Blog

Here is the most recent addition to my blog.

wordpress.com/post/lightgettingin-wp.com/232

Couldn't read the post -- just a white screen. I tried a few different browsers, too.

Chris, what would I do without you?

Laurel, your writing "voice" is so solid and honest -- I don't think I've ever read anyone writing about these kinds of subjects so directly and objectively, it's fascinating and disconcerting and powerful, yet honest and simple --- as you can see, I really don't even have my words for how I can describe their impact on me as I'm reading, but it's really good stuff. Thank you.

Wow, Shargrol. Thanks for all of that. I will keep going.

My latest post, on the Brahmaviharas. It took me forever to get written, and is long compared to the others. I will be giving a dharma talk on this topic in September at my town’s sangha, where I can elaborate on what’s here, so this is a bit of a dry run.

lightgettingin-wp.com/2018/06/23/the-four-divine-abidings/

A new post on my first encounter with Buddhist Geeks, Kenneth Folk, and MCTB.

lightgettingin-wp.com/2018/07/06/twitter...and-geeky-buddhists/

lightgettingin-wp.com/2018/07/07/turning-point/

Right on the heels of the last post, I have yet another one, describing exactly what prompted me to start meditating. Enjoy.

And here we have yet another blog post, on pragmatic dharma.

lightgettingin-wp.com/2018/07/10/pragmatic-dharma/

On the precepts: lightgettingin-wp.com/2018/07/14/the-three-trainings-morality/

I enjoyed this overview, Laurel. Sila has become a more deliberate consideration of mine in the last month or so. I appreciate getting a clearer view of how I'm creating suffering/disturbances that subtly detract from the cultivation of concentration and wisdom, and so I take a broader view of some of the "five trainings" for the purpose of making them more useful.

Along those lines, what do you think of the translation/interpretation of the third precept as concerning excessive or inappropriate sensuality? Call me too Catholic, but with that precept I always think of the "Sermon on the Mount" where the law is extended to the precipitating actions -- stop committing adultery in your mind before you follow through, etc. It seems like useful mind training to notice when you're placing your attention on stuff that you know very well isn't wholesome and may increase suffering, but that also sounds like a potential source of counterproductive guilt and could lead to the wrong view of transitory mind-content in general.

Certainly! A momentary flash of desire is no problem if you don’t make a big issue out of it, because such feelings can occur without volition, as an act of nature. If however you develop a case of erotic melancholy (love that term!) and it becomes preoccupying, you need to see it for what it is and stop feeding it. I remember having a crush on a youngish Episcopal priest when I was in my late 30s, and it evolved alarmingly because I didn’t see it for what it was. We had lunch together (pastoral care—hahaha) and gazed into each other’s eyes while talking about my great sensitivity and awareness, and I floated home to my familiar husband, who knows every stupid thing about me, and then daydreamed about this other guy, talked on the phone with him (my husband said I was purring) and journaled about him, rereading my love language over and over. Then a perceptive friend in whom I confided told me to knock it off. No more meetings, no more phone calls, get over myself, and so on. I did as she said, and got my brain back. It helped when I had lunch later on in a group and the desired one behaved like a pompous ass, and the spell was broken.

Newest blogpost, about beginning my practice.

lightgettingin-wp.com/2018/08/01/i-get-my-feet-wet/

Another one, describing my first retreat. After this I plan to address the Default Mode Network.

lightgettingin-wp.com/2018/08/27/my-first-retreat/

Were you actually labeling the five hindrances, Laurel? It seems like almost every version of anapanasati I discover provokes the same response -- "Of course! That wrinkle makes so much sense."

Yes, I was. It worked pretty well.

On Friday my husband, son, and I finally got my mother’s storage locker cleaned out and returned the keys. It had cost about $100/month for five years and eight months. Now the remnants of what was there sits in the garage. Some of it will go out on the curb for charity, some will be tossed, and some will be saved (photographs, for example). About half of what remained there got carted off to the dump. I was inspired to write the following blog post:
lightgettingin-wp.com/2018/09/02/stuff/

A new one, on the Default Mode

lightgettingin-wp.com/2018/09/04/the-default-mode/

After a long hiatus, a new post: lightgettingin-wp.com/2019/01/07/update-and-dharma-talk/

I especially enjoyed: " Jack Kornfield has written a book called After the Ecstasy, the Laundry, but we could at this point in the Progress of Insight map say that we are experiencing After the Ecstasy, the Freakout."

Yeah, I thought that was fitting.

A new post addressing my current situation from a Buddhist perspective:

lightgettingin-wp.com/2019/02/16/on-sadness-for-loved-ones/

I should add that the process of writing it was one of discovery form me, and intensely therapeutic.