Formal sitting and walking practice are wonderful ways to get back in touch with
reality as it is. The following are steps I have found useful for formal practice:
1. Before sitting or walking, make an intention. Have a clear motivation for
what you are going to do on the cushion or in your walking practice. What are
you sitting for? What are you walking for? What has brought you to the
cushion, to touching the earth?
2. Get in touch with your environment, literally. See it, smell it, hear it,
taste it if you like. Get to know what you are sitting with. Meditation is not
about escaping, it's about going into, about freedom from the source.
3. Get in touch with your inner landscape. What is going on inside of you?
Take a moment to chill. Stay there if that's what your motivation has called
you to do.
4. Do your practice, whatever it is.
5. After your practice, open your senses wide and survey the room again. Take
time to adjust to being in full, waking consciousness. Take time to
re-integrate. This is a very crucial step. This is where the meditation enters
into your daily life. I have found this step very helpful, especially when
energies cultivated through practice are misguided into irritation and anger.
Again, meditation is not an escape, it is a going into, a discovery of life.
6. Dedicate the merit of your practice to all beings everywhere. May all beings
everywhere inherit the merit of this practice. May they be free from suffering,
may the cultivate joy and peace.
©2009 Brian Kimmel.
Join me and Las Vegas Mindfulness Group for practice the week of Dec. 15. I will be guiding the weeks Tuesday Night Mindfulness Group, offering a Friday Night Meditation/Concert/Talk, and a Sunday Day of Rest and Concentration. For details visit: briankimmel.com!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
No-thingness in Everyday Life
Dearest Friends,
I'm thinking of saying something really special, really important and perhaps valuable for your life. But nothing is really coming to me. It feels like I've been thrown into the world these last few months at Naropa University. For over ten years I've lived like a recluse. Always turning inward. But that inward turning was necessary. If I look at my childhood. I spent a lot of time agonizing over life, day to day activities were so challenging. When one confronts suffering in that way--that life is a challenge--there is a real opportunity for growth. For me, it has been of growth. So these ten years, growing into the man I have become, it took everything to get here. It took a lot of suffering to know what suffering is.
One thing I feel more certain about is: whenever I or anyone else claims certainty over something it is erroneous. There is no certainty. If there is certainty, there is death. If there is death there is illusion. If there is illusion truth is invisible. The question is: how to make truth visible again. What is truth?
I am extremely fortunate to have experienced this life. The other day I went to a concert in town with a friend. As we were sitting there watching and engaging in the performance I realized what a treasure my life offstage is. I have chosen to not run after fame in this life. At least in these last ten years the practice, my own healing and transformation, has been a priority. Where would I be without it?
Music and the stage is all-consuming. It is hard to stop it--to stop the power of words, the power of thoughts; the power of motivation. And that's why the path I am on has brought me so much than what the stage could offer me. To an artist--art is their meditation. But can art bring liberation?
Creating something--art--is mechanical, a mind thing, a cerebral thing. Human beings create. The power of creation keeps us locked into our thinking mind. Once something is created it is transcended by the artist. There is a master working through the art. Art is a power, unmistakably, a power that wills whomever witnesses it to contemplate, to aspire, and to follow its lead. What we can realize is it is the power of mind that creates and paints the experiences of our lives.
When sitting in meditation mind seldom stops creating. Always playing. Always painting. Always singing the habits it has been in for a long long time. Desires. Cravings. Lusts. Wishes. Hopes. Dreams. Passions. Pondering. Admiring. Inspiring. Feeling. Thinking. Observing. And yes, mindfulness. Mind creates, that's what it has been conditioned to do. A liberated mind does not stop creating. A liberated mind creates more, only through the lens of liberation.
But the thing with liberation is that it is only complete when mind is no longer. Then the communication between mind and world is perfected. The perfect symphony is no symphony at all. What my teacher has written, talked and lived is the experience of no-thingness in everyday life. Can you experience no-thingness while sitting on the toilet? Can you experience no-thingness while talking on the phone? Can you experience no-thingness while making love? Cooking dinner? Walking the dog?
For me as an artist, a musician I want the experience of no-thingness, the perfection of no-thingness to be present within my art, within my music. So that means when I play, when I write, when I sing, I do my best to be in no-thing. I try my best to be liberated. My audience, too, is there to be liberated. This is not music to be consumed. This is music to enlighten you. This is music to experience wholly. This is music to enrich your spiritual experience.
I have only realized this a few days ago, so it is quite new. But, I think many people who have been to a show or a talk of mine have realized that my motivation is not about being on stage, writing and performing music for the sake of writing and performing music. My motivation is to free myself and all beings from suffering, and to clarify and enrich the essential no-thingness of all. No-thing is a place of no distinctions, not sameness and not different-ness. Not oneness and not otherness. That's where the practice, where the music and the song becomes experience. And it is about what only you can experience for yourself and help others experience for themselves.
Enjoy!
©2009 Brian Kimmel.
Las Vegas Events with Brian Kimmel and Las Vegas Mindfulness Meditation Group: Music and Inspirational Talks to inspire love, peace and understanding. all events will be at the Pink House in Las Vegas near Cheyenne and Rampart. Please call 702-461-8422 for information and directions. All are welcome: beginners and those who have not been to an event at the Pink House. Cost is by suggested donation $20 each for Fridays Concert Talk and Sundays Day of Rest and Flow. No one will be turned away due to lack of funds. Donations will cover Brian's travel and living expenses. Tuesday Night group is an ongoing group--free to attend--donations welcome.
Sunday, Dec 20 / 9:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Healing from Abuse: Footsteps in Freedom, Love and Peace
I'm thinking of saying something really special, really important and perhaps valuable for your life. But nothing is really coming to me. It feels like I've been thrown into the world these last few months at Naropa University. For over ten years I've lived like a recluse. Always turning inward. But that inward turning was necessary. If I look at my childhood. I spent a lot of time agonizing over life, day to day activities were so challenging. When one confronts suffering in that way--that life is a challenge--there is a real opportunity for growth. For me, it has been of growth. So these ten years, growing into the man I have become, it took everything to get here. It took a lot of suffering to know what suffering is.
Free Downloadable Talks & Performances
www.briankimmel.com/recordedtalks.html
Coming Soon!
www.briankimmel.com/recordedtalks.html
Coming Soon!
One thing I feel more certain about is: whenever I or anyone else claims certainty over something it is erroneous. There is no certainty. If there is certainty, there is death. If there is death there is illusion. If there is illusion truth is invisible. The question is: how to make truth visible again. What is truth?
I am extremely fortunate to have experienced this life. The other day I went to a concert in town with a friend. As we were sitting there watching and engaging in the performance I realized what a treasure my life offstage is. I have chosen to not run after fame in this life. At least in these last ten years the practice, my own healing and transformation, has been a priority. Where would I be without it?
Music and the stage is all-consuming. It is hard to stop it--to stop the power of words, the power of thoughts; the power of motivation. And that's why the path I am on has brought me so much than what the stage could offer me. To an artist--art is their meditation. But can art bring liberation?
Creating something--art--is mechanical, a mind thing, a cerebral thing. Human beings create. The power of creation keeps us locked into our thinking mind. Once something is created it is transcended by the artist. There is a master working through the art. Art is a power, unmistakably, a power that wills whomever witnesses it to contemplate, to aspire, and to follow its lead. What we can realize is it is the power of mind that creates and paints the experiences of our lives.
When sitting in meditation mind seldom stops creating. Always playing. Always painting. Always singing the habits it has been in for a long long time. Desires. Cravings. Lusts. Wishes. Hopes. Dreams. Passions. Pondering. Admiring. Inspiring. Feeling. Thinking. Observing. And yes, mindfulness. Mind creates, that's what it has been conditioned to do. A liberated mind does not stop creating. A liberated mind creates more, only through the lens of liberation.
But the thing with liberation is that it is only complete when mind is no longer. Then the communication between mind and world is perfected. The perfect symphony is no symphony at all. What my teacher has written, talked and lived is the experience of no-thingness in everyday life. Can you experience no-thingness while sitting on the toilet? Can you experience no-thingness while talking on the phone? Can you experience no-thingness while making love? Cooking dinner? Walking the dog?
For me as an artist, a musician I want the experience of no-thingness, the perfection of no-thingness to be present within my art, within my music. So that means when I play, when I write, when I sing, I do my best to be in no-thing. I try my best to be liberated. My audience, too, is there to be liberated. This is not music to be consumed. This is music to enlighten you. This is music to experience wholly. This is music to enrich your spiritual experience.
I have only realized this a few days ago, so it is quite new. But, I think many people who have been to a show or a talk of mine have realized that my motivation is not about being on stage, writing and performing music for the sake of writing and performing music. My motivation is to free myself and all beings from suffering, and to clarify and enrich the essential no-thingness of all. No-thing is a place of no distinctions, not sameness and not different-ness. Not oneness and not otherness. That's where the practice, where the music and the song becomes experience. And it is about what only you can experience for yourself and help others experience for themselves.
Enjoy!
©2009 Brian Kimmel.
Las Vegas Events with Brian Kimmel and Las Vegas Mindfulness Meditation Group: Music and Inspirational Talks to inspire love, peace and understanding. all events will be at the Pink House in Las Vegas near Cheyenne and Rampart. Please call 702-461-8422 for information and directions. All are welcome: beginners and those who have not been to an event at the Pink House. Cost is by suggested donation $20 each for Fridays Concert Talk and Sundays Day of Rest and Flow. No one will be turned away due to lack of funds. Donations will cover Brian's travel and living expenses. Tuesday Night group is an ongoing group--free to attend--donations welcome.
Tuesday, Dec. 15 / 7-9 p.m.
Tuesday Night Mindfulness Group
Special Topic: What's Schleppin? AND How to Let Go
Special Topic: What's Schleppin? AND How to Let Go
Refresh yourself! Come for an evening of sitting, walking, lying down and deep listening meditation. Evening will include a short Dharma Talk and guided meditation. Beginners are welcome.
Friday, Dec 18 / 7:30-9 p.m.
Concert Talk for Peace
Special Topic: Waking Up!
Friday, Dec 18 / 7:30-9 p.m.
Concert Talk for Peace
Special Topic: Waking Up!
Evening Meditation, Inspirational Talk and Original Music for Piano and Voice
Sunday, Dec 20 / 9:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Day of Rest and Flow
Special Topic: Your Ordinary Wisdom Mind
Sitting, Walking, Lying Down, Deep Listening, Movement and Eating Meditation in Silence.
Sitting, Walking, Lying Down, Deep Listening, Movement and Eating Meditation in Silence.
Healing from Abuse: Footsteps in Freedom, Love and Peace
An article I wrote is featured in the Plum Village community's international journal with a photo of Venerable Direk who has sat with our Tuesday Group in Las Vegas several times and is an abbot of a Thai Monastery in Las Vegas. It is downloadable at the link below. You can also order a paper copy at www.mindfulnessbell.org
The Mindfulness Bell issue #52 PDF is now available for viewing or download on the website at http://mindfulnessbell.org/download_mb.htm
The Mindfulness Bell issue #52 PDF is now available for viewing or download on the website at http://mindfulnessbell.org/
Sunday, September 20, 2009
MINDFULNESS TRAININGS MENTORSHIP PROGRAM
Starts this FALL, October 01 - December 17, 2009 - It's Free! Visit http://www.briankimmel.com/mentoring.html
Starts this FALL, October 01 - December 17, 2009 - It's Free! Visit http://www.briankimmel.com/mentoring.html
This fall, beginning October 1, 2009 I will be offering a Mindfulness Trainings Mentorship Program. I have created a yahoo group that will be used as the primary source of communication along with personal e-mails, phone calls and in-person meetings. More information is posted on my web-site.
If you are interested in signing up send me a short e-mail with your request to join, and I will send you an invite. This group is only open to those who have been invited, so if you have a friend who w ould like to join, please have them send me their e-mail address and phone number and I will happily send them an invitation. This is a wonderful opportunity for you to receive the support you need for your practice and personal growth and to learn how to involve others in the practice and growth.
Smiling with Thay
Dear Wondrous Beings,
One tremendous thing that happened these past weeks was the illness of my beloved teacher, Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. I attended the Colorado Retreat in the Rockies expecting Thay (affectionate term for teacher) to be there. I remember getting out of the car once we arrived and saying to my friends who were near me, “I know Thay is here in a room somewhere getting ready to give a talk.”
Photo taken at Plum Village, France 2006
Well, during orientation that evening we all learned that Thay was in the hospital with a lung infection and would not be able to attend the retreat in person, but would be following the retreat with us in his heart. My immediate response was that of sadness and grief. After the evening talk many of us spontaneously gathered and shared mindful hugs. There were many tears that evening. I went to my room, but could not sleep. Something was stirring inside of me from a very deep place.
Where is Thay, anyway? Where is this person I call, “Teacher”? Is Thay inside or outside of me?
An overwhelming sense of regret boiled up inside of me. I thought of the many times I took Thay’s presence for granted, feeling a little tired sitting at his talks, or feeling a little bored during our walking meditations together, and even doubting the effectiveness of the practices he was presenting. But in light of Thay’s impermanence, a different picture appeared--that of, how can I see Thay, know Thay and continue walking and sitting with Thay for many years to come? What part of Thay will live on even after the body we see as Thay decays? It is the part of Thay that continues for generations to come that I will have to get to know much better, because it is Thay’s True Nature.
We have a saying that is chanted after offering incense, to open a practice called Touching the Earth. The saying goes like this:
The one who bows and the one who is bowed to
Are both by nature empty.
Therefore the communication between them
Is inexpressibly perfect.
In everything that I am doing, I can see the body of my ancestors--both blood and spiritual ancestors. I am a continuation of many people and things. Likewise I continue in many people and things. In fact, I cannot really be separate from other people and things--most notably, I cannot really be separate from everyone and everything I love, because we are products of similar elements coming together to form a body and mind.
The radical shift in perspective, in practice is to live the truth of our true nature. Live as you are the embodiment of your ancestors. Live as future generations will continue you. We all share this perspective. We all have the capacity to live this way. No one really has to die. No one really has to make friends with birth and death. Birth and death, though they are conditions of life, are limited ways of seeing who and what we are.
The task, then, Thay asks of us, is to smile.
Wishing you a truly blessed Fall,
Brian
©2009 Brian Kimmel.
Visit my web-site to view updated information about events, products and services I offer: www.briankimmel.com. I am now licensed and am taking appointments for massage in Colorado.
One tremendous thing that happened these past weeks was the illness of my beloved teacher, Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. I attended the Colorado Retreat in the Rockies expecting Thay (affectionate term for teacher) to be there. I remember getting out of the car once we arrived and saying to my friends who were near me, “I know Thay is here in a room somewhere getting ready to give a talk.”
Spending Time with my teacher,
Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh
Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh
Photo taken at Plum Village, France 2006Where is Thay, anyway? Where is this person I call, “Teacher”? Is Thay inside or outside of me?
An overwhelming sense of regret boiled up inside of me. I thought of the many times I took Thay’s presence for granted, feeling a little tired sitting at his talks, or feeling a little bored during our walking meditations together, and even doubting the effectiveness of the practices he was presenting. But in light of Thay’s impermanence, a different picture appeared--that of, how can I see Thay, know Thay and continue walking and sitting with Thay for many years to come? What part of Thay will live on even after the body we see as Thay decays? It is the part of Thay that continues for generations to come that I will have to get to know much better, because it is Thay’s True Nature.
We have a saying that is chanted after offering incense, to open a practice called Touching the Earth. The saying goes like this:
The one who bows and the one who is bowed to
Are both by nature empty.
Therefore the communication between them
Is inexpressibly perfect.
In everything that I am doing, I can see the body of my ancestors--both blood and spiritual ancestors. I am a continuation of many people and things. Likewise I continue in many people and things. In fact, I cannot really be separate from other people and things--most notably, I cannot really be separate from everyone and everything I love, because we are products of similar elements coming together to form a body and mind.
The radical shift in perspective, in practice is to live the truth of our true nature. Live as you are the embodiment of your ancestors. Live as future generations will continue you. We all share this perspective. We all have the capacity to live this way. No one really has to die. No one really has to make friends with birth and death. Birth and death, though they are conditions of life, are limited ways of seeing who and what we are.
The task, then, Thay asks of us, is to smile.
Wishing you a truly blessed Fall,
Brian
©2009 Brian Kimmel.
Visit my web-site to view updated information about events, products and services I offer: www.briankimmel.com. I am now licensed and am taking appointments for massage in Colorado.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Lamps, Light Bulbs and Setting Flies Free
Dear Beloved Friends,
I have intentionally made this 'brian kimmel blog' as a way to bring all my parts together, all parts of me that have a voice and feel they need to be heard. Tonight, I have imported blogs from two of my other blogs: Mindful Male Survivor and Musically Aware. As I was reading through the blogs (I have included the whole collection, unrevised) I noticed how much I have grown, and how much has changed in my life, and in our life as a spiritual family.
I have written on many topics that you may find interesting. One blog I have not included (yet) is the Las Vegas Luvs Mindfulness blog, which was the blog for the meditation group I lead called Tuesday Night Mindfulness Group. In the Las Vegas Luvs Mindfulness blog you will find several years worth of entries, that are rather personal and showed a lot of heart--not only speaking about the inspiration from within my own heart, but of the inspiration of the group of dedicated practitioners who met at the Pink House over the four years it was hosted there.
What amazes me is the strength of the sangha (spiritual community from all traditions and all walks of life, including cats, insects and other beings) that pours through. Even though I have written from my own experience, and from my own point of view, it seems like the heart of the sangha is revealed. I truly feel the sense of the community, how it felt to be there, sitting in a circle, feeling the presence of all who were there, and of all who thought about being there, and all who were brought along even when they had no clue they were there. How much a part of my life Tuesday Night Mindfulness Group has played a part in, it is yet to be discovered. I'm sure years from now new insights will be revealed. Really, my time in Las Vegas revolved around spiritual practice. Spiritual anything isn't usually the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of Las Vegas, I know. But for me, spirituality is the first thing that comes up.
Living in the Valley was a precious gift. Las Vegas really is a place of wonders. Standing on the strip there is a magnanimous energy--one of the brightest cities on the planet--radiating not only the power of billions of lights from lamps and light bulbs, but radiating light from thousands upon thousands of people, visitors and residents alike searching for a deeper place and experimenting with the yearning to find themselves. If we lose enough, if we can lose it all, then there is a potential of finding something rare indeed.
Life posses an extreme magic, much more than the magic that can be presented on a stage. Life brings forth the magic of our humanity. Life brings forth the magic of our humility. Life brings forth the magic of our innermost truth, which happens to be where we also can meet the world. What is the deepest yearning? Is it the yearning to be rich? Is it the yearning to be loved? Is it the yearning to be free from bondage: societal, familial, or individual?
Yearning of any kind means that there is something deeper. Yearning of any kind means that at the root there is something rare and precious indeed--yet to be discovered. If we should discover that rare and precious thing, we should no longer have that yearning, and all yearnings would be quenched.
Fear not Las Vegas taking hold of you. Use its power, its energy to fuel the search for something genuine, something totally real, something totally essential. I have lived not many years in this body, but something inside of me has lived for a long, long time. Time is really irrelevant to the question of maturity. You may have heard that it is not how long one has lived, it is how well one is living that brings about wisdom and beauty. At the source, you are wise and beautiful. Let that wisdom and beauty shine forth, and everything else will take care of itself.
The other day I liberated a fly from the kitchen. I thought in my mind as I watched it buzzing around the refrigerator door that it was looking for an exit. I wasn't sure, really, if it was aware or not of its predicament. And I wasn't really certain whether or not there even was a predicament. But the thought in my head insisted, "Liberating the fly is the best thing to do." Perhaps the fly never wanted to be liberated. Perhaps it wasn't even looking for a way out.
I thought of the many people who have come into my life who I have wanted to help, who I thought needed help, and for whom I took the initiative to help. With all my effort I talked the fly into being still so that I could catch it in a wadded-up paper towel. It obeyed, calmed itself for a split-second and stood still, naked and vulnerable on the refrigerator door--“I got you!”
As I was taking him outside I could feel him underneath my lightly closed palm. A little being with a little, beating heart. I talked with him for a bit as I opened the door with one hand, "I'm going to let you outside. You may not have wanted this, and I'm sorry if it is an inconvenience for you. If you come inside again, someone else may not let you out, but will kill you. So you better stay out."
I'm not too sure if the world outside is better for a fly or not, but at least the killing would be done by necessity--something, somewhere needs the flies nourishment to continue living. If inside, and killed by human hands, then not only the fly suffers, but the human hand who committed the act bears the weight of that act on their shoulders. A little being, but nonetheless a being.
"There you go!" I exclaimed joyfully as the fly lifted into flight from my open palm.
Think of how many flies you have experienced in your life. Little beings, sharing the same air we breathe. Think, then, of all the opportunities in the future you may have to save another beings life from unnecessary death and suffering. If you concentrated just on flies, you could save probably ten in the next few days. Over your life it could amount to hundreds if not thousands. Insignificant--not at all!
The simple act of feeling compassion benefits you tremendously. Studies have been done on compassion and the benefits of expressing compassion on your mental and physical health. Think of all the other living beings you may neglect saving out of fear--Spiders, ants, bees. Have you ever thought, "Maybe this fly is trying to communicate with me. Maybe this fly really wants to be in my company."
I enjoy flies as long as they behave. Flies are notorious for misbehaving when we don't want them to. In my experience, just as I have let go of the neurosis of 'wanting a fly to go away' the fly sits still. Sometimes when I am giving a talk or doing sitting meditation a fly will come and land on my shoulder, or my arm, or leg or sometimes my nose. I have come to enjoy the company of some flies. Sometimes they will be funny and land on my nose on purpose just so I will know that they are there, and that I should be there too. After I become more present, then they will sit on my arm and meditate with me.
It is very nice sangha-building to sit with flies. Little beings who yearn for some of the same things I yearn for. Little beings who are seekers, but don't know that they are seeking. Little beings that are frightened in a world of hostilities, anger and tremendous unresponsiveness to suffering. What flies show me is that underneath the superficial ideas I have about the world, my place in the world, and the worlds place in me--beneath all of it is something vast. Something so wonderful that it can't be mentioned by name.
Wonderful, magical wonders are happening everyday, and are available for you to discover through simple means. Catch a fly and set it free. Catch someone dear and tell them how much you love them. Say hi to someone you don’t know. Greet a child or an animal with tenderness, kindness and friendship. These are all simple ways you can help yourself to be free.
Many blessings on your journey.
Love, Brian
©2009 Brian Kimmel.
Visit my web-site to view updated information about events, products and services I offer: www.briankimmel.com. I am now licensed and am taking appointments for massage in Colorado.
I have intentionally made this 'brian kimmel blog' as a way to bring all my parts together, all parts of me that have a voice and feel they need to be heard. Tonight, I have imported blogs from two of my other blogs: Mindful Male Survivor and Musically Aware. As I was reading through the blogs (I have included the whole collection, unrevised) I noticed how much I have grown, and how much has changed in my life, and in our life as a spiritual family.
I have written on many topics that you may find interesting. One blog I have not included (yet) is the Las Vegas Luvs Mindfulness blog, which was the blog for the meditation group I lead called Tuesday Night Mindfulness Group. In the Las Vegas Luvs Mindfulness blog you will find several years worth of entries, that are rather personal and showed a lot of heart--not only speaking about the inspiration from within my own heart, but of the inspiration of the group of dedicated practitioners who met at the Pink House over the four years it was hosted there.
What amazes me is the strength of the sangha (spiritual community from all traditions and all walks of life, including cats, insects and other beings) that pours through. Even though I have written from my own experience, and from my own point of view, it seems like the heart of the sangha is revealed. I truly feel the sense of the community, how it felt to be there, sitting in a circle, feeling the presence of all who were there, and of all who thought about being there, and all who were brought along even when they had no clue they were there. How much a part of my life Tuesday Night Mindfulness Group has played a part in, it is yet to be discovered. I'm sure years from now new insights will be revealed. Really, my time in Las Vegas revolved around spiritual practice. Spiritual anything isn't usually the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of Las Vegas, I know. But for me, spirituality is the first thing that comes up.
Living in the Valley was a precious gift. Las Vegas really is a place of wonders. Standing on the strip there is a magnanimous energy--one of the brightest cities on the planet--radiating not only the power of billions of lights from lamps and light bulbs, but radiating light from thousands upon thousands of people, visitors and residents alike searching for a deeper place and experimenting with the yearning to find themselves. If we lose enough, if we can lose it all, then there is a potential of finding something rare indeed.
Life posses an extreme magic, much more than the magic that can be presented on a stage. Life brings forth the magic of our humanity. Life brings forth the magic of our humility. Life brings forth the magic of our innermost truth, which happens to be where we also can meet the world. What is the deepest yearning? Is it the yearning to be rich? Is it the yearning to be loved? Is it the yearning to be free from bondage: societal, familial, or individual?
Yearning of any kind means that there is something deeper. Yearning of any kind means that at the root there is something rare and precious indeed--yet to be discovered. If we should discover that rare and precious thing, we should no longer have that yearning, and all yearnings would be quenched.
Fear not Las Vegas taking hold of you. Use its power, its energy to fuel the search for something genuine, something totally real, something totally essential. I have lived not many years in this body, but something inside of me has lived for a long, long time. Time is really irrelevant to the question of maturity. You may have heard that it is not how long one has lived, it is how well one is living that brings about wisdom and beauty. At the source, you are wise and beautiful. Let that wisdom and beauty shine forth, and everything else will take care of itself.
The other day I liberated a fly from the kitchen. I thought in my mind as I watched it buzzing around the refrigerator door that it was looking for an exit. I wasn't sure, really, if it was aware or not of its predicament. And I wasn't really certain whether or not there even was a predicament. But the thought in my head insisted, "Liberating the fly is the best thing to do." Perhaps the fly never wanted to be liberated. Perhaps it wasn't even looking for a way out.
I thought of the many people who have come into my life who I have wanted to help, who I thought needed help, and for whom I took the initiative to help. With all my effort I talked the fly into being still so that I could catch it in a wadded-up paper towel. It obeyed, calmed itself for a split-second and stood still, naked and vulnerable on the refrigerator door--“I got you!”
As I was taking him outside I could feel him underneath my lightly closed palm. A little being with a little, beating heart. I talked with him for a bit as I opened the door with one hand, "I'm going to let you outside. You may not have wanted this, and I'm sorry if it is an inconvenience for you. If you come inside again, someone else may not let you out, but will kill you. So you better stay out."
I'm not too sure if the world outside is better for a fly or not, but at least the killing would be done by necessity--something, somewhere needs the flies nourishment to continue living. If inside, and killed by human hands, then not only the fly suffers, but the human hand who committed the act bears the weight of that act on their shoulders. A little being, but nonetheless a being.
"There you go!" I exclaimed joyfully as the fly lifted into flight from my open palm.
Think of how many flies you have experienced in your life. Little beings, sharing the same air we breathe. Think, then, of all the opportunities in the future you may have to save another beings life from unnecessary death and suffering. If you concentrated just on flies, you could save probably ten in the next few days. Over your life it could amount to hundreds if not thousands. Insignificant--not at all!
The simple act of feeling compassion benefits you tremendously. Studies have been done on compassion and the benefits of expressing compassion on your mental and physical health. Think of all the other living beings you may neglect saving out of fear--Spiders, ants, bees. Have you ever thought, "Maybe this fly is trying to communicate with me. Maybe this fly really wants to be in my company."
I enjoy flies as long as they behave. Flies are notorious for misbehaving when we don't want them to. In my experience, just as I have let go of the neurosis of 'wanting a fly to go away' the fly sits still. Sometimes when I am giving a talk or doing sitting meditation a fly will come and land on my shoulder, or my arm, or leg or sometimes my nose. I have come to enjoy the company of some flies. Sometimes they will be funny and land on my nose on purpose just so I will know that they are there, and that I should be there too. After I become more present, then they will sit on my arm and meditate with me.
It is very nice sangha-building to sit with flies. Little beings who yearn for some of the same things I yearn for. Little beings who are seekers, but don't know that they are seeking. Little beings that are frightened in a world of hostilities, anger and tremendous unresponsiveness to suffering. What flies show me is that underneath the superficial ideas I have about the world, my place in the world, and the worlds place in me--beneath all of it is something vast. Something so wonderful that it can't be mentioned by name.
Wonderful, magical wonders are happening everyday, and are available for you to discover through simple means. Catch a fly and set it free. Catch someone dear and tell them how much you love them. Say hi to someone you don’t know. Greet a child or an animal with tenderness, kindness and friendship. These are all simple ways you can help yourself to be free.
Many blessings on your journey.
Love, Brian
©2009 Brian Kimmel.
Visit my web-site to view updated information about events, products and services I offer: www.briankimmel.com. I am now licensed and am taking appointments for massage in Colorado.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Continuing in the Tradition of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh
Dear Beloved Friends,
There have been quite a few new developments these past months in my life. I have applied for and have accepted a few scholarships and grants to attend Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado this year. Orientation begins Aug. 16 which means I will be leaving Las Vegas within a few weeks or so. If you are currently receiving e-mails for my events as well as events with the Las Vegas sangha in the Tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh you will continue to be on the lists, unless you tell us otherwise.
My wish is for a home and a presence for Thay's (Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's) teachings in Las Vegas Valley when I am gone. Continuing in the lineage of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh for some means to face violence, interrogation and even death. What we have offered the Las Vegas community for over five years and many more through our sister sangha, Lotus in the Desert, which had its founding roots in Thay's tradition a decade earlier, has been a precious opportunity that has saved lives, including my own.
The following is a recent article on the attacks on one of Thay's main monasteries in Vietnam. Several people whom I know, who went on the trip to Vietnam when I did in 2007, had the opportunity to visit Prajna Temple. What we can offer the monks and nuns of Prajna and Thay is our diligent practice; make steps today in peace. Stop, breathe and smile when you feel your anger, arrogance or greed has been aroused. Stop, breathe and smile and know that your practice is the practice of many who are breathing and smiling on the path of love.
world/asia-pacific/8168200.stm
There have been quite a few new developments these past months in my life. I have applied for and have accepted a few scholarships and grants to attend Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado this year. Orientation begins Aug. 16 which means I will be leaving Las Vegas within a few weeks or so. If you are currently receiving e-mails for my events as well as events with the Las Vegas sangha in the Tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh you will continue to be on the lists, unless you tell us otherwise.
My wish is for a home and a presence for Thay's (Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's) teachings in Las Vegas Valley when I am gone. Continuing in the lineage of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh for some means to face violence, interrogation and even death. What we have offered the Las Vegas community for over five years and many more through our sister sangha, Lotus in the Desert, which had its founding roots in Thay's tradition a decade earlier, has been a precious opportunity that has saved lives, including my own.
The following is a recent article on the attacks on one of Thay's main monasteries in Vietnam. Several people whom I know, who went on the trip to Vietnam when I did in 2007, had the opportunity to visit Prajna Temple. What we can offer the monks and nuns of Prajna and Thay is our diligent practice; make steps today in peace. Stop, breathe and smile when you feel your anger, arrogance or greed has been aroused. Stop, breathe and smile and know that your practice is the practice of many who are breathing and smiling on the path of love.
Attack on a Vietnam monastery
A recent attack on a monastery practising a non-traditional brand of Buddhism is just one of a number of incidents that has raised concerns about curbs on religious freedom in Vietnam. The BBC's Krassimira Twigg looks at the events at Bat Nha monastery.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Revelation in the Garden of Eden
The other day I found myself within a Garden of Eden--a magical place in the heart of Red Rock Canyon, Las Vegas, Nevada. Having gone deep into a canyon on an overgrown trail, a feeling that I was entering the wild came over me. "May I enter it? May I walk further?" I asked the giant sand stone cliffs, so immense as I got near them they seemed to get further and further away. Pools of water, overgrown vines, pine trees, willows, waterfalls and giant ferns surrounded me. Pristine is not usually the description used for Las Vegas Valley. I realized then that this wild place needs to be protected, needs to be kept wild, free from the hands of "Civilization." And for the first time in a very long time I recognized that I am not of the wild, but of the world of humankind. My civilization grows in a different way.
For so long I have rebelled against human society. Out of fear, out of traumas, out of the insanity of the world sometimes so apparent in wars, crime and delusional thinking I attempted to separate myself from everyone else. Then where do I belong? Last time I looked at my body, my mind--I looked like a human body, a human mind. And as I entered the sacred canyon I knew I was only a visitor there and felt careful and conscious of every step I made, how I made it, and how many steps I would take inside before I'd turn around and go home where I belong.
I went back to the maintained trail, sat on a rock and cried. Nature has a way of taking me to places, through its silent power, I would not otherwise go. How necessary it is for me to travel inside, to touch my own wounds, to heal and breathe with the silence deep in the center of my body. I felt the wild take hold of me--I felt the wild leave me in the canyons of my heart, of my body and mind. I felt the wild speaking, listening, and urging me to stay within myself. I wiped my eyes and watched two birds in a pine tree sing to one another. Their song echoed through the canyon amplified into the quiet expanse of the sky.
I am human. For a time the world of humans is my home. Twenty-nine with still a lot of life in me. Looking at the pain of birth and death, and the medicine that Life brings. The freedom to sit and walk in peace and the grace of letting go. How wonderful to honor the worlds of humans and nature--two worlds that can dance together in harmony.
For so long I have rebelled against human society. Out of fear, out of traumas, out of the insanity of the world sometimes so apparent in wars, crime and delusional thinking I attempted to separate myself from everyone else. Then where do I belong? Last time I looked at my body, my mind--I looked like a human body, a human mind. And as I entered the sacred canyon I knew I was only a visitor there and felt careful and conscious of every step I made, how I made it, and how many steps I would take inside before I'd turn around and go home where I belong.
I went back to the maintained trail, sat on a rock and cried. Nature has a way of taking me to places, through its silent power, I would not otherwise go. How necessary it is for me to travel inside, to touch my own wounds, to heal and breathe with the silence deep in the center of my body. I felt the wild take hold of me--I felt the wild leave me in the canyons of my heart, of my body and mind. I felt the wild speaking, listening, and urging me to stay within myself. I wiped my eyes and watched two birds in a pine tree sing to one another. Their song echoed through the canyon amplified into the quiet expanse of the sky.
I am human. For a time the world of humans is my home. Twenty-nine with still a lot of life in me. Looking at the pain of birth and death, and the medicine that Life brings. The freedom to sit and walk in peace and the grace of letting go. How wonderful to honor the worlds of humans and nature--two worlds that can dance together in harmony.
Visit my Amazon Store for amazing books, CDs and products I recommend to help you on the path of freedom, love and peace.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Miracle is You Tour Begins with You
Hello Dear Friends,
I'd like you to know of the wonderful new release of the first ever Thriving for Thrivers Audio Program, a Four-Talk Series called Healing Abuse with Mindfulness and Love. I'll be kicking off the release at events I will be doing in Portland, Oregon, a concert on May 15 and a two-day, four hours a day workshop Saturday and Sunday, May 16-17. Just in time for mother's day, give your mom the gift of freedom. Listen to the talks yourself, allow the flow of inspiration to pour into you, and put your True Nature, True Action, True Brilliance to work. You can also give the gift of a download or talk to a mother in your life so she can benefit from the inspiration the talks provide directly.
I've considered awhile whether I should release these talks or not, and have been working on them for several years. Finally, I've decided it is best not to keep them hidden. I've had all sorts of mixed perceptions about the survivors community, and recovery programs, why I haven't wanted to put these talks out and begin to work with survivors really boils down to one thing: FEAR! Ah-ha, fear is a common word, that many in spiritual circles and beyond have used as the cause for many of the world's ills, for me it is true. Fear prevents me from doing many things that I love doing, and that will be potentially helpful for those I love. So I write this letter to you, letting you know that I too have had doubts and fears, and I too am working to blast through them, sit with them and keep moving.
There is no time but the present, so live it. Visit Thriving for Thrivers site now, buy my downloads and CDs and register for my workshop and concert in Portland. If you can't make it, send someone who can--this is a life-changing event that will help you and those around you Thrive, especially in hard times.
Much love and support for you on your journey, Brian
I'd like you to know of the wonderful new release of the first ever Thriving for Thrivers Audio Program, a Four-Talk Series called Healing Abuse with Mindfulness and Love. I'll be kicking off the release at events I will be doing in Portland, Oregon, a concert on May 15 and a two-day, four hours a day workshop Saturday and Sunday, May 16-17. Just in time for mother's day, give your mom the gift of freedom. Listen to the talks yourself, allow the flow of inspiration to pour into you, and put your True Nature, True Action, True Brilliance to work. You can also give the gift of a download or talk to a mother in your life so she can benefit from the inspiration the talks provide directly.
I've considered awhile whether I should release these talks or not, and have been working on them for several years. Finally, I've decided it is best not to keep them hidden. I've had all sorts of mixed perceptions about the survivors community, and recovery programs, why I haven't wanted to put these talks out and begin to work with survivors really boils down to one thing: FEAR! Ah-ha, fear is a common word, that many in spiritual circles and beyond have used as the cause for many of the world's ills, for me it is true. Fear prevents me from doing many things that I love doing, and that will be potentially helpful for those I love. So I write this letter to you, letting you know that I too have had doubts and fears, and I too am working to blast through them, sit with them and keep moving.
There is no time but the present, so live it. Visit Thriving for Thrivers site now, buy my downloads and CDs and register for my workshop and concert in Portland. If you can't make it, send someone who can--this is a life-changing event that will help you and those around you Thrive, especially in hard times.
Much love and support for you on your journey, Brian
Friday, March 20, 2009
THRIVING FOR THRIVERS
Hi Folks,
It's been a whirlwind of a few months. The start of a new year is so refreshing. This new year was filled with much uncertainty. Finances, Finances, Finances, Money, Money, Money, Fear, Fear, Fear, Love, Love, Love, Freedom, Freedom, Freedom, Peace, Peace, Peace -- One More -- Flow, Flow, Flow.
The secret to success may not be very far away from you. In fact, the secret is within you, but it's no secret at all. What you are doing right now is creating what you will be doing tomorrow. Right now is your life, the thing you are doing is your life.
I've began the work of offering workshops and trainings for thrivers. The first of such workshop will be May 16-17, 2009 in Portland, Oregon. I've chosen a wonderful spot enough for twenty or so people. We have space, however, for only twelve registrants. So, take the next step in your healing and recovering go to my web-site, read the bio on Thriving for Thrivers, and click the option Buy Now for a special price by May 1. Participants in the weekend workshop are invited to a free concert/talk called Beautiful You! that Friday Night, May 15.
The workshop is open to health and wellness practitioners, survivors in the advanced stages of their recovery and partners and friends of survivors. I plan to offer many helpful tools you can bring home with you, or to the office, and the workshop is participatory. We may dance, sing, laugh, cry and reach our hearts to the sky. There will be time for discussion, meditation and relaxation, and you will be sent home with a personalized, strategic action plan, to help you keep on thriving and help those around you thrive.
If you aren't sure if you are a thriver, or not sure what a thriver is check-out an article I came across on Ezine on How to Change from Victim to a Survivor to a Thriver. Even though the article is in business terms, it can be applied to any circumstance. This article discusses three different kinds of people: The Victim, The Survivor and The Thriver. With this knowledge you can identify the category you are in, and choose which category you prefer, and change yourself accordingly. My events, products and services for thrivers will help you thrive!!!
Visit www.briankimmel.com/thrivingforthrivers.html for more information.
It's been a whirlwind of a few months. The start of a new year is so refreshing. This new year was filled with much uncertainty. Finances, Finances, Finances, Money, Money, Money, Fear, Fear, Fear, Love, Love, Love, Freedom, Freedom, Freedom, Peace, Peace, Peace -- One More -- Flow, Flow, Flow.
The secret to success may not be very far away from you. In fact, the secret is within you, but it's no secret at all. What you are doing right now is creating what you will be doing tomorrow. Right now is your life, the thing you are doing is your life.
I've began the work of offering workshops and trainings for thrivers. The first of such workshop will be May 16-17, 2009 in Portland, Oregon. I've chosen a wonderful spot enough for twenty or so people. We have space, however, for only twelve registrants. So, take the next step in your healing and recovering go to my web-site, read the bio on Thriving for Thrivers, and click the option Buy Now for a special price by May 1. Participants in the weekend workshop are invited to a free concert/talk called Beautiful You! that Friday Night, May 15.
The workshop is open to health and wellness practitioners, survivors in the advanced stages of their recovery and partners and friends of survivors. I plan to offer many helpful tools you can bring home with you, or to the office, and the workshop is participatory. We may dance, sing, laugh, cry and reach our hearts to the sky. There will be time for discussion, meditation and relaxation, and you will be sent home with a personalized, strategic action plan, to help you keep on thriving and help those around you thrive.
If you aren't sure if you are a thriver, or not sure what a thriver is check-out an article I came across on Ezine on How to Change from Victim to a Survivor to a Thriver. Even though the article is in business terms, it can be applied to any circumstance. This article discusses three different kinds of people: The Victim, The Survivor and The Thriver. With this knowledge you can identify the category you are in, and choose which category you prefer, and change yourself accordingly. My events, products and services for thrivers will help you thrive!!!
Visit www.briankimmel.com/thrivingforthrivers.html for more information.
Monday, February 23, 2009
THE INNER WORLD
I grew up in a world entirely run by adults. There was nothing I could do but to save myself. The people who offered to me their shelter, their kindness, and their friendship were themselves lost in a grownup's world. By grownup I mean confused, tied up in ignorance having strayed from innocence, having died to the cause of higher consciousness. They were weak in the face of love. Weak to each other. Weak to all others including themselves.
So I guess I'm trying to make it up to myself, to offer myself something that no one else can offer me. I knew it then as a child, I know it now. I've never had belief in others. I've never trusted others with the safekeeping of my best interests, the interests of my consciousness, my wakefulness, my true nature. No one knows what it is inside. No one knows that it can't be won from the outside. To be liberated, one can only do that from inside. One has to close the door to the outside. To walk inside, and to forget what is happening everywhere else. What is happening everywhere else really isn't happening. It's happening outside because it happens inside. Inside and outside doesn't matter in the scheme of things. When you are inside, everything outside is inside too. Only from the view of this inner world can you see reality.
©2008 Brian Kimmel.
So I guess I'm trying to make it up to myself, to offer myself something that no one else can offer me. I knew it then as a child, I know it now. I've never had belief in others. I've never trusted others with the safekeeping of my best interests, the interests of my consciousness, my wakefulness, my true nature. No one knows what it is inside. No one knows that it can't be won from the outside. To be liberated, one can only do that from inside. One has to close the door to the outside. To walk inside, and to forget what is happening everywhere else. What is happening everywhere else really isn't happening. It's happening outside because it happens inside. Inside and outside doesn't matter in the scheme of things. When you are inside, everything outside is inside too. Only from the view of this inner world can you see reality.
©2008 Brian Kimmel.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Music as Meditation; Meditation is Life
How often I've turned to music when no other alternatives have worked. Music has been a liberating factor in my recovery from the doldrums of daily life. I've heard the breath by Thich Nhat Hanh described like music, too. I know I have sought the music of my in-breath and out-breath more than any other music in the past twelve years. Perhaps that's why meditation has been so successful for me.
Some people don't have the understanding of the body as I do (being a singer and a trained massage therapist), and of the connection between the body and the mind. As a singer it is so important to work with the body, to facilitate the expansion and the contraction of the lungs, ribs and the relaxation, yet firm guidance of the abdomen with the openness and relaxation of the throat and mouth. It happens in the mind, yet the mind needs to be relaxed as well. Tension in the mind, a mind full of thoughts will not do. When calm, centered, focused, firm and yet relaxed the voice happens naturally. The song sings itself. The body opens to the song. Both mind and body are in harmony with each other.
This is meditation is it not? Music is meditation. I've watched so many great performers get into the groove, or get into the "music." Recounting a near to front row seat at Benaroya Hall in Seattle to watch Pandit Ravi Shankar commune with his Sitar--it was breath-taking--or breath-giving which ever way one might see it. I saw no separation between the music, his instrument, his body and his mind--everything flowed effortlessly together. It was enlightenment in action. Music can be enlightenment. Not every performer has that communion, and not every master performer brings that communion into their life. Perhaps that is the "addiction" to music, or the "addiction" to some meditators to their "meditation."
It is that oneness of body and mind, that togetherness with life and the universe. It is that draw into the source, that perfect union. The master brings that "meditation" into their life. Sitting, walking, eating, shitting, singing, dancing, making love it is all a part of the way one joins together, remains whole--unaffected, but not indifferent to the happenstances of the world, of life. Meditation is life. It's not separate from life. It's not something that can be done. It is life.
When meditation becomes life, there is no need really to fuss about conditions. Conditions are right just as they are. Even if there is fear, even if there is trepidation, even if there's craving, pursuit or anxiety--life unfolds as a meditation. Life unfolds as a song sung by a body and mind that is prepared for the song to come, released from burdens, from sorrows, and the song is sung, almost without effort. It is liberating to feel a song sing itself. It is equally liberating to experience life living itself. There is less effort involved. The effort is the initial stance, the setting up for the conditions, for the song to appear. When it appears it happens like a miracle.
Life happens effortlessly when the one who lives simply lives and gifts to themselves the confidence that life will work itself out. Essentially, "Getting out of the way." Too much can be done to gain a certain outcome. Too much emphasis put on the way it is "supposed to be" or the way "it has to be."
In life one can only do their best. If their best seems not enough, then perhaps there is too much emphasis on the outcome. Let loose of any thoughts of what you're going to receive in return. See clearly what it is you want, handle it softly with your thoughts. Prepare yourself, and live as if it has already happened. Then let go, soften into the effort you put on living it. As long as it is in front of you, it will never be you.
Meditation happens like a song, it comes seemingly out of the blue. It comes when conditions are sufficient. It comes when the practitioner has given up results. It comes when there is supreme relaxation, neither pulling away, nor pushing forward. It happens when one simply gives. Give your body. Give your mind. Give your ambition, your thoughts, your trepidation. Give it all to this moment. Give it all to this action. Give it all and let it in. Let in the song, the music, the meditation. Let in what naturally comes. Forget about doing. Forget about becoming. Forget about it all, and rest. Rest. Rest. Rest.
I say this because our society is driven by the extreme of more productivity (more labor) equals greater result. Sometimes with meditation more equals less. For those who aspire to lying around and doing "nothing" then a little effort may be needed (but not too much). This idea of letting go is perhaps a stumbling point for many. When I say "give" I mean to say that the personal will subsides. Adyashanti (a modern Zen Master) describes this process in one line, "The falling away of the personal will." What emerges is then the will (or perhaps no will) of the ultimate, some say God. But it is not God in the way one may think, a supreme being managing or dictating our thoughts and actions (telling us what to do). No, it is the unveiling of what is natural, what is "good", what enriches the lives of others and ourselves.
The personal will is only said to affect oneself, but it is erroneous. There is no such thing as personal will. There is no personal anything. Everything that is taken personal affects the whole. Everything with its motivation on the one person, the one being, affects everyone, everything else. I like to give the example of pollution. Think if there was only one person, driving one car--do you think there would be much pollution in the air? It is because many many people are driving cars that emit CO2 that causes pollution. There is sometimes the belief, "What does my thoughts and actions have to do with others. I am my own person. I mind my own business and other people should too."
But what we do, what we think, how we act does affect others. For us to live in harmony with ourselves, we may need to consider the feelings and perceptions of others. For anyone who lives with someone, there is that opportunity to care for someone else with the knowing that caring for them is caring for oneself. If one person is unhappy it affects everyone. Think of all the unhappy people in your life, how do you feel around them? What do people say about them? Are they well liked? Do people want to spend time with them?
If we liked spending time with unhappy people, and if we ourselves enjoyed being around unhappy people, perhaps there would be less therapists and doctors and psychiatrists in business. Mates of depressed ones flock to trained professionals (or entertainment, other lovers and such) to cope with their anxiety or their frustration. Many people can't deal with another person's unhappiness, not to mention their own, particularly if they happen to be engaged in an intimate relationship with them. If there is unhappiness, many people want to get away from it, or at least, want it to change.
So the meditation is a surrendering of the personal will, and is the coming to terms with the fact that we are all connected, all species, all beings are related, are engaged to each other--that there is only one, one without the view of many. That's the way it is. One cough in the world sends millions of germs out into the atmosphere. Catching a cold may be an indication of how much we are connected to others. And that in essence, is the teaching of kindness, loving kindness. We want to be kind, we want to be generous, we want to share our love because the other is a part of us. Loving ourselves then means loving the other person too. That is meditation. That is life. Meditation is life.
©2008 Brian Kimmel.
Some people don't have the understanding of the body as I do (being a singer and a trained massage therapist), and of the connection between the body and the mind. As a singer it is so important to work with the body, to facilitate the expansion and the contraction of the lungs, ribs and the relaxation, yet firm guidance of the abdomen with the openness and relaxation of the throat and mouth. It happens in the mind, yet the mind needs to be relaxed as well. Tension in the mind, a mind full of thoughts will not do. When calm, centered, focused, firm and yet relaxed the voice happens naturally. The song sings itself. The body opens to the song. Both mind and body are in harmony with each other.
This is meditation is it not? Music is meditation. I've watched so many great performers get into the groove, or get into the "music." Recounting a near to front row seat at Benaroya Hall in Seattle to watch Pandit Ravi Shankar commune with his Sitar--it was breath-taking--or breath-giving which ever way one might see it. I saw no separation between the music, his instrument, his body and his mind--everything flowed effortlessly together. It was enlightenment in action. Music can be enlightenment. Not every performer has that communion, and not every master performer brings that communion into their life. Perhaps that is the "addiction" to music, or the "addiction" to some meditators to their "meditation."
It is that oneness of body and mind, that togetherness with life and the universe. It is that draw into the source, that perfect union. The master brings that "meditation" into their life. Sitting, walking, eating, shitting, singing, dancing, making love it is all a part of the way one joins together, remains whole--unaffected, but not indifferent to the happenstances of the world, of life. Meditation is life. It's not separate from life. It's not something that can be done. It is life.
When meditation becomes life, there is no need really to fuss about conditions. Conditions are right just as they are. Even if there is fear, even if there is trepidation, even if there's craving, pursuit or anxiety--life unfolds as a meditation. Life unfolds as a song sung by a body and mind that is prepared for the song to come, released from burdens, from sorrows, and the song is sung, almost without effort. It is liberating to feel a song sing itself. It is equally liberating to experience life living itself. There is less effort involved. The effort is the initial stance, the setting up for the conditions, for the song to appear. When it appears it happens like a miracle.
Life happens effortlessly when the one who lives simply lives and gifts to themselves the confidence that life will work itself out. Essentially, "Getting out of the way." Too much can be done to gain a certain outcome. Too much emphasis put on the way it is "supposed to be" or the way "it has to be."
In life one can only do their best. If their best seems not enough, then perhaps there is too much emphasis on the outcome. Let loose of any thoughts of what you're going to receive in return. See clearly what it is you want, handle it softly with your thoughts. Prepare yourself, and live as if it has already happened. Then let go, soften into the effort you put on living it. As long as it is in front of you, it will never be you.
Meditation happens like a song, it comes seemingly out of the blue. It comes when conditions are sufficient. It comes when the practitioner has given up results. It comes when there is supreme relaxation, neither pulling away, nor pushing forward. It happens when one simply gives. Give your body. Give your mind. Give your ambition, your thoughts, your trepidation. Give it all to this moment. Give it all to this action. Give it all and let it in. Let in the song, the music, the meditation. Let in what naturally comes. Forget about doing. Forget about becoming. Forget about it all, and rest. Rest. Rest. Rest.
I say this because our society is driven by the extreme of more productivity (more labor) equals greater result. Sometimes with meditation more equals less. For those who aspire to lying around and doing "nothing" then a little effort may be needed (but not too much). This idea of letting go is perhaps a stumbling point for many. When I say "give" I mean to say that the personal will subsides. Adyashanti (a modern Zen Master) describes this process in one line, "The falling away of the personal will." What emerges is then the will (or perhaps no will) of the ultimate, some say God. But it is not God in the way one may think, a supreme being managing or dictating our thoughts and actions (telling us what to do). No, it is the unveiling of what is natural, what is "good", what enriches the lives of others and ourselves.
The personal will is only said to affect oneself, but it is erroneous. There is no such thing as personal will. There is no personal anything. Everything that is taken personal affects the whole. Everything with its motivation on the one person, the one being, affects everyone, everything else. I like to give the example of pollution. Think if there was only one person, driving one car--do you think there would be much pollution in the air? It is because many many people are driving cars that emit CO2 that causes pollution. There is sometimes the belief, "What does my thoughts and actions have to do with others. I am my own person. I mind my own business and other people should too."
But what we do, what we think, how we act does affect others. For us to live in harmony with ourselves, we may need to consider the feelings and perceptions of others. For anyone who lives with someone, there is that opportunity to care for someone else with the knowing that caring for them is caring for oneself. If one person is unhappy it affects everyone. Think of all the unhappy people in your life, how do you feel around them? What do people say about them? Are they well liked? Do people want to spend time with them?
If we liked spending time with unhappy people, and if we ourselves enjoyed being around unhappy people, perhaps there would be less therapists and doctors and psychiatrists in business. Mates of depressed ones flock to trained professionals (or entertainment, other lovers and such) to cope with their anxiety or their frustration. Many people can't deal with another person's unhappiness, not to mention their own, particularly if they happen to be engaged in an intimate relationship with them. If there is unhappiness, many people want to get away from it, or at least, want it to change.
So the meditation is a surrendering of the personal will, and is the coming to terms with the fact that we are all connected, all species, all beings are related, are engaged to each other--that there is only one, one without the view of many. That's the way it is. One cough in the world sends millions of germs out into the atmosphere. Catching a cold may be an indication of how much we are connected to others. And that in essence, is the teaching of kindness, loving kindness. We want to be kind, we want to be generous, we want to share our love because the other is a part of us. Loving ourselves then means loving the other person too. That is meditation. That is life. Meditation is life.
©2008 Brian Kimmel.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
WHAT'S MONEY? MONEY MEDITATION
Dear Beloved Friends,
The other day I looked at some dollar bills. Imagine if you were a martian, or a being from another dimension (which most of us are) and you had a Benjamin Franklin $100 in your hands. Staring down at the $100 bill you'd probably have no idea what it was and probably throw it away or something.
Money is a conventional designation, it is what we use to make business and personal transactions with and it's based on a conventionally perceived or collectively accepted idea. It's an agreement, really, that we have made with each other, those in our country and in the rest of the world. In truth though, it is empty, it has no permanent nature.
What if your notion, your idea of a $100 bill suddenly changed? What if you suddenly awakened to the true nature of money? In your hands it means power, the power to buy and sell. But it would be nothing without you. Money depends on you. The life you have is more precious than anything you can buy. Do you buy that? Do you get that?
Many of us may spend our time fixated on ideas, concepts and conventional understandings or agreements, contracts really. I encourage everyone, including myself, to go a bit deeper. What is your true nature? What power do you really have?
Meditation for this week:
Hold a $ bill in your hand, a euro if you are in EU, or an appropriate amount in your own currency, wherever you live--even Mars. Come in contact with the bill in your hand, smell it if you like, lick it if you like, put it up to your ear and see if it speaks to you. However you wish to really get in touch with this bill. Then spend it. Yes, spend. Buy whatever you want. Give it to charity. Whatever you want to do with it that will fit with its conventional purpose: to buy or sell things with. Even if you “save” money, you are really buying a contract with whatever institution you are putting the money into; you’re buying air, time and the resources it takes to manufacture numbers on a screen. It could be perceived as the same even if you’re investing in your front pockets, the underside of your mattress or the hidden place that no one knows about. Anywhere you put your money you are buying time, you are “buying” something. And when you sell something and receive the cash from it, the monetary gain, it’s only really just an exchange. "More" or "less" money comes from the same place. It is important to look within to see what is available for you and what you are available for right now.
The bill you have in your hand is fleeting. And so is the hand that holds it and the mind and body that perceives it. What will more or less bills offer you if you haven't a body and mind to experience the bills with? Use it as it is meant to be used, use it for awareness. Use it to become aware. Use it, but find freedom within.
Any questions or comments, my contacts are everywhere. I am offering online/over-the-phone home-based meditation retreats starting whenever you would like them to, catered to your personal practice needs. Hit me up for more details. Look forward to meeting you or hearing from you soon.
Much Love, Brian
©2008 Brian Kimmel.
The other day I looked at some dollar bills. Imagine if you were a martian, or a being from another dimension (which most of us are) and you had a Benjamin Franklin $100 in your hands. Staring down at the $100 bill you'd probably have no idea what it was and probably throw it away or something.
Money is a conventional designation, it is what we use to make business and personal transactions with and it's based on a conventionally perceived or collectively accepted idea. It's an agreement, really, that we have made with each other, those in our country and in the rest of the world. In truth though, it is empty, it has no permanent nature.
What if your notion, your idea of a $100 bill suddenly changed? What if you suddenly awakened to the true nature of money? In your hands it means power, the power to buy and sell. But it would be nothing without you. Money depends on you. The life you have is more precious than anything you can buy. Do you buy that? Do you get that?
Many of us may spend our time fixated on ideas, concepts and conventional understandings or agreements, contracts really. I encourage everyone, including myself, to go a bit deeper. What is your true nature? What power do you really have?
Meditation for this week:
Hold a $ bill in your hand, a euro if you are in EU, or an appropriate amount in your own currency, wherever you live--even Mars. Come in contact with the bill in your hand, smell it if you like, lick it if you like, put it up to your ear and see if it speaks to you. However you wish to really get in touch with this bill. Then spend it. Yes, spend. Buy whatever you want. Give it to charity. Whatever you want to do with it that will fit with its conventional purpose: to buy or sell things with. Even if you “save” money, you are really buying a contract with whatever institution you are putting the money into; you’re buying air, time and the resources it takes to manufacture numbers on a screen. It could be perceived as the same even if you’re investing in your front pockets, the underside of your mattress or the hidden place that no one knows about. Anywhere you put your money you are buying time, you are “buying” something. And when you sell something and receive the cash from it, the monetary gain, it’s only really just an exchange. "More" or "less" money comes from the same place. It is important to look within to see what is available for you and what you are available for right now.
The bill you have in your hand is fleeting. And so is the hand that holds it and the mind and body that perceives it. What will more or less bills offer you if you haven't a body and mind to experience the bills with? Use it as it is meant to be used, use it for awareness. Use it to become aware. Use it, but find freedom within.
Any questions or comments, my contacts are everywhere. I am offering online/over-the-phone home-based meditation retreats starting whenever you would like them to, catered to your personal practice needs. Hit me up for more details. Look forward to meeting you or hearing from you soon.
Much Love, Brian
©2008 Brian Kimmel.
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