We are bombarded every day by negative messages from the world around us—whether it's the media, for example telling us how we should look to feel good about ourselves, or peers or family disparaging us in some way. We also are pulled every day by the force of our ego-mind that insists we do things which in reality are not good for us and cause us much suffering.
How do we resist this constant assault from both without and within? It's not enough just to sit on your cushion and meditate. It's not just about the process of meditation or prayer, it's the substance that is of vital importance.
Think of it as building a forcefield around you that these negative stimuli cannot penetrate. Years ago, I wrote a post about building such a forcefield, "Change Your Life by Changing the Direction of Its Energy Flow."
I have since come to realize that the process of changing both the direction and quality of your energy flow consistently is more difficult; it's not just a matter of intent and discipline—you must free yourself from the control of your ego-mind. Here are what I now understand to be the steps in that process.
First. the absolutely necessary step is that you connect with your true self—whether you see that as your heart, the true Buddha nature inside you, or the child of the Universe within you. And you must at the same time acknowledge that your ego—what you have always considered your self—is in reality your false self. There are posts and books I've written about this process; see in particular the books How to Find Inner Peace and Discover Your Power.
Once you have learned to distrust what your ego-mind is telling you to do and instead ask and listen to your heart, it becomes much more likely that you will be able to maintain your heart's natural peace and end your suffering. Remember, the root of all suffering is our cravings, and cravings are a function of the ego-mind. Once you are in touch with your heart, changing the direction of your energy flow to outward rather than inward is almost automatic.
Once you have absorbed these truths, not just intellectually but deep within yourself, there are other steps you need to take to strengthen the forcefield around you. One of the most important is understanding that things are the way they are—whether past, present, or future—because it's just the way it is; it's meant to be; it's all ok. This is of critical importance because your rejection or upset or fear of something—your being offended by something—is what starts the process of your thinking or acting (under the guidance of your ego-mind) in ways that create suffering and disturb your peace. And your outward energy flow in such a case will be decidedly negative.
When I say "it's meant to be," I don't mean that some celestial source manipulated things to bring this about, I mean that the laws of nature or the "laws" of the way man has developed have brought this about. There is no judgment here; it just is.
And when I say, "It's all ok," I mean that spiritually you will be ok, safe, regardless what is happening around you or to you—regardless whether you have been physically assaulted or are in prison or homeless— because you will always return home to your heart and be at peace and happy. Regardless. (See my post, "Regardless.")
Once you have gained this understanding, then you are ready to practice The Heart's Embrace. (See my post, "The Heart's Embrace.") In this meditation, you acknowledge that any childhood trauma your experienced is just the way it was. You acknowledge that any disappointments or anger you experience in the present is regarding things that just are. And you acknowledge that the future brings whatever it brings, que sera sera. There is no victimhood in this scenario, When you do that meditation, nothing will offend, all internal and external struggle ceases, and you know you have everything inside yourself to be at peace and happy.
Another step that is critical is that you form the intent to change the way you react to things, etc. This is important because, again, you are attempting to change the patterns of a lifetime, your habit-energy. This is not easy. And so you need to form the intent to love yourself unconditionally, to be strong and find your strength in your faith, etc. Once you are able to form these intents to change your habit-energy—which is a challenge in and of itself—it makes it easier, more likely, that you will actually be able to implement these changes.
The last thing I want to mention is the importance of daily meditation and prayer. The barrage we face every day is so unrelenting and our ego-mind is so powerful and deeply rooted within us, that we need to constantly reinforce the positive forces within us. And that is the purpose of daily meditation/prayer.
And I practice what I preach. Over the last 33 years, I have not missed one day of meditation/prayer—whether I've been at home, whether I've been sick, whether I've been traveling. Nothing interferes with my meditation/prayer practice. A major reason why I have not missed a day, besides discipline, is that I meditate first thing in the morning after I get up so that nothing can interfere with my intent to meditate.
When you have accomplished these steps, found your positive outward energy flow, and stopped absorbing negative energy from the world around you, you will feel a peace and lightness of spirit that is your birthright.
How do we resist this constant assault from both without and within? It's not enough just to sit on your cushion and meditate. It's not just about the process of meditation or prayer, it's the substance that is of vital importance.
Think of it as building a forcefield around you that these negative stimuli cannot penetrate. Years ago, I wrote a post about building such a forcefield, "Change Your Life by Changing the Direction of Its Energy Flow."
I have since come to realize that the process of changing both the direction and quality of your energy flow consistently is more difficult; it's not just a matter of intent and discipline—you must free yourself from the control of your ego-mind. Here are what I now understand to be the steps in that process.
First. the absolutely necessary step is that you connect with your true self—whether you see that as your heart, the true Buddha nature inside you, or the child of the Universe within you. And you must at the same time acknowledge that your ego—what you have always considered your self—is in reality your false self. There are posts and books I've written about this process; see in particular the books How to Find Inner Peace and Discover Your Power.
Once you have learned to distrust what your ego-mind is telling you to do and instead ask and listen to your heart, it becomes much more likely that you will be able to maintain your heart's natural peace and end your suffering. Remember, the root of all suffering is our cravings, and cravings are a function of the ego-mind. Once you are in touch with your heart, changing the direction of your energy flow to outward rather than inward is almost automatic.
Once you have absorbed these truths, not just intellectually but deep within yourself, there are other steps you need to take to strengthen the forcefield around you. One of the most important is understanding that things are the way they are—whether past, present, or future—because it's just the way it is; it's meant to be; it's all ok. This is of critical importance because your rejection or upset or fear of something—your being offended by something—is what starts the process of your thinking or acting (under the guidance of your ego-mind) in ways that create suffering and disturb your peace. And your outward energy flow in such a case will be decidedly negative.
When I say "it's meant to be," I don't mean that some celestial source manipulated things to bring this about, I mean that the laws of nature or the "laws" of the way man has developed have brought this about. There is no judgment here; it just is.
And when I say, "It's all ok," I mean that spiritually you will be ok, safe, regardless what is happening around you or to you—regardless whether you have been physically assaulted or are in prison or homeless— because you will always return home to your heart and be at peace and happy. Regardless. (See my post, "Regardless.")
Once you have gained this understanding, then you are ready to practice The Heart's Embrace. (See my post, "The Heart's Embrace.") In this meditation, you acknowledge that any childhood trauma your experienced is just the way it was. You acknowledge that any disappointments or anger you experience in the present is regarding things that just are. And you acknowledge that the future brings whatever it brings, que sera sera. There is no victimhood in this scenario, When you do that meditation, nothing will offend, all internal and external struggle ceases, and you know you have everything inside yourself to be at peace and happy.
Another step that is critical is that you form the intent to change the way you react to things, etc. This is important because, again, you are attempting to change the patterns of a lifetime, your habit-energy. This is not easy. And so you need to form the intent to love yourself unconditionally, to be strong and find your strength in your faith, etc. Once you are able to form these intents to change your habit-energy—which is a challenge in and of itself—it makes it easier, more likely, that you will actually be able to implement these changes.
The last thing I want to mention is the importance of daily meditation and prayer. The barrage we face every day is so unrelenting and our ego-mind is so powerful and deeply rooted within us, that we need to constantly reinforce the positive forces within us. And that is the purpose of daily meditation/prayer.
And I practice what I preach. Over the last 33 years, I have not missed one day of meditation/prayer—whether I've been at home, whether I've been sick, whether I've been traveling. Nothing interferes with my meditation/prayer practice. A major reason why I have not missed a day, besides discipline, is that I meditate first thing in the morning after I get up so that nothing can interfere with my intent to meditate.
When you have accomplished these steps, found your positive outward energy flow, and stopped absorbing negative energy from the world around you, you will feel a peace and lightness of spirit that is your birthright.
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