Classic Zen circle. I've refrained from my own label, phrase or comment so as to not create a filter for each visitor. Zen circles mean many things to me and I love to view them, and view them often. Perhaps in these comments, assuming anyone else actually decides to leave a comment--lol, a discussion will emerge and in that discuss, sharing.
"Circle of Life"--I like that. I see many things in the classic zen circle but would like to wait a bit more before sharing. Thanks for the post Autumn.
The image of parent and child is another brilliant view and one that had never occured to me. Wonderful contribution my dear sweet Autumn. :-)
First thing I see with this circle is "No Escape." No escape reminds me there is nowhere to go. So many times in life we want to be someone different, have another job, or spouse or mate, live in a different city, and on and on.
The thinking is somewhere else is better than here. The problem, however, is we take ourselves wherever we go. We cannot escape from us. Fly me to the moon (great song btw) and I'm still there. Give me another job and sooner or later, whatever "bag of rocks" I was carrying in the old job suddenly shows up in the new one. There is no place to go.
Acceptance of nowhere to go, no thing to do, at home with whatever is, non-resistence to what is without surrender to forever moving forward.
And with acceptance of the present moment, acceptance without judgement, without labels, without likes and dislikes, just simple, pure acceptance--this is the shoreline of the lake of peace and joy, love and compassion.
I see much more in this circle, but "no escape" always comes to mind first.
I have a hard time with the acceptance theory. I understand the concept of not coveting (i.e. the grass is not greener be happy with what blessings you have) but it conflicts with the need for self improvement. I've never been able to blend the two into one.
The circle, to me, represents generations. My grandmother, my mother, me(and siblings), our children. Repeating birth, life, death and the legacy of it all. "The circles set in motion come bearing down our way. The promise of tomorrow still burns today."
Agnes, acceptance does not mean surrender. To accept the reality of the present moment has nothing to do with our reponse to that moment as we move forward in time. Acceptance is about not resisting "what is." It does not mean I have to like or dislike what is, it just educates us that "what is, is." What we do about it is an entirely different matter.
Here is an example. I am currently out of shape. I don't deny nor resist that fact. No amount of thinking, rationalizing, justifying will change that basic undeniable reality. Now, does that mean that I accept that this fact can not change or that I cannot do something about it if I choose--nope. My acceptance is simply the point of departure. If I choose to do something about it--great. My acceptance of the present moment reality does not make me stuck in that reality nor does it keep me from acting on it.
However, in order to move from point A to point B, I must first accept that I am actually at point A. If I resist acceptance of reality before me and insist that I am really at point C, then it becomes very difficult to move from an imaginary point C (which does not actually exist) to point B.
I hope some of this makes some sense. Thanks for engaging in the conversation--I truly enjoy the dialogue--even if I can't spell--lol.
Ah...I am enlightened. It is this very type of discussion that I miss. A hundred years or so ago, I had a friend who was very involved in these concepts. We talked for hours every chance we had. Those talks change my life. Perspectives. Priceless things, they are. Thank you for what you give. :)
"No escape" - thoughtprovoking to the max. In part, with wondering why it would be the first thing coming to mind(answer not asked for!!). 'Eyell bee bjack' later with more of a response... (that was my bad impression of Schwartzneggar btw) :-)
Mario is ill again, and I'm up in the middle of the night, half-awake and typing at the computer in our den while he takes a stroll in our backyard. Don't have my glasses and have no idea what I'm typing so take the below in that context.
Autumn, "no escape" comes from a period in my life about five years ago. It was a time of intense pain and suffering. It was also a time where I put up my greatest resistance to "what was." I wanted to be anyone or anywhere but who and where I was.
The pain and suffering became so great that literally one day a "mental shift" (can't think of a better way to describe what happened--it was an actual event, I remember the day clearly) occured. There was me before and then there was me after, and the two were not one.
I reached a point where I simply could resist my present reality no more. Felt like something inside me just gave way, cracked, shifted.
The thought that we were all prisoners of the universe stuck me in a profound way--that there was literally no place we could go outside of this reality, this universe. The image of the universe as a ballon filled my mind, and that we were all living within the ballon with no possible way to move beyond it. Prisoners within the ballon so to speak.
From there the thought dominoed to the fact that I couldn't even escape my own body, much less this planet, solar system, etc. There was no place I could go where "I" would not be. I was, at least as far as any of us know, stuck with me for eternity.
Since I could not escape myself, all resistance to the present moment seemed futile in a way that had never occured to me before. With that revelation, the stress, physical and mental, slipped away, almost like a shadow receding with the rising of the sun.
With the dropping of my fruitless and insane resistance, I saw a path forward and that path has brought me a peace and joy I had never known.
So, when I see the classic Zen circle, partly educated by my study of zen, I see a "closed system," the universe, me, all within the circle. All points lead back home, nowhere to go, a great sense of oneness with everything else in the universe, which is also as--lol--trapped as me.
Enough rambling, Mario is back and, knock on wood, we are both going back to bed for a few more hours of rest. Sweet dreams to me :)
Your prior state sounds serious, so I am of course so happy for you, that you were able to find a way through. I understand, as far as I can not being you, the shift of mind of which you speak. Once you hit a certain point, the make or break point if you will, there is nowhere else to go but up or out. Somehow, I think for the vast majority of us, we find a way to turn things around - strong words, but it is a matter of survival. I cannot help but guess at what would make you feel trapped in your body/life etc, whether it was external or internal conflict that brought you to that point - it sounds as though you accepted things as they were rather than changed them, so I am leaning towards internal. This in turn makes me think about the kind of person, you seem to be - from what I know of you, which of course is only through your blog and mine, but suffice to say, I think, I have a decent-sized impression. You focus all your energy outward - and one could be forgiven for thinking this would mean forgetting about oneself - that would be very wrong. By continually shining the light on others, its glow falls back on you each and every day. (Did I mention I suffer from verbal diorrhoea?) You seem to have found your peace within yourself, with your surroundings, etc, and I envy you that find - since contentment there follows.
Oh, and I've hardly slept for days, am dog-tired and haven't eaten properly today, so if all of the above was incoherent rambling about things I obviously know nothing about - forgive me :o).
Autumn, in my own situation, acceptance of where I really was happened first. I'll never forget when I was resisting the most, a good friend saying quite bluntly to me, "Have you thought a little humility would do you good." I was floored because I never saw that comment coming, never thought that I wasn't humble.
Took a while to digest what his comment meant. I took it to heart and reached the conclusion that I had a blind spot with regard to my own humility. He was right and I had been blind to it. I am so thankful he had the balls just to flat out tell me what I needed to hear.
Once I had accepted and saw where I really was (point A so to speak) the energy flowed forth to actually change my situation and change it I did.
I'm not sure how long I would have stayed stuck without accepting the "is" in "what is, is."
So the process was internal and external, but the internal came first.
Thanks for engaging me in this conversation. I love this sort of dialogue and feel blessed you and Agnes are here to participate.
Do you believe in reincarnation? (Thought just occured following on in part to the circle of life) - now that would be a circle, one lifetime after another, around and around again.
At the risk of sounding self-centered again, I have to say, the image of your simple circle challenged me in regards to my "Useless circle" - you gave me food for thought. Thanks, A.
A, I have no opinion on reincarnation. Growing up in the West, it is such an alien concept. Outside of that, the concept has never really appealed to me. I lean toward believing in either nothingness after death or a form of the Christian view with some sort of higher afterlife.
No one really knows. Whenever I feel insecure, as I'm driving down the highway I think two things to myself: (1) no one on this earth knows what happens when we die--no one--so we are all on a level playing field; (2) regardless of outward behavior, we all seek the same thing--"happiness."
Don't know why, but those two thoughts always brings me comfort.
You seem to have explored a number of different theologies and philosophies - you seem open to possibility and quite spiritual. You seem to know exactly who you are and what you stand for, and (thought was not based on today's discussion) secure within life and the frame (family, work, friends, daily living)that surrounds you. You are not serious all of the time, despite throwing yourself into campaigning and trying to inspire reaction and action... and despite sometimes feeling despair at inaction in others. You are able to maintain a positive outlook and link it without conflict to a hightened sensitivy to all the sadness that surrounds, and what's more, make excellent use of every opportunity to have fun or laugh. In my world (the people I come into contact with), it seems most often to be the case, that when people have all of these things, it's due to faith in life's continuence i.e. life after life, no fears about the end, and most of all the security of knowing there is a meaning. And sometimes a compassionate nature is heightened by the belief: what we do in this life will carry on to the next.
It was just a fancy - & I was wrong :-) Perhaps, I should give them up. Autumn
A,that was a wonderful post. How do I ever live up to such--lol. I don't. I enjoy the flattery, send more, yes, just like the woman's voice on the bubble wrap--"give me more" lmao.
A, as I mentioned in a few posts back, my governing belief is relationship. Life has meaning only in relation to others. As always, I can only speak for myself.
The second thing that governs my outlook is my past. I've seen and experienced so much pain, I have no desire to live there anymore, especially when I can choose to live with a different view.
My father passing away had a big impact of my focus on fun, playfulness, love, peace, compassion, flirtatiousness you often see from me here--because my dad had none of those things.
He was always serious, always watching his P's & Q's, always living by rules and just usually an unhappy man.
Then he died. We cleaned out his belongings in less than one day. Of everything the man owned, there were less than a handful of things kept. The rest when out to the garbage.
Did he leave a legacy--nope. Most of us were relieved that he could no longer inflict pain on himself and on those around him. His passing was a good day for many, a day others could live without his negative contribution.
I don't live to be different from my father. He was he and I am me. His example did educate me to seek my own different way to experience life, namely, to live it.
I am happiest when I can be of service to others. I am most miserable whenever all I think about and cater to is myself. So in a selfish way, I seek service because the rewards of that path are so much greater.
I choose happiness, I choose joy and peace. I choose love and compassion in my life. And the rest, I accept as part of the package, neither denying sadness nor judging or resisting it.
All these emotions and feelings are temporary passengers on my oceanliner of life. I can't kick them off and they do come to the control room from time to time to try and grab the captain's wheel, but that is where it stops. I drive the ship, not my temporary guests.
You should see anger, he gets so mad when I don't let him take the wheel--lol.
Well, enough rambling. Thanks again for such a thoughtful and wonderful post. I wish you were near just to hug you. A, you've made my day today. Thanks sweetie ;-)
I have to admire greatly, your ability to get past great pain. Well done you - living proof it pays to do that. It has taken me forever to get past some things, and others I am still working on. I hate that, but I'm just not able to let go of it yet.
I'm saddened to learn of your father's relationships - but not the positive direction you found therefrom. Also refer to my comment on the secret blog a while back.
Didn't quite get the judging sadness part, but that's ok - enough for one day, I think, my fingers are numb ;-). Game: Guess who spent the entire day with small children and needed some adult conversation?
A, with regard to the judging part, I've learned not to judge emotions but to welcome them as teachers, temporary visitors that come to stay and then leave.
When anger, for example, comes into my life, my response is not to resist it, deny it, or judge myself for being angry, but rather to open my arms and say to myself, "Welcome old friend, so good to see you come and visit again, come ride with me today. I understand you've come bearing gifts. What lesson have you brought me today."
As silly as that sounds, I have found it works wonders with the whole range of emotions, that if we are not careful, we label as bad, deny we feel, or beat ourselves up over feeling that way.
Oh, and thanks for the bike comment--makes me want to go ride some more--lol. ;-)
my response is not to resist it, deny it, or judge myself for being angry, but rather to open my arms and say to myself, "Welcome old friend, so good to see you come and visit again, come ride with me today. I understand you've come bearing gifts. What lesson have you brought me today."
23 comments:
Classic Zen circle. I've refrained from my own label, phrase or comment so as to not create a filter for each visitor. Zen circles mean many things to me and I love to view them, and view them often. Perhaps in these comments, assuming anyone else actually decides to leave a comment--lol, a discussion will emerge and in that discuss, sharing.
All I can think of on the spot in relation to "Circle" is Elton John
- the circle of life
...and the stone carving I once saw but couldn't afford of parents and a child encircling each other in an embrace.
"Circle of Life"--I like that. I see many things in the classic zen circle but would like to wait a bit more before sharing. Thanks for the post Autumn.
The image of parent and child is another brilliant view and one that had never occured to me. Wonderful contribution my dear sweet Autumn. :-)
Mmm, to comment or not. . . .
Okay, here is a little push.
First thing I see with this circle is "No Escape." No escape reminds me there is nowhere to go. So many times in life we want to be someone different, have another job, or spouse or mate, live in a different city, and on and on.
The thinking is somewhere else is better than here. The problem, however, is we take ourselves wherever we go. We cannot escape from us. Fly me to the moon (great song btw) and I'm still there. Give me another job and sooner or later, whatever "bag of rocks" I was carrying in the old job suddenly shows up in the new one. There is no place to go.
Acceptance of nowhere to go, no thing to do, at home with whatever is, non-resistence to what is without surrender to forever moving forward.
And with acceptance of the present moment, acceptance without judgement, without labels, without likes and dislikes, just simple, pure acceptance--this is the shoreline of the lake of peace and joy, love and compassion.
I see much more in this circle, but "no escape" always comes to mind first.
I have a hard time with the acceptance theory. I understand the concept of not coveting (i.e. the grass is not greener be happy with what blessings you have) but it conflicts with the need for self improvement. I've never been able to blend the two into one.
The circle, to me, represents generations. My grandmother, my mother, me(and siblings), our children. Repeating birth, life, death and the legacy of it all.
"The circles set in motion come bearing down our way.
The promise of tomorrow still burns today."
Agnes, acceptance does not mean surrender. To accept the reality of the present moment has nothing to do with our reponse to that moment as we move forward in time. Acceptance is about not resisting "what is." It does not mean I have to like or dislike what is, it just educates us that "what is, is." What we do about it is an entirely different matter.
Here is an example. I am currently out of shape. I don't deny nor resist that fact. No amount of thinking, rationalizing, justifying will change that basic undeniable reality. Now, does that mean that I accept that this fact can not change or that I cannot do something about it if I choose--nope. My acceptance is simply the point of departure. If I choose to do something about it--great. My acceptance of the present moment reality does not make me stuck in that reality nor does it keep me from acting on it.
However, in order to move from point A to point B, I must first accept that I am actually at point A. If I resist acceptance of reality before me and insist that I am really at point C, then it becomes very difficult to move from an imaginary point C (which does not actually exist) to point B.
I hope some of this makes some sense. Thanks for engaging in the conversation--I truly enjoy the dialogue--even if I can't spell--lol.
Ah...I am enlightened. It is this very type of discussion that I miss. A hundred years or so ago, I had a friend who was very involved in these concepts. We talked for hours every chance we had. Those talks change my life.
Perspectives. Priceless things, they are. Thank you for what you give. :)
Agnes, the feeling is mutual. ;-)
"No escape" - thoughtprovoking to the max. In part, with wondering why it would be the first thing coming to mind(answer not asked for!!).
'Eyell bee bjack' later with more of a response... (that was my bad impression of Schwartzneggar btw) :-)
Mario is ill again, and I'm up in the middle of the night, half-awake and typing at the computer in our den while he takes a stroll in our backyard. Don't have my glasses and have no idea what I'm typing so take the below in that context.
Autumn, "no escape" comes from a period in my life about five years ago. It was a time of intense pain and suffering. It was also a time where I put up my greatest resistance to "what was." I wanted to be anyone or anywhere but who and where I was.
The pain and suffering became so great that literally one day a "mental shift" (can't think of a better way to describe what happened--it was an actual event, I remember the day clearly) occured. There was me before and then there was me after, and the two were not one.
I reached a point where I simply could resist my present reality no more. Felt like something inside me just gave way, cracked, shifted.
The thought that we were all prisoners of the universe stuck me in a profound way--that there was literally no place we could go outside of this reality, this universe. The image of the universe as a ballon filled my mind, and that we were all living within the ballon with no possible way to move beyond it. Prisoners within the ballon so to speak.
From there the thought dominoed to the fact that I couldn't even escape my own body, much less this planet, solar system, etc. There was no place I could go where "I" would not be. I was, at least as far as any of us know, stuck with me for eternity.
Since I could not escape myself, all resistance to the present moment seemed futile in a way that had never occured to me before. With that revelation, the stress, physical and mental, slipped away, almost like a shadow receding with the rising of the sun.
With the dropping of my fruitless and insane resistance, I saw a path forward and that path has brought me a peace and joy I had never known.
So, when I see the classic Zen circle, partly educated by my study of zen, I see a "closed system," the universe, me, all within the circle. All points lead back home, nowhere to go, a great sense of oneness with everything else in the universe, which is also as--lol--trapped as me.
Enough rambling, Mario is back and, knock on wood, we are both going back to bed for a few more hours of rest. Sweet dreams to me :)
What is a ballon??? LMAO
Could it be a balloon perhaps. Mmm . . . I've got to watch this sleepy middle of the night postings. ;-)
Poor Mario - hope he feels better!
Thanks for (the explanation) sharing!
Your prior state sounds serious, so I am of course so happy for you, that you were able to find a way through.
I understand, as far as I can not being you, the shift of mind of which you speak. Once you hit a certain point, the make or break point if you will, there is nowhere else to go but up or out. Somehow, I think for the vast majority of us, we find a way to turn things around - strong words, but it is a matter of survival.
I cannot help but guess at what would make you feel trapped in your body/life etc, whether it was external or internal conflict that brought you to that point - it sounds as though you accepted things as they were rather than changed them, so I am leaning towards internal.
This in turn makes me think about the kind of person, you seem to be - from what I know of you, which of course is only through your blog and mine, but suffice to say, I think, I have a decent-sized impression. You focus all your energy outward - and one could be forgiven for thinking this would mean forgetting about oneself - that would be very wrong.
By continually shining the light on others, its glow falls back on you each and every day. (Did I mention I suffer from verbal diorrhoea?)
You seem to have found your peace within yourself, with your surroundings, etc, and I envy you that find - since contentment there follows.
Oh, and I've hardly slept for days, am dog-tired and haven't eaten properly today, so if all of the above was incoherent rambling about things I obviously know nothing about - forgive me :o).
Autumn, in my own situation, acceptance of where I really was happened first. I'll never forget when I was resisting the most, a good friend saying quite bluntly to me, "Have you thought a little humility would do you good." I was floored because I never saw that comment coming, never thought that I wasn't humble.
Took a while to digest what his comment meant. I took it to heart and reached the conclusion that I had a blind spot with regard to my own humility. He was right and I had been blind to it. I am so thankful he had the balls just to flat out tell me what I needed to hear.
Once I had accepted and saw where I really was (point A so to speak) the energy flowed forth to actually change my situation and change it I did.
I'm not sure how long I would have stayed stuck without accepting the "is" in "what is, is."
So the process was internal and external, but the internal came first.
Thanks for engaging me in this conversation. I love this sort of dialogue and feel blessed you and Agnes are here to participate.
Hugs and kisses.
Thanks for showing us more of you.
Hugs and kisses back at you!
Do you believe in reincarnation? (Thought just occured following on in part to the circle of life) - now that would be a circle, one lifetime after another, around and around again.
At the risk of sounding self-centered again, I have to say, the image of your simple circle challenged me in regards to my "Useless circle" - you gave me food for thought. Thanks, A.
A, I have no opinion on reincarnation. Growing up in the West, it is such an alien concept. Outside of that, the concept has never really appealed to me. I lean toward believing in either nothingness after death or a form of the Christian view with some sort of higher afterlife.
No one really knows. Whenever I feel insecure, as I'm driving down the highway I think two things to myself: (1) no one on this earth knows what happens when we die--no one--so we are all on a level playing field; (2) regardless of outward behavior, we all seek the same thing--"happiness."
Don't know why, but those two thoughts always brings me comfort.
I expected you to say, yes, you do believe in reincarnation.
Personally, my belief is, you live, you die and that's all there is to it - at least, until I know otherwise :-).
Although, I love the concept of heaven and of angels - nice and comforting..
A, may I ask what led you to believe I would say yes. Just curious.
Put me on the spot, why don't you!
Let me see...gosh! Ok,
You seem to have explored a number of different theologies and philosophies - you seem open to possibility and quite spiritual. You seem to know exactly who you are and what you stand for, and (thought was not based on today's discussion) secure within life and the frame (family, work, friends, daily living)that surrounds you.
You are not serious all of the time, despite throwing yourself into campaigning and trying to inspire reaction and action... and despite sometimes feeling despair at inaction in others. You are able to maintain a positive outlook and link it without conflict to a hightened sensitivy to all the sadness that surrounds, and what's more, make excellent use of every opportunity to have fun or laugh.
In my world (the people I come into contact with), it seems most often to be the case, that when people have all of these things, it's due to faith in life's continuence i.e. life after life, no fears about the end, and most of all the security of knowing there is a meaning.
And sometimes a compassionate nature is heightened by the belief: what we do in this life will carry on to the next.
It was just a fancy - & I was wrong :-) Perhaps, I should give them up.
Autumn
A,that was a wonderful post. How do I ever live up to such--lol. I don't. I enjoy the flattery, send more, yes, just like the woman's voice on the bubble wrap--"give me more" lmao.
A, as I mentioned in a few posts back, my governing belief is relationship. Life has meaning only in relation to others. As always, I can only speak for myself.
The second thing that governs my outlook is my past. I've seen and experienced so much pain, I have no desire to live there anymore, especially when I can choose to live with a different view.
My father passing away had a big impact of my focus on fun, playfulness, love, peace, compassion, flirtatiousness you often see from me here--because my dad had none of those things.
He was always serious, always watching his P's & Q's, always living by rules and just usually an unhappy man.
Then he died. We cleaned out his belongings in less than one day. Of everything the man owned, there were less than a handful of things kept. The rest when out to the garbage.
Did he leave a legacy--nope. Most of us were relieved that he could no longer inflict pain on himself and on those around him. His passing was a good day for many, a day others could live without his negative contribution.
I don't live to be different from my father. He was he and I am me. His example did educate me to seek my own different way to experience life, namely, to live it.
I am happiest when I can be of service to others. I am most miserable whenever all I think about and cater to is myself. So in a selfish way, I seek service because the rewards of that path are so much greater.
I choose happiness, I choose joy and peace. I choose love and compassion in my life. And the rest, I accept as part of the package, neither denying sadness nor judging or resisting it.
All these emotions and feelings are temporary passengers on my oceanliner of life. I can't kick them off and they do come to the control room from time to time to try and grab the captain's wheel, but that is where it stops. I drive the ship, not my temporary guests.
You should see anger, he gets so mad when I don't let him take the wheel--lol.
Well, enough rambling. Thanks again for such a thoughtful and wonderful post. I wish you were near just to hug you. A, you've made my day today. Thanks sweetie ;-)
More?
Hmm...
You look good on a bike. :-D
I have to admire greatly, your ability to get past great pain. Well done you - living proof it pays to do that. It has taken me forever to get past some things, and others I am still working on. I hate that, but I'm just not able to let go of it yet.
I'm saddened to learn of your father's relationships - but not the positive direction you found therefrom. Also refer to my comment on the secret blog a while back.
Didn't quite get the judging sadness part, but that's ok - enough for one day, I think, my fingers are numb ;-).
Game: Guess who spent the entire day with small children and needed some adult conversation?
Thanks for the chat :-)
Autumn
A, with regard to the judging part, I've learned not to judge emotions but to welcome them as teachers, temporary visitors that come to stay and then leave.
When anger, for example, comes into my life, my response is not to resist it, deny it, or judge myself for being angry, but rather to open my arms and say to myself, "Welcome old friend, so good to see you come and visit again, come ride with me today. I understand you've come bearing gifts. What lesson have you brought me today."
As silly as that sounds, I have found it works wonders with the whole range of emotions, that if we are not careful, we label as bad, deny we feel, or beat ourselves up over feeling that way.
Oh, and thanks for the bike comment--makes me want to go ride some more--lol. ;-)
Taking this with me for further contemplation:
my response is not to resist it, deny it, or judge myself for being angry, but rather to open my arms and say to myself, "Welcome old friend, so good to see you come and visit again, come ride with me today. I understand you've come bearing gifts. What lesson have you brought me today."
Autumn, x.
Post a Comment