Probably the MOST significant date this year for us. We went to a public talk at the Art Gallery about meditation and the ancient wisdoms of Buddhism.
We absolutely were so delighted to have sat through that hour and a half talk that reinforced what we are trying to do this year for ourselves. It was almost like a confirmation that we are on the right track to happiness.
Thanks to the Camino, it taught us so much. Although, it didn’t directly teach us, it pushed us along to learn for ourselves. The things we heard to today were things we had written about in our daily reflections on our walk.
We learnt some practical ways about how we can find real happiness. and free ourselves from pain or problems.
Such simple actions that can set us well on our path to be happy!
We learnt that our MIND is just SPACE that takes no shape, form or colour. That we can in fact control it. That to achieve happiness we need inner peace. To free ourselves of pain or problems, we need to understand what is the cause of it.
We can shift our attitudes by being virtuous in our thoughts and actions and shun non-virtuous behaviours. We can also find inner peace by thinking LESS about how important we are and realise that everyone is important. This will help shake the non-virtuous behaviours such as annoyance, impatience, rudeness.
Remove our pain or problems by letting go of anger and uncontrollable desires. These two disturb the possibility of inner peace and subsequently happiness.
So why do we get angry (unhappy, frustrated, impatient, annoyed)?
Either because something happened that we DIDN’T plan or want
OR
because something DIDN’T happen that we wanted or planned.
It’s as simple as that – and it is just so obvious.
It really helps when someone is there to put it so candidly for us.
Then from an uncontrollable desires perspective – it’s this desire/need/want that gets us (as humans) into trouble. Thinking that if we GET what we want, we will be happy when in fact… happiness has got nothing to do with external factors.
Happiness (as is suffering) is our STATE of MIND that can not be created by something else or someone else…. only by the owner of the mind which is OURSELVES. Detach from desires, passions, needs and wants and free ourselves.
The speaker talked about how our bodies are just material matter, it is the mind that is what needs to be improved and nurtured because it is what lives forever. The analogy she gave was that our body is like a bird’s nest and the mind is like a bird. When we die from THIS life, the bird will leave the nest and find another nest. The bird lives on and so do the best you can for that bird in this LIFE. This is the start of a different topic: Karma which we didn’t explore in the talk today.
And before anyone jumps in disagreement or rejects the words of the speaker, she also mentioned that the basis for people not liking what someone else says is simply because it doesn’t align with what they currently believe. Why does it always have to be “your” way? This is where we stop being open-minded, flexible and therefore not on the path to inner peace and freedom.
This talk opened up so much more for us to learn and explore. As the speaker rightfully said, we are ALL on the path for happiness. No one wants to suffer.
So what has anyone got to lose by sharing more love, patience, compassion, kindness and other virtues!
Summary of January 11
Newbies
We attended a public talk that was advertised on a pamphlet we found on a local noticeboard. We said YES to trying something different and new.
Brighter/Different Perspective?
It felt so fitting that today it rained a lot. The past week or so, it has been so hot and humid with blue skies. And today, we had a day in town with constant rain. What was quite pleasing for us, was that we didn’t grumble or mind? Our time on the Camino really has shaped our thinking. And then what we learnt today has just kept us right on track to achieve what we are seeking.
“If you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.”
― Maya Angelou
"Sees" the Day 
Your post reminded me of a movie that I recently saw called St Vincent. It is about a man -played by Bill Murray- that at first appearances has many faults and really not that likeable. However viewed through the eyes of innocence (played brilliantly by a young boy), he is just misunderstood and actually very admirable and charming. It really shows that there is good in everyone but some you may have to dig a little harder to find. A gem if a movie.
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We haven’t seen that movie! Might have to put it on our list.
Oh, also wanted to tell you that we tried brushing our teeth with the other hand… definitely a weird sensation but we are on our way to building more neural connections 🙂 Thanks again for bringing it to our attention.
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If the only thing I learned from walking the Camino was to not mind rainy days, that would make it all worthwhile!
Good luck with the meditating 🙂 I, personally, believe it is the most important thing I do during the day. I know many people say it is not for them but I think it is worth persevering. I also think that many people achieve the same centredness, calmness etc from running and other things – it doesn’t have to be done cross-legged!
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Good points! The meditation in the talk yesterday took 2 minutes if that but it really set the tone for our entire day so we do need to persevere. 🙂
PS – rain is NOTHING now, right? It doesn’t bother one bit nowadays. So funny how our persecution just changes.
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