Blaming -- Part 11

Watch it!

To begin, just notice when you blame something on something else. It's perfectly normal and natural. And very destructive to our peace.

I'm not saying that you should not try to figure out the root cause of something you wish to change. Let's say you're on a diet, losing weight quite nicely. Then you hit a plateau!

Was it a change you made? Did you substitute Coke for Diet Coke? Or is it just the naturally occurring pause that most weight loss takes? It helps to know. Even if it turns out to be a co-worker tempting you with a home baked muffin every morning.

But our reaction is what counts. If it has negative energy behind it, look out! "Ah-hah! They are out to sabotage my success! I'll fix them!!"

This is blaming at its most potent.

Naming Leads to Blaming -- Part 10

Many meditators have experienced the difficulty: you are trying to "meditate" and be present when you suddenly find yourself thinking. A typical instruction is to simply notice, "thinking" and then move back to being present.

Naming this activity, however, often leads the meditator to blame the thinking or label it "bad." Pema Chodron has remarked that we need to train with gentleness so that the noticing does not lead to strong Naming and then Blaming ourselves for not staying present.

"Oh, there I go again, I can't meditate, I keep thinking!" By naming the activity we have found ourselves blaming it and ourselves. Stop the madness!

Noticing Naming -- Part 9

Awareness is a key to unlocking the door into Presence.

When do we name? Notice!

For a lot of us, driving is a wonderful opportunity to notice. Do we Name or Label the drivers we see? Idiot! Jerk! Slowpoke! Speed Demon! Notice!

Do we Name that Red Light "Too Long!" Notice!

When you Notice, congratulations are in order. Not recriminations.

We all do it. But awareness is the key.

Back to Naming -- Part 8

Consider the tree.

Walking with a dear friend, we stop in front of a tree. It's a tree all right! That is its name. It doesn't think, "I am a tree." It just is.

We start to wonder. What kind of tree is this? I watch the tree dissolve into our minds as we discuss the possibilities.

When we analyze the thing, we usually kill it.

Staying Present -- Part 7

Just a side note here: if you can stay present in this distracting world, Peace will prevail inside you. Avoiding these Sins of Naming, Blaming, Comparing, and Complaining will help keep you present.

What a great present, no?

Naming -- Part 6

In his groundbreaking work, A New Earth, Eckhart Tolle writes: "This is most people's reality: As soon as something is perceived, it is named...You do not awaken spiritually until the compulsive and unconscious naming ceases, or at least until you become aware of it..."

There's the good news: since it feels quite impossible to cease the naming we are given a workable alternative. Awareness.

And that's the key to it all: Awareness. Presence. Peace.

What about when Naming feels right?

It usually does, at least to the simple self. That part of us that is totally immersed in the simple forms of this world. The part of us which has a Name.

Is it any wonder that our Name-self loves to Name?

Four Other Deadly Sins -- Part 5

Naming
Blaming
Comparing
Complaining

These four are ones I have chosen because I have noticed a theme in Eckhart Tolle, Byron Katie, Wayne Dyer -- writers who have a similar resonance -- and I have observed that when I "commit" one of these I am less in my true self and more in my Ego.

I am less present.

I am less peaceful.

Let's explore them!