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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So, where are you sitting right now? Don't describe it; but notice this place where you are right now. Really notice it. Get a feel for this space. Let go of the separation; let go of the idea that there is you and then there is this space. Let the space draw you in.
There is a wholeness to this space; whether you are sitting in a room, or outside on the porch, notice that there is a cohesiveness, a wholeness, to this space, and notice that a part of this wholeness, a part of what makes this space so alive, is this body/mind that is sitting here in this place.
Thoughts may arise, and your attention may turn to some story. That's okay, that's part of the space as well; but when you notice that you're getting caught up in some story, just gently return to releasing into this space.
The eyes may settle onto one area of the space; rest there. There may be some sounds in this space that you can rest in as well; perhaps birds are singing outside the window, or the refrigerator is running in the kitchen, or the laptop fan is humming. Let this body/mind merge with these sounds. Perhaps there is a breeze blowing through the window; let that breeze become your experience.
Perhaps you are drinking tea or coffee; that aroma and that taste, these are a part of this space as well.
Everything that you perceive in this moment, in this place, all of it is arising together; together with this body/mind. All of this richness of experience is arising together.
The idea of separate self places an artificial boundary between what it thinks of as itself and everything else. When that boundary persists, we lose this richness of experience, this intimate experience of now.
But the idea of separate self is really just an idea, just thought, just a story. When we are caught up in the story, we often, perhaps usually, have this feeling that things just aren't the way they should be. But when we notice that we're caught up in the story, when we notice that it is just a story, we can then shift into just being here in this place.
And where this gets even richer, where it gets even more intimate, is when we are with friends. When there is no barrier of separation, when there is no separate self that looks at friends as other, when there is no reactive conditioning weaving stories about these others, creating division, creating judgment, creating isolation, when separation falls away, this richness of experience becomes love.
So, where are you sitting right now? Can you take a moment to change your perspective, to see in a different way; to see not from the perspective of separation, but to see, to feel, this space, as it is, in this moment. And that everything that is arising in this space, including this body/mind, is one whole experience, here, now, in this place.
Rest here for a moment, here in this space.
It is always available, it is always here. It is a way of being in this world that feels right, that feels true, that feels like home, that feels like, that is, who you truly are.
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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 11:00 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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