Charity begins at Home...

You can shine your shoes and wear a suit

You can comb your hair and look quite cute

You can hide your face behind a smile

One thing you can’t hide

Is when you’re crippled inside

John Lennon

I think that all of us to some degree want to be "good." We want to do good things. We try to be

helpful and altruistic towards others. We suppress our anger when we would rather tell someone, "like it is." So we try to make ourselves better through resolutions, goals, or perhaps by going to church. And none of these are, in essence, a "bad" thing.

That is one of the most notable characteristics of the Loving - Kindness meditation. Like a nuclear chain reaction you begin with yourself (the neutrons) and add thoughts of love and wellness until you achieve fission. There is no "trying" to do anything. No trying to do good; no resolutions; perhaps only your dedication to "just sit."

Sitting quietly, spine erect, feet planted firmly on the floor,

my tongue lightly touching the back of my top teeth,

my mouth slightly open, rested

I breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth.

calmly noticing my in breath, my out breath.

When I feel ready, I begin: silently to yourself

May I be well,

May I be happy,

May my mind be at peace

*This is only the beginning*

A Taoist friend asked me about the start date of 01/15/10 for The Compassion Project. She noted that although January 15Th is the date of a new moon it is not the lunar New Year which begins with the second new moon after the winter solstice.

My reasoning has much to do with my profile description of myself;

I've known monks and musicians,

preachers and physicians,

the religious, agnostic

and atheist.

Not everyone who may participate will come from a background of meditation. It may all be quite new to them. I do feel that a new moon signifies a jumping off point and I didn't want any cultural or religious ties to either the meditation itself or the significance of the start date. Although both of the meditations being introduced here have deep roots within Taoism and Buddhism they are free from dogma; they are to be experienced and watched. Without judgement, Gently observed with acceptance.

See what happens!

"To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends. To appreciate beauty; To find the best in others; To leave the world a little bit better, whether by healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life had breathed easier because you have lived, This is to have succeeded."

Emerson

These three are your greatest treasures.

Simple in actions and thoughts, you return to the source of being.

Patient with both friends and enemies,

you accord with the way things are.

Compassionate toward yourself,

you reconcile all beings in the world."

Tao Te Ching

"Happiness is like a butterfly;

the more you chase it,

the more it will elude you,

but if you turn your attention

to other things,

it will come and sit

softly on your shoulder..."

Thoreau

...."apparently intelligent people often make the equally ridiculous mistake of identifying a philosophical system, a dogma, a creed, with Ultimate Truth, imagining that they have found that Truth embraced in a set of propositions which appeals to their reason. There are thousands of men and woman searching through volume after volume, visiting religious societies, and attending the lectures of famous teachers in the vain hope that they will one day come upon some explanation of the mysteries of life: some saying, some idea, which will contain the solution to the Infinite riddle. Some continue the search until they die, others imagine that in various ideologies they have found what they desire, and a few penetrate beyond ideas about Truth to Truth itself." - Watts

All that I am trying to introduce is the ancient and ageless idea of building Wisdom & Compassion from the inside out.

Concentrating on the breath,

Centering myself,

The warmth and power

of a smile

heals me:

and thus,

heals the world.

Concentrating on the breath,

Centering myself,

May all beings

Be Happy,

Be Well,

Be Free from Suffering.

"If you want others to be happy

practice compassion.

If you want to be happy,

practice compassion."

Dalai Lama

The Compassion Project - Must Reads

"As you simplify your life,

the laws of the universe will be simpler;

solitude will not be solitude,

poverty will not be poverty,

nor weakness weakness."

Thoreau

"Simplicity, patience, compassion.

These three are your greatest treasures.

Simple in actions and thoughts,

you return to the source of being.

Patient with both friends and enemies,

you accord with the way things are.

Compassionate toward yourself,

you reconcile all beings in the world."

Tao Te Ching

Loving-kindness meditation & the Inner Smile meditation have been practiced by Taoist and Buddhist adherents for over 2500 years. As such, they are often overlooked as being too simple and not as mystical as samatha and vipassana,or those contained within the Internal alchemy, practices such as Qi Gong and Tai Chi.

Please read the earlier posts and then continue on to;

Here

&

Here

Meditation intro - The Compassion Project - Lesson One

Read in chronological order............(in other words...begin at the beginning)


Not everyone who chooses to participate in The Compassion Project may be new to the practice of meditation. We are going to be working with two types of meditation which are traditionally known as coming from the Taoist Internal Alchemy tradition (Inner Smile Meditation) and the Buddhist Theravada tradition. (Metta Bhavana or Loving-Kindness Meditation)
For those to whom meditation is not new, I would ask that you continue with those postures that are applicable to your current practice or tradition. For those that are coming into this new, I would suggest that you sit comfortably on the edge of a chair or stool, spine erect, with both feet flat on the floor. Position your hands, palms up, upon your knees. (We will talk about mudras (hand position) later.

Please read the links (above) and here....and here

Read, listen (several times) and decide which meditation you plan to choose to follow.

Please feel free to ask questions.

Relax.....you have plenty of time to decide.

We begin 01/15/2010

Prologue: The Compassion Project - Beginning 01/15/2001

We cannot deny that we often live our lives as some very complicated series of moments strung together by memories, used to define where we were and where we came from, balanced by hopes and fantasy for having a better future. Families struggle with job loss and health concerns, bills accumulate; the holiday season manufactures increased weight upon our already burdened shoulders.

Man, it can get you down!
Perhaps you are unaffected by the economic downturn and give little concern to paying your mortgage or making your car payment. Your health is good and the political push for a new healthcare system or the "War on Terrorism" concerns you about as much as the weather in Bangladesh.

I think that we can agree that we are seldom the proverbial "hot knifes through butter" when it comes to sliding smoothly through the everyday issues that confront us.

Our problems vary as much as our political opinions. But the way in which we most often choose to respond to life's difficulties inevitably places an emphasis on enjoyable memories balanced with future hope and expectations. To quote Watts, "With these assured, (memories and expectations) he can put up with an extremely miserable present. Without this assurance, he can be extremely miserable in the midst of immediate physical pleasure."

We focus on the Machiavellian affairs back at the office while we are at home on holiday. We worry and concern ourselves with that which has not yet happened, or may not happen, ever! How often do we keep company with a pleasant memory because our troubling present appears to harsh to face? Perhaps our present is filled with regret over what once was; robbing us of any ability to enjoy what is; right now.

Anyone that has read my posts from the past five years knows that I have tried to cope with loss - and anger. Lots of anger. (cleverly hidden?:>) And disappointment; Disappointment that runs deep.

Attempting to grasp the brass ring of varying levels of coping and adjustment is like trying to catch a blowing wind in a bottle; or like trying to wrap eight pounds of water in gift paper. You are left increasingly frustrated, if not all wet in the process.

I'm reminded of someone that I once hired to work in Quality Control, performing tests and adjustments to materials before shipment to our customers. The simple mathematical equations and formulations were deemed too difficult a task for him. We really liked him and wanted him to succeed so we tutored him endlessly.

One day we asked him rather hopefully, "Dave. What's 10% of 100?" With a scrunched up face he labored intensely trying to give us the correct answer."One hundred and one?" he replied.

Sometimes all the thinking in the world will not liberate from our ignorance!

And this is what I have been leading up to..............

In my twenty plus years of practice, perhaps labeled, (if I must) has been a blend of Taoism and Zen. I can attest that the effortless way that proved to be the most beneficial followed the simple practice of two types of meditation. One taken from the Taoist tradition and one from the Buddhist tradition.

Meditation at its best should be free from expectation. It should not be result oriented. But that is not to say that there are no rewards for those that "just do it." Upon reflection I have come to realize that it was when I was committed to either one form of these meditations or upon both, something mystical happened.

And this is my jumping off point. I hoping that you will join me in beginning a meditation practice utilizing either one or both of these forms of meditation. I am hoping that you will chronicle and share with me your experience.

Its just that simple.

In the next few weeks I will be publishing several links to aid you in beginning one or both of these forms of meditation. The energy that results from this type of meditation practice radiates from you outward.

"The place to improve the world is first in one's own heart and head and hands,

and then work outward from there."

Robert M. Pirsig

"Leap and the net will appear!

The Compassion Project

Coming Soon! Starting 1/15/10

New Year - New Moon - New Beginnings