The essence of my practice is to cultivate these three inner qualities: Kindness, Clarity and Wisdom.
Kindness: An all-pervading sense of friendliness toward self and other as the foundation for all thoughts, words and actions. My longing for kindness has begun to inform all I do and think. Is it kind?, I ask myself again and again through out my day. Was that kind?, I ask myself even oftener. I practice to get closer to the present tense in my questioning.
Clarity: The ability to see clearly, without the fogginess of baggage, old stories, twisted logic and ego chest-thumping. The clear vision of what is, in this moment, without the clouding of perception brought by negative mind habits, makes it easier to be kind. With clarity comes the ability to stay in the present and my thoughts, words and actions can express truth.
Wisdom: It isn’t about knowledge or intelligence. It’s about insight and mindfulness. It is the ability to see what is true in this moment and what is needed in this moment. It is also the ability to see through the habits of the mind – including stress, disappointment, self-criticism and worry – that create suffering. With insight, I can retain my equanimity. I am given new and often startling perspectives. With mindfulness, I don’t miss the little clues; the markers on the path come into view. My step becomes sure and light. Plodding turns into dancing.
And the icing on the cake?
Joy: Not an emotion. Emotions are like the wind, they blow through. No, it is more a return to the natural state of the soul, a sense of well-being and peace.
The range of what we think and do is limited by what we fail to notice. And because we fail to notice that we fail to notice there is little we can do to change until we notice how failing to notice shapes our thoughts and deeds - Daniel Goleman
