FCCUCC Book Group discussion
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Living Buddha, Living Christ
Living Buddha, Living Christ
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Chapter 2
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I have read recently about people being "in the zone", which we usually associate with athletes but the same can be said of any task, including day-to-day duties at work. Supposedly, a person is five times more efficient when they are in the zone. Is this a form of being in the moment (awake)? Or perhaps it is just the opposite and we take ourselves out of being awake as we perform like well oiled machines. Sometimes when I have to concentrate on a task it forces me to focus. No more thinking ahead to what's next or what has recently happened. I guess I have to be forced into mindfulness by concentrating on a task.
When I hike I feel like I'm in the zone because I have to stay focussed on where I'm putting my feet - no room in my brain to think about all the other stuff n my life. I like any activity that gets me out of my head. I try meditation from time to time but genuine belly laughs with friends seems to work just as well! Maybe that's why some people go to laughter yoga - maybe I should try it.
I agree about the laughter! A night with good friends is the best medicine on earth.
My travel group joined a 6:00AM laughing yoga class on a park square in downtown Hanoi. We 11 tourists spoke no Vietnamese and the thirty or so Hanoians spoke no English. It was a riot (no pun intended) and a highlight of our time in Hanoi. Looking back we were definitely focused on the present moment. That said, I didn't feel I was going deeply within; I was probably feeling a tad inhibited in wanting to properly follow the many unfamiliar parts of the laughing yoga routine.
"When you touch deep understanding and love you are healed." Could the concept of being healed be synonymous to accepting a situation? I read an op-ed piece in this week's paper written by a hospice volunteer who has just learned her cancer is now terminal. Her touching words made me think she has accepted her illness with grace and courage. To me this indicates healing (of sorts) that I hope will give her peace as she moves through this part of her journey.It seems that both Christianity and Buddhism are big on acceptance. Thy will be done.
Another thought about acceptance. Cindy's question re: "What about when we don't get the healing we need?" We aren't often given a choice about being dealt a bad situation. But we do have a choice in how we deal with that situation. Acceptance with grace, courage and clarity can be powerful and healing, even if it doesn't produce the outcome we had anticipated.
We need to have a "Like" button on this website! :-)
I agree!! There are SOOO many times I wanted to hit "like" for someone's comments as part of this book group. :) Sometimes someone else's words just really resonate and you want to let them know that, but you don't necessarily have an in-depth comment you want to leave . . . Ah, well!
re#2: yes yes yes yes yes yes yes. I first read this book in grad school getting my Ph.D, and there is a sentence in chapter 2 (page 17 of my copy) where he says "Usually we say 'Wait until I finish school and get my Ph.D degree, and then I will be really alive'." and I annotated it with a little exclamation point. Constantly looking to the future when my "real" life will begin and I will be happy and fulfilled, etc., is a huge problem of mine. I find myself doing it whenever I'm in a time of transition, and I've lately been relying on meditation to bring me back to the present and focus on my life now and not the future. I need this, because the near future is going to involve big changes and sad losses, and there is no need to experience those things in my head, repeatedly, until they actually happen and then I have to experience them for real. That said, meditation is hard. I don't like to substitute it for prayer, which for me always involves words, but it is part of the pre-prayer preparation.
I agree with many of you here that I am most present and focused and aware when I am doing something physical and challenging and slightly hazardous. Hiking is a great example, as is yoga. If I'm worried about hurting myself, I am completely present.
Debra, I love what you wrote about the concept of acceptance of our circumstances as being a kind of healing all its own. The example you gave of the hospice worker writing about her experience of terminal cancer was spot on. I found this so very beautiful!
With regard to Question 1, I found myself intrigued by the concept that mindfulness and the Holy Spirit are both agents of healing. I haven't typically thought of the Holy Spirit as being an agent of healing. More often, I think of the Holy Spirit as the spirit of God living in me, inspiring me in my thoughts and decisions. But TNH's quote "When you touch deep understanding and love, you are healed" definitely got me thinking. Later in this same chapter, TNH says that "the most precious gift we can offer others is our presence" (p. 20). I am a counselor just starting out in my career, and I have most certainly seen the power of offering that kind of loving understanding to another! Sometimes, all a counseling client truly needs is to be heard and understood, and healing can blossom from there. In this case, "mindfulness" could possibly also be translated as "empathy" and/or "active listening." This to me was a fascinating discussion of the Holy Spirit and has gotten me thinking . . .
2) If we are constantly looking into the future, we postpone being alive. Your thoughts?
3) The author repeatedly talks about meditation as the key to peace, as a tool for energy, and as crucial for being healthy and strong. What are your experiences of meditation? Do you practice it regularly? Is it the same as prayer?
4) A Buddha is someone who is awake. When are you the most awake?