See all series | See all talks
Teacher: Rodney Smith
Date: 2007-11-13
Venue: Seattle Insight Meditation Center
Series
- Embracing Death as a Spiritual Path 2007-10-02
Homework
The fear of death includes the fear of silence. Noise defines us and silence intimates not being. The heart seeks quietude even as the mind avoids it. Reflect upon the question of how dependent you are upon noise. Watch how you fill your day with the external sounds of radio, TV, music. Notice your need to speak without saying anything meaningful. How essential are the thoughts you think to your living experience? What is the value of all this noise? How does it help confirm your existence? Try paring back the external and internal noise, eliminating what is not essential. Ask yourself, “Is this thought really necessary?” If not, release yourself from it. As you move more into silence notice the effects on your heart. Are you more sensitive and caring, do you have an easier time seeing interconnectedness? This is what it means to die to oneself.
TalkID=480 SeriesID=22
