We were talking about Christmas jumpers in the kitchen after the Buddhist group meeting tonight.
I don’t have a Christmas jumper as such any more, having sent the one I had to a charity shop a few years ago. I do have a festive jumper though. It is warm and soft with a kind of Nordic pattern on it and I may wear that to the meeting next week.
We meditated on the ‘Om Ah Hum’ mantra with much of the teaching devoted to deepening our understanding of that mantra, which represents the body, speech and mind of Buddha.
Home to lovely Lydia, I give her a few treats and she’s now lying down on the other side of the room, ready I think for her ‘sleepy time’.
I’m not quite ready for my ‘sleepy time’ yet this evening. I may just sit up for a while and reflect a bit more on the mantra.
Waking up this morning I reflect – as I often do – on how fortunate I am to have access to the Buddhist teachings that I have access to.
We’re on a short break from the mid-week classes that I usually go to, but my mind turns to two of the mantras that I have been learning from most recently. One is in the form of an acronym: RARE.
Recognise
Accept
Reduce
Eliminate
‘Recognise’ is to recognise a negative thought as delusional.
‘Accept’ is to accept the situation in which the thought is arising.
‘Reduce’ is to reduce the impact of the delusional thought.
‘Eliminate’ is to eliminate the delusional thought.
In my experience it can be extremely difficult to identify a thought as delusional because our thought patterns are often so ingrained that we don’t even notice them when they do arise. However, I’ve recently found that if I start to feel anxious, this alerts me to potential negative/delusional thoughts that are giving rise to the anxiety. I can then turn my attention to my breath, engage in a short meditation and find that the anxiety starts to abate.
I’ll continue to do what I can to recognise, accept, reduce and eliminate my delusional thoughts.
Most of us associate ‘www’ with ‘world wide web’ but an alternative presented in a Buddhist teaching recently is: ‘welcome wholeheartedly whatever’.
The nun who gave the teaching presented an example of a monk who lives at the Centre who has significant paralysis, is unable to walk and experiences constant pain. Apparently, he affirms the ‘welcome wholeheartedly whatever’ mantra and I’ve found this immensely humbling and inspirational.
I don’t know how things might unfold in my life – none of us do – but if I keep meditating, keep my focus on positives and aim to eliminate old habits where negative thinking takes hold, then I’ll be better prepared to welcome whatever does lie ahead with an open heart.
Glad About 
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