Reactivity amplifies our suffering in the moment

I'm an admirer of Jeff Warren's guided meditations on my iPhone's Calm app. Here's how a recent offering from Warren starts out. I liked it a lot.

His tar metaphor is great. When I react to a problem in my life with a strong negative emotion, it does indeed feel like I'm covered in a black sticky substance that makes it difficult to see what's going on with any sort of clarity. 

But notice that Warren says we shouldn't fight what's happening. Rather, we need to accept everything both inside and outside of us. 

The less we fight, and simply deal with the situation as calmly as possible, the less tar we get on ourselves.

What is acceptance?

Hi, I'm Jeff.

So, acceptance is a technical term in meditation, similar to equanimity. When we meditate, we notice a sensation, or a sound, or a feeling, and then we accept that it's present.

We don't do what most of us do reflexively, all the time. Which is, we subtly interfere with sounds, and feelings, and sensations.

 We block what we don't like, and we grab on to what we do. Doing both of these feeds a pattern of reactivity that actually amplifies our suffering in the moment.  

It's a bit like wrestling with a blob of tar. The more we fight, the more tar we get on ourselves. All of a sudden we're running through life in a flailing tar-covered freakout. 

We can't get a clear view of any situation because we're flopping tar everywhere. 

Plus, we're wearing tar-smeared sunglasses. Our friends are like, "Hey buddy, what do you think of this?" And we're like, "Tar, tar, tar, tar, tar." We only speak tar.

I say this, by the way, as someone who has spent a lot of my life flailing around in a tar-covered freakout. We all have. So fixated on our thing, that we miss all the cues happening around us. 

What's the alternative? 

The alternative is taking a breath, finding our poise, and allowing everything to be there. Then, from that place, we act. No tar.

That's acceptance. It deserves the hype. 

Comments

[Spence Tepper]

Learning to recognize our reactivity is a great step forward to accepting what is around and within us. When we react, then we are interfering. But, physiologically, neurologically, we are already interfering. The brain is the instrument of perception and alters what we see and here. And when we perceive, we react. When we see something astounding, as feel awe! And when we see something depressing, we feel weight.

But if we take ourselves out of it, then we aren't reacting anymore.

When, through meditation, we learn to calm down and let go, then the hard sticky gooey mind becomes the tacky gelatinous mind, and then the tacky gelatinous mind becomes the muddy mind, and then the muddy mind becomes the murky mind, and then the murky mind becomes the translucent colored mind, and then the translucent colored mind becomes the clear and fluid mind, and then the fluid mind becomes the vapor mind, and then there is no mind but the mind in all things.

Stages. Stages of focus, stages of acceptance, stages of forgiveness. And when there is no "I" to react, there is no reaction. No "I" to be injured, no "I" to be amazed, no "I" to judge, no "I" even to be thankful. It isn't a struggle. It's just releasing our grip little by little. We had no idea we were gripping so tightly. But we learn to realize how tightly, how emotionally we were clinging to our view.

And in each stage we become more centered, more balanced, more grounded, more connected in a reality that doesn't change, doesn't fluctuate, moving through so many layers of perception and reality.

[S]

All I can say is absolutely true. Spot on. I agree. Amen.

[Uchit]

Clinging and attaching is no good in anyway it ultimately brings suffering. But you may be happy clinging and attaching to someone or some entity that doesn't have your best interest at heart which can be dangerous. This is in fact the trick of RSSB and GSD where sangat are encouraged to surrender everything and attach to a narcissist, a self serving sociopath spirit hell bent on becoming the number 1 religion of the world. If you focus on this negative energy, where do you think your energy will go? As a clue look at your own life, is attaching your self to this fake guru improving your life or making it more difficult compared to others - answers on a postcard please .

[Karim W. Rahmaan]

"Hi, I'm Jeff.

So, acceptance is a technical term in meditation, similar to equanimity. When we meditate, we notice a sensation, or a sound, or a feeling, and then we accept that it's present."

Is this guy a different master? The Calm title, makes me think of relaxation. I also think about better sleep.

There was a method I tried for calm and sleep. First, we tensed up muscles then released. Next, someone played very relaxing music.

Many of us went right to sleep, very, very, relaxing.
:)

[The End]

Sadly, GSD has never gone beyond the causal realm and that’s why so many people have negative experiences when they “cling to him”. If you never climb higher than the negative power then you should never be a master. End of story.

So create a new story. Find a new guru or mentor or some sort of inspiration. Love is all around you. You’ll easily find it if you look in the right direction.

[umami]

"Sadly, GSD has never gone beyond the causal realm"

Bold statement. How do you know?

[Manoj]

Sadly, GSD has never gone beyond the causal realm"

I think its true, but the real truth is...

"GSD hasn't even gone beyond the Physical realm"

Check out his resume

A cult riddled with lies
A cult based on kaal name chanting
A fake millionaire baba
A fraud
A liar
A womaniser
A criminal
A..........
A..........
A..........
I'm sure you see it, its endless...

You will only get Negative experiences from a Negative force "Kaal" Satan

Don't bat for him like, GSD does!