Noticing Your Innate Peace Of Mind

This moment, with its seemingly endless dangers and sorrows, calls for practices that can support equanimity like the G.R.O.U.N.D. practice we've been unpacking. Today's episode looks at the "N" of G.R.O.U.N.D. "N" is an invitation to "notice" that when you're G - grounded, R-, at rest, O-open, and U-unclenched, there's an innate peace of mind that's available, even in the midst of so much. Enjoy.

Transcript

Hey everyone,

This is Judy Cohen,

And this is Wake Up Call 301.

I hope you're all doing as well as possible in this very uncertain world we're living in.

So I've been sharing the practice of ground,

Which is an equanimity practice.

And I've been working with the practice myself because I feel the need to have a practice that's a sequence,

Like a yoga asana sequence or Qigong sequence,

Or even like a piece of music.

So one element flowing into the next.

And the idea for a sequence arose because I wanted something that could remind me to kind of downshift,

I don't know,

Like a manual transmission from an old car.

And I was wanting that as I was heading out into the world.

So that's how I'm thinking about this.

Anyway,

We've gone through G,

R,

O,

And U,

And I'm going to reprise those and then share a little about N.

So G stands for ground sensing into the earth,

Its solidity,

Its absorption powers,

Maybe how it absorbs the pain of the world,

Maybe how much it has already absorbed our sorrows,

Our fears,

Our tears,

The tears of our ancestors,

The tears of all beings.

And so taking refuge on the earth,

The ground in solitary practice.

And when I start there,

I can tap into a little piece of mind,

Just starting at G.

And G is also sensing into that we are on this earth together in community with each other and with all beings.

We aren't even alone where we're alone.

Even if we've felt really alone over the last year and even if we continue to feel that way.

With G,

There's also the sense of being alone.

We continue to feel that way with G there's also the possibility of sensing into the ground or the earth as common ground,

The place where we all connect,

Where we can find the refuge of community.

And remember that in classical mindfulness,

Community is said to be not just part of the practice,

But the whole practice.

So it's possible to remember this in solitary practice,

And it's also something to do with portable practice out in the world.

However,

Tentatively we might be going out right now.

And one thing to notice in terms of G or ground in portable practice is the positive influence it's possible to have on others and on our communities when we're keeping in mind that we're connected or interconnected.

So next there's R for rest.

Resting in the here and now,

In this moment,

Inviting an actual physical rest,

Maybe for a few minutes,

Maybe for just one breath,

Maybe even for just one out breath in our solitary practice.

And really thinking of this as an honorable thing to rest,

Just as honorable as being busy all the time,

Maybe more so.

And how nourishing to rest,

To take a moment to relax.

And in portable practice,

I think rest is also honorable in the sense of resting in the middle of everything,

In the midst of everything.

Taking a few minutes and closing the office door or closing all the screens or just closing the eyes and taking a rest from the stimulus of the world,

From reading and typing and kind of scanning the world.

And then O,

Opening to what's present and bearing witness.

So first bearing witness in solitary practice to the difficult emotions and unwholesome thoughts that arise and also pass away.

How painful that can be and yet how necessary to see the truth of what's happening,

Not judge it one way or another,

Just learn to be with it.

And O is also opening and bearing witness to the pain of the wormhole,

Like Avalokitesvara,

The great cosmic being who sits with eyes lowered and looking inward in solitary practice,

But also still open,

The eyes still open to witness the sorrow of the world.

And she or he,

Depending on the iconography,

Is the bodhisattva who pledges not to fully awaken until all beings are free from suffering.

In some ways,

This is the pledge we make as lawyers,

Isn't it?

I mean,

We kind of pledge to help in every possible way,

Not to rest,

Which we don't do enough,

Not to rest on our laurels,

But to do everything possible to solve problems,

Create solutions,

Alleviate suffering.

Even in the hallowed or monied halls of corporate law,

Even in fields that seem too technical to be about relieving suffering,

And certainly in the trenches,

Public defenders offices,

Immigration offices,

Family law offices,

And so many other places.

Also in the way we raise up our young lawyers in classrooms and clinics,

That's kind of our pledge,

Kind of our aspiration to relieve the pain and suffering of those who don't know how to navigate the very complex systems that only we really understand.

And I think in this way,

Which is not small,

To help heal the world.

And then Yuru is about unclenching,

And last week I told the story of Milarepa and the demons and how ultimately he realized that for his own demons to disappear,

He would need to lay his head in the mouth of his worst demon and say,

Go ahead,

Eat me up.

And that when he did that,

The demon bowed to Milarepa and disappeared.

So this is the invitation in solitary practice to let go of the demons and this is the invitation in solitary practice to let go,

An employerable practice to let go of illusion and to see things just as they are.

And this is really hard.

Yesterday,

I heard a piece on NPR about how South Carolina has reinstituted the firing squad as an option for death row inmates in addition to the electric chair,

Because the state was unable to ensure sufficient secrecy whom they're buying lethal injection chemicals from.

So they couldn't get the chemicals.

And there are so many things wrong with this.

I mean,

I kind of don't really know where to start.

The state sanctioned killing,

The fact that the death penalty population is disproportionately Black men,

Vastly disproportionately Black men.

The idea of a firing squad,

The very idea of a firing squad.

The trauma inflicted on everyone involved,

That the drug makers will make the chemicals,

But won't sell them except in secrecy.

And as I was listening to the piece,

I just had to keep remembering you over and over,

Literally unclench my jaw,

Also my mind,

Which wanted to say this wasn't a real article and instead to turn towards it and say,

Yes,

This is really how it is in America in 2021.

Even though most Western democracies have abolished the death penalty,

Including the whole European Union,

Most democracies,

Not just Western,

Including the whole European Union.

And I had to do that.

And in general,

We have to unclench to see the truth of things so we can work to change them.

And then N is where we are today.

So N is about noticing.

In solitary practice,

Notice how it feels when you ground and rest and open and unclench,

Notice that there is this possibility of relaxation,

Of relief,

Of clarity,

Maybe peace,

Maybe think about it this way.

Our eyes bring in visual stimulation.

Our mouths taste,

Our ears bring in sound,

Our noses bring in smells.

We can close all of those and eliminate that input,

But as long as they're open,

They're sending messages to our brain,

To our mind,

To our body.

And then interoception,

Sensing the internal sensations of the body is always happening unless we're sedated.

So generally,

Unless these sense doors in classical mindfulness parlance are closed,

Unless the sense doors are closed,

They're bringing in information.

They're bringing in information to this whole mind,

Heart,

Body.

And they're also bringing up emotions and thoughts.

If you smell chocolate chip cookies,

You're bound to have an emotion.

Joy,

If you like chocolate chip cookies,

Or maybe,

I don't know,

Dismay if you're on a diet.

And whenever we hear about the next act of hatred or racism in America,

Because we're bound to have an emotion,

Rage,

Sorrow,

Fear,

Frustration,

Whatever.

But without input,

Or actually really without getting caught on the input from these sense doors,

The mind itself is completely clear.

It's completely empty.

It's at peace.

That's its innate state.

So when we sit in solitary practice and ground and rest and open and unclench and let go of the sights and the sounds and the smells and the tastes and the sensations and the thoughts and emotions as they come and go,

Then we can notice this clarity and peace.

We can even reside in clarity and peace because that's the innate state of our mind and heart.

And then as we practice in our solitary practice and getting the hang of it over and over,

Over time,

Then we can start to import that innate clarity or that innate peace into our portable practice and into the world.

But first we have to notice it.

So let's sit together now and take a look.

So finding a comfortable posture,

A posture that's upright and dignified and really honoring yourself and the fact that you're here and you're sitting,

You're practicing,

Not a small thing.

Kind of a big deal.

Taking a moment to ground,

Rest,

Open,

Unclench.

Doing that at your own pace.

For another minute or two.

If you get lost,

Going back and starting from the beginning can be helpful.

Thank you.

And then see what you notice.

See it as you are sitting or standing or walking or lying down,

Whatever your posture is right now.

See if you can notice that clarity,

That peace of mind,

How clear the mind and heart can be when you don't hang on to anything that arises in the field of awareness.

Thoughts will come.

Emotions will come.

Sensations will come.

Sights,

Sounds,

Smells,

Even tastes.

And with each thing that you notice,

Just let it go.

Think of it as,

You could think of it as having made a promise to yourself or keeping a promise to yourself to just give yourself a few minutes.

It's not to hold on to anything that arises in your field of awareness.

There's nothing to do.

But just let go.

And notice your beautiful mind,

Your beautiful heart.

It's clarity,

Peace,

And that this peace of mind is always there.

You don't need to take it with you because you have it.

Have it.

Thank you everyone for being on the wake-up call today.

Big news,

You all are the first to carry it.

The wake-up call is now upon you.

This is,

I guess,

A soft launch because no one else in the world knows this,

Except for you and the people who've been helping me do this.

So I think it's on Apple and Spotify and soon maybe it'll be elsewhere.

And I've posted all of 2021,

Except there were a few that didn't record,

Unfortunately.

So anyway,

Feel free to go back if you want,

And you can also share them.

And yeah,

Let's dedicate today's practice to everyone in Palestine and Israel and the conflict,

Dealing with the conflict there,

And also in India and South America where the virus is really surging.

May all beings be safe and may all beings be free from suffering.

Thanks everybody.

See you next week.

Take care.