Working in a community pharmacy, you get used to the presence of death in the community you serve. You see obituaries of elderly persons you have been coming to your pharmacy for years. You serve cancer patients for months or years and then one day they just stop coming in. Weeks or months later you might hear from a family member or neighbor that they have passed away. We get voicemails in the middle of the night, letting us know that someone has passed away. Hospice calls. Doctors call to share the news. Young husbands and wives stop by to share the news that their spouse has died unexpectedly. You hear parents sharing stories of their kids dying due to accidents or health complications. Death is ever-present and there is no right time or right circumstance. Death is certain, but the time of death is uncertain.
This weekend, one of our long time elderly patients called to thank us for our years of service. He had been diagnosed with the coronavirus and the prognosis was not good. He was quarantined in isolation and he wanted to pass along his thanks while he still had the chance.
We are facing what could be one of the largest pandemics in modern history. Many will die, and they will die in isolation, separated from their family and friends at the moment of death.
We all must set out on the journey of death and dying alone. Where we are setting off to none can follow. Being prepared for that journey is important. Coming to terms with death is never easy, but the more open we can be to the presence of death in our lives, the easier it is to be grateful and share thanks while we still have the chance.
Take some time to reach out to your elderly friends and relatives. Call your neighbor, see how they are doing. We are all facing some challenging weeks and months ahead, but the elderly are especially worried and at significant risk.
You never know when it is your last chance to give thanks.
Clarify your practice. Let your practice clarify you.
Monday, March 23, 2020
Thursday, March 19, 2020
Distancing yourself.
You've followed the advice of self-distancing. You have your store of rations for another week or so. You are working from home, homeschooling, calling your friends and family from afar.
Now you are stuck with these thoughts and emotions that consume your attention.
The impulse to check the news is compelling. What are the new numbers? What is the latest advisory? What are those common symptoms again?
These thoughts are all-consuming and when we are full we are left with an unsettled feeling. Know that it is perfectly normal to have these thoughts and emotions, but that we don't need to give them all of our attention. Just like an annoying coworker, we need to continue to work with them day in and day out, but we don't need to give them all of our attention.
I've found my daily practice an undeceiving refuge in these times. Retreat from the headlines. Isolate yourself from the all consuming thoughts and the attendant anxiety.
Just sit. Connect with the natural peacefulness of the present, even amidst all the tumult.
If you cannot simply rest in equanimity, it is helpful to have something to do. I've been practicing the Iron Hook of Compassion every day. Singing the melody and mantra have a way of opening up the heart and throat at a time when it is easy to shut down and close ourselves off. Afterwards, rest in a sense of openness and ease for as long as you can.
Build these moments into your day. As many as you need. Learning to be present when you are alone is a great gift to yourself during times such as these.
Now you are stuck with these thoughts and emotions that consume your attention.
The impulse to check the news is compelling. What are the new numbers? What is the latest advisory? What are those common symptoms again?
These thoughts are all-consuming and when we are full we are left with an unsettled feeling. Know that it is perfectly normal to have these thoughts and emotions, but that we don't need to give them all of our attention. Just like an annoying coworker, we need to continue to work with them day in and day out, but we don't need to give them all of our attention.
I've found my daily practice an undeceiving refuge in these times. Retreat from the headlines. Isolate yourself from the all consuming thoughts and the attendant anxiety.
Just sit. Connect with the natural peacefulness of the present, even amidst all the tumult.
If you cannot simply rest in equanimity, it is helpful to have something to do. I've been practicing the Iron Hook of Compassion every day. Singing the melody and mantra have a way of opening up the heart and throat at a time when it is easy to shut down and close ourselves off. Afterwards, rest in a sense of openness and ease for as long as you can.
Build these moments into your day. As many as you need. Learning to be present when you are alone is a great gift to yourself during times such as these.
Sunday, March 15, 2020
In search of the normal day.
It is interesting to see how much comfort we find in controlling the world around us. We find comfort and safety in our habitual routines, the repetitiveness of the normal day. We may complain about being busy, or the weariness of our everyday ordinary life, but we would take that normal day just about any day.
We know what to expect on a normal day. We are familiar with our everyday pains and problems. We know what things we have to get done and what time constraints we need to balance. Sure, some of the day to day is annoying, but it is predictable.
In times of uncertainty, we still need to carry the ordinary pains of our life, but we are faced with the demanding task of needing to make new decisions without clarity. Every single day, the variables change and the choices we made yesterday need to be reexamined and thought through. The effort this process takes is emotionally and cognitively taxing. Layer on top of that anxiety and the existential threat of getting sick and dying, and you have a recipe for overwhelm.
Our bodies and minds are used to dealing with overwhelm. We are bombarded by information on a daily basis, too much information to process. So we put up a filter to limit what we notice, the rest is just noise that can be ignored and placed in the background. In order to cope with overwhelm, we yearn to exercise control over our lives and our environment. We set up boundaries, make up new routines or habits, set up a new cycle that we can repeat. We seek to recreate the normal day, or at least to build a new normal.
Uncertainty, overwhelm, seeking control and trying to find a place of balance and stability are shared experiences of the human condition that we have faced for millennia. Wealth, status, and strong communities can protect us from these experiences, but none of us are immune. The poor and weak suffer these even during supposed 'good times'.
To understand that, to bear witness to this basic fear and drive, is to appreciate the first noble truth- the reality of the human predicament.
As you become more willing and able to navigate times of uncertainty, you will also be more patient and understanding of the fear and uncertainty of others.
Be a light for them along the way,
a pole on which they can lean.
Be a center of gravity to revolve around,
as they orbit an unfamiliar world.
We know what to expect on a normal day. We are familiar with our everyday pains and problems. We know what things we have to get done and what time constraints we need to balance. Sure, some of the day to day is annoying, but it is predictable.
In times of uncertainty, we still need to carry the ordinary pains of our life, but we are faced with the demanding task of needing to make new decisions without clarity. Every single day, the variables change and the choices we made yesterday need to be reexamined and thought through. The effort this process takes is emotionally and cognitively taxing. Layer on top of that anxiety and the existential threat of getting sick and dying, and you have a recipe for overwhelm.
Our bodies and minds are used to dealing with overwhelm. We are bombarded by information on a daily basis, too much information to process. So we put up a filter to limit what we notice, the rest is just noise that can be ignored and placed in the background. In order to cope with overwhelm, we yearn to exercise control over our lives and our environment. We set up boundaries, make up new routines or habits, set up a new cycle that we can repeat. We seek to recreate the normal day, or at least to build a new normal.
Uncertainty, overwhelm, seeking control and trying to find a place of balance and stability are shared experiences of the human condition that we have faced for millennia. Wealth, status, and strong communities can protect us from these experiences, but none of us are immune. The poor and weak suffer these even during supposed 'good times'.
To understand that, to bear witness to this basic fear and drive, is to appreciate the first noble truth- the reality of the human predicament.
Embrace the human predicament.
Let go of reactivity and fixation.
Behold our authentic condition, pure open presence.
Practice the path, free from the extremes of indulgence or severe austerities.
As you become more willing and able to navigate times of uncertainty, you will also be more patient and understanding of the fear and uncertainty of others.
Be a light for them along the way,
a pole on which they can lean.
Be a center of gravity to revolve around,
as they orbit an unfamiliar world.
Saturday, March 7, 2020
March Meditation Workshop
Meditation Workshop:
Distinguishing Mind and Awareness
***Remember this Sunday March 8 is also Daylight Savings Time***
Distinguishing Mind and Awareness
***Remember this Sunday March 8 is also Daylight Savings Time***
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Event to be held at the following time, date, and location:
Sunday, March 8, 2020 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM (PDT)
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Share this event:
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Friday, March 6, 2020
A metaphor for timeless freedom.
ཡེ་གྲོལ་
Tibetan: ye-drol
English: timeless freedom, liberated since the beginning, eternally free, already free
In Tibetan, there is a common metaphor for understanding the spacious awareness of rigpa, which is that of a thief entering an empty house. The meaning of the metaphor is that the thief has nothing to gain by entering an empty house, and the house has nothing to lose. When we have a decisive experience of resting in rigpa, or open presence, we experience the timeless freedom of that state and understand the significance of the metaphor.
Another way we can understand the metaphor for yedrol or timeless freedom is to imagine a room. The room accommodates everything that is taking place in the room, you might change the furniture around, make a mess, clean up, have fun with your family, or get in a vicious fight. The room accommodates it all. The spaciousness of the room is unchanging and ever-present. Recognize that for a moment, it's also your nature.
From the perspective of open presence, many things happen in our day. We are busy, dealing with problems and challenges. We are interacting with our families, friends, neighbors and community. We sit alone, we sit among others. We are silent, we are talking. We are awake, we are tired, we rest, we move. All of our day plays out in the spacious awareness of rigpa.
This awareness is timelessly free. It has never known bondage and yet within that space we have been tied up in knots and untied ourselves countless times. Distinguishing between mind and rigpa, we can see how this is possible. Mind goes through endless manifestation and fluctuation. Rigpa is beyond mind, it is the open presence in which mind plays itself out endlessly.
Getting caught up in mind, we struggle with ourselves and with the world around us. Recognizing rigpa, we recognize we are already free.
Tibetan: ye-drol
English: timeless freedom, liberated since the beginning, eternally free, already free
In Tibetan, there is a common metaphor for understanding the spacious awareness of rigpa, which is that of a thief entering an empty house. The meaning of the metaphor is that the thief has nothing to gain by entering an empty house, and the house has nothing to lose. When we have a decisive experience of resting in rigpa, or open presence, we experience the timeless freedom of that state and understand the significance of the metaphor.
Another way we can understand the metaphor for yedrol or timeless freedom is to imagine a room. The room accommodates everything that is taking place in the room, you might change the furniture around, make a mess, clean up, have fun with your family, or get in a vicious fight. The room accommodates it all. The spaciousness of the room is unchanging and ever-present. Recognize that for a moment, it's also your nature.
From the perspective of open presence, many things happen in our day. We are busy, dealing with problems and challenges. We are interacting with our families, friends, neighbors and community. We sit alone, we sit among others. We are silent, we are talking. We are awake, we are tired, we rest, we move. All of our day plays out in the spacious awareness of rigpa.
This awareness is timelessly free. It has never known bondage and yet within that space we have been tied up in knots and untied ourselves countless times. Distinguishing between mind and rigpa, we can see how this is possible. Mind goes through endless manifestation and fluctuation. Rigpa is beyond mind, it is the open presence in which mind plays itself out endlessly.
Getting caught up in mind, we struggle with ourselves and with the world around us. Recognizing rigpa, we recognize we are already free.
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