Monday, May 15, we will meet online.
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I recently purchased the Shambala little book called “The Pocket Thich Nhat Hahn,” which literally fits in your pocket. I was thumbing through the little gems in the book which cover a wide variety of Thay’s teachings and insights. Two of them, not directly related, really spoke to me, particularly at this time. One was about recognizing and addressing our “habit energy;” the other was about the need to rest. The connection for me was a powerful one.
We all go through particularly busy and intense periods of life when we face greater demands, more intense dynamics, and significant challenges. I’ve faced such a period over the last several months. As I’ve mentioned before in our sangha gatherings, I have a very demanding job, with fast-paced deadlines, long hours and intense challenges. I’ve become the master of juggling lots of balls, taking on whatever the next thing is that comes along, and working late nights with very little sleep. But on top of that, my husband had a near-death health crisis recently, plus we have a relative dying of cancer plus I have some health issues.
All of that has left me feeling like I”m on autopilot, rushing from one thing to another, barely perceiving and noticing anything outside my daily “what must get done” blinders, and hardly feeling present to anyone including myself. I have become habit energy itself.
Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) describes habit energy as “...pulling us along and we are powerless. We are always running and it has become a habit. We have to learn the art of stopping – our thinking, our habit energies, our forgetfulness, the strong emotions that rule us…. We need the energy of mindfulness to recognize and be present with our habit energy to stop the course of destruction.
Then I turned to Thay’s little commentary on resting, which he describes as “... the first part of Buddhist meditation. You should allow your body and mind to rest… The problem is not many of us know how to allow our body and mind to rest. We are always struggling... we have the habit energy of struggling.” He goes on to say “...if we know how to recognize our habit, it will lose its energy and not be able to push us any more.”
So, a few questions for us to consider:
Do you recognize “habit energy” within yourself, and if so, what do you do to address it?
How do you allow your body and mind to rest, as Thay says?
When faced with pressures and demands you can’t control, how do we balance that with rest and self-care?
I look forward to our conversation.
Ellen