A Note to Readers
Welcome to Our Mindful Process. We teach people why being curious from who we are, not what we think, elevates us, frees us, and empowers us! We teach mindfulness meditation, a daily practice of gently focusing on the present moment as we experience it within.
Many people think meditation is the experience of nirvana – a state of peace. That is not true. Experiencing peace during meditation does not mean we are in a place where there is no noise and pain; it’s being in that noise and pain and knowing that we are having a human experience. Meditation is a daily practice of learning to pause when we are triggered and to calm ourselves as we sit with the discomfort and turmoil and breathe. It is becoming curious about the present moment. Gradually, this calming consciousness allows us to let go of anger and blame and sit with emotions that freely arise.
I believe that we learn more from our failures and our pain than we do from our successes. I have experienced a tremendous amount of pain in my life. I am a gay man who didn’t want to be gay. I tried everything to change who I am, and nothing worked. In my journey toward acceptance, I’ve learned that when I experience pain, it awakens me, and that is an important step toward self-compassion. I have learned to look at the other side of pain. I know now that other people’s opinions and discussions are none of my business.
We are so fragmented in this country because we are focusing on our dissimilarities – the 2% of what makes us different. We are all human. We all experience suffering and joy: we are all connected in this way. The world needs more compassion. This starts within.
The common definition of compassion is not the only goal of meditation. Yes, we all need kindness. But meditation brings so much more than that. When we sit quietly and we are calm and gentle with ourselves, we can see and accept what is truly happening in our lives and find peace of mind. Then we can connect meaningfully with others. Compassion is nurtured in an environment where we are all connected.
Society teaches us that knowledge is power and that solving problems is solely a thinking process. I am asking you to put those beliefs aside. I am asking you to join me in a daily meditation practice that will connect your mind with your heart. I am asking you to trust me because I have put my life back together again. I may still have my number one flaw, which is self-doubt, but when I open my heart during meditation, I come to understand what is important and how to proceed. I no longer
react in anger. I am calm and I respond with compassion.
Meditation can be a spiritual experiment laboratory where we can test our ability to create new ways of acting, while watching our thinking process with new eyes. My suggestion is that you work with these four books in the series any way you like, to see where meditation and journaling take you. If your thinking mind is truly the problem, as it is for most of us, it makes no difference where you are in your life for
awakening to happen.
This book series grew out of my commitment to share the benefits of meditation with as many people as I can. The goal of my organization, Our Mindful Process, is to teach people how to stop reacting to our noisy world with anger, fear, and violence by calming ourselves and opening our hearts to the creation of compassion. I see this as a path of service – commencing with ourselves.
As you begin this meditation series, there are four things to give yourself every day. The first is compassion. The world is filled with good and evil and you’re not going to change that. But if you can open yourself up to another way of seeing and understanding your experience, if you can gently turn off your thinking mind, compassion will speak to you.
The next thing to give yourself is kindness. If I don’t fill myself up with kindness, if I am only half full, I will ask for it back. And I won’t get it back because that is not how the universe is designed. We must fill ourselves with kindness. The third element is joy. This is not the joy from money, sex, or food; it’s the joy from knowing that we have shoes and food and people who love us. Many people don’t have any of this.
Joy comes from appreciating what we have. The last thing we need to give ourselves is balance. If I’m too kind or too compassionate, if I don’t consider what I need, I may be taken advantage of. Balance is extremely important. Here are my recommendations for you as you begin.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE MEDITATIVE JOURNEY
• Work on balance, not right or wrong.
• Be honest with yourself.
• Realize that it’s okay not to know.
• Be gentle with yourself.
• Live in the present moment.
• Set small goals for yourself along the way.
GOAL EXAMPLES
• Physical exercises.
• Simple eating habits.
• Mental exercises
• Emotional development exercises.
• Spiritual exercises.
HELPFUL DEFINITIONS
• Prayer – talking to God.
• Meditation – listening to God.
• Ego – that which looks out for self only.
• AM – higher self.
The time to change is now! The past is over and the future cannot be controlled. The key to action is to change our mind’s awareness of the possibilities.
A VERY IMPORTANT FINAL NOTE!
This book has repetitive concepts ON PURPOSE. We learn by repetition. I’m asking that you join me in practicing meditation, reading the readings, and writing your responses each day with the intent of applying them to your life.
This book is a vehicle for experiencing an expansive consciousness that goes beyond that of the ego-driven mind. I am blessed that you even took the time to pick up the book and read this far. May you find serenity in your own journey.
