use them to maintain our ego, we are still being ruled by the lord of speech.â
âBut contine to use it in the same old neurotic wayâ
Well sone of a bâŠ
That is me
That is what i did in my last recovery program
That is what I do with everything.
Kinda glad i read this
Dont know where to go with it now! And i am resisting the urge to start pawing through books.
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Certainly my go to for âfiguring shit outâ.
You got some good stuff there to sit with.
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The method that the Buddha discovered is meditation. He discovered that struggling to find answers did not work. It was only when there were gaps in his struggle that insights came to him. He began to realize that there was a sane, awake quality within him which manifested itself only in the absence of struggle. So the practice of meditation involves âletting be.â
I have so much trouble with meditation. I feel like, and this is probably far from true, that I have tried everything.
I just cant shut off my analytical mindâŠ
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There is no need to shut it off (spoilerâŠwe cannot). Just observe it chattering away. âAh, there is my mind chattering, I will return to my breath.â
For myself, I found the thought process linked to my breathe assisted. I think as I breathe inâŠ
Breathing in
I think as I breathe outâŠ
Breathing out
Repeat.
Our mind will go back to chattering, it is what minds do. We bring our selves back to our breath.
Breathing inâŠ
Breathing outâŠ
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Iâve just started reading a book about Vipassana developed my Goenka. One of my friends went on a ten day retreat in India. Sounds pretty awesome. Iâm hoping to hit one up in the UK next summer.
As per @SassyRocks my understanding of meditation is that it isnât about shutting anything off. Just awareness. Over time though, as we learn to recognise the chatter, I think it can start to quiet a bit. Or maybe we are just more aware of the times when the chatter is less.
Compassion for the chattering mind is important!
Says me who still hasnât started meditating again 
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There is a good Thich Nhat Hang/ plum village guided meditation like this. The bit I always remember, from the beginning, is
Breathing in, I know I am breathing in. Breathing out, I know I am breathing out.
Have probably posted on the forum somewhere before.
And the âPlum Village Appâ channel on YouTube (or the actual app) is a wonderful resource in general.
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This cracked me up!!
My daughter has been very into Vipassana over the years. A strong road to turn down!! India would be a dream, tho also a very strong reality.
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Thank you!!!
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right on. I was talking about that pocketbook w a dude and we are now starting a little book club and first read is Pema c - wisdom of no escape which is where that little section came from 
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from âCutting Through Spiritual Materialismâ by Chögyam Trungpa, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche -
âWE HAVE COME here to learn about spirituality. I trust the genuine quality of this search but we must question its nature. The problem is that ego can convert anything to its own use, even spirituality. Ego is constantly attempting to acquire and apply the teachings of spirituality for its own benefit. The teachings are treated as an external thing, external to âme,â a philosophy which we try to imitate. We do not actually want to identify with or become the teachings. So if our teacher speaks of renunciation of ego, we attempt to mimic renunciation of ego. We go through the motions, make the appropriate gestures, but we really do not want to sacrifice any part of our way of life. We become skillful actors, and while playing deaf and dumb to the real meaning of the teachings, we find some comfort in pretending to follow the path.â
This is me. Maybe not al the time. However, I thinl currently this is where I am at. Life is so busy right now, I find myself going through the motions, going to my meeting, readingâŠ
Am I really THAT busy, or is it just Ego taking what I have learned and imitating it. Easier right now to imitate.
Setting in this.
On another note. I have found meditating (does this count) while on an exercise bike is easier to focus and listen, and observe and take away from meditation.
Then again, is that just Ego?
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I just attended my first Recovery Dharma meeting online. I didnât share and stood silent. It was very different to what I know of AA meetings. I liked the atmosphere. I have reservations to share in a language that is not my mother tongue.
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I can imagine language would be a tough barrier. However, you might be surprised on how accepting people are.
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from âCutting Through Spiritual Materialismâ by Chögyam Trungpa, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche -
âWhenever we begin to feel any discrepancy or conflict between our actions and the teachings, we immediately interpret the situation in such a way that the conflict is smoothed over. The interpreter is ego in the role of spiritual adviser.â
Self juatification, self righteousnessâŠ
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What book is this?
from âCutting Through Spiritual Materialismâ by Chögyam Trungpa, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche -
âIf we ask ourselves, âWhat is wrong with evaluating, with taking sides?â the answer is that, when we formulate a secondary judgment, âI should be doing this and should avoid doing that,â then we have achieved a level of complication which takes us a long way from the basic simplicity of what we are. The simplicity of meditation means just experiencing the ape instinct of ego. If anything more than this is laid onto our psychology, then it becomes a very heavy, thick mask, a suit of armor.â
I find myself wanting to race through this book. A wise friend is having me try something new with my reading. Reading a little and setting with it.
My first thought when i read this, âOMFG this is meâŠI am brokenâ Then I realizedâŠif its was jist me, this book wouldnt have been writtenâŠ
Becauae I never met the authorâŠI am a normal human being!
Thats what I got so far
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