Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Experiment: No Attainment with Nothing to Attain



As you, my theoretical reader, may have noticed by now, I am very thinking-oriented when it comes to my spirituality. Unfortunately, everything I've studied about feeling connected to a higher power mentions the importance of actually doing something, not thinking about doing something.

My previous adventures (church, zen center, yoga classes) have all been okay, but unfulfilling. Most likely because I have associated being inconsistent in my practice with feelings of guilt. Also, I keep waiting for something to happen. A new consciousness, speaking in tongues, something. Which is probably why it never "worked".

Well, I'm over that.

I listened to a podcast yesterday that said something to the effect of "any time spent in practice is useful". According to the Heart Sutra, there is nothing to attain in spiritual practice. It is sufficient to just be.

Here's where the experiment part comes in: I would like to spend 20 minutes per day doing some form of religious practice. I would like to rotate the type of practice I do every 28 days. This does not preclude engaging in multiple forms of practice on any given day, I just want to start manifesting a consistent attempt to pursue the divine.

I will start tomorrow. This first 28 days will be dedicated to zazen, or seated meditation. I will write about this on a regular basis.

I am not making a promise here, but I am attempting to set an intention for the next month of my life.


INTENTION:
To approach spirituality in a humble, personal and committed way

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