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Impermanence

3/24/2013

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No thing becomes nothing; 
Touching impermanence













The Orchid sits regal in it’s simple clay pot. The cascade of flowers describes an elegant arch ending in several buds, full of the promise of more blooms. Each petal is colored with delicate care by an unseen paint brush; the nuances of tint and shade delight the discerning eye. What will be left when the last bud opens and the blossoms fade and die?

Attaching to what can’t be held

Our human inclination is to cling to delightful experience. We see the flowers as static and wish for them to last forever. We think of them in a single dimension as existing only now and never again. When they disappear we may feel sad, or may cling to the experience. How can I get this plant to bloom again soon? I should buy more Orchid plants. What if I could always have Orchid flowers blooming, and never have to go without?

Being and Non-being is a continuum

 Looking deeply into the Orchid plant, we can touch the ground of reality. In its essence, rests all that it has been and may yet be. It is not simply a plant with flowers. It is air and water and soil. It is clouds, sun and nutrients. Its very cells are shifting, evolving into new biochemical patterns, in every moment. 

When the blooms are gone, they are still part of what is real, but their form has changed. Everything that came together as an orchid bloom; still exists in the air, the clouds, the potting medium. 

When the farmer looks at his field, planted with wheat, he sees the stalks filled with grain. When we look at a young child, we see who they may become. But we don’t like to look at the empty field of brown stubble after the harvest. We don’t acknowledge that even a precious child filled with great potential, will one day grow old and die. 

Everything cycles into a place where it is not seen. We call this death and it causes us great suffering.

All Dharmas Arise, Abide, and Pass Away

Liberating ourselves from clinging to a concrete view of reality may seem a daunting task. It feels so filled with loss and sadness. Yet, when we can touch impermanence, we become free to experience life with a depth and delight that is not otherwise possible. Everything, even our very selves, are changing moving and flowing into the next moment of existence. We are not fixed entities. We will not last forever in this set of evolving configurations. Yet we will never disappear.

Nourishing the awareness of impermanence
As you walk mindfully through your day, notice the fluid, evolving nature of everything around you. That tree on the corner of your street was once a seed and may one day be wood for a park bench. The building you work in, was once an idea in an architect’s mind; and will some time fall into rubble and dust, or become soil and the minerals that a seed needs to grow into a tree. Nothing is ever lost. No thing goes nowhere. No thing comes from nowhere.

Breathing in I am aware of my body
Breathing out I experience my body changing.

Breathing in I notice the evolving nature of the world around me.
Breathing out I open to the changes in my own being.

Breathing in I feel free of clinging to a solid world.
Breathing out I enjoy the thrill of groundlessness.


Breathing in I feel the fear of loss
Breathing out I kindly hold my fear.


Breathing in I am free to enter into this moment,
Breathing out I open my hands.

Breathing in I intend to refrain from clinging
Breathing out I am here.



May this information benefit you, those you love, and all sentient beings, everywhere.

-Ellen Adelman

© Ellen M. Adelman PhD 2013, all rights reserved.
Mind Body Intelligence tm is a trademark of Ellen M. Adelman PhD and the Sage Healing Institute. 

For more information visit www.sagehealinginstitute.com.











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Snow on a Spring Morning

3/16/2013

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Snow on a Spring morning; 
Past Present and Future Are Now

The air is mild. A few patches of pale blue sky and young sunlight peek through the clouds. Flakes of snow; errant feathers from the shaken pillows of heaven, drift down into this spring morning. Beautifully odd and compelling, as Winter and Spring intermingle and remind us that all is one.
Thinking in a straight line
If we were living in one dimension, on a path of time that only moved from beginning to end, there would be so little room for growth, change and joy. We grow up believing that we cannot change the past, and that the past will determine the future; A great source of suffering.
Reality is vast
 When we realize, as quantum physics teaches us, that many dimensions exist at once, many planets, and many universes; a powerful sensation of spaciousness and possibility occurs. 

We carry with us all that we have been, all that we are, and all that we might be, in every, single moment. Each of those moments are full of choice, with a myriad of possibilities waiting to unfold before you.
We can change the past
 Choosing a mindful path allows us to heal the past. We can bring compassion and understanding to relationships that may be long gone. This compassion causes a ripple of lovingkindness to move through time. It touches our past selves and the people in our lives. It heals us and them. Voila! The present is now a new version of history. Possibility for the future is now broader, deeper and more fluid. 
Looking deeply into time 

and space
 As you sit in mindful meditation, gently open to the beauty that is around you. Snow can fall into a spring morning. 

Looking deeply, you may experience the immensity of all that is occurring now, and your place in the flow of time. Open into self compassion, spaciousness and infinite possibility in every direction.

Breathing in I feel life infusing my body
Breathing out my body opens into this moment.


Breathing in I notice the beauty all around me.
Breathing out I am one with experience.


Breathing in I take limitless space into the body-mind.
Breathing out I feel spacious.


Breathing in I invite compassion into my heart
Breathing out I send compassion throughout my whole history.


Breathing in I am filled with infinite possibility,
Breathing out I send lovingkindness into the future.

Breathing in I am present in this moment

Breathing out I open to joy.



May this information benefit you, those you love, and all sentient beings, everywhere.

-Ellen Adelman

© Ellen M. Adelman PhD 2013, all rights reserved.

Mind Body Intelligence tm is a trademark of Ellen M. Adelman PhD and the Sage Healing Institute. 

For more information visit www.sagehealinginstitute.com.





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Water and Stone

3/10/2013

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Water and Stone: Mindful Relationship

When we experience pain or friction in our relationships, it  may be difficult to remain mindful. Feeling hurt we tend to close down and become hardened toward the other person. As we dwell in this dark, protected space we can see nothing but the cold stone walls created by pain. We create a rocky shell around our hearts that is meant to protect. 

The Litany of the Wronged
 With eyes closed we chant the litany of our defense; “I am right, they are wrong. They are so hurtful and I am just a victim. I must get them to go away, or admit their guilt and apologize. I will not let them hurt me again. I am hard as stone.”

Anger is Important
 It is important that we be allowed to feel anger and it is human to want to defend ourselves when we feel wronged. As an alternative to simply reacting, a mindful path permits us to make compassionate yet effective choices, as we take good care of ourselves.

 A mindful path flows like rushing water across the stone. We travel to a place of safety and resolution; a deep serene pool. Our heart is soft, spacious and moving. 

How to begin
We start by taking very good care of the anger. Placing our mindful arms around it, we hold the anger with tenderness.

As we breathe, the stone around our hearts begins to sing and dissolve into the powerful currents of mindfulness. We become infused with the courage to face the difficulty with an open heart.

If your partner is mindful as well, the interaction can be one of mutual healing. Each person takes good care of their anger. Each person is able to take responsibility for whatever suffering they may have caused. Each person compassionately acknowledges the other. Deep understanding, resolution and growth occurs.

Encountering Anger
 You might benefit from sitting with one experience of anger. Bring your mindful compassionate self (your Benevolent Witness) to hold your anger. See about refraining from judgment and criticism. Continue to focus on the breath and see what insights arise!

Breathing in I feel the breath in my body
Breathing out I allow my body to rest.

Breathing in I notice hurt and angry feelings.
Breathing out I gently hold them in my arms.


Breathing in I feel my difficulty.
Breathing out I know I am safe from harm.

Breathing in I am the softness of water, tempered with stone
Breathing out I am compassionate and powerful.

Breathing in I am the strength of stone dissolved in water,
Breathing out I cannot be broken.




May this information benefit you, those you love, and all sentient beings, everywhere.

-Ellen Adelman

© Ellen M. Adelman PhD 2013, all rights reserved.

Mind Body Intelligence tm is a trademark of Ellen M. Adelman PhD and the Sage Healing Institute. 

For more information visit www.sagehealinginstitute.com.








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The Buddha and the Cactus

3/3/2013

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The Buddha and the Cactus:
Working with Difficult Experience


 Reacting with aversion to any unpleasant experience causes us greater suffering. Inviting ourselves to lean deeply into something painful, just seems counter-intuitive; especially in our culture, where we are taught that we should never have to feel pain.

Discomfort
Discomfort is part of life. If we adopt the attitude that all of life, every experience, is valuable and rich; we can be relieved of a great part of our suffering.

What a Drag!
Perhaps today you find that you are late for an appointment. Rushing about you begin to perspire and feel physically uncomfortable.  In your mind your Critical Witness begins to berate you: “Why did you mess around at breakfast? Couldn’t you have looked at the clock? Did you really have to check your email, one more time? Now you are going to be late. People are going to be angry. What an idiot!”


Closing Down:
When we are distressed, we tend to close down, and harden ourselves to deal with the unpleasant situation.
 We criticize ourselves or someone else. We may react without thinking, by being hurtful to ourselves or someone we love.
 Yet, we might choose to transform these automatic ways of responding into a more wholesome path. Because mindfulness practice offers us a choice.


Choose One Experience
 You might want to choose one difficult experience from  your recent past, or aspire to practice the following, next time you experience suffering. 

Breathing in I feel the breath in my body
Breathing out I enjoy my breath.

Breathing in I notice my surroundings.
Breathing out I gently enter the present moment.

Breathing in I feel my difficulty.
Breathing out I refrain from judgment and criticism.

Breathing in I open to my own heart
Breathing out I send compassion and wisdom.

May this information benefit you, those you love, and all sentient beings, everywhere.
-Ellen Adelman




© Ellen M. Adelman PhD 2013, all rights reserved.
Mind Body Intelligence tm is a trademark of Ellen M. Adelman PhD and the Sage Healing Institute. 

For more information visit www.sagehealinginstitute.com.




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Infant Sensitivity and Mindfulness

3/1/2013

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Infant sensitivity, attachment, and predicting behavior problems: Implications for Mindfulness Practice.

An interesting study examining infant sensitivity to the environment can provide a deeper understanding of the value of the Child’s mind. The study by Conradt, Measlee, and Ablow, looks at ways to identify which babies might develop behavior problems, when raised in impoverished homes. 

 The infants in the study were monitored for their responsiveness to stimuli in their environment, by measuring their heart rate. Babies with higher heart rates were more sensitive to the environment.

Babies were evaluated again as 17 month old toddlers for behavior problems such as aggression and anxiety. They were also assessed for the level of secure attachment to their mothers.

The interesting results of the study showed the infants with greater sensitivity to the environment had far greater behavior problems if their relationship with their mother was insecure. Conversely, the sensitive children with secure attachment to Mom did far better than any of the other groups, (they had far fewer behavior problems) including children living in less stressful, more affluent environments. 


How do we integrate this with our understanding of mindfulness and Buddhist psychology?

You might see the infants with greater sensitivity as naturally inclined to be responsive and open to the environment. This sounds very much like the attitude of the Child’s Mind! Yet those sensitive individuals can be overwhelmed by their own openness without the comfort of the compassionate relationship (as in the secure attachment with Mom).

When we provide compassion to ourselves, in our internal world, we are far better equipped to respond, in productive ways to our environment! So mindfulness opens the door to experience, and compassion offers us the safety to respond with an open mind, body, and spirit!

May this information benefit you, those you love, and all sentient beings, everywhere.

-Ellen Adelman

© Ellen M. Adelman PhD 2013, all rights reserved.
Mind Body Intelligence tm is a trademark of Ellen M. Adelman PhD and the Sage Healing Institute. 





1 Comment

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