Over the past many years I’ve read books and articles and listened to many audio presentations by Pema Chodron, Tibetan Buddhist nun and teacher, now 84 years old. I make efforts for myself to understand and practice her teachings. I have used her practices of realizing our shared humanity of harmony and chaos in my work with individuals as a mental health therapist and as a Reiki practitioner.
I’m again listening to her audio “Coming Closer to Ourselves” (please see reference below) I would like to share my thoughts and recommendations for support with chaotic energies you might be feeling as an individual or as part of a collective experience of discomfort and distress. I am feeling high levels of both these types of energies at this time. I find I need lots of space between tasks for quiet and calm. Meditative moments of quietness. How I make decisions about my day are often about choices that are less active rather than more. Because I’ve found myself more focused, with a feeling of necessity, on the tragedy and chaos of world events and political wrangling causing internal distress in me. I recognize it as levels of a form of “ubiquitous nervousness”, a term Pema refers to in her teachings. Therefore, I’ve decided to review some personal practices that have been helpful to me and share them.
Pema’s gentleness is refreshing, as is her intelligence and humor, as she guides you to understanding the practice of meditation and how to be gentle and kind with yourself by accepting yourself just as you are right now. Her teachings as a Buddhist nun and teacher of Buddhism are about practicing meditation and bringing or settling into and staying with yourself with honesty. Developing clarity and courage as you become aware of your own feelings and thoughts at a deeper level through meditation and reflection. Pema guides us to consider being open to the harmony and chaos within and learning to say no as you learn to understand and stay with negative emotions as just energy. Nothing to do beyond noticing and being curious of your thoughts and emotions to whatever arises and letting them go as a practice of being with the engery within, and not as a solution necessarily.
I just want to say here as a Baha'i for fifty years now, I began studying the Baha'i Writings in 1974. There is a teaching that states, "One hour of reflection is worth 70 years of pious worship." (Bahá’u’lláh, The Kitáb-i-Iqan, p. 238). There is no direction on how or if one should meditate in the Baha'i Writings. I have learned that I need some guidance in understanding myself as it relates to meditation, and my path to my own spiritual practices and development. In the book, Paris Talks, a question was posed "What is meditation in reality and how do we meditate? ‘Abdu’l-Bahá explains the process in simple and clear terms: "It is an axiomatic fact," says He, "that while you meditate you are speaking with your spirit. In that state of mind you put certain questions to your spirit and the spirit answers: the light breaks forth and the reality is revealed. You cannot apply the name ‘man’ to any being void of this faculty of meditation; without it he would be a mere animal, lower than the beasts." ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Paris talks, pg 174-175.
So as I understand it, in learning meditation as it relates to one’s self emotionally and spiritually Pema states, “Emotions are the combination of energy and thought. You let the thoughts go and what’s left is energy. This is the practice, not the solution, but the practice of meditation”. I recommend studying her work, resources are below. In my opinion her teachings on the practice of meditation and her guidance in general can be considered a self care choice. One way to define this principle and practice of choosing a meditation practice of self care is to consider it as choosing to take a “five step self time out”. We write about this on our website at www.selftimeout.org. As I become aware of the struggle and discomfort in my body, I can choose to reflect and ask myself, what do I need? I can ask, are my choices in this moment life giving and confirming or are they life threatening and full of fear, anger or confusion? Very subtle meditative question to sitting down and moving closer to yourself.
The guidance then becomes more about learning to not struggle with the uncomfortable feelings of push and pull, for and against, the perceptions of the natural dualistic thinking of the mind, but of actually discovering a curiosity about myself. Do my choices bring comfort or escalation within myself and my relationships with others? The insight of noticing my feelings and needs through meditation is a gentle shift of awareness. As uncomfortable as it might feel, it’s only energy. I have more information to choose to make a plan to take care of myself, to be with myself by listening to my feelings and needs, this shift helps me to choose better self care.
This is what I am feeling and ever learning and why I feel the need to share these spiritual principles as tools for self care once again and at this moment in time. I believe we need to each take personal responsibility to become aware of and awake to this rapid and increasing human transformation that feels like mass chaos, now, together, as a process of healing for ourselves and our families and communities, and ultimately as a pathway to the healing of our Mother Earth.
Here are a few resources to study her work:
The particular audio is https://www.soundstrue.com/products/coming-closer-to-ourselves (from Sounds True publications, soundstrue.com, which I love.)
Another talk from Sounds True is: “Unconditional Confidence, Instructions for Meeting any Experience with Trust and Courage.”
There are utubes you can listen to that are free when you Google her name.
She has written many books. One of her books I’ve found very helpful over the years is “The Places That Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness.”
I suggest reading any of her articles in the magazine, Lions Roar. The most interesting current article of Pema’s is: https://www.lionsroar.com/from-suffering-to-awakening-3-ways-to-transform-your-emotions/ you may need to create a free account.
Finally often in Pema Chodron’s talks she will refer you to her recommendations for readings that led her to becoming a Buddhist nun and one of the main writings and authors she refers to is on the subject of “negative negativity”. One such writing is:
https://www.thezengateway.com/culture/choegyam-trungpa-working-with-negativity
Photo at the top is of Deception Pass, Salish Sea the Summer of 2017. Homelands of the Coast Salish People.
Photo at the bottom is of the Quileute River as it runs into Rialto Beach the Summer of 2019. Homelands of the Quileute Tribe.
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