Live Session Summary, Sunday, Sept 18, 2022: It was good to be with you today. The theme of this week’s session was ‘the most important question.’ I spoke of the importance of intention in moving us towards what leads to well-being and happiness, and the use of attention to help us be present and focus on what moves us towards greater freedom. I highlighted the important role played by the way we meet our experience—our attitude—and the power of the question ‘how am I meeting this moment?’ in helping us untangle ourselves from suffering and live more freely.
How we meet our experience is critical because the way we meet what is present actually transforms our experience. I shared how a difficult situation, such as getting a serious health diagnosis, is a different experience when met with resistance, denial, or fear than when it is met with kindness, acceptance and compassion. The thing itself (the diagnosis), as an experience, is dependent on how we meet it. Meeting our experience with acceptance, kindness and curiosity will lead us to greater happiness and well-being and is a pathway to freedo
I shared a quote from Viktor Frankl about our ability to choose our ‘attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way’; Zen master Yunmen’s response to a monk’s question, ‘What are the teachings of a whole life time?’ and his reply ‘an appropriate response.’
I also shared David Wagoner’s poem—a retelling of a Native American elder story—called ‘Here’; Muhyiddin Ibn Al-‘Arabi’s ‘There was a time when I would reject those’; and lines from Dorothy Hunt’s ‘Peace’ and Rumi’s ‘The Guest House.’
Wishing you a lovely week ahead. See you next Sunday at 9am eastern. Warmly, Hugh 🙏🏼 🌻
