On the importance of grounding in the body's safe and steady places....
An Insight meditation day retreat in Oxford this weekend with Chris Cullen. Chris taught my original 8-week course at the OMC - his incredible teaching and presence set me on my mindfulness path and continue to support and inspire me. I find it difficult to put into words the way in which Chris seems able to transcend different views of the world and make his teaching relevant and accessible to anyone listening - at least that’s how it feels to me. These days of practice are so precious to me (and I am very grateful to my husband and boys for supporting me to go on them). Chris’ teaching on Saturday was based around mindfulness of the body and of the five elements: Earth - as solidity Water - as fluidity Fire - as heat Air - as movement Space - as spaciousness Whether you come to practice mindfulness from a secular, buddhist or other contemplative perspective, these elements provide one way (among many) of perceiving the changing conditions of the body and its interconnectedness. For my part, in the sanctuary and space of the retreat, I experienced a deeply felt sense of what it is to be in touch with the ‘earth’ element, through grounding in the body’s safe and steady places, through the feet touching the floor, the sit bones, the hands, the breath... (“do the soles of the feet feel anxious?”). The busy way in which we live so easily takes us up and away from our body’s solidity and connection with the ground to living in our heads (where I tend towards fire and air). Grounding, settling, steadying practices are central to the practice of mindfulness. In some ways they are so fundamental that it is possible to take them for granted and even neglect them in pursuit of cultivating other qualities and insights. During the retreat, Chris reminded us that we can’t approach (and wisely respond to) the difficult unless we have cultivated a safe, strong place of grounding in the body to which we can return, and that the majority of our practice could usefully be devoted to grounding. This retreat felt timely after a month that has seemed tough at times. It made such an impact on me that I had to write something about it, though I hesitate because it feels impossible to capture the retreat’s depth in a meaningful way. Chris also took care to remind us that the elements are all just what they are, fire is fire, water is water... inherently neither good nor bad, but in need of some balancing from moment to moment (we could probably often use some more earth!). Take fire, which is in anger, and also in passion, which motivates us to go out in the world, to make a difference, to live and love what we love. Chris read ‘When death comes’ by Mary Oliver, in honour of her fire for life. A reading that will also stay with me. In the aftermath of a retreat I like to watch the ripples back in 'normal' life, and I always feel very grateful for this path.
0 Comments
“I’m such an idiot.”
A reminder today to keep a close watch on that internal critical voice. I know I am not an idiot – I just do daft things sometimes. But when statements like this come to mind as quickly and automatically as they did for me yesterday it’s not surprising we sometimes mistake them for truths. Mindfulness practice can help us: to become more aware of the stream of thinking going by; to step back and see thoughts as mental events, not personal truths; and to choose how we want to respond to thoughts. Some thoughts and beliefs about ourselves are pervasive and ingrained, and they can also be pretty sneaky. These can be the most harmful, as they are more difficult to detect as just thoughts masquerading as facts. I sometimes think of the sneakier thoughts as a part of the thought stream that has branched off and is flowing behind us, perhaps as quite a deep stream. With practice we can notice all of these thoughts – the fleeting ones and the more ingrained mental patterns – and choose how we respond to them. This was probably my greatest lightbulb moment in my first experience of an 8-week mindfulness course. Bringing awareness to my thoughts continues to be life changing. Many well wishes for 2019!
I have greatly appreciated starting the new year by training to teach 'MBCT for Life', an adaptation of MBCT, in Oxford these past two days. I have shared this before but during the course I was struck once again by this quote ('Between stimulus and response...') which for me encapsulates the power of practising mindfulness and it's immense potential for helping us to take care of ourselves and others. Practising mindful awareness can open up a space (a space imbued with compassion) Within this wider space we can pause, we can see more clearly what is here, and the wider range of possible choices open to us More clearly seeing our possible choices brings the possibility of wiser, more skilful action (or non action...) And this is where our freedom lies, to more often live in the way we would most like to live... |
AuthorI'm Claire - and I (re)learn something every day from practising and teaching mindfulness... Archives
March 2022
Categories |