Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? Hosted by Sangha Live.
Introduction to Guided Meditation
I would like to offer a guided meditation. In these sessions, we will explore the power of reflection. Beneficial reflections emerge from a state of calmness, steadiness and equanimity in the being. These quiet reflections arise from our inner space having a real value.
The guided meditation includes around a 30 second silence between each statement. (This text format applies the silence between each paragraph)
The session will commence with focusing on cultivating calmness and relaxation. I will follow this with an exploration of reflection. The Buddha emphasised the importance of upright posture.
A Guided Meditation/Reflection for 25 minutes
Experience the physical being in a state of stillness. There is no need to apply any specific method or technique.
Sit in silence.
Sit with full awareness.
Experience sitting. Know an absence of daily life roles, identity, and things to do.
Be aware of the absence of the doer.
Sit quietly and calmly to provide inner space to apply intention to reflection. Through the power of reflection, you can address issues worthy of attention
Reflection can encompass personal issues requiring attention in the heart, mind and consciousness.
- Do I reflect on the significance and benefit of calm reflection?
- Does an issue require exploration and reflection?
- Am I willing to devote time to reflection, clarity and understanding?
Take note that failure to address an issue will mostly result in its reoccurrence, a problematic, ongoing cycle.
To gain clarity on the required changes, it is essential to reflect and understand what needs to change.
What are the steps to develop to resolve an issue?
Remember application of an intention provides nourishment leading onwards to clarity, peace of mind and wisdom.
Apply interest in reflection to challenging situations, as well as joyful ones.
Develop receptivity through the senses (seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching) to appreciate joy in an undemanding way.
The power of reflection allows us to sit, meditate, and enjoy a quiet time, and respond to events with clarity during the day.
Reflection means to think clearly in a focussed way to uncover clarity and insights. This approach fosters a wise and clear relationship with the insights that emerge.
Ask yourself, as a regular reflection,
- What happiness did I bring into someone else’s life today?
- What moments of happiness did I experience in my life today?
- When did I show love in this world today, in spite of all the challenges and uncertainties?
It is important to recognise that insights often do not arise immediately from deliberate intention, but rather, they emerge when the seeds bear fruit.
We apply reflection to look at things that arose in a particular time – past, present or about the future.
Sometimes these reflections arise unexpectedly without an initial intention.
Intentional or not, reflection is a primary condition for insight and understanding.
Insights will confirm peace of mind, an inspiration to let go of an issue, to develop a practice to dissolve an issue or know a healthy response and apply.
Wisdom liberates the mind from problematic existence.
Thank you.
A 30 minute Talk on the Power of Reflection
- Who?
- What?
- Where?
- When?
- Why?
- How?
You can use all six forms to start a question. Each form has a benefit and a limit. For example, Why is a common question useful to explore causes and conditions for what arises today.
It is important to not keep starting a reflection with the same word, such as why.
To illustrate, you might consider the question, “Why am I experiencing this state of mind?” This often prompts you to reflect on the psychological realm. You can learn much.
You might immediately trace this state back to a memory, potentially dating back decades to your childhood. Such recollections can offer valuable insights, which shed light on present-day influences. There is no guarantee the reflection will take the suffering/problem out of the memory.
You may have an accurate memory, but you are not considering the underlying reasons for your actions. So you do not experience any significant change. You ask, “Why am I like this?” Be mindful of your initial response. Is it habitual to ask why?
You could change from why to what
- What is a necessary change of attitude to the situation?
- What do I need to be clear about?
- What am I holding onto?
- What do I need to develop?
The reflection in the Dharma language can also begin with the question, “Who am I?” This is one of the subtle reflections.
- Am I a state of mind?
- Am I streams of feelings/emotions?
- Am I an entanglement in excessive thinking?
- Am I none of the above?
- Feelings, thoughts and statements are objects of interest.
- An object of interest cannot be who I am.
This introspective exercise can offer insights into our capacity to face our issues, while not regarding them as oneself.
It is important to recognise the value of developing a change of view. This response to the “who” question can be the first step in personal transformation. It is important to recognise that the question of “who am I?” can become an issue wrapped up in self-interest. This does not allow for much space. Finding of space can shift to make way for a new perspective, free from anything problematic.
The Buddha said in this much-loved statement,
- this is not me,
- this is not myself,
- this is not what, nor who I am.
Sometimes, the proclamation of such a precise statement can create space to recognise that the state of mind as a state of mind arising, stays for a while and then passes.
Shift in Perspective
This shift in perspective enables us to recognise that these thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations are not inherently who we are. The power of reflection makes this clear and proves to be liberating. Secondly, the space and clarity is authentic and reliable. It is important to understand you are working with causes and conditions forming a state of mind.
One thing leads to another – whether supported with wisdom or due to lack of it.
In response to the who question, focus on identifying thoughts and emotions objectively, without dismissing or denying their existence. Acknowledging the existence of feelings, moods, thoughts, consciousness, states of mind, while maintaining that these experiences are not you.
You can discuss with others with the aim of fostering further reflection. It is not who I am. You are not trying to escape into a quiet corner of the mind. Instead of evasion, it is a commitment to staying close to this clarity, with less emphasis on the “I”, “me” and “my”. This is an important feature.
There are other important questions to consider to develop the power of reflection and what reflection leads onto. Time and place. Where? When?
- Where and when do you feel most challenged?
- Where and when do you feel loving?
- Where and when do you feel receptive?
- Where and when do you feel nourished, healthy and wholesome?
- Where and when do you feel receptive for reflection, for listening, for reading?
The timing and location of these occurrences influence the strength of the reflection, leading to positive outcomes.
Example. Vulnerability and Maggie Meow. She loves sitting in the sink and drinking dripping filtered water. I heard her genes know moving water is safe to drink.
For those who have pets, you will know vulnerability. My granddaughter, who lives with me and I, have a cat, Maggie Meow, 14 months old. She goes out through the back door to spend time with her mates along the track, outside the back gate. This enables her to explore other gardens and visit her cat friends in their place of domicile.
The other day, I opened the front door around 11 pm with the short path leading to the road and vehicles in our cul de sac. Maggie dashed out through the front door, probably motivated by her desire to explore new surroundings, despite a freezing cold night. I could not find her. She had gone out of the front door for the first time in her life. Naturally, we experience love, appreciation and affection for our cat. That comes with the vulnerability of potential loss for the grandfather and granddaughter.
I searched for her up and down the street. No trace. I went to sleep and woke up at 4:30 am. I went downstairs and opened the front door to go on another search. Maggie Meow was sitting on the pathway waiting for me. She walked nonchalantly indoors, had an early breakfast and went upstairs to sleep on the foot of my bed – sleeping most of the day.
Our cat’s behaviour is not only a physical act, but also a metaphor for all of us. Have we lost our way? Does it feel cold and dark when we lose our way? Can we, like Maggie, find our way back? Can we be patient upon close arrival?
She demonstrated a sense of empowerment to return to her homestead. Her experience serves as a metaphor for how, at times, we too can get lost. Nobody can reach us. Gradually, we find our way – re-centered and re-rooted. We find our rhythm. We are no longer lost. Spiritually speaking, this means finding our way home through a process of reflection, mindfulness and exploration.
Cats employ smell, hearing, visual recolllection and instinctive sense of direction. Have we lost or losing our depth of direction?
- Am I lost?
- What is happening in my life?
- Why does my past affect me so much?
- What am I doing with my life?
This introspective journey fosters a sense of belonging or proximity to what matters. In religious parlance, we search and find the Kingdom of God. This is a term many people find challenging though it is another pertinent expression to find Home, not a physical place, not in the heart, not in the here and now. Finding Home means much more than that. Such a Home signifies the rediscovery of something previously forgotten, neglected or were unaware of.
We perceive a song, a poem, musical instrument, a book, a plant in an illuminating way, different from the usual constructs of our everyday mind. The power of reflection in daily life issues brings love and kindness to a deep significance. We are coming home.
The arts, lines of a poem, melody of music, or the simple act of observing nature or sharing a moment with a feline companion, can resonate at a deep level in our being as signposts. These moments speak to us of love, happiness and interconnectedness, despite our vulnerability around change.
As human beings, we face living in as calm, clear and effective manner as possible, with the support of wisdom. This marks the journey back home and consummation of discovery and realisation. We have much to experience and learn. Home confirms the Timeless, Deathless, Ageless.
If you have a habit of thinking in a certain way, try thinking about it in a different way. This may provide the start of a new perspective. It is important to reflect. Remember to apply who, what, where, when, how or why, or a combination, as it can help you open to fresh perspectives about your life, and life itself, past, present and future.
The additional energy expended on reflection, whether individually or collectively, contributes to our growth and development to enhance our understanding. This is the true power of reflection. Recognise the influences permeating your daily life, beneficial or harmful. The essence of reflection enables us to act in conscious and caring ways. The past serves as a beneficial resource for understanding and recognition
The Buddha, a world-renowned figure, discussed past lives – a metaphor for past arisings of I and my. His view does not include nor exclude ‘past lives.’ He said he could remember hundreds of ‘past lives.’ We can also recall as many if we meditated deeply and reflect on multiple periods in the past that have made an impact on us.
Remember revisiting the past can become a habit, not leading to any clarity, healthy change of view or insight. The habit has nothing to do with the power of reflection. The purpose of reflection highlights an ongoing engagement with past and present and future experiences to evaluate the healthiness of our responses. It is important to note that these beneficial responses may persist for the rest of our life. This lifelong benefit confirms the power of reflection.
- Have you fully processed the lessons of the past?
- Are their experiences requiring attention to process?
- Is there a willingness to let go of the past and move forward?
It is important to distinguish between habitual tendencies and genuine spiritual growth.
Spiritual Experiences
Some individuals have had profound spiritual experiences, while others have not. These experiences have the potential to be life-changing, whether they occur spontaneously or as a result of meditation, ayahuasca, pilgrimages or while sitting on the bus going to work. I should mention that I have not personally consumed ayahuasca, in case you are curious. Several of my Dharma friends have done so and spoke of attending such ceremonies with much appreciation.
These teachings advocate dissolving the tendency to cling to the present moment, regardless of what spiritual influencers might say. There is no need to create a concept of the Here and Now as the Goal or a personal God as the outcome of spiritual endeavour. We can go deeper than that.
The power of reflection, past, present and future relationships, can provide significant sources for liberating insights.
Thank you.
Lots of love
Christopher
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