Daily Reflection Sit

Let’s practice being wise consumers. Let’s assess what we need and what we need to hold on to to support our well-being.

Is the body not a temple? We would not put garbage in a temple, Yet we often eat what we know to be unwholesome.

Energy is a resource we use every day in everything we do, say or think. How can we be a bit more deliberate about how we use it, how much we use and to what end? CHECK IN. See for yourself if you are using this finite supply of energy wisely, that is, for the good, for letting go of unwholesome or unhealthy habits or patterns and bringing forth wholesome, healthy ones that support our wellbeing. The answer lies inside, in how we FEEL.

Explore ways to sustain, cultivate, savor wholesome states of mind and heart.

The first step is always to NOTICE when an afflictive state is present. Then, TAKE A BREATH, LET GO of the thought or emotion & BRING ATTENTION back into the body breathing. Stay there. ….Let the tension unwind! SOOTHE the activation to support its release. This is good practice.

Notice the sticky attachment to the unwholesome, the negativity bias,the inclination of the wandering mind to go looking for trouble.

The Four Great Endeavors teach us different ways of using energy wisely, in the service of letting go of stress and bringing forth ease of wellbeing. With these are meditative moves we can evaluate for ourselves to see if they are moving us in the direction of less suffering.

How the Four Endeavors can help us to practice the 5th Precept and know when enough is enough.

"Want” can hijack us and pull us out of the present moment. We can lean into the next moment hoping there is something more interesting for us. We want to get familiar with the wanting mind so that it's not running our lives.

Slow down for a few bites and feel craving as it arises. Does that add anything positive to the experience of taste?

When did the phone become our best friend we can’t live without? When did we need PSA’s to tell us we need to not text in a movie theater, or when driving? How mindful are we when we pick up our phones? Consider deliberately creating scroll-free time in the day as well as scroll time.