peace
it did not mean to be in a place where
there's no noise trouble
our hard work it means to be in the
midst of those things
and to still be comin your heart this
human experience is so complex in filled
with so many different things
this busy mind this fast-paced culture
a time in an area filled with so much
information and stimulus
so we have events and experiences that
shape us
and direct our course things that we
didn't anticipate or expect
good as well as the bad so how is it
that we find peace in stillness
within the context at the consistently
changing nature the world this question
me speak personally to some love you
and they know that is spoke personally
know me when I was a business student in
college
and they did a study abroad in Italy
when I got there
it was like I didn't even realize being
relaxed as a possibility
and yet here small country and people
you know walking slowly places are
having a three-hour meal
and actually really connecting to their
lives and so after eight so bad that
experience I got a master's degree in
business and went off in my career
in by the age of been
building in my life have left me with a
lot of anxiety
a lot of uncertainty and I was starting
to develop physical symptoms
that work directly related to that
stress in my life the turning point for
me came
when a friend gave me a book on
mindfulness testimonials
alone in the book or so powerful that I
decided to move to Massachusetts
in a tent mindfulness-based stress
reduction program
that program transforms me
and it continues to transform me in
we've
I could have never imagined during the
last class I remember sharing with the
group
but I it started to experience moments
apiece
which for me at the time was a real
turning point
I had started to develop a sense a
intercom
as the challenges that my life hell came
towards me
in for the first time since I have been
in Italy
I started to feel again really connected
in ink each to the people
in the things in my life so
what is mindfulness perhaps
each have you can remember a moment in
your life
where you were overwhelmed with joy and
happiness
maybe a great vacation where you were
really
relax in connected and I think that we
have
all experience moments up her break in
Los
in each of these profound moments these
moments connection
well we're actually doing is relating
directly to life
into the full capacity of who we are
in those moments this is mindfulness
in yet I think it begs the question:
so what happens to all the rest at the
moment in our life
in between the really significant month
in so
a this concept %uh mindfulness starting
to
tune into that what are the most special
things that I C
as people begin Colt surveyed in the
practice of mindfulness
is that they begin waking up to the
preciousness
up there likes in the realize these
moments
are not special occasions they're
happening
all the time and we tend to miss
it so what is it that's actually
pointless away from these direct
experiences are pulling away
us away from being mindful and while
there's
wide variety of topics I could talk
about
I sort of narrow the scope to to today
in the first one is that
love craving I think that's so
relevant to our time and it's certainly
relevant to our culture
in yet it has some very important
undercurrents to be aware
craving is so much about
becoming more more happy
more successful up more stable
in a better job a better relationship
in yet if we look closely at that
process is very much
a movement away from how things are
in it's a movement toward how we would
like things to be
in that movement away from how things
are what we've done is we've been
begun to actually separate ourself from
our real
day-to-day experience because we started
to create conditions
conditions for happiness for success
or for any number other things and
each time that we don't get what we were
craving
weeks of in on the other side
to grieving to become more we have a
craving to not become a certain way
or not be a certain way the things we
have in
don't like don't want this in Zion
this depression this challenge in our
life
and yet again if we look closely at that
that still
a movement away from how things are and
it deeper level this is a movement away
from how
week are you know we can get really
focus %uh on the idea of perfection
and yet what it tends to leave us with
is offensive
not feeling sufficient or not feeling
like war
am NOT I had a teacher on a retreat once
make this statement
what if you could let go the world of
conditions
as the gatekeeper to happiness
so am I saying don't set goals or don't
work towards things
of course not in our lives
in our jobs in our relationships and our
businesses
we want them to grow in change believe
all
in if their dysfunctional we need them
to change any of
but can we do that from a place
awareness
intention rather than from a place
every action
so the other sort of distraction or idea
that can pull us away from our direct
experiences
is that I've attachment the wanting
things to be a certain way
or to stay a certain way and I think we
can all really relate to this
right it's like reading this wonderful
meal and as you're eating it you don't
want to take that last fight because
it's so good
right or you're watching this amazing
fun fat
in it it's like you just want to capture
that moment in
sort of hold it for ever really engaging
with another person we want to keep
these things close to us
and then we have the more a aversive
things in our life that we don't like so
much that we sorta wanna
keep them somewhere arm's length right
and yet there's really stress on both
ends of this because
we can control the world right so we
can't at keep everything out here
forever
so their stress in the train approached
things away
in on the other side of that we know
that funds that were watching
will fade away we can't keep things for
ever
so there's some stress in the holding
you know the world is really that good
in the back we need both to be able to
learn
in grow in change as people
in I think a really good example of
attachment inner
own lives could be how things have
changed over the past
five or six years we faced
more and more uncertainty
we face issues senses such as bankruptcy
foreclosure
loss of jobs in yet I think it's very
important to remember that while
the rate love this certainly higher than
it was
in the past the possibility of it
happening
always existed the world
is always answer and so the idea with
mindfulness
is to try to cultivate a certain amount
of inner stability
so that we have the resources to me for
changing
feature the world in it I i do want to
put it out there this is in sort of a
blanket statement saying
you know we accept everything that
happens in our lives
there are deeply difficult things that
happen in our lives
in the world that we may not accept
but the idea with mindfulness is can we
begin to cultivate
a safe place with n where we might have
the ability to heal
and a star
so other than talking about mindfulness
you making I'll
you know this sounds great I'd like to
have more than in my life
how do I do that and so I'd like to do
just
a short experiment in mindfulness
so it ask you to find just a comfortable
sitting position
in that might mean sort of fixing and
upright posture
taking a few minutes just to kinda
settle into that posture
any also wanna be relax but awake
in the name bites you close your eyes
and let's just begin to bring our
attention
inner awareness to the press
the press for many of us is something
that's very
automatic we don't have to think about
it to opt
and so this is really an opportunity to
notice the press
new to scene each inhalation
noticing each exhalation
feeling the brat
breathing newing
it's that simple
noticing if the practice tee temple
coming from the valley
might notice if it tighter intense
coming from the rib cage
and again nothing to change test
noticing how things are moment
to moment awareness
inning with invites you to open your
eyes again
and I'd like to paraphrase one of my
favorite quotes
can you fit long a for the mud to settle
see you can Fi clearly so
this was just a experience with mindfulness
and yet for many people at me have made
an impact
so imagine taking two minutes like that
before making a critical business
decisions or
after having a difficult communication
or before having a communication
you know it's going to be difficult
right and then imagine taking that two
minutes in expanding into
increases the awareness the mindfulness
the ability to respond the all-star to
increase and yet
one of the most challenging things I see
I've been teaching mindfulness now for
about five years
in class after class the most difficult
thing for people
is creating the time to do this many of
us live very
busy lives we live in a fast-paced world
but I think it's important to realize
how much
ourselves we're giving how much over
cells were giving to our work
to the people in our lives to the
activities that we do
and in that if we want to continue to
give it that level we
actually really need to start to restore
are resource in so
taking this time actually such in act
have compassion towards ourselves its
precious
its useful and it's actually better for
everyone else around us
if we take the time to do something like
that so
how is it that you begin to call today
to practice of mindfulness in your life
mindfulness is really is simple stopping
none doing having
inexperienced as ordinary is the Brett
in
feeling this isn't something where we
need like a special meditation room with
the No sound: earphones and the right
person in the right time okay
this is something actually acceptable to
us all the time
is really just a matter TuneIn
in I also really
encourage people as they develop this
practice to bring
assorted investigative quality to it you
know
usually we're really like living our
process mindfulness gives us the
space to store to watch our process
so for sitting with the breath like we
did here today
we're noticing where to the thoughts go
where's our mind going this isn't about
stopping the thought about seeing where
they go in noticing my mind goes there
how does my body feel because the mine
in the body are
interconnect I in in doing this we're
actually getting really
important information things we may not
have been aware
before we can start to see what am i
creeping
where in my attaching two things where
do I get
stock in rather than sort of living in
this
automatic pilot again we can really to
use with
intention how we wanna let in perhaps
even more importantly in this order
investigative quality
can we do this practice with kindness
towards ourselves
and without judgment mindfulness is so
much about
acknowledging as much as we can how
things are
and then noticing if that changes
overtime
more awareness we came we can not
control
the world but can we begin to
cultivate this skillful miss to mean
ourself in the challenging times with
equanimity
clarity an inability to respond to life
as it unfolds can we begin to
become aware of the amazing things that
might
exist in our life in this mom to close
I remember being on a long silent
retreat and at some point around a for
experience at deep cents apiece
in that moment there was no past no
future no fear
I was just there and it occurred to me
that the greatest gift you can give
world is to be at peace with yourself
it has an impact on everyone me
and everything that you do
so I'll leave you with that thought in
sense of hope we can each find the
courage to look inward
and that we can start to create the time
to take care of ourselves
in to be connected to our lives because
all we truly have our moments
to live in thank you
