Working with our Senses and our State of Mind
by Steve Vosper
So, life can be challenging. We all know this. The question arises, what can we do about it? In my October SMC Newsletter posting, Challenges are the Path, I suggested that perhaps those challenges can be a way forward, rather than obstacles in our lives. In September I had also suggested that Mindfulness is the Key, and that’s where this particular rubber meets the road. With our own basic mindfulness, we can work with our senses, work with our state of mind. We can begin to understand ourselves better, begin to transform ourselves for the better and begin to engage in our lives more fully.
That said, this doesn’t involve taking on some kind of dreadful project or big addition to our seemingly endless to-do lists. Nor does it require special skills and experience that only the select few can access or accomplish. It just involves a slight shift in attitude, a slight turning toward ourselves right now. It simply involves being with ourselves, being kind to ourselves in our present situation, and resting there, even for a moment, instead of constantly worrying about the future or dwelling on the past, caught in hope and fear.
We can do it.
You can do it. People just like us have been doing this for thousands of years, and it works. It turns out that if we allow some space, allow for a bit of a gap in the speed and momentum of our lives, we find that there’s a deep reservoir of strength, bravery, compassion, and wisdom within us. No need to look elsewhere, It turns out that these are the naturally existing qualities of our very being, that this is really who we are.
But don’t take my word for it, in fact, don’t take anyone’s word for it. Just check it out. Come join us at Shambhala Mountain Center for The Mindfulness Getaway and we can all check it out together. Let’s see if it’s true, experience whether or not it’s true. What have you got to lose? It’s a weekend in the beautiful Rocky Mountains, and a real opportunity for exploring this together, working with our senses, working with our state of mind. Perhaps playing with our senses and playing with our state of mind. Or just simply being with our senses and being with our state of mind, just being with ourselves.
Why not give yourself a treat at the end of what for many of us was a pretty tough year.
About the Author
Steve Vosper is a student of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, and his son Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche. He has been practicing and studying the Shambhala and Buddhist paths for four decades, and has been teaching in those traditions for nearly 30 years. Mr. Vosper is a lead teacher for the entire Way of Shambhala curriculum, and he is a Director for the complete Shambhala Training – Heart of Warriorship and Sacred Path programs. He is also a member of the faculty for The Engaged Mindfulness Institute’s Mindfulness Teacher Training Program. Steve is the chair of the Sakyong’s Advisory Panel on Shambhala Environments, and he has his own architectural design firm, Fresh Space Studio in Boulder, Colorado where he lives with his wife Jane. Their daughter Marissa lives in New York City with her husband Steve and their two sons, Hart and Luke.
