Daily Reflection Sit

Recognizing agitation and low energy states and readjusting accordingly.

The cultivation of wise effort is fueled by a whole-hearted interest, curiosity about the conditions that lead toward awakening and the conditions that lead away from awakening.

Cultivating the wholesome and disengaging from the unwholesome.

Gently but firmly use energy to gather the body, mind & heart together AND apply energy to keep steering attention towards the wholesome and away from the unwholesome.

Inviting the wholesome and inviting it to stay

Right effort is about gathering & using the precious inner resource of energy skillfully to let go of as much stress as is possible, and cultivate as much ease of well being as is possible. Whatever the activity, what are you doing, why are you doing it, and how are you doing it?

Honoring the depth of conditioning and tenacious grip of these states; the importance of pacing.

Wise effort is the art of learning what conditions lead to increasing degrees of freedom and what conditions lead toward suffering. We do this through learning to starve the unwholesome and ultimately innocent impulses of the heart and nourishing the wholesome, life-affirming movements of the heart.

The FIRST meditative move is just to begin to get good at NOTICING what is happening & NAMING it. Clarify what is being seen. Then take a Breath & COME BACK to the PRESENT MOMENT, STEADY YOURSELF. Come back inside, to home base, to a body breathing, re-settle onto the GROUND, and into the present moment. Instruction: NOTICE, NAME, BREATHE & COME BACK IN FOR A LANDING! Notice, Name, Ground & Breathe.

In particular nor being OVERLY HEROIC; permission to settle back into the inner holding environment as needed.

Here we add another step to this practice of working with difficult mindstates, FEELING them and the stress they cause. NOTICE & NAME what is happening, Take a Breath, Come back to the present moment, steady yourself. Then, OBSERVE & FEEL the patterns of tension just enough to get their tone; then Re-stabilize and allow the ripples of disturbance to pass through.