PREFER TO LISTEN?
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A student asked Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, “Why do we practice?”
He replied, “To make the best of a bad situation.“
TODAY'S INTENTION
Today, let's practice dying to a pattern by disidentifying with it.
Disidentification is the process through which a pattern becomes an object of attention. The big fear in disidentification is that we won't be able to function without the pattern. Fair enough! The more our identity relies on a pattern, the more it will feel like a part of us will have to die to be free from it. Trust the process: as we die to a pattern's mechanical attention-eroding process, we naturally open to more presence and live with more intention.
RELEASING RITUALS
How do we develop the willingness to die?
- by honestly facing the predicament we are in
- by opening to how things are
- by questioning the nature of things
- by caring about what is
- by practicing, one inspired intention at a time …
LET'S PRACTICE!
To disidentify a pattern, we simply and consistently bring attention to it.
In disidentification, we really see how we can be more present in our life, but the attachment to patterns is so strong that we often abandon ourselves at precisely this point. For this reason, choosing weaker patterns to practice disidentifying with may be more useful than stronger ones.
- Bring to mind a pattern you have recognized in yourself.
- See the pattern as a process that operates independently of your intention.
- Observe the pattern in attention.
- The pattern will appear to disappear.
- You will feel a release of energy, a deeper pattern underneath, or both.
- Return to seeing the pattern as a process.
- Observe the pattern in attention, and repeat.
AFFIRMATION
I am pure awareness.
(In Sanskrit: सो चैतन्य Soham Chaitanya)
I am not my thoughts.
I am aware of my thoughts.
I am not my feelings.
I am aware of my feelings.
I am not my patterns.
I am aware of my patterns.
I release all that does not serve into pure awareness.
COMMUNITY CONVERSATION
What is one thing you notice when you hold a pattern in attention?
We'd love to hear in our private community comments!