📖 Day 1 Cookbook Discussion Prompt - SADHANA (Spiritual Practice)

[quote=“Diane_Nichols, post:29, topic:634”]
Not making connections
[/quote] @Diane_Nichols Yay for reaching out. Yay for making connections. Yay for speaking intto it. Glad you are here…and hope it keeps you interested.

YES! Such a good reminder. Thank you for sharing.

[quote=“Caro_Manu, post:18, topic:634”]
wish i lived in a long hall requiring a one minute re-grounding practice every time i left one room and entered another!
[/quote] That would be amazing. What a great idea.

@Jeremy I think so many of us can relate. To just be enough. To let it be simple and sweet and nourrishing. To let go of the striving accomplshing mind. These are such hard habits to change. But you’ve got this. You being you is enough! Brilliant even.

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Yes. taking time for ourselves has a tendency to get categorized as “selfish” but just think how much better we can show up when we’ve had at least 10 minutes to connect to our deepest essence…that quiet place. You’ve got this!! And you are worth it!

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[quote=“Lisa_Lupa, post:24, topic:634”]
too much enthusiasm and throwing myself into it so that it’s not realistic to maintain over time
[/quote] Can totally relate!!!

Glad you are here and hopefully it will get you back into a rhythm

[quote=“Charity_Mumro, post:22, topic:634”]
start and stall on habits continually
[/quote] I think this is the human condition…one we are all working through. But we have the “shakti” the inner resolve to move through. And being here hopefully helps.

[quote=“Zac_Townsend, post:9, topic:634”]
ometimes it can be tough to convince myself to do my sadhana but as Krishna Das would say, its important that I sit yourself down and do it, because it does help. One can come up with many excuses to not do it, but I find its essential.
[/quote] YES!! Do it even when we don’t want to. Sometimes I trick myself. “Just sit down for 2 min and then go on your merry way.” Some days those turn into the best sits.

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Yes! Such a good teaching!!! Especially for those of us who tend to be strict with ourselves.

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@Emily_Williams I think this is common for many. It reminds me a little of giving up gluten or coffee. I love coffee and know it makes me anxious. When I get really in touch with how horrible it makes me feel, then it is easier to let it go. Gluten was easy once I saw how depressed I got. When I made the connection, the most delectable chocolate cake wasn’t enticing on any level. Going the other way is harder…recognizing how good something makes me feel doesn’t always motivate as much. But, noticing how bad NOT doing it makes me feel, makes me take the time to sit down even if it is just for 2 minutes.

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Ram Dass brings the “ahhhh” and the “ah ha” to the complexities of living in this world. I’m going to begin taking time for meditation first thing in the morning as well.

Thank you, Jacquelyn. Rick Rubin was talking on Ezra Kline’s podcast recently how about much more time one has because of meditation and spiritual practice, which I appreciated hearing.

Yes!!! And you’re right, they did say breakouts next week :raised_hands:. I’m Diane from Iowa, US, nice to meet ya :grin:

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ohh yes, that is a feeling I recognize. the days you meditate you seem to gain time or time is more spacious.

I also was very comforted by that statement about being able to step away. I’ve been in the habit of turning off my phone notifications when I’m at home, and I’ve been feeling the pressure from my parents to respond to them quickly; sometime’s I won’t respond to a text for a few hours and they start to worry about my wellbeing. What Ram Dass said here will surely help me in talking to them about why I’m creating the distance and giving myself the space to do the work.

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Not setting a regular time to connect within oneself and to review the day. Though when I miss it, I really feel it. And if I miss it the next day, it starts to accumulate a backlog of unprocessed feelings and undigested experiences, and I become easily exhausted and irritable.

It is an act of self-love to set aside this time each day and do the sadhana. And with the sadhana I am able to better show love to those around me, known or unknown. I’ve recently become a widow at age 33, and I realize now that nothing is more important than love: connecting with oneself in self-love, and with others, in true unconditional love.

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Hello again, Diane! My middle daughter and family lived in Iowa for a time. I visited them twice during that time. I think it was earlier trips to my oldest daughter when I listened to Ram Dass. I am in Hereford, AZ.

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That sounds very familiar to me Skye! I have found myself in bed many days when I am depressed. I do practices - chanting - in my head while there in my bed and ask for guidance and support. I do not choose community during those times and zoom community connection is my lifeline.

Wow, I relate to so much of what you’ve all shared. It’s powerful to feel less alone in these challenges.

I struggle with perfectionism and decision-making, so I often end up overwhelmed and paralyzed by all the (good) things I could/“should” be doing. I find it hard to accept I can’t do it all and to let things go as they will. In trying to prioritize, I usually come back to meditation as the most helpful habit to adopt, but that doesn’t always translate to action. I’ve had moments of a consistent practice, but it’s easy to fall away from it and not as easy to get back. I’ve noticed in general though that I find community really helpful in building habits, so I hope embracing spaces like this one will support my sadhana.