Pithy Pointers

Language is a funny thing. When it comes to practice, it's difficult to think of any single pointer that is always helpful in every situation (I can't think of even one). But, sometimes little pithy pointers come from ourselves or others, and they can work kind of like a solvent - dissolving the areas where we are stuck.

During my practice this morning, the pithy pointer that loosened me up was this: "Consciousness is not nibbana." On a philosophical level, I'm sure some folks could argue all day long about whether or not this statement is actually true. But, what made it true for me in the moment was its ability to remind me to let go. And it did. It helped.

Another one I head once that helped me out was, "Emptiness is empty, too."

Do these kinds of pithy pointers show up in your practice?

-Jackson

All the time. What a coincidence you should bring it up! I was just thinking of them, in fact, and wondering how many I'd written down in the past and forgotten about. I was about to go back through my practice notes and look, so now you shall have to suffer with my blahblahblah.

Today's was: "seek nothing" and that applied perfectly to my meditation this morning.

A few I dug up from past practice notes:

"hold it all lightly"

"do not be attached to bliss"

"include include include"

"just be with exactly what's going on"

"just pretend you are the kind of person who can be with exactly what's going on"

"mind of a child"

"accept not knowing"

"let God drive"

"rest gently"

"have no preconceptions"

Cool, Ona! Thanks for sharing. I think I might just have to dig through my journal as well, to see what kinds of pointers have comes bubbling up over the years.

"Hold it all lightly" (or something similar) has been helpful to me as well, many times.

Last week, my morning session was seemingly spontaneously interrupted by the pointer, "Pay attention!" And then, "No! Pay attention!" over and over again. At the time, it was VERY helpful.

"just pretend you are the kind of person who can be with exactly what's going on"

This is a little off subject, but not quite: Last night on the treadmill at the gym I just out of nowhere (somewhere) thought of the Dogen quote:

"If you want to attain suchness, you should practice suchness without delay."

I don't know what happened to the post above, but it is all messed up. Oh well.

That is the weirdest messed up post ever. cool!

Maybe the mods can fix it.

I'll try to post it again later maybe.

my two favorite:

"don't need your wants"

"if you are looking for solutions, you're not looking at the problem"

Don't know if it is obvious, but I use those when I find myself off in some kind of problem-solving (avoidance) loop.

Okay.

Ona's pithy pointer: "just pretend you are the kind of person who can be with exactly what is going on" reminded me of something from last night.

I was on the treadmill at the gym. Out of nowhere (somewhere) the Dogen quote: "If you want to attain suchness then you should practice suchness without delay" popped into my mind.

I decided to pretend that I knew what that meant and to start practicing suchness without delay. Immediately the world became brighter, the resolve or certaintly that I was a certain thing in a certain place at a certain time became very strong, my senses became hightened, I realized that there was a lovely sunset going on outside the window that I hadn't noticed before, and everything seemed just right.

Okay.
Ona's pithy pointer: "just pretend you are the kind of person who can be with exactly what is going on" reminded me of something from last night.
I was on the treadmill at the gym. Out of nowhere (somewhere) the Dogen's quote: "If you want to attain suchness then you should practice suchness without delay" popped into my mind.
I decided to pretend that I knew what that meant and to start practicing suchness without delay. Immediately the world became brighter, the resolve or certaintly that I was a certain thing in a certain place at a certain time became very strong, my senses became hightened, I realized that there was a lovely sunset going on outside the window that I hadn't noticed before, and everything seemed just right.


-michaelmonson

I love that, Mike.

Jackson authored one:"this too... this too"

-cmarti

Oh, how I would LOVE to take credit for that one. Alas, I got it from a Jack Kornfield book

When I was sober in AA during the 80s and doing really well on my spiritual program I got my life activities down to three simple instructions:

1. just watch

2. let it go

3. do the next right thing

This was to be done constantly, in any order, and often simultaneously, and it seemed to cover it all. I've tried it lately and it's actually too complicated for me now

As my horse trainer always said: "simple doesn't mean easy"

Another pithy pointer I guess.

"Do the next right thing" is a good one. I'm in a rather weird spot right now in that I have literally no idea what is going to happen next in my life. I guess I never knew, but I always used to have some idea or plan - I want to be this, do that, go here, live like this - there was always a "future fantasy" of what kind of life I might have next year, in three years, in ten years.

I feel utterly unable to do that now, because I feel like there's no point in trying to figure out what to do big picture when I can't possibly know what all the factors will be along the way. So I just keep doing whatever I'm doing this day (living out of a suitcase in a foreign country, writing whatever articles or chapters are on the top of the pile, responding to email, cooking, paying bills, exercising, solving client problem of the moment, and so on). I'm counting on it all working itself out somehow or other. There's nothing wrong with right now, in any case, and that's good enough. "Do the next right thing" is a nice way to look at just focusing on what's here, what needs dealing with in this moment (stir the soup, write this post, close the window...)

I followed those three instructions so completely throughout each day that at night when I layed my head down to sleep I would have what I now know are fruitions.

When I got to the "fruition" stage doing vipassana last year I was surprised to find that I'd already been there.

Which I'm still kind of confused about, but not in a suffering kind of way.

That's rather fascinating. I suppose it's an intensive type of mindfulness practice, and could work like meditating.

I found looking back that I had "A&P" and "dark night" experiences years ago when I had no idea what they were. It actually would have been helpful back then to know that that pattern was normal. Instead I ended up in cycles of ecstasy and depression and finally walked away from spiritual practice altogether and did a few years of therapy instead. Oh well. Did me good in the long run I guess.

I've been a big fan of 'pithy pointers' [aka aphorisms] since Sunday School days. From then: 'With all thy getting, get understanding.' and 'You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.'

But my tastes are wide ranging-- I like TS Eliot's Four Quartets a lot, especially the 'Dark Night' section: 'wait without hope, for you are not yet ready for hope.' Also, my brother's firlfriend of 30 years ago: 'Is THIS how we exist?' [as a mode of inquiry] And a riding teacher's good advice: 'If you do what you always did, you're gonna get what you always got.'

and then there are the ones that only I seem to have heard: 'The only siddhi I want, is the siddhi of "nothing to prove."' and 'Recognition is the first principle of spiritual life.'

That's right - "aphorisms". I knew there was a term for these that didn't involved alliteration

I love that last one: "Recognition is the first principle of spiritual life."

Can I revive this lovely thread?

On another thread I think it was Kate who talked about regarding ones children and oneself (in the context of that discussion) with "unconditional high regard". This has become a hugely important pointer to me in the last week or more. I think of it often and I feel like it brings up a profound respect and honor for everyone I interact with. But it also applies in recent days to experience itself. I have been holding experience - ordinary mundane regular experience - in "unconditional high regard" and found it feels not unlike a total surrender. For if one has unconditional high regard for something, one certainly doesn't wish it were different, right?

Another one that has been very important to me lately has two parts, and these are adapted from my teacher Alan, from a conversation a month or so ago. One is to consider that "this moment has never been experienced before" and the related one: "I cannot know what the next moment will bring." The combination of those two blows my mind and fills me with overwhelming joy lately. It also feels like a total surrender.

Maybe I'm just on a surrender kick lately. Not usually a bad thing.

That is nice Ona.

I keep thinking about "unconditional high regard" when it comes to child rearing and I really think it is the only way to parent. Anything else just seems like abuse and trauma creating.

Ona, yes, great points (no pun intended).

You wrote: "For if one has unconditional high regard for something, one certainly doesn't wish it were different, right?"

In terms of having unconditional high regard for other beings, I think it's OK to want them to be different. The questions is always - WHY? For example, I may practice unconditional high regard for a patient suffering from severe, recalcitrant OCD, in that whether she has OCD or not, I don't look down on her or devalue her as a human being. She still deserves all the care and respect that anyone else deserves, even if her behavior is harmful to herself or others. But, because of my high regard for her, of course I want her to change! The difference here, I think, is that my high regard isn't dependent on her ability to change, even if that's what I want to happen.

Just an example. I guess I'm afraid that "unconditional high regard" can quickly become "idiot compassion" if understood in a less complete way. Thoughts?

You also wrote: "One is to consider that 'this moment has never been experienced before'
and the related one: 'I cannot know what the next moment will bring.'
The combination of those two blows my mind and fills me with
overwhelming joy lately. It also feels like a total surrender."

I love this. I think that different people respond to such statements in different ways. That is, it's characteristic of folks with some experience with insight practice to appreciate these statements in the way you displayed here. Others may find such statements threatening, and respond fearfully. I find that in my own life and practice (which are really one in the same), the more appreciation and respect I have for uncertainty, the happier I am. In fact, the primary ingredient in many (if not most) of clinical anxiety disorders is marked intolerance for uncertainty. This makes life miserable for so many people. It's heartbreaking.

Some of us are more naturally inclined toward acceptance, and others have to spend more time consciously practicing with it. In either case, there's no doubt in my mind that good mental health results from increased psychological flexibility, and insight practices are one of the best tools for the job.

Jackson, I often wonder how you combine your knowledge of the fluid nature of the self with your work with people's mental health issues. Since, I think, the entire work is about a "self" and, possibly, the problems might often stem from a person's fragmented personality and sense of self.