More Zen Ideas
One of the chief distractions is grasping onto a sense of “this is hard.” In relationship counselling, “This is hard” is short-hand for “Why the hell should I have to change when it’s his/her fault?” Hint: because the only thing you have even slight control over is yourself.
Paddle Your Own Boat
Paddling downstream means spending one’s life working on the one thing we can change-ourselves.
Dropping Arrogance
Emptiness requires that I let go of clinging to my beliefs—or better, to the rightness of my beliefs. Emptiness requires that I understand that how I see the world is how I see the world, and nothing more. Emptiness is letting go of the need to get others to agree with me. Emptiness is living in the ambiguity of knowing without knowing.
Self Awareness
I’ve been thinking about that, and while I “get” the whole self esteem idea, this is one of those terms that can be badly misunderstood. Being the Zen guy that I am, I’d much rather head down the path of self acceptance — that’s what this article is going to be about.
Sacred Sexuality
This is the “Sex is Problematic” posture, if you’ll excuse the pun. Many people “do” sexual things, while “hotly” denying their sexuality. Of course, the joke is that sexuality is an energy, and as an energy, is simply (and indivisibly) a part of us — it’s there all the time. That we repress it, deny it, or try vainly to relegate it to the back burner does not change the fact that we are born, live, and die as sexual beings.
Centering
Thus, the relationship chakra is about how you enact your life, as you relate to what is around you.
What is your behavior, how do you relate, to your nearest and dearest?
The useful approach is to let go of clinging to labels, having judgements, and demanding that others change so that you can be happy. You own your experience, your feelings, and your actions. You see each thought and action as it is—a moment and a behavior in the here and now.
Zen Based, Present Living
