What is my mind really thinking?
Years ago, at a discussion class, CarlH made a comment about examining the emotional associations you have with your attachments. So helpful to know!
One of my main ones is a cup of tea. But why? The warmth of it, even just holding the cup in my hand, represented comfort. When I was feeling a bit down, I'd start to crave a cuppa. After I got some insight into that association, it was kind of fun to examine how a cup of flavored hot water could possibly solve my problem. I still drink tea, but have lowered my expectations of what it can do for me. You could say I enjoy it more because I'm not looking for it to give me something it can't, which just creates disappointment.
Being on a restricted diet also helps me examine the associations I have with particular foods. I like to think I eat because it provides fuel for my body, but mostly I'm kidding myself.
Likewise, bumping into my retreat boundaries helps me see my attachments - and my impatience too. I usually limit checking email and reading the news until afternoon, and invariably there will be times when I want to do those in the morning. I'd say a good boundary is one that comes up for you to work with, without causing too much tension.
In Eight Steps to Happiness Geshe-la says "'Self' and 'other' are relative terms, rather like 'this mountain' and 'that mountain ... 'This' and 'that' therefore depend upon our point of reference. This is also true of self and other. By climbing down the mountain of self, it is possible to ascend the mountain of other, and thereby cherish others as much as we presently cherish ourself."
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Thanks for this...i really enjoyed it !
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