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Teacher: Rodney Smith
Date: 2002-03-18
Venue: Seattle Insight Meditation Center
Series
- Distortions of Mind 1 2002-01-14
Homework
Finding spiritual sufficiency in the midst of the wanting mind is the purpose of the homework this week. Notice how unfulfilled desires can lead to a loss of vitality and boredom. If thoughts go unchecked, desire occasionally moves even deeper into neediness and dependency. Notice where the wanting mind is directed and what it seems to lack. What experience is needed for fulfillment? Feel the sense of incompletion within the wanting. What self-descriptive thoughts perpetuate the assumption of being incomplete without the desired object? Feel the dependency on the object of your desire. Can you relax with the wanting without trying to fulfill it? Behind the wanting is the fear of not having. Embody that fear and see what it says about you.
When you find yourself pursuing a desire, stop the action and ask, “Why am I doing this?” Cut through all the excuses and rationalization until you arrive at “I don’t know.” When you have stopped, the emotion driving the action will be felt. Enter into the emotion and be the feeling. Become intimately familiar with all aspects of the emotion. Remain aware of all the thoughts that arise within the emotion. As you become more familiar with the desire, the power it has over you decreases.
TalkID=709 SeriesID=28
