RAIN, MINDFULNESS, and LESSONS ON ACCEPTANCE by Tina L Romenesko

I’m writing this blogpost during a torrential rain - thunder, lightning - the works!  A week of rain has descended upon  La Vall de Laguar, after suffering the worst drought in 150 years this summer.  Instead of taking one last hike through the almond groves, I guess I’ll sit down and write about a few things I”ve learned here at this training.  

Hand crafted ceiling in the meditation room at Solterreno.

Mindfulness is based on some very concrete foundations that serve as a groundwork for the very important and challenging journey of Awareness.  Here you go:

The first foundation is the Triangle of Awareness:  Body.  Thought.  Emotions.  These three elements comprise our reality.  Most people are run around by Thoughts and Emotions until their Body breaks down and they need to make some big life changes.  When we sit in stillness and recognize our patterns, we increase awareness at all 3 areas and are able to wake up and inhabit our lives more fully, more mindfully, and consequently we suffer less.

Body - Students learn to inhabit the body by practicing Body Scans.  Body Scans usually last about 40 minutes and can be lead by a teacher or CD.   So many people only live in their Mind.  Embodiment is where all mindfulness practices begin.  

Thought - noticing our thoughts - A basic tenet of Mindfulness is that Thoughts are not Facts.  Many of our thoughts simply reflect our automatic responses to life, which is called Automatic Pilot.  Automatic Pilot is mindless and can get us into bad habits that we aren’t even aware of.  When our Thoughts go round and round we are standing in place - stuck.  If we have a problem, we will probably get into a pattern of ruminating - circulating thought patterns - that seldom are creative and even less frequently solve anything.  Mindfulness encourages us to get back into the moment and be present with what is happening, instead of thinking about it - or ignoring it.  It opens us up to the beautiful small details of our lives - getting out of the head and into the heart of our lives.  

Emotions are another story.  Literally.  Letting go of the story around the emotion and noticing its reflection in the body is the third element of Mindfulness.  Sounds simple.  Good luck with this one.

The second foundation of MIndfulness is the Eight Attitudinals.  1.  Non Judgment  2.  Acceptance  3.  Beginners MInd  4.  Non-striving  5.  Letting Go  6.  Patience  7.  Trust  8.  Self Compassion (much like the Four Agreements, there’s always one you can never remember…. )  Bringing these Attitudes to the cushion, reminds us that this isn’t a journey of doing or a journey of ego.  It’s about remembering, making more space, coming back to our senses and listening.

But it all begins and ends with time on the cushion.  Sitting down and remembering to be here now.  Lying down on the earth and remembering the shape of the body, its contours, its sensations, and the life force that lies within it. The meditations are guided for the first 8 weeks and begin with Body Scans and Mindful Movement (which may be yoga but only if it follows the 8 Attitudinals)  MIndful Movement is about noticing what is happening in the body without a goal.  Being with the movement as opposed to simply doing movement (moving mindlessly).  

The next meditations are centered on Gathering the Scattered MInd - using Body and Breath as the tether to the present moment.  Noticing when we are disembodied and coming back to the body.  Noticing when we have been taken away with a Thought - and coming back to the Breath.  Noticing the story around our Emotions, releasing the story, and noticing where in the body you are feeling the Emotion - naming it - and then returning to the Body and the Breath in Present Moment Awarenesss.  

In this course, which is a combination of MBSR (MIndfulness Based Stress Relief) and MBCT (MIndfulness Based Cognitive Therapy), week 7 is a Meditation on Loving Kindness or what is traditionally called Metta Meditation.  Compassion is implicit in this work - for yourself and others.  It’s an 8 week course that is very well structured, and available to anyone who is interested in Waking Up to what is truly happening in their life, without wishing it were different.  

Its the benefits that are the startling part - and perhaps they happen no matter what kind of meditation you practice.  Immediately and almost without exception, students begin to feel a spaciousness and expansiveness in their life.  Each moment becomes more full - more clear - they appreciate their life and make better choices.

I can’t close this blogpost without acknowleding the Paradox of Mindfulness:  Acceptance precedes Change.  This is always the case.  Change doesn’t happen without Acceptance happening first.  No one ever woke up by pulling the covers over their head.  It simply will not happen.  Instead of wishing life were different, we finally accept the reality of life as it is.  And perhaps, if we get to the cushion every day, we Choose Change - we Wake Up and make Choices that bring us more Freedom, more Peace, more Joy.

Well, it looks like the rain isn’t going to stop this afternoon - no last hike for me!  So I pull out some texts that have been translated into Spanish that Bodhin has given me to look through before I leave, and the first thing I turn to is a poem by Mary Oliver - translated into Spanish.  See.  If I keep my mind open to what is - even a rainy afternoon is a gift.  Mindfulness doesn’t mean our life is perfect -it’s what we do with those imperfect moments that changes.  

Thank you Mary.  Thank you Bodhin and Kathy.  Thank you rain…………..

“Tell me. What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
"Dime. ¿Qué planeas hacer con tu vida preciosa, salvaje, única?"