Buddhist Meditation: Tune In and Turn On
When Timothy Leary coined the '60s counterculture phrase, "Turn on, tune in, drop out," he wasn't just advocating free love and lots of drugs. Leary wanted people to meditate as a way to turn on the mind, tune in the world and drop out from negativity.
Forty years later, mainstream interest in meditation has been replaced by the promise of connectivity through technology. Today we're communicating with more people from more places, more often. But are we helpful neighbors in the global village or more like time-crunched techno-geeks who "data drop" rather than reach out?
When we tune in and turn on to meditation, we're tapping into something more sacred and far-reaching than a tenet of globalization; we discover who we are and how we want to live. More importantly, we rediscover our compassionate and empathetic nature, which makes us friendlier and more peaceful global villagers.
For Buddhists, cultivating compassion is considered nothing less than the path to happiness, capable of making ourselves and others happy. Yet developing a kind of strong compassion is not for the faint of heart. Sitting quietly and watching our personas and prejudices, resentments and wounds is at first uncomfortable. When we start shining the light of awareness on our uncompassionate ego, we encounter what the Buddhists call the "hungry ghost," a mindset with an insatiable appetite and a tiny mouth. Ego's relentless attitude is: Gimme, gimme, gimme. I want more, need more and nothing will ever be enough. This type of hungry energy creates unbearable pressure, anxiety and stress in our lives and erodes the potential for living joyfully, peacefully and compassionately.
One of Buddhism's most sacred and complex principles is the cultivation of compassion, which Buddhists consider a state of mind best nourished through regular meditation. When we take the time to quiet inner chatter, count our breaths or pray, we move away from our tendency to approach life in a self-centered way.
It takes tremendous courage to sit and reflect on how we cling to comfort and security and resist change. Meditation shows us where we're holding ourselves closed and how we shut off from our authentic selves. By moving away from the loud demands of ego and into the peaceful quiet of meditation, we feel the kindness of who we really are. So turn on to your behaviors, tune in to your feelings and drop out from the global village of hungry ghosts.
Forty years later, mainstream interest in meditation has been replaced by the promise of connectivity through technology. Today we're communicating with more people from more places, more often. But are we helpful neighbors in the global village or more like time-crunched techno-geeks who "data drop" rather than reach out?
When we tune in and turn on to meditation, we're tapping into something more sacred and far-reaching than a tenet of globalization; we discover who we are and how we want to live. More importantly, we rediscover our compassionate and empathetic nature, which makes us friendlier and more peaceful global villagers.
For Buddhists, cultivating compassion is considered nothing less than the path to happiness, capable of making ourselves and others happy. Yet developing a kind of strong compassion is not for the faint of heart. Sitting quietly and watching our personas and prejudices, resentments and wounds is at first uncomfortable. When we start shining the light of awareness on our uncompassionate ego, we encounter what the Buddhists call the "hungry ghost," a mindset with an insatiable appetite and a tiny mouth. Ego's relentless attitude is: Gimme, gimme, gimme. I want more, need more and nothing will ever be enough. This type of hungry energy creates unbearable pressure, anxiety and stress in our lives and erodes the potential for living joyfully, peacefully and compassionately.
One of Buddhism's most sacred and complex principles is the cultivation of compassion, which Buddhists consider a state of mind best nourished through regular meditation. When we take the time to quiet inner chatter, count our breaths or pray, we move away from our tendency to approach life in a self-centered way.
It takes tremendous courage to sit and reflect on how we cling to comfort and security and resist change. Meditation shows us where we're holding ourselves closed and how we shut off from our authentic selves. By moving away from the loud demands of ego and into the peaceful quiet of meditation, we feel the kindness of who we really are. So turn on to your behaviors, tune in to your feelings and drop out from the global village of hungry ghosts.
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