I am a thinker. I like to ponder ideas, issues and events, weigh options, and formulate responses. It is my nature to enter into an idea or issue and take its spiral staircase deeper (and deeper) into fresh or refreshed understandings and relationships. I think this is why I am drawn to the sayings of Jesus, because they invite me to go ever deeper in my awareness and understanding, and into relationship with the Rabbi.
Tibetan Buddhists know the power of short sayings to focus and train the mind, and deepen understanding. In fact, they have devoted an entire practice to this approach, called Lojong. A reasonably ancient practice, it involves systematic meditation on 59 slogans (sayings), with the goal being a greater understanding of one's perspective (thoughts, attitudes and motivations), which then can lead to freedom from the thought patterns that lead to suffering (and I'm all for freedom from suffering)!
At first glance, some of the slogans appear very basic and self explanatory - Slogan 13, for example, is "Be grateful to everyone." Nice. But I notice that when I try to put it into practice, the slogans have the same "bite" as the sayings of Jesus (everyone - really?). Slogan 21 is problematic - "Always maintain only a joyful mind" (always - only?). Slogan 34 is definitely one to live by - "Don't transfer the ox's load to the cow - Take responsibility for yourself" (I am responsible for my life and my choices, which means no blame game - especially when it feels justified). Slogan 42 is a challenge - "Whichever of the two occurs, be patient" (hmmm...I will sit with that one for some time, because I'm not entirely sure what it means). And one of my least favorites is Slogan 49 - "Always meditate on whatever provokes resentment." Ouch.
Thinking is good, and I celebrate this gift of reason and reflection! But one trap for thinkers like me is that we tend to stay in this cognitive mode and spend lots of time running up and down the spiral staircase, and thereby ignore other forms of knowing that come not from mental aerobics, but from the intuitive heart space - a very powerful kind of knowing. This knowing can feel more like an elevator than a seventy story spiral staircase descent/ascent. Both are needed (both/and, not either/or), but when one is better practiced (thinking, in my case), it tends to become the default response in the system.
Yesterday a dear colleague presented me with a slogan that helped break through the spiral madness of analysis that traps my brain in a perpetual feedback loop, and immediately vented a great deal of personal suffering - elevating both my mood and perspective. The saying she offered me contained only three words, but it simultaneously caused me to laugh, cry, and breathe deeply. Thank you, dear colleague, for what is now my Slogan 60:
"Can't logic crazy."
Indeed!
Smiling,
Kim
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