Now About Meditation

“The past is past; it is gone, cherish the experience, learn from it; keep reliving it, and you will be stuck in it while your life passes by.  The future is illusionary.  The only thing you have is the “unfathomable” present moment, which is beyond time and space, in which you experience eternity and what has been termed “the kingdom of heaven” and “nirvana”." – by Clayton Micallef

Have you ever heard the story of the lotus flower growing out of the mud in the lake.  It is a story about the seed of compassion which lies dormant below the mud and inside each one of us. It might lay there for a whole lifespan , totally hidden and undisturbed until it sprouts and breaks out of the water totaly untainted by the mud. The following article is about its meaning:  The Lotus Flower and the Painful Mud of Life

Every moment of mindfulness we have is a recognition of a reflexive, a self-protecting response of the mind. Mindful acceptance of such response favours a clea r and balanced understanding of our reactions. The wisdom that comes from this fair understanding helps us let go of our attachment to having things and to being other than what we are. A reflection on the analogy of "The Two Farmers"  https://claytonmicallef.com/the-two-farmers/

I found this interesting 3 part series on the mental processes at work in 3 different families of meditation.  The first article of the series is on  attentional meditation practices  which cultivate the mental cognitive process of emotional regulation. The second article is on how  constructive meditation  practices use such cultivated emotional regulation to transform our view of negative situations, to a more positive, neutral, equanimous and assertive  compassionate perspective . The last article of the series looks at  deconstructive meditation practices  and the cognitive processes at work here those of self-inquiry and insight. Click Below to Read the Articles: Meditation attentional practices: The Fascinating cognitive processes at work (Part 1) Constructive Meditation practices: The Fascinating cognitive processes at work (Part 2) Deconstructive Meditation Practices: The Fascinating Cognitive Processes at Work (Part 3)

Do you practice meditation to achieve some particular state?  We do not practice meditation to achieve some particular state.  Meditation is primarily the cultivation of awareness, what we call “ mindfulness ”. So how do we practice the cultivation of mindfulness through the practice of  meditation ?  Read Clayton Micallef 's answer to How successful are most people at achieving a meditative state? on Quora 

Wisdom does not alter the world; it lets the sage transcend the world . —Bhikkhu Nyanasobhano, “The Phone Rings”

The purpose of nirvanic  moments of mindfulness  is to create an ethical space from which to see, think, speak, act, and work in ways that are not conditioned by reactivity. —Stephen Batchelor, “A Buddhist Brexit”

Karen Armstrong  reflects that the golden rule ( compassion ) is at the basis of every religion and our  common humanity .  She proposed and launched the charter for compassion.  See video. What are your thoughts about this?

  After ChristChurch