Christmas is coming.
All Commercials and shop displays shout: Buy! Buy! Give! Give! Don´t worry! I´m saving you the anti-commerce-speach”. Because the “More inhibition – time as gift – going into the silence” – group equally sucks. Why?
Because all channels broadcast the same message:
“Whatever you do: it´s not enough.”
Not abundant enough – not quiet enough – not peaceful enough – not organic enough – not familiar enough – not traditional enough – not aware enough – not spritual enough….
If I got something right this feast is about birth, liveliness, love hope and “the light at the end of the tunnel”. Therefore it is also has to be about lust for life.
Feast with devotion and lying full in front of the TV on the christmas day? Enjoy it without remorse! The traditional family quarrel? Take yourself seriously – but not too important. Your Christmas present isn´t appreciated? Appreciate the joy you had choosing it!
And then the listlessness emerges. Boredom appears.
When the conversations under the christmas tree decay. When the TV program triggers either jawning or sickness. When you can´t move freely or withdraw from the group because you´re at your parents´. When you´re tired of the ever repeating same platitudes. When your real life looses the Instagram optimization filter und appears ordinary and boring.
Listlessness is such an unattractive feeling. So uncomfortable that we would rather make it disappear. We created different strategies in this attempt: suppressing (with increased activism, sex…), sidetracking (reading, TV, mobile…) or anesthesia (alcohol, food,…). Just sitting in the mediocrity of our normal life, realizing that the world is just not interested in me, that no one texts or calls – that´s bitter.
Phases of listnessness contain an enormous creative potential.
They can guide you from the trance of average days – the “virtual reality” of your thoughts – to experiencing aliveness – here and now.
And your musical sense of listening is the portal.
But I´m not getting there without support.
Therefore my Christmas present to you is this short meditation of Tara Brach: “The Silence that is Listening”. It takes only 14 minutes an you can download it on your phone. It helped in many times of frustration to stay with it in the here and now – and through that coming back to my liveliness. May it also be a good support for you!
Since I know this mediation every once in a while a stop and listen to the sound of my life.
However you design these days or “waste” the time: It is enough. You are enough. It is exactly as it should be. Unmistakeably: YOUR feast!
I´m wishing you from the depth of my heart days filled with lust and the ability to surrender to WHAT happens and HOW.
Love, Stefanie
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Extract:
“… Scan your body and soften a bit areas of obvious tension. … Include sound into your awareness. The closed in sounds in the room. The appearing and disappearing of words. The spaces between sounds. Listening to the more distant sounds. Listening not just with your ears but with your whole awareness. Just letting sounds wash through. Noticing with listening that there´s nothing to do. Sounds appear and are known sponteneaously by awareness. Sense the edgeless space that all sounds are appearing in. Just relaxing into that openness that´s listening. Totally receptive. Listen to the sounds that are actually here – instead of the thoughts in the mind. (…)
Opening the attention to listening to the sounds that are appearing and disappearing – moment to moment. You might re-relax in the body. Listening to and feeling the moment. Bring that listening and receptive intention to the heart. Just listening to your own heart. Sensing the state of your heart in this moment. Sensing the intimacy of listening to and feeling the life that´s right here. Offering whatever prayer or blessing, wish of well-being to your own heart. Whatever most resonates in this moment. Bringing to mind a dear-one – so you´re listening to and feeling that person, that being, their energy – and offering whatever prayer, whatever whish of blessing resonates. And then sensing the heartspace that hold all beings so that you´re listening to the lifes consciousness and beings everywhere – offering your prayer.
by Tara Brach