Compassion Today

Cultivating Compassion Year-Round

How many of us just finished celebrating the holidays with friends, family, and other loved ones? I'm sure most of us have. The spirit of giving, peace on Earth, and joy to the world always is the foremost thought during this season.

Now that the season has concluded, how many of you settled back into your daily routine. Most of us have I'm sure. It is to be expected since the season has concluded and we return to our routine.

But let's reflect upon the past several weeks and their meaning. Has the spirit of love and compassion been replaced with paying the bills that are now starting to arrive from all what was spent in November and December?

I hope not.

Compassion and loving kindness are warming and necessary actions that should be expressed throughout the year. Not just to family and friends, that is expected, but to the stranger on the street as well. Think about a movie you watched where you felt that you would have acted more compassionately towards a certain character. Maybe you would have given the homeless person your extra change, or helped this hitchhiker to their destination on a rainy night. 

Whatever the situation was in the movie, you envision yourself acting more compassionately towards the one in need. It is who we are as a caring beings, we all have this innate desire to help those less fortunate.

Although that is cinema the reality is that these situations do exist in everyday life and we often turn a blind eye towards them, especially once the season of compassionate giving has ended.  

So what has stopped you from offering assistance? If it is the homeless person asking for change at the intersection is it the notion that 'they will use it for drugs or alcohol'? That notion is judgmental and letting go of judgment is a gift we may give ourselves year-round. Judgment is the opposite of compassion and empathy.

So what can we do instead? We embrace the breath and consider our actions with mindful compassion and empathy towards all living beings.

We are all part of the same being, the same universe, the same consciousness. In other words, we are all connected to each other by the very essence of our existence. The same existence.

Compassionate acts towards strangers should not be a grandiose spectacle that says' hey, look at what I just did'. To do so suggests it is not a genuine action but one that is designed to be witness to show others how good of a person you are.

As with most events in life, it is what we would consider the commonplace or mundane occurrences that amount to significant meanings. Simply holding the door, saying thank you, putting the seat down after using the restroom, or letting someone merge in front of you on the road.

When we demonstrate loving kindness to strangers, we reward ourselves with such an immense amount of inner gratitude. Gratitude, and other such positive emotions, help strengthen our spirit. Positive emotions propel us forward on the path of mindfulness and well-being.

I wish you well in the New Year and as always, please feel free to comment below.

Wishing you peace and ease,

Vladimir

Blue Lotus Meditation And Mindfulness Center is a registered 501(c)(3) religious organization.

Weeding Our Lawn

Beauty Is What Beauty Is.

If we look at a well manicured lawn we will typically see nice sharp boundaries, blades of grass with a rich, vibrant green color all at a uniform height. We know that someone has put in a lot of care to achieve what they have determined to be perfection and beauty.

But where does this idea of beauty and perfection come from?

Society. Ones' society dictates what is deemed beautiful and perfect and most often people go along with this artificial notion.

For example, in older Chinese society, small feet on a woman were considered to be beautiful. And to achieve this beauty, women would undergo a process of binding their feet to prohibit growth and to shape them into a desirable position. This would render it very difficult for them to walk. 

Consider the term perfection, meaning without flaw. Who has determined what is without flaw? What is a flaw? 

Again perfection is a construct typically defined by society or an organization. Consider a time when you took a test. If you answered all of the questions correctly, you were deemed to have a perfect score. Suppose you missed a single question. Now you have not achieved 'perfection' as considered by society. 

How would you then feel about yourself if you missed a single question? Did missing a single question detract in any way from the effort you put forth? No, of course not. So the idea of perfection is an imaginary construct we use to define our effort or appearance.

Now imagine that same lawn with a single dandelion growing in the center. Did the beauty of the lawn suddenly disappear? Suppose there were 10, 100, or 1000 dandelions in the yard?

Now we have what was once a uniform green lawn speckled with the vibrant yellow we find inherent with the dandelion. There are some who would now view this lawn as poorly maintained while others would see the beauty in this diversity.

Some view the dandelion as a weed and incompatible with such a lawn. But ask yourself, what is a weed? A weed is a term for a plant that someone else has told you does not belong on a well-manicured lawn and should be plucked. 

In our own lives we are allowed to determine what is a weed and what is not a weed. We have the liberty to include or exclude what is beautiful and positive and what does not cultivate positivity.

If we look closer at this dandelion lawn we now notice that pollinators like bees and butterflies are visiting each of the dandelions. Bees and butterflies symbolize life and vitality. So, with the addition of this 'weed' onto the uniform, green lawn, we have invited members of the ecosystem to become active participants in promoting a healthy environment.

When we are mindful of what it takes to have a rich, vibrant, lawn we understand that diversity promotes growth. Not just on our lawn but with our neighbors lawn as well because pollinators do not only visit our lawn but our neighbors.

Wishing you all peace and ease,

Vladimir

Blue Lotus Meditation And Mindfulness Center is a registered 501(c)(3) religious organization.

Mindfulness and Attachment

Learning To Let Go To Ease Suffering 

Everything in life is temporary: money, relationships, pets, loved ones, emotions, jobs and so on. We know this is true because we have all experienced loss. And when this loss occurs, we are sometimes surprised or taken off guard. Why? 

The answer is simple - attachment. 

Attachment leads to suffering. There's no question about it. So how do we minimize or remove our suffering related to attachment?

The first step to determine any solution is identifying that there is a problem. Ask yourself - do you like the way you feel when you experience loss? Of course you do not, no one wants to suffer unnecessarily. But what to do next is important.

The second step is changing your mindset - embrace mindfulness. When we embrace mindfulness (being aware of the present moment) this allows us to view life differently. We realize that a particular moment or sensation will never come again.

Think about the first time you met someone who had an influence on your life. It could have been a good experience or a bad one, it doesn't matter. That initial experience will never be duplicated, it was temporary. Think about the first time you rode a rollercoaster. The excitement, the anticipation, the wariness as you approached the car, not quite your turn. That exact feeling will never come again. 

What was your first experience with death? Was it a pet, a grandparent, a friend? If you were young you might not have really understood what loss really is. If you were in your adolescence you probably felt sad and did not know how to express yourself. If you were in your late teens (or older) you probably felt sad but could express yourself in a way that best suit you.

No matter what the situation, when we embrace mindfulness we understand that all things are temporary and to not become to attached to them. When it comes to relationships, I am not saying that you should not love someone out of fear of loss. We all should exhibit loving - kindness to each other, that is one of our purposes in life. But just realize it is all temporary.

The third step is how to begin to develop mindfulness. Meditation is one way to start on this journey and it only needs to be about 10 minutes every morning.

Begin by sitting in a position that is most comfortable for you. Take three deep breaths, inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth. This will begin to relax your body and mind. Now to become aware of your surroundings. I start off by identifying the sounds, smells, and air temperature around me. 

Next, I move to my head and face, identifying any points of tension, usually by your eyes and jaw, and then melting the tension away. I move down my body, from my neck, arms and hands, spine, hips, and legs, identifying any sensation I might be feeling in those locations (warmth, tension, cold, anything I can identify). 

This process takes me about 10 - 15 minutes each morning after yoga. Afterwards when I'm finished I'm more mindful of what's around me throughout the day. I purposely am more aware of myself, others, and my surrounding.

When you try this meditation exercise keep in mind you might not experience 'immediate' results. You must practice daily. Everyone is different so it might take you a few weeks to begin to notice some changes. 

It's important not to rush or have unrealistic expectations in the beginning, you are not on-line shopping with 2 - day delivery guarantee. You are working on improving yourself and where you are today isn't the product of a single night. It takes time to change and grow. But if you stick with it you will see results.

Let me know what you think in the comments below if you like.

Wishing you peace and ease,

Vladimir        

Blue Lotus Meditation And Mindfulness Center is a registered 501(c)(3) religious organization.