emptiness Archives – The Zen Diarist

Can we let go of needing to know?

June 10, 2020 by Andrew Marshall Leave a Comment

If there is one thing we can be certain of, especially now, it’s that nothing lasts for ever. The temporary nature of everything in the universe is scientific fact, of course, and central to most spiritual teachings.

Over the years, a number of people have said to me that they find the notion of impermanence quite depressing – yet it’s supposed to help us and cheer us up!

Nevertheless, conditioned as we are to aim for health, longevity and maybe prosperity, we can feel a bit wobbly and disconnected when everything familiar seems to be falling apart.

How much do we really need to know?

Feeling adrift, it is natural to look for something to hold onto. We are ruled by our minds and emotions, so that often comes in the form of seeking information – lots of it.

Isn’t it great that we seem to have almost limitless access to information? Well, not necessarily. Information is not the same as knowledge.

Real knowledge resides in the boundlessness of pure consciousness and is accessed not by facts but through stillness and clarity.

We have all probably experienced that clarity many times, even if just for a few seconds. It usually occurs when there is a gap in thinking that gives us an “aha” moment.

Aha – how about an information fast?

If the information we seek leads us a little closer to the experience of pure consciousness, that’s great. Information as education should do that.

The trouble with most of the news, theories, rumours and banalities of social media is that they do the opposite. They actually pull us away from our inner nature.

Instead of peacefulness and unity, the mind careers into divisiveness, analysing and judging. Once that begins, the process is very hard to stop. It is like having an itch that, once scratched, moves somewhere else and needs scratching again.

If your mind is not peaceful, why not try a news and social media fast for a few days? After the initial withdrawal symptoms, you may feel surprisingly better and upbeat.

More of this in The Art of Not Doing

Guided meditations

Thinking too much? Why it can make you ill

August 2, 2019 by Andrew Marshall Leave a Comment

Thinking is a good thing, of course. If we didn’t think, we would get nothing done. There would never be any brilliant new ideas and there would be no education. Life would be a series of responses to basic needs and not much else. The ability to assess, calculate and learn is a staggering faculty that we take for granted. It is one of many aspects of a miraculous state called consciousness, though certainly not the only one. Thinking intelligently is a great gift, but most of us – and I most certainly include myself in this – suffer from unintelligent thinking. It is this that has the potential to make us ill.

Thinking without thinking

More than ever, there is a pressure in society to have an opinion on just about anything at all. It is so important, that corporations spend billions of pounds every year on ensuring that we do. Addiction to social media guarantees that at any given moment millions of people are expressing their opinions on this that or the other. Click Like if you agree. (No, please don’t – that was a joke.) The end result is that our minds are constantly active on things that don’t really matter. So how can this affect our health?

Too much focus can easily create tension

Energy flow

For good health, we need vitality. For that, our energy needs to flow easily through the body. When the flow of energy is blocked or restricted for any length of time, discomfort can build up, eventually leading to illness. We know if we are too sedentary or eat unwisely, there can be a negative impact on the body. But probably we don’t consider the effects on the body of our thinking.

Awareness, not thinking

The fact is that all our mental responses affect our energy circulation in some way. In short, too much thinking creates tension that interrupts the free flow of energy. Yet the nature of consciousness is not to be in a constant state of activity – it is to be aware. It really does pay to stop sometimes. Stop thinking and just be aware. It’s a treat for the body and a boon for the mind. Oddly, it’s great for our health, too.

How we can reduce unnecessary thinking is explored in my third book The Art of Not Doing. Available in print and on Kindle.

Taste with your ears? It makes sense

May 18, 2019 by Andrew Marshall 2 Comments

Taste an apple, a strawberry or a piece of Wensleydale cheese – or indeed anything you fancy – and a magical process is set in motion. Our whole being engages in the initial assessment, quickly transforming it into appreciation or otherwise. The array of flavours can trigger all manner of reactions in the brain. Taste consciousness absorbs us in the food, and it in us. For a few glorious moments, taster and tasted become one. Unity through food – wonderful!

More than a matter of taste

The all-too-brief asparagus season is upon us in the UK. Ah, the noble green spears! Smooth and strong, yet delicate. Mysteriously, not everyone likes it but for those who do, there is nothing quite like fresh, locally grown asparagus. The health values of this culinary vegetable are renowned. According to Ayurveda, asparagus balances all three doshas. What does it taste like? No-one can really tell you – just try describing the taste of a strawberry – but there is more to this than flavour. Sight, smell and touch play their full part in the appreciation of food, too. Even hearing sometimes joins in – the crunch of an apple, the sizzling of food cooked at the table, for instance.

One taste or one sense?

Scientists have recently discovered that the tongue can detect odours. Have you have ever accidentally opened your mouth in the vicinity of slurry-spreading on farmland? Or fetid toilets or garbage? If so, you will already have known this for yourself. More enlightening research will no doubt come. Tasting with the ears may well be possible. Perhaps it will help us to reach a new conclusion – that there are not five senses but one. After all, are the senses not just the pathways of information that, with our mind, give us our picture of the world? There is a perspective in Tibetan Buddhism that invites us, in the quest for unity, to perceive everything in the universe “with one taste”. It frees the mind. That sounds good to me.

Improving our energy and balancing it with the environment is the subject of our next workshop Managing Life on 10th June 2019. A few spaces are still available. More information

Books

Free meditations

Feeling stressed by Christmas? It’s largely a matter of choice

December 15, 2018 by Andrew Marshall Leave a Comment

Feeling stressed is extremely unpleasant. It turns our body into a state of high alert. With no enemy to run from or fight, we can be anxious, miserable, tetchy, depressed, excited, tired and unable to think clearly, all within a very short space of time. It’s a very messy state of affairs. If we were able to see the effects on our energy, and consequently the body, we might be… well, even more worried. So why for so many of us does the approach of Christmas and its season, which should be happy and joyful, result in us feeling stressed? And is there anything we can do about it?

Feeling stressed is caused by one major mistake

In spite of knowing deep down that nothing is what it seems, the human race has a collective amnesia. We have forgotten who we really are. So instead of seeing things, and indeed ourselves, in their natural state, our foggy minds make it all up. Imagining situations as real, we continually respond to everything we see and hear. It’s like being in a never-ending dream – and it’s exhausting.

The remedy can be summed up in one word

Stop. That’s all we need to do. There may seem to be a million and one things we have to do but that’s part of the dream. Stopping enables us to have a lucid moment and realise that we have created an enormous, and very convincing, illusion. But with this new-found clarity, we see there is no urgency to respond to everything that appears in front of us after all. Now we have choice. When we learn to stop for a few moments and be still, we allow our natural peace to take over for a while. Then it’s easier to make the right choices, and finally bring an end to feeling stressed.

The importance of stopping and how it can give us a clear mind is explained fully in The Art of Not Doing

Free guided meditations

Energy circulation: why it is better for health than jogging

October 27, 2018 by Andrew Marshall Leave a Comment

Energy circulation in the body is probably the most important factor in maintaining good health. When illness strikes, it is usually the result of an imbalance in the body that has been going on for some time. Inflammation and congestion are known causes of many modern ailments and are the result of poor energy circulation. Cardiovascular health is a top priority in fitness regimens, as is body mass index, but the slimmest, fittest person I know was recently found dead in a ditch, following a massive coronary attack whilst on a bicycle ride. Intense aerobic exercise is not always the best option and often ignores body types and constitutions. Energy circulation acknowledges the importance of overall health and fitness but approaches it with a different emphasis – nurturing the body rather than seeing it as a challenge to be overcome.

How can I use energy circulation?

There are many techniques and practices that help to circulate energy through the body. Most involve physical movement of some kind and, essentially, all employ the mind. There is a very close correlation between mind and energy. Borrowing from Taoist thought, yi (mind) leads the qi (energy). If the mind is tense, so too is the body. The natural state of the mind is openness but past conditioning and innumerable emotions create tension in most of us. Letting go of these is a gradual process and is a key component in allowing qi to flow through us, so promoting health and vitality. Meditation is one very useful practice; qigong is another. Tai chi (taiji) can be thought of as combining the two in a system of slow martial arts moves.

A simple qigong exercise

Stand with the feet apart and back straight. (Alternatively, sit upright.) Lift the head slightly, as though you are lengthening the neck. Place the tip of the tongue lightly on the hard palate, just behind the teeth. Breathe slowly.
Bring the hands to a few inches in front of the chest, as though holding an orb of light, with the fingers pointing upwards.
Breathe in and imagine the orb expanding, pushing the hands apart a little. As you exhale, close the hands, shrinking the orb to its original size.
Continue doing this for at least a couple of minutes and then lower the hands and rest them on the lower abdomen, just below the navel, for about half a minute.

This is a wonderful start to the practice of energy circulation.

For a free guided meditation on circulating energy, go here.

Other free meditations.

More information on health and energy in my book on happiness.

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