Posted inHenry's Messages

Message from Henry: Zen Whisperer

July 30, 2019

…we are allowing an inner wellbeing, fulfillment, peace … to start to show itself.

The old religious idea of making one’s heart and mind a fit dwelling place for God – it’s a lovely analogy for practice. In practice we are learning to cultivate a healthy and “clean” inner space. 

We might think of it like this: the three pillars of bodily health are diet, exercise and sleep, according to some experts. Of course, these also help our mental wellbeing.

But to take care of the mind and heart is a little different too: it’s not just a matter of effort and control. Rather, we need to give the heart-mind time and space to be as it is, to be itself. We sit still and quiet each day and allow it to be. 

We may gently approach it and help it to settle, but more as a horse-whisperer approaching a wild mustang. Or like a mare letting her foal frolic and shy, buck and gallop and snort. She lets it do its thing, but always has one eye on it. Gradually it settles down, it finds its way to peace.

So in terms of the old analogy, through sitting practice we are making inner space for peace and wellbeing to join us. Or today we might say: we are allowing an inner wellbeing, fulfillment, peace, an intrinsic OK-ness, even an “original love” that predates all we know, to start to show itself.


Message from Henry is from our July 29, 2019 newsletter
Image: Ballerina, by marcianofab, Pixabay License

 

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