We can never understand the nature of the mind through intense effort, but only by relaxing, just as breaking a wild horse requires that one approach it gently and treat it kindly rather than running after it and trying to use force. So do not try to catch hold of the nature of the mind, just leave it like it is.3

Distraction is the only thing that consoles us for our miseries, and

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

Audio versions of many of these practices are available at http://www.shambhala.com/the-meditator-s-dilemma.html and at www.billandsusan.net/meditatorsdilemma

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

whether we are beginners or long-term practitioners, our core agenda centers around happiness.

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

Paradoxically, most beginning meditators hold an unexamined assumption that discursive thinking will diminish as meditation deepens. However, because thinking is a part of our wiring, thoughts will not completely stop as we progress in meditation, any more than sounds or physical sensations will disappear. This simple misunderstanding creates

the first step in creating the holding environment is giving ourselves permission to meditate in a personally creative and meaningful way, rather than force ourselves to align with traditional instructions.