My philosophical approach to meditation
In combining, experiencing, practicing and fine-tuning all of these techniques and perspectives, I concluded that your life is not mine nor anyone else’s. Your journey with meditation is as unique to you as is your journey through life. And both are absolutely journeys, not quick fixes, but life itself.
Think about it. Has anyone else on this earth experienced exactly the same traumas, the same learning experiences, the same relationships, or even lived in the same body as you? If your fingerprints are unique to you, isn’t the composite of your life unique to you? Aren’t the things you want to overcome, and the journey to overcome them, unique to you? If meditation is a method of change, shouldn’t that method be custom made for you?
So what did the Buddha mean when he said the key is “right thinking”? If meditation is about eliminating thought, how does that square with right thinking? An old Japanese proverb says there are many ways to the top of the mountain. You can change whatever you want in your life. But first you must know who you are and what you want to change. Only then does the next step on your journey, “the way,” become clear.
The Kaizen approach
Meditation is all about changing your life for the better. In Japanese, Kaizen embodies a Zen perspective on life: Kai (change) + Zen (good) = change for the better. In the Christian tradition, Jesus and John the Baptist called it something that has been translated as “repentance,” a very positive term back then, without the modern association with sin and guilt. In either case it implies slow, incremental, focused, step-by-step improvement.
Are you ready to make your life better? More peaceful, loving, focused, effective, productive? Jump in.
Personalized instruction and retreats
Through personal instruction, guided meditations and meditation retreats, I’m here to help. What makes my teaching different is that it’s not one size fits all. It recognizes your uniqueness and the need to draw on many great traditions to craft something that works for you, at your stage of development. It’s OK if you aren’t going for Nirvana. Maybe you just want to be less frustrated or angry.
This is for anyone with a commitment to change for the better: people who want to change deeply embedded negative thoughts or habits into higher states of consciousness: peace, wholeness, health and joy. Contact me to set up a personalized session while staying at the Falls at Sewanee Creek. You will learn why the Fairy Woodland, creative welding and meditation intersect in deeply spiritual and transformative ways.