Comments on: Welcome to Your Mind (Part II)

By: July Link Roundup | Weaving Wyrd

July Link Roundup | Weaving Wyrd — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 23:56:06 +0000

[...] has continued the Welcome To Your Mind series with entries on metta and jung wa thim rim. The last is a very potent version of the dissolution of the elements that I [...]

By: Welcome to Your Mind (Part III) « Blue Flame Magick

Welcome to Your Mind (Part III) « Blue Flame Magick — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 20:58:58 +0000

[...] (This is part three of three based upon a workshop I did. The first entry was on anapana. The second entry was on maitri meditation.) [...]

By: SpiderGoddes

SpiderGoddes — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 13:54:33 +0000

I really love this. I have never done this particular meditation, but I certainly plan to add it to the practice. Thank you.

By: Kalagni

Kalagni — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 02:12:03 +0000

Actually same but different. He said this regarding time in America, but I don’t think the rest of the West is that different. “I’ve never understood how people could be so demanding and arrogant, yet at the same time so scared and lacking self-worth.” I think it’s a self-worth issue coupled with the “fast-food” culture (McSangha we joke) of getting exactly what you want when you want.

By: Write about your neighbor* | Blatherskite

Write about your neighbor* | Blatherskite — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 23:44:03 +0000

[...] Welcome to Your Mind (Part II) (blueflamemagick.wordpress.com) [...]

By: Ananael Qaa

Ananael Qaa — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 14:17:43 +0000

That’s an interesting perspective because according to my Vajrayana teachers, the good thing about Westerners is that they’re logical and they pick up the techniques and methods quickly, but the bad thing is that they think they know everything after practicing for what Easterners would consider a very short time. To me that sounds more like too much self-esteem rather than too little – but it sounds like your teacher has had different experiences with students.

By: Kalagni

Kalagni — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 23:26:35 +0000

Sure, it’s blueflamemagick -at- gmail.com (actually that just forwards to my personal email, so the response will come from another address.)

By: John

John — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 22:07:30 +0000

There’s something I’d like to ask on email though, something about maitri. Can I ask for your email Kalagni? I think you can see mine. Hehe

By: Kalagni

Kalagni — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 17:50:07 +0000

Thanks. Like I said in Part I, I just go so irked with constant advice of meditate, but no one says what they mean by it, or what it is.

I agree that moving yourself down on the list isn’t optimal. In fact it’s a western variation because (apparently) more people in the West suffer from low self-esteem. I’m not sure that I agree that it makes it difficult or impossible to cultivate maitri for others though. I’m thinking of people like mothers who are run down by the world and have many self-issues, but can still devote all their heart to their child/ren.

While I think self-work and analysis is the better option, I also think that if you can genuinely offer to those who matter to you, then offering to yourself afterwards begins to create a notion of worth.

By: Kalagni

Kalagni — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 17:46:03 +0000

That’s not horribly surprising. Even a lot of anapana/vipassana groups end with maitri, which initially I was uncomfortable with, but it grew on me.