Dhammachick

I've decided I need a bit of a Buddhism 101 refresher for myself. So I've started re-studying the 4 Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. Things have gotten so complicated and convoluted for me spiritually over the past 18 months to two years that I need to stop, purge and focus. And I've found that as soon as someone discovers what your beliefs are, they are instantly onto you to tell you you're wrong, why you're wrong and - how THEY can get you onto "the right way". Bollocks to that. I am quite capable of figuring things out for myself thank you very much. In fact, the more I see the bias, ignorance and hypocrisy of those who are so eager to help me, the more I want to be free of ANY religious path. Now, I believe in a Divine Spirit who created this world and all of us on it - humans, animals, plants - ALL sentient beings. And I'm pretty sure It did not want the current state of affairs on this planet as the end result. I can't speak for the Creator, but I bet I'm not far off the mark with that statement.

I think because I've been tying myself in knots trying to figure out what's right for me spiritually and trying to make it fit into my ethical and moral framework, I've just ended up becoming a mess of confusion and stress. It's not working for me and it needs to change. And that's exactly what I'm going to do. For a start, I will no longer enter into conversations with people, including close friends and family, on my beliefs and opinions on anything religious. It only ever ends in arguments and harsh words, and I am no longer willing to absorb that negativity into my day to day life. I will no longer volunteer any information about my beliefs to any organisations - hospitals, work places or others - when they ask for it. My standard answer will be "that's not necessary for you to know" because legally I do NOT have to provide it and I no longer feel comfortable applying a spiritual label to myself at this point in time. And to be perfectly honest, at this point in time, I really don't know HOW I feel about my spiritual path.

What I DO know, is that Buddhism is in line with my ethical and moral compass so I think I will focus on that and let God/dess/Creator do Its thing and reveal Its plan for me at the right time and place. The less stress the better. Besides, I have long believed that you do not have to believe in a deity to be a good person. That more than ever applies. And for now, meditation, the 4 Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path are my guide.

Every now and then, I need to go back to simple, basic meditation to realign myself and find my centre. After last night's full moon, I think now is a great time  do that. I also had it reconfirmed when I read a post on New Buddhist about meditation classes.

The easiest way for me, and many Buddhists I know, is to count the breath. You start by counting the in and out breaths up to ten and then start again. Sounds easy enough, but you need to FOCUS on each breath as you count. Each time you find yourself thinking about something else, you need to go back to starting from 1 again. The first time I started this exercise, I didn't make it past 3. I think it took me a good solid 6 months before I could count to 7 without getting distracted and starting over.  But it's a good way to train the monkey mind  to focus without getting frustrated or giving up in despair.  The best thing about this form of mindfulness meditation is that it is straightforward and available for everyone to use. It doesn't matter what religion you follow, what name you have for God/dess/Creator, or even if you BELIEVE in a deity or not. It's all about the breath. Simple.

Following on from my epiphany about letting go, I have vowed to be more present in the now. Which includes less time on social media, with the end goal being to delete my Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr altogether and just stay with my website, email and Twitter. I find Facebook and other social media sites only inflame my negative emotions at times and that is not skillful for my practise. Besides, it's nice to actually speak to people on the phone (Yes, I still use my smartphone for phone calls to *gasp* - LOL). It won't happen overnight and it will be a challenge, but one that will be worth the result.