Sunday, April 24, 2005

The stuff of daily life

Here's another passage from Journey of Awakening by Ram Dass:

The final step in integrating meditation into your awareness is to use the stuff of daily life as part of meditation. There are ways of perceiving the world and the way you live in it such that each experience brings you more deeply into the meditative space. At the same time, however, this kind of meditation requires firm grounding: you must continue to function effectively in the world as you meditate on it. This is meditation in action. It finally becomes the core of a consciously lived life, a meditative space within you. This space stands between each thing you notice and each response you make, allowing a peaceful, quiet, and spacious view of the universe.

I agree with the point that we need firm grounding. Not only is this about functioning effectively in the world, it is also about regular formal practice. Regular practice gives us a backlog of experience so that we're able to apply the meditative process to the "stuff of daily life" with skill. I also really like the expression, "a consciously lived life". Isn't that what we want? To be aware? To wake up? Let's commit ourselves to living consciously and not lull ourselves into unconsciousness.

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