Dear friend,
How was your week?
I am back from the meditation retreat. It was a very intense period of practice and I gave my best. But I always say half-jokingly that the real hard work is after the retreat.
Daily life brings continuous opportunities to practice being present and open.
Art
The Japanese painting with ink and water is called “Sumi-e”.
Sumi-e are traditionally painted using only black ink.
The ink is mixed with water to make the different shades of grey.
This monochrome color palette opens limitless possibilities to express Life.
The painter is not painting a realistic scene with his mind.
The painter is painting the essence of the moment with his heart.
Haiku by Buson
An evening orchid,
Hidden in its scent,
The flower’s whiteness
夜の蘭
香にかくれてや
花白し
yoru no ran
ka ni kakurete ya
hana shiroshi
Zen
Between what I think,
what I want to say,
what I believe I say,
what I say,
what you want to hear,
what you believe to hear,
what you hear,
what you want to understand,
what you think you understand,
what you understandThere are ten possibilities that we might have some problem communicating.
But let's try anyway…- Bernard Werber -
Closing the rift
This quirky but on-point observation by Bernard Werber is wonderfully capturing the challenges of communication.
Our perception is colored by many layers of conscious and unconscious thinking and emotions.
How many times are we victims of misunderstandings because of that?
On the other hand, practicing meditation or "resting in awareness", helps us to shed away those layers.
There is no more need to insert “ what I think, what I want, what I believe … “.
Have I ever truly listened once?
For us to really hear, it needs :
to open our sense of hearing in all directions,
not to direct our attention to our inner thoughts or a particular sound.
to rest in a non-judgmental state,
to drop the need to put labels on what is heard.
When you read it, it looks simple.
But to use our 5 senses in this way is definitely not easy.
During the retreat, I started to notice that I probably never really listened, looked, smelled, or tasted once in my life.
Hearing
How wonderful
would it be to just perceive
without adding anything
no commentary
no judgment
Just “what is”
Food
I’m hearing some delicious sounds coming from the kitchen :
For breakfast
For lunch
For snack
For dinner
Take action today :
Put a timer for 10 minutes.
Sit down, lay down, or stand up, whatever works for you to be relaxed and focused
Listen with a sense of presence and openness
See you next time,
Maden
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The orchid seems so light...it seems to me so beautiful
You write : " there is no more need to insert "What I think, what I want, what I believe,"and I didn't understand until I remember the subject was listening and not speaking....so many times I 'm so in a hurry to say, to speak my opinion before hearing others....