See all series | See all talks
Teacher: Rodney Smith
Date: 2003-02-17
Venue: Seattle Insight Meditation Center
Series
- The Story of “Me” 2003-01-06
Homework
Your story gives you a fix, a designation and location in time and place. It says, “I was here and did this at this time.” By designating yourself in memory you carry an ongoing sense of who you are derived from the past. This week you want to work with the feeling of a fixed and located sense of yourself.
Watch how fixing upon your story and the stories of those around you offers a sense of control through knowledge and predictability. They are a deliberate movement toward security and certainty. What is lost in this attempt to assign order to a universe that has no clear designation or purpose? What is gained? The problem is that once your mind becomes dependent upon fixation, it cannot release the fixation to change or die. The mind wants continuity. But is that realistic? This week when you fix upon something being just what you designate it to be, ask yourself, “Is this designation true? Will this last?” Be aware of the emotions behind the fixation.
TalkID=703 SeriesID=31