Tuesday evening 4th July@ 7PM

Brief Dharma Talk on what constitutes pleasurable and unsavoury experiences

Followed by Meditation

The structure of our mind and the functions, states and processes of our consciousness determines the reach and range of what it is we experience, and for most part we walk a fine line between these polar extremes, between our experiences of pleasure and pain, being happy or feeling miserable.

The Insight to Wellbeing Initiative in collaboration with Nyima Tashi Centre for Contemplation and Wellbeing are pleased to offer this one day workshop :

LEARNING TO SWIM AGAINST THE CURRENT

A ONE DAY WORKSHOP FOR MEN

Normally, our experiences do not enrich us. Even our good experiences are not particularly illuminative in the long run. However, things we experience in everyday life are often profoundly moving and therefore can become life-enriching experiences.

In any case, all of these experiences have to be dealt with whether they are in our favour or not. We are very reactive to what we experience, which may exacerbate one's feelings of anxiety, inadequacy or may simply bolster ones egocentric behaviour.

THE MEDITATIVE PATH TO FREEDOM - MAHAMUDRA

Thoughts are dynamic and expressive rather than inert, solid or material. The point of meditation is to recognise this, not to find out what mental causes gave rise to mental states. So, the idea is to understand the nature of discursive thoughts themselves.

The insight gained through this kind of investigation is not concerned with WHY we have certain thoughts, it is recognizing that those thoughts in themselves have no enduring essence. Freedom from the pervasive aspects of suffering really comes about by understanding this.

EMOTIONS

In reality, nothing stays the same, so we are better off being realistic and accepting that fact. Stability has to come from embracing that everything is in motion. It is the same with our emotions and the people and things we care about. Acknowledging and accepting this dynamic state of affairs is how we learn to transcend our ordinariness. This is where all growth comes from. If we cannot embrace this dynamic state of flux, we will always be trapped in our ordinariness and can never aspire to become a bodhisattva, let alone a fully enlightened being.

UNDERSTANDING TRAUMA

Many of the mental habits that we have are self-­destructive. They invite frustration, disappointment and things of that kind. It puts us in a situation where we just dwell on past failures, past experiences of trauma, and all the bad things that happened to us earlier on in life. We think about the future only with a sense of anxiety, fear and worry – thinking that things will get worse or something bad is going to happen. This includes worrying about oneself in terms of one’s physical health or one’s mental soundness.

When we look at mindfulness - awareness practices - we begin to see that nothing is fixed. If nothing is fixed then we have the capacity to direct our mind in a totally different direction if we so choose. That means we are not condemned to repeat the same old stuff. We are not condemned to have the same old thoughts, same old emotions, same old feelings. It is not easy to go beyond self entrenched habitual tendencies but unless we take a radical u-turn and begin to take note of how the mind functions, we are condemned to think, feel and react to life in the same old way.

Meditation should not be used simply to calm the mind - to simply enter into a state of deep relaxation - because calmness without insight, is not very useful.

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It is incumbent upon each of us to do something to diminish the power of our lack of awareness, our lack of insight and our lack of attentiveness. To do this we practice #mindfulness. Without mindfulness, it is difficult to overcome the mind’s propensity for chaos.

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DEALING WITH OURSELVES AS WE ARE

Whether we are thinking or sensing or experiencing emotions, everything is constantly being propelled or drawn forward. Emotions are “emotions in motion” - anger, self-doubt, feeling anxious, fear, even agitation is a form of movement.

If we are to have any hope of meeting that longing to be free from these conflicting emotions, we need to understand how they operate.

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