Elections and choices

So we have another result to an election which has left large chunks of a population bewildered and a slightly larger chunk elated

We go through this round every 4 years or so and things get stirred up, passions aroused, and I suppose in a democracy that's how it should be 

Things got very stirred up with the UK referendum and with the recent American presidential election in very similar ways 

I'm not really in a position to go into the politics of it. But  I noticed a question come up in me that spiked my attention 

The question 'is politics from the people to the representatives' or is it 'from the representatives to the people'. 
Do we give the power to the leaders, is this what is happening during an election? Or are we electing, for convenience one person who can represent our views? Are we abdicating power (our power) to others, or are we asking someone to speak our views?

I think the difference can be quite subtle, but I feel its an important one. Its easy to 'believe in' others and expect them to sort things out, to make things better, (to make America Great Again). 

So every 4 years or so we pick one person, or one party, that's going to sort things out. And then we sit back and behave in exactly the same way, we have been doing for the last 4 years. We vote for change, as long as that change is done by others. 

So we can continue to think, speak and behave in the same way as we have always done, whilst expecting others to make the changes. My feeling is that, this is a great shame. 

We vote every 4 years; but we speak to people every day, we take actions every day. Every day we decide if we are going to make our conversations positive or negative, nurturing or toxic. We decide if we are going to thank the bus driver or not, if we are going to curse the other road user or remain calm, if we are going to spread gossip or support people. If we are going to speak well or ill of people.
Where we are going to spend our money, who we are going to bank with, who supplies our electricity, who we are going to get our groceries from, are we going to support charities, do we volunteer at the hospice/school/scout group/community centre...........  the list can go on and on 

We may not feel that we decide on these things, but we do, we just may not be conscious of it. Every one of these small actions can make a difference and we get to make them every day, over and over, not every 4 years 

I feel we have a duty to vote, but I feel that voting for others to make things better when we are not doing our active bit to make better what we can, results in a dependency on others. Where we place unrealistic expectations on our politicians that they can never live up to.

But this is not easy, to take on being as positive as we can be every day takes time, commitment and thought. I get it wrong more than I get it right. Its easier to give it away to others and say 'make things better for me'

But I feel we have to share the idea of a better future. And that however skillful, our current way of living we can make it more so. 

With persistence, reflection and  effort, we have the potential to be a cause of positive change, every day. 

Relax, NO RELAX!

It’s a word I don’t use with clients as it tends to generate tension

I prefer the idea of letting go, as holding is something we do a lot of

I have just returned from a 9 day meditation retreat; held in silence with no stimulus what so ever, I had lots of opportunity to let go. And it’s not easy. I found that I hold onto many things; ideas of who I am, ideas of what my body is, opinions, thoughts, the breath, muscle tension, memories oh just lots and lots and lots

Letting go is something that I aim for my clients to do, when I first treat them it’s often a good indication for me of how the session and the relationship is going. As we gain experience together letting go or the lack of it is a great diagnostic tool

I want clients to let go within the session because it’s so good for them on lots of levels, but my main reason is so they can experience the letting go and take it into their ever day life.

So much suffering is caused by holding onto things we do not need to. We then suffer what Jack Kornfield calls ‘mental rope burn’, a lovely way of describing the suffering  that comes from holding or clinging.

If we can take the feeling of letting go that we have on the futon and practice it when we are angry for being cut up in our car, when we are bored at work, when in an argument with our children/relative/friend, then we can change the situation in a really radical way.

It seems that letting go is a transferable skill, if we can let go of muscle tension then it feels very similar to letting go of our fixed opinion of ourselves and other. You have to see the holding but once we do the letting go feels very similar.

Like most transformative things it’s a simple process that needs applying over and over and it’s the application which is difficult. 

Where to go, what to do.

I have recently finished my Shiatsu course. 4 years of study and practice, of thinking about little else, of (for me) serious effort. Done.

In the few weeks since finishing I have been experiencing a wide range of feelings; happiness, emptiness, confusion, waves of relief and quite a bit of smugness.

I have gone from having a very fixed focus to my time to little or none.

So as a decompression I went on a 5 day silent meditation retreat at Amaravati. It seems to have done the trick, in a way I was not anticipating, rather than me coming away with a clear idea about where next. I have no better idea but have a much more relaxed mind with not knowing about 'what now'.

The people at Amaravati are really lovely, do go if you can. http://www.amaravati.org/