Three Misconceptions about Meditation

This week we were fortunate to welcome back Susan Piver to Under 30 Night as our guest speaker. After opening up a discussion on how our practice is going for all of us (even those who started just 30 minutes before), we talked about:

Three Misconceptions about Meditation:

1. It makes you more peaceful. (It can make you more present and aware of your emotions no matter how positive or negative they appear to be.)
   
2. Your mind stops. (Meditation is 20% focus on your breathing, and 80% openness to what may arise internally and/or externally. Thoughts may come to you or noises may interrupt a silence, but the goal is to recognize them, letting them pass while you return to experiencing your breath.)
   
3. It makes you a better person. (It makes you more of who you already are.)

Many of us start meditating with certain goals or expectations in mind. This will only muddle and obscure the power and effect meditation can have on your life. We eventually learn to let go and see where it takes us.

We also discussed the Three Ways People Deal with Stress:

1. Attack and fight it
2. Try to make peace with it
3. Run away and avoid it

What were YOUR misconceptions about meditation before you started...or even right now? How has your opinion of meditation changed since you started?

How do YOU deal with stress? Are your stress management strategies working? How do you know? Do you think you can deal with it in a different way?

Despite the wind and rain, there were many newcomers this week and I hope you all enjoyed the night as much as I did! Hope to see you again on an upcoming Tuesday night.

Guest Speaker: Dan Hirschberg

On September 21st Dan lead a discussion on Buddhism and Emptiness. He talked about how we all make the mistake of considering ourselves to be Singular, Permanent, and Independent. This mistaken perception leads to suffering, which we can overcome by realizing that none of those things are true. This fundamental philosophy is called no-self, since what we think of as "self" really is just a part of everything; not singular, not permanent, and not independent.

Dan Hirschberg is pursuing a PhD in Tibetan Buddhist studies at Harvard and is a student of meditation master Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche.

Guest Speaker: Susan Piver

Join us next week, Tuesday September 28, for a discussion with guest speaker Susan Piver.  Susan Piver is a Shambhala Teacher and best-selling author.  You can find out more about her and her work at her website http://www.susanpiver.com/

Guest Speaker: Charles Styron

On September 7th we had a guest speaker, Charles Styron, who spoke about love and adversity.

This is what Charles has to say about himself:

I first became a student in 1978, attended Vajradhatu Seminary in 1982 and Kalapa Assembly in 1984, and have been teaching (off and on) since the early 80's. I'm a clinical psychologist in private practice as well as a former architect and am a founding board member of The Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy. My wife, Nancy, is a practitioner and a psychologist, and we have a 15 1/2 year-old daughter, Charlotte, who has attended numerous dharma programs for teens. Some of my abiding interests are classical piano music, hiking in the mountains, NASCAR, gardening vegetables, reading on a wide range of subjects, and making collages.