The Meditator's Dilemma: An Innovative Approach to Overcoming Obstacles and Revitalizing Your Practice

No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man. —Heraclitus

Contrary to our prevailing wiring and conditioning, it is not about getting rid of unwanted thoughts and feelings. Rather, the secret to reducing mental suffering is consciously settling in a balanced, accepting manner into the flow of experience.

He who binds to himself a joy Does the winged life destroy; But he who kisses the joy as it flies Lives in eternity’s sunrise. —William Blake

TRANQUILITY GAME: INVITING THE HEART

Learning to stay receptively attentive when the mind is settled is one of the high arts of meditation. Generally we are either (a) attending to something actively, (b) spaced out, or (c) absorbed in an experience. When mindfulness becomes more stable and is accompanied by relaxation and interest, a fourth mode of perceiving becomes viable. Attentio

I understood immediately that certain things—attention, great energy, total concentration, tenderness, risk, beauty—were elements of poetry. And I understood that these elements did not grow as grass grows from a seed, naturally and unstoppably, but rather were somehow gathered and discovered by the poet, and placed inside the poem. —Mary Oliver

Relaxation helps set the stage, and playfulness mitigates the intensity that most of us bring to meditation.

yet it is itself the greatest of our miseries. —Blaise Pascal

There are two kinds of light—the glow that illuminates, and the glare that obscures. —James Thurber