I imagine that it is telling me to be more alert, but it is not telling me anything, it is a piece of paper with marks on it that I have interpreted and given meaning to. My sign telling me to "Wake Up" is also an illusion. How am I different from the cat or dog? I respond to visual symbolism: words/books, photographs, paintings, films - the world of illusions. I am awake in those moments, the way a cat or a dog (or a bear) is awake. I don't think, I just look, listen, smell, feel. There's a medium sized rectangular window above the painting and I get a similar sensation of satisfaction when I look out at the sky and the tops of the trees. It talks to me, but not in words or thoughts and I just like looking at it.
I put it there so that I can look up and see it during the moments when I'm resting from reading or writing at the computer. Years ago I wouldn't meditate until after I did at least 45 minutes of yoga and that worked fine because the yoga stretched out the kinks in my body and settled me down through my breath.Ībove my computer, I have tacked on the wall a small abstract painting I made in art school, one of my favorites. I have a resistance to sitting cross legged on the floor because my back gets uncomfortable and yet, ultimately, that's the sitting pose I would like to adopt. I have moments of calmness, but they get repeatedly swept away.
It's insight that made the Buddha wake up, but first he practiced calming himself. The meditation instructions we are following are for Shamata Vipashyana or "Calm" "Insight" meditation. I sit, albeit restlessly, for around 45 minutes a day. Open out into space." Lama Shenpen places a lot of emphasis on the daily practice of meditation, gradually extending it from sitting to include walking and then to weave it into daily activities. On the first card - Wake Heart Be Open - are words chosen by the head teacher, Lama Shenpen Hookham, from the online Buddhist course I am taking.
I made up these cards to help me to meditate.