On Meditation and the Flow of Life

After the meditation retreat in October, I wanted to write a thank you note to Justin for once again, taking the time to share his teachings with us. I felt that rather than send a private note to him directly, it would mean more if I could share some of what I took away from that weekend with everyone, including Justin. As usual, there was instruction on different techniques used in meditation followed by practice sessions. However, this year something really clicked inside of me. Before, it was easy to come home from a retreat with the best intentions of meditating but with no real idea of WHY I meditated. This lack of purpose has, in the past, lead to my giving up on meditation. This year, Justin spent a great deal of time discussing what meditation is really about. It is not about just sitting. It is not about ‘quieting the mind’. It is not something that you do for ten minutes a day when time permits. It IS about getting in touch with WHO and WHAT we are and it IS really the only way we have of doing this. Mediation is. It isn’t something we DO. If we can simply allow ourselves to tap into the state that is ever present, then we are ‘in’ meditation. For the first time, I understand the concept of ‘Effortless Effort’. This year it was easy to come home from the retreat with the best intentions to continue to meditate. But, this year the intention is more than that. It is a desire to discover that has translated into a daily meditation practice. So, Thank You Justin for removing the effort from my meditation and for helping me to understand.

– Karin Harned

While taking a shower the thought struck me about a job some of my brothers have. They are professional river guides. While guiding the rafts down the river they must read the rapids and direct the rafts through. The goal is to let the river do all the work and to keep the paddling (effort) to a minimum. The river always suggests a course through each rapid. This course is never the same due to the ever-changing water level of a river and due to the natural “pulsing” of the river. Therefore, any rapid is never the same ride twice. What a marvelous metaphor for life. The eternal wisdom of Chi is always directing our actions through the rapids of life. If we only pay attention it will tell us a path to take. This path may not be the same either. So many times I have paddled against the flow only to be dashed against a rock. But, thanks to Justin I am learning how to let the river do the paddling.

– Doug Harned