Good morning! Welcome to the DKos Sangha weekly open thread.
This is an open thread for members of the DKos Sangha and others who are interested in discussions concerning how we integrate our progressive political activism into our spiritual practice. If you have observations about the political discourse of the week, or about practice, or about anything else related to walking a spiritual path through the political world, if you wish to share, or if you seek support, or if you simply want to say hello, please do; this space is for you.
If you would like to write a diary for the DKos Sangha, please let me know.
If you care nothing for spiritual practice and only wish to denigrate and disparage, please do so elsewhere, and respect that this is a community diary for the DKos Sangha.
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Every day is new.
If we're caught up in the stories that egoic conditioning runs in loops in our mind, then perhaps things seem the same; the same old dramas, work, relationships, body image, etc, the same daily struggle, day in and day out.
But when we are free from the illusion that all of that drama is who we are, when we are present, connected with the world around us, then our daily experience is always changing. We notice how our bodies feel, the changes that the body goes through throughout the day. We notice changes in our surroundings, the plants by the window, the trees by the driveway. We notice the sky. We notice smells. We notice sounds.
And the more we notice, the more connected we become. Our relationship with our bodies becomes much more informed. We notice how our bodies react to the different foods we eat; we learn to anticipate what foods the body needs, what foods we should skip for the moment, and what foods we should avoid all together.
When we are present, we are more connected with the world around us. When we are caught up in the stories running through our minds, we are less connected with the world around us. This is easily seen in conversations with friends. When we are present, we are listening to, fully focused in on, what our friend is saying. But ego-self doesn't do fully focused listening very well; it gets easily distracted, instantly running off on some tangent, getting caught up in its own story, and hearing very little of what the friend is saying.
And it's like that when we're driving our cars, or walking through town, or grocery shopping, or washing dishes. When we're present, our experience is very different than when we're caught up in the stories.
There's another aspect to the stories as well; they generally make us feel bad. We're making ourselves wrong, or we're making others wrong; we dislike, even hate, our circumstances, our jobs, our neighbors, our cars, our governments, our politics, the economy, etc. We're agitated, disillusioned, mad, disgusted, irritated, despondent, impatient, angry, stressed out. And this of course effects our physical health in addition to the emotional toll.
. . .
But in this present moment, now, there is stillness. There is a peaceful beingness. You can feel it right now. Let the thoughts fade away, and in that space where they were running, there is this stillness, where everything just is, here in this present moment, in this space.
This space is always here. It is the space where everything happens; where roses are smelled, coffee is tasted, a cool breeze is felt, the call of a crow is heard, a sunset is seen. When we are present, everything seems more alive. We are more deeply connected with our day to day, moment to moment, experience. And it shows in our emotional health and our physical health.
Our culture is largely built around the world of the stories; advertising, politics, hype, hyperbole, selling, entertaining, distracting, distorting, promising. Our culture, our politics, all of the drama, all of it is making us sick.
. . .
We are a couple weeks past the winter solstice, and we're slowly making our way towards spring. It is a new year; and each day is new as well. We have the opportunity to heal ourselves, and to help heal our culture, and our planet. We have the opportunity to shift our perspective, to shift our focus from the stories in our heads to what's actually happening in the world around us, what's actually happening now, in this present moment; now, in the stillness; the stillness that is, and always has been, right here.
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Breathe
Rest here for a moment
Let the breathing slow down a bit
Let the tension release from the body
Let the breath move easily in and out of the body
Gently moving in and out
Tension releasing, stress releasing
Just breathing
Easily, gently
Just resting in this space
For a moment
. . .
Namaste
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You are welcome to join us each week in our Monday night group meditation here at DKos Sangha. This online group meditation is hosted by Ooooh, and the diary is posted at 7:00 Eastern. So that we are able to be together for as many here at Daily Kos as wish to participate, the meditation period runs from 7:30 to 10:00 Eastern. This group sitting is open to beginners and advanced, and is not restricted to any particular traditions or practices. It is not expected that you sit for the entire period; sit for as long as you like, when you like. The idea is that we are here together; supporting each other, holding space for each other.
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Enjoy your day!
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