TENDING THE GARDEN OF THE MIND
From a Buddhist perspective, the sanskrit word for meditation is bhavana and literally means “to cultivate.” Built into the agrarian spirit of the word is a sense of patience as we carefully tend to the garden of the mind.
Our intention when we meditate is not to aggressively chase a particular experience or state of mind but instead to tenderly create the conditions for change. To pay attention with kindness and openness, pull out a few stray weeds along the way…and then to wait.
According to Buddhism, our consciousness is like a field with every possible kind of seed in it. Within all of us are seeds of love, compassion and joy but also of anxiety and fear. Meditation asks us to look deeply (I am going to run with this gardening metaphor here) at the roots of our thoughts and feelings to see what needs to be nurtured.
With the news we are still a fair way from face to face classes, it looks like we will be practicing patience together a little longer.
One quote…
No great thing, happens suddenly.
Rebecca West
One question…
What seeds can we plant now, even if we have to wait a while longer for the fruit?
Sent with love,
Melissa x