Unexpected Freedom

Contemplating Happinessin full flight – this is the means by which we can graduallyundo our habitual patterns of avoidance.How is formal sitting preparation? When we sit on ourcushion we are encouraged to be still and not to move, evenif we want to. As we sit we just observe whatever ishappening in body and mind without trying to achieveanything special. We experience thoughts and fantasies anddifferent sorts of feelings and sensations. We allow things tobe as they are. The more we try to forcibly stop ourimagination and internal dialogue, the more vigorous ourmental activity becomes. One skilful way of working is totry seeing ourselves as being a host to visiting guests – wetreat them with kindness and courtesy and give them spaceto be themselves. It is not our duty to get unnecessarilyinvolved with them. Sometimes our preoccupation with themomentum of our worldly activities means that we do notattain any real peace. I have recently spent whole meditationsessions designing the interior of our new retreat house! Itdoes not necessarily matter that we do not attain deeptranquillity. It is more important to know that there is noobligation to be carried away by our thoughts and reactions.The discipline of meditation is a way of practising to be withreality as it is. This is what we are preparing for – how to bewith what is, fully present in body and mind, so that we canlearn from what is, instead of being caught up in ‘what if’ or‘if only’.The ‘what if ’ disorder is endemic: ‘What if that didn’thappen?’ ‘What if this happened?’ The ‘if only’ disease isalso a very painful and sad condition which we all sufferfrom to varying degrees. Instead of suffering the agony ofbeing caught up in the ‘if only’ disease we could beexperiencing the pleasure of learning from what already is –the way things naturally are. This takes training, however,189