Welcome Meditators!
On day 12,
We are meditating on our self-cherishing behavior.
When we see ourselves or I as very important,
We tend to exaggerate qualities,
Which leads to an inflated view of ourselves.
This meditation is designed to help you find a healthy balance between feeling confident and still not being attached to your possessions,
Wisdom,
Physical appearance or status,
Which can serve as a basis for this inflated view of I.
If this is your first day,
I will recommend starting from day 1.
Please sit in a comfortable position with your back upright but not uptight and let your body relax.
Gently close your eyes or keep them slightly open.
Now bring your body into a state of relaxation,
Stillness and vigilance.
Breathe naturally.
Spend some time letting your mind settle down in the present moment.
Using the next exhale to relax and release any tightness or tension in any part of your body.
We will start with reflecting on the disadvantages of our selfish and self-centered attitude.
By reflecting repeatedly on the disadvantages of this attitude,
We will strive to eliminate the selfish attitude in our life.
Bring into your awareness your experiences from the past,
Focusing on when you had a self-centered attitude and reflect on how this affected you and those around you.
Did this self-centered attitude make you feel lonely or isolated?
And putting so much emphasis on your happiness alone,
Did this self-centered attitude ever lead you to develop fear and anxiety,
Seeing things around you as a threat for your happiness?
As a result,
Did you become over-sensitive or easily offended?
By placing focus and attention to your wants and needs,
Did it lead you to develop cravings,
Grasping and attachment towards things?
And did that lead you to experience levels of frustration when you didn't get the things you wanted?
Even if you get the things you want,
Are you ever satisfied fully or do you crave for more?
Do you get disappointed or depressed when things don't go your way?
With this exaggerated sense of self-importance,
Do you show lack of respect and consideration for others?
Do you become jealous of others who have more than you?
Do you get competitive with others or try to outdo them and put them down?
Do you get arrogant or dismissive to people who you think have less authority than you?
By seeing every situation from a narrow view,
Does this ever lead you to have a biased behavior with people you love,
Strangers and people who are causing you to suffer?
Does this attitude lead you to harm or hurt others in any way who are standing in the way of things you want that you label as happiness?
Does this ever result in guilt or less self-esteem?
Can you see and understand this self-cherishing attitude is the basis of most conflicts with others?
Can you see this as a reason for most conflicts between people,
Communities and countries?
Can you see how this self-centered attitude is not a friend but foe and is not making us happy even though it seems like it does?
Let's set this intention that this self-centered attitude should not take control over our mind and also life.
We can dedicate this insight and understanding from this meditation towards the goal of reducing and ultimately eliminating this self-centered mind and to replace it with cherishing not just yourself but others as well.
To reduce our attachment,
Aversion,
Grasping and replace it with love,
Kindness,
Compassion for ourselves and everyone around us,
Which can lead us to be free from suffering and its causes and we can bring more genuine happiness and peace for us and others.
Now slowly and gently you can come out of this meditation.
What was your biggest insight from this meditation?
Leave it in the comments.
And if you have followed this challenge and practiced consistently,
You might be ready for the final step in this challenge.
Tomorrow we will focus on observing the mind with longer pauses in between for reflection.
I cannot wait to meditate with you tomorrow.
