Negative and positive, what can you do?

Both negative and positive thoughts, emotions, situations, activities and so on have three things in common: they are always changing, out of your control, and not satisfying.

This is the truth of nature.

No matter which way you slice it, the truth of nature always remains the same. Have you ever encountered a situation, whether positive or negative, that didn’t abide by these laws? Unlike the laws of man, these rules have no loopholes.:)

But memorizing these rules are not enough. You also need to become aware of their workings. And the way to do that is to observe the mind and body in your daily life. Keep watching and noticing that things are always changing. That sounds simple enough, but it takes acasual dedication.

Aware Meditate Listen

Brian Eric Cohen

www.cohenbrian.wix.com/awaremeditatelisten

Thought patterns

Our thoughts run in patterns and keep repeating. For example, I don't like the way this is or that is, and it would be better if it wasn't that way. The subjects that fill in this thought pattern are for ever changing. For example, it can be filled in with some sort of body pain, a situation, a person, a disliked emotion, and so on. Here is an example: my foot hurts, I don’t like it and wish it wasn't hurting. That's one subject. Now, imagine or remember how many times the subject has changed but the pattern remains the same. This isn't to say that you don't take whatever action that needs to be taken. This is only to point to the fact that not only does the same pattern repeat, but it always changing, coming and going without your consent, and it's not satisfying.

These characteristics can be found in every thought pattern. And, the way to see that is to notice it changing in a very casual way. Casual, because if you try to hard to notice it, the thought pattern won't be natural and the truth will evade you. You have to see the workings of thought patterns in a natural way, undisturbed by you, in order to see the truth. Day after day, thoughts are coming and then going, Be aware of just that. That's a good spiritual practice. It's simple and to the point. When you see the truth of how thought works, then you will no longer be stuck in it. It will be seen through and no longer have any power over you. That's where real peace lies.

Aware Meditate Listen

Brian Eric Cohen

www.cohenbrian.wix.com/awaremeditatelisten

The many frames of life

What is most real to any given individual at any given time is exactly what is going on in that moment's frame.

Life is made up of an inconceivable amount of constantly changing life frames. What's in a frame of life? Let me give you an example. You are waiting for a friend, feeling happy and thinking later you will have to finish some work when you arrive back home that evening. Now that's one frame. Through out your day that frame changes constantly, even just one second later. For example, based on the previous one, in the next frame it changes slightly to, your leg is itchy and you start thinking about what you had for lunch that day. A frame of life is generally made up of a place, time, emotions, thoughts, body feelings, opinions, and more. Once a frame of life comes into being, it also starts to change. Frames don't remain still or unchanging.

The worst is when a frame of life is full of negativity. For example, your feeling tired, your spouse is late and your tooth hurts. You begin to complain in your head. This frame feels heavy and feels like it may never pass. Even later, when it did pass, you may recall it and kind of live it again, perhaps wishing it would have been different in some way.

The point of this is to show that each frame of life just comes and then passes. It all seems very real! And, the heavier a frame is with negativity the more it feels like it will never pass. Oppositely, positive frames are lighter and seem to pass easier and with less friction. But, none-the-less, all frames are constantly changing and completely out of your control. You never sit down and decide when you will have negative frames, how long they will last, when they will change or decide when positive ones will come.

To begin being aware of change, you can take notice in a casual way that things are always changing. Positive turns to negative, happy comes and goes, an out breath is replaced by an in breath and so on. Practice until you know the truth that all frames are changing, not you and not satisfying. Also to help you see this, a short daily meditation is suggested, but one that is very specific to helping you see the truth (I explain this in detail in another blog with the word meditation in the title). I also recommend listening to a wise teacher who knows the truth.

Aware, meditate and listen is the way of freedom.

Brian Eric Cohen

www.cohenbrian.wix.com/AwareMeditateListen 

Changing, even the bad

Some days you don't feel so great. This is wrong, or that's wrong, but that's part of life. If your waiting to only feel good, it will never happen because life will always deliver both good and bad. But, what you can do is notice life changing.There is nothing that stands still. Notice how sometimes you feel good, and notice how sometimes you feel bad. You don't plan out these things. For example, at 4 pm today, I won't feel good because I will be hungry and tired, or, oppositely, today at 1:15 pm, I will feel great because I just finished a good lunch and had some good memories. Changing around is just the nature of life. Even further, take notice of how not only does good change to bad and visa versa, but that one is completely replaced with the other. For example, when you feel bad, that's how your world is; the good is gone, no where to be found, and when you feel good, the opposite happens, the bad is no where to be found.

The nature of everything is change and out of your control, don't try and memorize that or figure it out mentally but try and see it for yourself. The daily awareness practice that you can do is, in a very casual way, take notice of all this change. Life is constantly changing, so you have a lot to take notice of. In one moment things are alright, and in the next moment, they're not. Often, daily even, situations come up that you don't like at all, and then they pass; don't they? Notice this until you really understand that, and then you won't have to get caught up in it all. It will all just be something that is happening versus something that is happening to you. I just said it very simply there, but it definitely takes a consistent casual awareness of change. Also, remember, memory of a situation is not the situation. When a situation has passed, it is gone; really gone.

There is a great freedom that lies within not being dependent on if you feel good or bad in order to be happy. You will feel happy no matter what is happening if you really know the truth that everything changes, there is no self and that the body and mind are not satisfying.

Brian Eric Cohen
www.cohenbrian.wix.com/awaremeditatelisten

Consistency, is it so?

What is really consistent? Is it a pain that's consistent? Is it sadness that's consistent? Is it worry that's consistent? Is there anything that is in focus 100% of the time? For example, you have some pain in your body, and, of course, you simply don't like it. But the question is, does the focus on the pain go in and out, or is it completely consistent? Do you feel the pain without any gaps of not feeling it, or do you feel it and then your attention goes off of it and then comes back on it? Another example is when you are watching television. Is the watching completely consistent, or does it go in and out? An even further example is about how thoughts always come in and then go. Has there ever been a thought that just comes into your head and just remains there?

Nothing remains the same: feelings in the body change, emotions change, thoughts change, sights, sounds, relationships, age, and so on.They all change. If everything changes, what are you but something that is constantly changing. Your sense of self is mostly based on thoughts and emotions that have a permanent sort of feeling to them. You feel like someone consistent with a past, present and future. But the truth is, as a matter of fact, all of those thoughts and emotions about yourself are all changing all the time, without any exceptions. 

Is consistency true? Check it out for yourself by watching and seeing if things are always changing, or if at some point things cease to change.

Brian Eric Cohen

www.cohenbrian.wix.com/awaremeditatelisten

Listening to teachers with wisdom - importance

Listening to a teacher with wisdom will keep you on the right track to learning the truth. This is important for the fact that you don't know the truth yet. Thus, you will need someone to point you there: someone who has been there before. It's like not knowing how to drive and needing someone to show you how.


The teacher that I listen to and recommend is a Thai Buddhist monk named Luang Por Pramote. A lot of his talks have been translated into English.


You can listen to them at www.dhamma.com/english. There are many talks and also translated books on this website. It may be a little difficult to know which talk to choose, so in my blogs and website, I will discuss some of the talks and recommend certain ones for you.


Luang Por Pramote, in a very modern way, teaches the real basics of what the Buddha taught which is that the body and mind don't belong to you, are always in constant motion, and are not fully satisfying (which would be putting it lightly). And, the way to see this does not require needing to be in a cave, forest, temple or at a retreat. Rather, all that needs to be done is to watch the body or mind in a relaxed but focused manner while living your normal day-to-day life. He explains that to see the truth, you have to observe your body or mind in a natural and unforced way. If you try and force it or conversely watch in too lax of a way, you won't be able to observe the truth. Your attention needs to be somewhere in between. Anyhow, practice is the key. Seeing the truth cannot be accomplished without it. The monk recommends three things: daily awareness, meditation and listening to his CDs (which are free).

Brian Eric Cohen

www.cohenbrian.wix.com/awaremeditatelisten

Edited by: Jeff Kirschner, and check out his site:
www.reallyawfulmovies.com

Meditation way and purpose

Meditate for 5 - 10 minutes daily in a relaxed but focused manner in order to slowly clue yourself into the way the mind and body work. Choose a focal point such as the breath or a mantra and watch it. You can choose to watch the breath in three places: at the nostrils, feeling the breath go in and out; at the chest, feeling the chest rise and fall; or at the stomach, feeling the rising and falling of the abdomen. For a mantra, you can choose something spiritual like Ohm, or you can choose something fun that makes you smile like your favourite food such as chocolate or french fries (or for me, cheese!).

Watch whatever focal point you choose in a relaxed but focused manner, and when your attention goes off it, just know it and let it come back.

The purpose of the meditation, which you should always remind yourself of, is to watch and see the constant motion and out of control nature of both the mind and body. During your meditation session your focus will naturally go off the focal point and then come back on. Your attention will go all over the place: down to your foot; way out to some childhood memory;  to today's lunch;  to a pain in your leg; to making up some sort of story. And, then it will come back.This is natural and not something that should be fixed. The goal is not to try and hold the focus too tightly on the focal point but to casual watch it allowing the mind and body to be how they are. The judgement of a good meditation session should not be based on how long you meditated, how well you stayed on the focal point, or even how peaceful you felt because none of those things will let you into the truth of nature.

In addition, the only way to see the nature of things is to let things be natural.  Force it, and that will make seeing the natural way impossible; forced doesn't equal natural.

www.cohenbrian.wix.com/awaremeditatelisten

Being aware

Being aware of the way that the mind and the body work is the way to peace. Not peace as the opposite of struggle, but the peace that comes from knowing, understanding the truth. The truth that the mind and body are in constant movement, out of your control and not satisfying.

www.cohenbrian.wix.com/awaremeditatelisten