Inside-Out
Dear Friends,
Is the world inside us or outside us? Is matter itself in our minds? Are our minds simply the mechanics of the brain? These questions somehow accord with the change of seasons, as the days grow shorter and the shadows longer toward the solstice, and we pull ourselves increasingly indoors and inward.
Our long-term theme in this group has been to appreciate the planet we're on even or especially through its human-caused trials. One aspect of this is the possible transformation of sense-perception itself. It is deeply exciting to experience the world given by the senses as a field of beings and meanings rather than a collection of things. When we do so, we come to appreciate the non-human world as a living element in existence right along with us, not merely a stage set or backdrop to our human dramas.
This seeing-the-earth-as-meanings-and-beings can happen in numerous ways. There isn't only one way. Today, we'll again experiment with a simple pebble or piece of gravel. Please come to group prepared with your stone! But we'll be working with it quite differently from our past approaches to the theme of intensified perception.
It is helpful to realize that we undertake our various practices for the benefit of all sentient beings, including ourselves. As the sun shines on the just and the unjust, there is nowhere the radiance of our practice cannot reach.
with love,
Michael
