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This recording of selected sessions of a workshop entitled Creating Authentic Practice was made in Montreal’s West Island, Winter 2006
 Most people think of meditation as a way of sitting quietly, shutting out distractions and developing single-pointed concentration. From that focus comes contentment and sometimes even bliss. But what happens to all those good feelings when it’s time to get on with the rest of your life?
Anyone who meditates soon learns that contentment can’t be pinned down. Hoping to preserve the good feelings we try with all our might to extend those special moments into ordinary life, but willpower alone just isn’t enough. Somehow we're not surprised. Meditation's not that different from the rest of life after all.
Disappointment makes us think again. We’ve worked from the moment of birth to discern, understand and master our environment, and the price is a stream of inner dialogue – feelings, thoughts and emotions that often runs out of control. Trying to master this constant mental chatter is even tougher than shutting it out. We throw up our arms and declare that it's hopeless! We might as well just accept the chaos of our inner life.
Now we’re making progress.
Acceptance is the first step to insight. The belief that life should conform to our expectations is visceral, not rational, and it doesn’t go without a struggle. The real cause of stress and the greatest obstacle to insight is the notion that we’re in control. Overcoming that unspoken assumption takes a fundamental shift in perception. A simple intellectual understanding just isn't enough.
Making fundamental changes like this depends on losing self-importance and the sense of isolation from which it springs. We develop empathy to understand that others suffer just as we do, that the realities that bind us are more potent than the fears that separate us. Empathy is the alter-ego of insight. Neither can grow without the other.
By developing these two wings in a form of meditation that undermines the desire to escape, we attain a state of clarity that’s truly workable and free of stress. These recordings on Meditation, Empathy & Insight are meant to help you embrace life as a whole, overcome confusion and find a deep sense of peace that doesn’t fear the unexpected and the uncontrollable.
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