Icing on the Cake

The past twelve months have brought about many changes. I have cooked more for myself during this time than the past ten years! And I sill don't care for my cooking!

But I am reminded of how one of my teachers would say "the practice is like a cake." When you see a layer cake, the largest piece is at the bottom, this is our daily meditation practice. A strong foundation for the rest of the cake.

The next layer is our mindfulness practice - where we work to keep at least 5% of our attention on our mind/body throughout our daily interactions. When driving, know that you are driving, when working on the computer, know that you are working on the computer, when you are suffering, know that you are suffering and so on.

The third piece of this recipe for awakening is summed up in the phrase "do no harm."

In our practice, the concept of Sila, or wise conduct encourages us to look closely at our actions, speech and livelihood. Making it a point to notice when we engage in gossip or stories, bringing awareness to when we speed up preventing another driver from "cutting in" and consciously bringing a sense of service to others as we earn our paycheck.

One of my favorite parts of the cake is sangha (filled with nuts!). Lovingly encountering our community both near and far, young and old, rich or poor, live or virtual, awake or asleep. Sangha is more than "other people" it is a way of being in the world.

Finally, taking time to grow, learn and cultivate the teachings, whether through books, magazine's, classes, videos, study groups, or one-to-one conferences with teacher's.

Spirituality is a smorgasbord! Sample all the flavors paying close attention to what resonates in your heart, and simply letting the rest go.

There comes a point when we no longer have to "do" the practice, it takes on its own momentum, life becomes easier, there is even a sweetness to sorrow and Joy surrounds all that we do. But that's just icing on the cake.

Victor