Is This Okay? Is This Enough?

For those of you where it is okay, and it is enough, please listen to strengthen your contentment. For the other extreme of, "No, it is not okay and/or enough *until* x, y, and z," I offer a vivid suggestion. But mainly this felt meditative inquiry, reflection, and contemplation addresses those of us somewhere in between. I intend this to (also) help deepen (our) meditation (object) and practices.

Transcript

For 15 minutes,

Is this okay?

Is this enough?

For those of you who it is,

Please join.

We need your support.

I'll address the other extreme of no,

It is not okay and or not enough until x,

Y,

And z.

But mainly this guided meditative undertaking will address those of us somewhere in between.

I intend for this to also help deepen into our meditation object.

So if you will,

Just take a meditative position.

But even though we're going to be doing more of a guided reflection and inquiry here,

And this is designed to help our meditation practice in general.

So you can do this if you're walking around,

You can still do it.

Just don't close your eyes.

Of course,

If you're driving,

Don't close your eyes,

But take a comfortable seat.

Doesn't have to be a formal meditation posture.

You can do the standing lying down too.

We hear a lot of times in meditation that there's nowhere to go,

There's nothing to do.

But in all honesty,

A lot of us have quite busy lives.

We care deeply about things going on in our lives.

So we might need a little more convincing than just saying,

Oh,

Okay,

There are a lot of things that could require our attention in the world.

There's responsibilities and important things in our lives.

So how do we do this?

How do we set aside time to really be with our meditation object?

There's just some people out there who aren't going to have it.

They're going to be like,

No,

I can't do this really until X,

Y,

And Z.

When X,

Y,

And Z happens,

Then I can sit here and be okay.

But until then,

I need to focus all my time and attention or pretty much all my time and attention to getting X,

Y,

And Z accomplished first.

And then maybe I can sit here.

So for those people who do that,

They take this bone and throw that bone of happiness into the future and run after it.

All I can really say is,

Hey,

You have this bone in your hand now.

Just pause for just a little bit.

Know that you have this possibility of happiness right now.

And whether you throw it and go chase after it into the future,

You can decide that later.

But right now you have this in your hand.

So please consider that.

But for those of us who know that,

Okay,

I have some time for meditation now.

I'm going to set aside 5,

10,

In this case,

15 minutes or even more.

So let's take a few deep breaths and settle into a more meditative state.

See if you can be present with three full in-breaths and three full out-breaths from the very beginning of the in-breath,

Every single moment into the pause of the in-breath,

And do this with the natural breath,

And then every single moment to the end of the out-breath.

And then being fully present with the in-breath,

And then being fully present for the pause after the out-breath before the body wants to breathe in again.

Again,

Attending wisely to every single moment of the in-breath,

Pause,

Start of the out-breath,

Pause,

Then all the way through.

Now,

Normally we hear this advice of there's nowhere to go,

Nothing to do.

And that may not,

They may resonate in your heart and mind,

And that's good enough to just drop everything for a while.

But for those of us who that doesn't really resonate with,

Or that only lasts for a few moments,

Let's not try to trick our minds and hearts into thinking that's the way it actually is when it doesn't really feel or seem like that.

So let's use this method of an inquiry of asking,

Is this okay?

Meaning right now,

Whatever's going on in our experience,

Is this okay,

Or could this be okay?

Just for the minutes that we're exploring this together,

Is my experience okay?

Am I okay enough?

Is whatever is happening in my experience thoughts,

Memories,

Planning,

Sounds,

Images,

Is this okay?

If there's degrees of hindrances like sleepiness,

Restlessness,

Can I be okay with addressing these just the way they are?

Is this okay to be like this?

And let's just spend a few moments in silence,

Just seeing how that question lands in the heart and mind,

And putting it to the test,

And maybe it's not okay.

But if it's not okay,

Can you be okay with it not being okay?

So for a few moments,

Could this be okay?

Or is this okay?

Could this be okay just the way it is?

Again,

If there's emotions or thinking,

Just asking,

Can those thoughts just be how they are?

Can that be okay?

Is it okay just to leave everything just the way it is,

To not have to try to fix or change anything for this short amount of time?

And no matter how much time we spend in silence,

And no matter how ideal it is or how non-ideal it is,

See how this lands in the heart,

Considering if it's okay just the way everything is,

If there's nothing to fix or change or do.

Now,

What might happen is,

Yes,

There's some peace and degree of serenity and calm and clarity and okayness and well-being in the heart.

Sometimes insights might arise,

And very important things occur to us,

Can pop up.

And we don't wanna neglect these either,

But we don't wanna indulge in them as well.

So on one hand,

We have,

These aren't important,

Just drop it.

I'm trying to meditate here.

On the other hand,

We have this overindulgence of,

Oh,

Wow,

This amazing insight came up.

It's so wise.

Now I'm gonna use that,

I'm gonna go back and apply that insight to everything that's happened in my past and start planning how that insight might be applied to everything in my future.

So that's the other extreme.

When we get these amazing psychological insights or seeing in deeper nature of reality,

Can we just acknowledge that?

Okay,

Wow,

That's an insight.

We can make the assessment later if it needs further reflection and contemplation.

But for now,

We could acknowledge it,

It has arisen,

And then we can place it aside and pick it up at a later time.

And pick it up at another time to find out,

Okay,

Do I need to investigate this further?

Do I need to let this sink in further and assess it later?

Sometimes we'll come up,

Oh,

I really wanna remember this insight.

I need to write this down or keep repeating it to remember it.

But what I've found is that if it's important,

These insights will surface again when the causes and conditions are there for them to resurface.

You have to put that into practice for yourself,

But that's just how I would like to deal with a lot of the insights that arise.

Acknowledge them and put them aside for further investigation,

Further contemplation.

Now,

One other caveat is that only really works if we actually do that,

If we actually set aside time to do that.

Otherwise,

We'll be eating into our meditation time.

So let's spend a few more moments feeling back into this before we go on to the next question.

How is it right now?

Is this okay?

Is whatever's happening in my experience okay?

Am I okay?

Am I okay with the way it is right now?

And if not,

Could this be okay?

Could exactly how it is right now be okay to be with?

Not needing to subtract or add anything to just the way it is,

Just the way it is right now.

And if no,

Absolutely not,

It can't be like this.

Can I be okay with it not being okay?

A few moments,

Feel into the heart and how that feels.

All right,

We can drop that question.

And the next question is,

Is this enough?

What I've found is that,

Yes,

I can resonate with,

This is okay,

Things are okay.

Then what can happen sometimes is the mind will get restless,

Meaning whatever is going on right now,

There could be more.

My attention can be better spent elsewhere.

If I'm on a meditation object,

Then the mind will come up with all kinds of reasons and heart to kind of convince that,

Okay,

You need to leave the meditation object.

There's more important things to pay attention to,

More important things to feel,

Better ways to feel.

And so then the mind and heart can scramble off to other objects like we do in our lives,

Where we're constantly grabbing one object after another,

After another,

Reaching out,

Grasping for things,

Holding onto things and being upset when we can't hold onto what we want or get what we want.

In order to do this,

Instead of just saying,

Oh,

This is enough,

This is enough.

Well,

Maybe it is,

Maybe it isn't,

But let's explore this for a little bit.

Let's honestly inquire into whatever's going on in our experience for the rest of this time.

Is this enough?

Or do I want something else during this short time set aside?

Be honest with yourselves.

So if it isn't enough,

Well,

Then we see and acknowledge that and consider what would it be like if it was enough?

If I could be contented and satisfied just the way it is,

What would that be like?

And what would the benefits of that be like?

If it could be enough just the way it is right now for this short time,

How would that feel?

What would that be like?

Of course,

I'll share in my experience that when things are enough just the way they are,

There can be more of a likelihood of peace and contentment,

Being content with just how things are as they are.

And this is more easy to do in meditation where the conditions are created to support this.

And when it can happen over time as that muscle is built up,

That can carry forward off the cushion into greater and greater contentment and ease in whatever is going on in our lives,

Whether we get what we want or we don't.

Whether we're planning or we're not,

Whether we're remembering or not,

Whatever our station and activity is in life,

It can help contribute to a sense of more contentment.

And this doesn't mean we don't act or set goals and continue putting forth effort for our wellbeing and that of others.

But it does mean that we can be content and that of others.

But it does lend greater contentment in my experience to this process.

So again,

Let's spend just a few more moments before I ring the bell here.

Is this enough?

And if it's not,

What would it be like in our meditation practice if it was enough just the way it is?

Or we might say,

Just enough.

Our meditation is just enough,

What we've decided we want it to be in the beginning,

What we intend it to be,

Whether we're focusing on the body,

Breath,

Or what other meditation object or type of meditation we choose.

Is this enough?

Am I enough?

Or could this be enough?

Am I enough?

Or could this be enough?

Could I be enough?

Okay,

I think that's,

I've rang the bell enough there.

If you all have any questions or feedback or comments,

Any challenges you guys find with this around your formal sitting practice,

How you may apply this to your practice,

What else could be done to foster a sense of ease and contentment and staying with our intended meditation,

Reach out to me whenever you'd like.