Impermanence And Interconnectedness with Bodhipaksa

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How do we find a sense of oneness, stillness, and perfectness? On top of our raw experience we assign value to what we are perceiving, making up stories based on past experiences and habitual reactions that, over time, we build up. How can mindfulness allow us to by-pass the reactivity? How do we cultivate a sense of spaciousness? Bodhipaksa says of the 6-element practice, "This body sitting here right now is made up of the flesh of animals I ate back in the days when I ate animals, and plant matter from all over the world. It is continually returning to the outside world. The breath I exhaled just a few seconds ago is drifting away and will become trees and part of grapes in this area and soon someone will be drinking that as a glass of wine. That is me as well, except it is not really me anymore. This is an interesting process that is going on where we are observing this river that is 'kind-of us,' but it is also not us at the same time. We do this with all of the elements. . . we realize that there is nothing separate or static about us at all." (hosted by Michael Toms)

Bio

• The Wisdom of the Breath: Three Guided Meditations for Calming the Mind and Cultivating Insight (CD) (Sounds True 2009)
• Wildmind: A Step-by-Step Guide to Meditation (Windhorse 2010)
• Living As a River: Finding Fearlessness in the Face of Change (Sounds True 2010)

To learn more about the work of Bodhipaksa go to www.wildmind.org.

Topics Explored in This Dialogue

• What is the Six Element Practice in Buddhism
• What is it to visualize earth element within and without
• What is it to visualize space as an element within and without
• What happens when you pay attention to the breath
• How can we break down our reactive habits
• Why do we repress our own happiness
• Why does fear make us cling to a false identity
• Why is consciousness not a thing but an ever-changing flow
• Why we should look carefully at the principal of reincarnation in Buddhist thought

Host: Michael Toms           Interview Date: 10/22/2010       Program Number: 3387

Music Playlist

From Album: Planet Passion
Artist: Ancient Future
2001 Ancient Future #AF - 2010

Opening Essay: Track 01 Simsimay Panima
Music Break 1: Track 04 I met Her In the Medowe.b
Music Break 2: Track 05 Ocean of Love
Music Break 3: Track 01 Simsimay Panima (reprise)