Why We Practice

Last week Pema Chodron shared a small passage from her book, The Wisdom of No Escape, in one of her newsletters. The passage speaks to me about the importance of practice, and really here I mean any kind of practice. All things that we do on a daily basis can be experienced as ritual, or practice. Even the simplest things we do everyday. A cup of tea as part of our ritual for greeting the day. The brushing of teeth and changing of our clothes as a readiness for sleep. Using mindfulness we can turn simple habits into opportunities for consciously entering into each part of our day. Then each movement and moment of our day becomes a part of being more truly present, more truly ourselves.

“What I have realized through practice is that practice isn’t about being the best horse or the good horse or the poor horse or the worst horse. It’s about finding our own true nature and speaking from that, acting from that. Whatever our quality is, that’s our wealth and our beauty, that’s what other people respond to.”

This leads to the inevitable question. How do I find my true nature, or what is my true nature. This to me is the root of any practice, but especially sitting meditation. One by product of meditation, is the manifestation of enough stillness that we see ourselves reflected clearly without noise, static or fog. The more we practice the more we find this stillness, no matter what is unfolding or arising around us. This allows us to respond to each moment the way OUR heart truly wants to respond.

This doesn’t make us better or worse, just more clear, more true, more whole, more us.

With warmth and gratitude,

Teo