IS THIS A DREAM? A great talk by ZDoggMD, Dr. Zubin Damania, a physician, podcaster, and explorer of reality, speaking on the topic: “This is a dream, but suffering is REAL.” It relates to what I’ve been exploring in this (and other) Substack articles: https://www.youtube.com/live/h2CdkUkAkrQ
Very good one. Thirty-five years of meditation have mainly taught me how crazy I am, and the invaluable benefit of it has been that I arrest my aggressive impulses. The impediment for most of us is, as James Baldwin noted, that when we give up the anger, we are left with an open ended pain, a pain that has plenty of space in the light of awareness.
Nov 17, 2023·edited Nov 17, 2023Liked by Joan Tollifson
Very good post. I personally never meditate, but maybe I should say that I meditate 24/7, that I do never "not meditate" ?... But is it really "I" doing something ? Maybe I should say : meditation is what is always taking place ?... I say that because whether I'm active or passive, washing the dishes or lying in silence (if that is called "meditation", then I meditate sometimes :-) ), I always feel the same, there is a form of continuous equanimity, an underlying "peace", even when there is an emotion on the surface, the "base", the "deeper me" is untouched, undisturbed. To use the famous "wave/ocean" metaphor : even when there is a wave (an emotion, a question,...), there is simultaneously always the ocean, both at the same time, in fact there couldn't even be a wave ( me-now-in this state of mind ) without the deep ocean... that is also "me"... (nothing new to you Joan, in what I share here in this comment, but I wanted to share some words, so I did... 🙏 🙂 )
I guess it depends on what we mean by meditation. In recommending it, I meant it as an intentional stopping of other activities and simply being present. On my website recommended book list, in my review of Jon Kabat-Zinn's book Coming to Our Senses, I say:
Kabat-Zinn's work began by paying attention to the present moment, stripped of all religious and metaphysical overlays... And for those who struggle with the apparent contradiction between practices, such as meditation, and the absolute truth that there is nothing to attain and no one to attain it, I highly recommend the following three the chapters in this book: “Meditation—It’s Not What You Think,” "Two Ways to Think About Meditation," and "Why Even Bother? The Importance of Motivation." As an example of how meditation is both a path and at the same time pathless, Kabat-Zinn points out that you cannot attain your foot for it is already part of you, but at the same time, the foot of a great dancer “knows” something that an ordinary foot does not, although in their fundamental nature they are the same. He writes that: “Meditation is a way of being, not a technique… Meditation is not about trying to get anywhere else. It is about allowing yourself to be exactly where you are and as you are, and for the world to be exactly as it is in this moment as well…More than anything else, I have come to see meditation as an act of love…a gesture of the heart that recognizes our perfection even in our obvious imperfection…Awareness itself is the teacher, the student, and the lesson…Resting in awareness in any moment involves giving ourselves over to all our senses, in touch with inner and outer landscapes as one seamless whole." (end of excerpt)
Meditation is one possible way, among many, of realizing that we are the ocean--not just as an idea--that's easy enough--but as a felt reality, and of being less captured (whenever it shows up) by the suffering inherent in imagining that we are only a wave, independent from the ocean. Sounds like you have found all that naturally or in some other ways, and that's beautiful. 🙏
i appreciate this very much (among all the rest as well):
"May we all remain open to seeing something new and changing our minds, may we have compassion for the human beings on all sides (which doesn't mean agreeing with or supporting what they do), and may we all find that placeless place here and now to which Nisargadatta referred when he said, 'The heart of things is at peace.'"
DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES ON ISRAEL-PALESTINE-GAZA:
Sandy Tolan: https://scheerpost.com/2023/11/17/humanity-has-failed-gaza/
Yuval Noah Harari: https://samharris.org/episode/SE55A958943
Democracy Now: https://www.democracynow.org
Sam Harris: https://youtu.be/oFBm8nQ2aBo
Ezra Klein with Israeli: https://youtu.be/EVeh-26rCdQ
Ezra Klein with Palestinian: https://youtu.be/ou9dq90PihU
Bari Weiss: https://www.thefp.com/p/you-are-the-last-line-of-defense
Triggernometry: https://youtu.be/V57DNSF7y7Y
Marc Lamont Hill: https://youtu.be/F1omv_nKk38
Miko Peled: https://youtu.be/-8M0mYzD8ZY
Scheerpost: https://scheerpost.com
Glenn Loury and Robert Wright https://youtu.be/zbscM6ss4Tk
Chris Hedges with Medea Benjamin: https://youtu.be/FN5FgiwYGp0
Jewish Voice for Peace: https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org
Ayaan Hirsi Ali: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12629243/raised-curse-israel-pray-destruction-jews-AYAAN-HIRSI-ALI-Hamas-ISIS.html
Chris Hedges/Max Blumenthal: https://youtu.be/d0gECjlpXF8
IS THIS A DREAM? A great talk by ZDoggMD, Dr. Zubin Damania, a physician, podcaster, and explorer of reality, speaking on the topic: “This is a dream, but suffering is REAL.” It relates to what I’ve been exploring in this (and other) Substack articles: https://www.youtube.com/live/h2CdkUkAkrQ
Very good one. Thirty-five years of meditation have mainly taught me how crazy I am, and the invaluable benefit of it has been that I arrest my aggressive impulses. The impediment for most of us is, as James Baldwin noted, that when we give up the anger, we are left with an open ended pain, a pain that has plenty of space in the light of awareness.
Really loved this comment referencing James Baldwin. I completely relate to it. Thanks.
Thank you
Right on point as always. “Whatever is doing this has a wicked sense of humor”. A quote from “A Perfect Brilliant Stillness”. Thanks Joan.
.:|:. _/\_ ∞ _/\_ ∞ .:|:.
Translation {thank you ~ infinitely ~ love}
Thank You, Joan and Friends Here ❤️
I appreciate this little community and our way of considering and sharing together
Aaah thank you ,in this moment my hearth is fill with love compassion to the suffering of this confused world...Muchas Gracias Hermosa ❤️❤️
Very good post. I personally never meditate, but maybe I should say that I meditate 24/7, that I do never "not meditate" ?... But is it really "I" doing something ? Maybe I should say : meditation is what is always taking place ?... I say that because whether I'm active or passive, washing the dishes or lying in silence (if that is called "meditation", then I meditate sometimes :-) ), I always feel the same, there is a form of continuous equanimity, an underlying "peace", even when there is an emotion on the surface, the "base", the "deeper me" is untouched, undisturbed. To use the famous "wave/ocean" metaphor : even when there is a wave (an emotion, a question,...), there is simultaneously always the ocean, both at the same time, in fact there couldn't even be a wave ( me-now-in this state of mind ) without the deep ocean... that is also "me"... (nothing new to you Joan, in what I share here in this comment, but I wanted to share some words, so I did... 🙏 🙂 )
I guess it depends on what we mean by meditation. In recommending it, I meant it as an intentional stopping of other activities and simply being present. On my website recommended book list, in my review of Jon Kabat-Zinn's book Coming to Our Senses, I say:
Kabat-Zinn's work began by paying attention to the present moment, stripped of all religious and metaphysical overlays... And for those who struggle with the apparent contradiction between practices, such as meditation, and the absolute truth that there is nothing to attain and no one to attain it, I highly recommend the following three the chapters in this book: “Meditation—It’s Not What You Think,” "Two Ways to Think About Meditation," and "Why Even Bother? The Importance of Motivation." As an example of how meditation is both a path and at the same time pathless, Kabat-Zinn points out that you cannot attain your foot for it is already part of you, but at the same time, the foot of a great dancer “knows” something that an ordinary foot does not, although in their fundamental nature they are the same. He writes that: “Meditation is a way of being, not a technique… Meditation is not about trying to get anywhere else. It is about allowing yourself to be exactly where you are and as you are, and for the world to be exactly as it is in this moment as well…More than anything else, I have come to see meditation as an act of love…a gesture of the heart that recognizes our perfection even in our obvious imperfection…Awareness itself is the teacher, the student, and the lesson…Resting in awareness in any moment involves giving ourselves over to all our senses, in touch with inner and outer landscapes as one seamless whole." (end of excerpt)
Meditation is one possible way, among many, of realizing that we are the ocean--not just as an idea--that's easy enough--but as a felt reality, and of being less captured (whenever it shows up) by the suffering inherent in imagining that we are only a wave, independent from the ocean. Sounds like you have found all that naturally or in some other ways, and that's beautiful. 🙏
dear joan,
thank you for this.
i appreciate this very much (among all the rest as well):
"May we all remain open to seeing something new and changing our minds, may we have compassion for the human beings on all sides (which doesn't mean agreeing with or supporting what they do), and may we all find that placeless place here and now to which Nisargadatta referred when he said, 'The heart of things is at peace.'"
thank you for sharing!
much love,
myq