Approaching Stillness The Lotus Flower Gary A Purse

Approaching Stillness: The Lotus Flower Gary A. Purse Fall 2019

Eternity Fertility Virtue Non-grasping Beauty Spirituality Prosperity

“Lotus flowers have been influential in cultures across the world from ancient times until today…The Egyptians used the lotus to symbolize the sun and rebirth. . " Lotus flowers also represent purity of speech, mind, and body, and those who rise above the "waters of desire and attachment. ” Spiritually-minded people are encouraged to live like Lotus Flowers--in the world, but not contaminated by it. (Meaning of Lotus Flowers | e. How. comhttp: //www. ehow. com/about_4762657 _meaning-lotus-flowers. html#ixzz 1 c 04 r 5 VJP)

L--Let go of Clinging, Craving, and Wanting “Such is the scope of putting off the burdensome natural man who is naturally selfish. (See Mosiah 3: 19) So much of our fatigue…comes from carrying that needless load. ” (See Alma 38: 12) (Neal A. Maxwell, “Put Off the Natural Man, and Come Off Conqueror, ” Ensign, Nov. 1990, 14) “Meditation goes against the grain of habits we’ve accumulated for a long, long time. We’re habitually indentured to [our] projections, scenarios, opinions, and story lines…. ” (Turning the Mind into an Ally, Sakyong Mipham, pp. 93 -94)

“I know why there must be opposition in all things. Adversity, if handled correctly, can be a blessing in our lives. We can learn to love it. As we look for humor, seek for the eternal perspective, understand the principle of compensation, and draw near to our Heavenly Father, we can endure hardship and trial. We can say, as did my mother, ‘Come what may, and love it. ’” (Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, “Come What May, and Love It, ” November Ensign, 2008)

O--Observe your Thoughts and Feelings --Make space between Life Happening and your Responses to Life Happening --Act, don’t be Acted upon --Pause and Reflect before Reacting…Bridle, Cool, Empty --Don’t get Shenpad! (hooked, snagged, trapped)

T--Take Time to Meditate --Be Still every day: President David O. Mckay has taught us, “I think we pay too little attention to the value of meditation, a principle of devotion. Meditation is one of the most secret, most sacred doors through which we pass into the presence of the Lord. ” In response to President Mc. Kay’s counsel, President Harold B. Lee similarly urges us, “Let that be something to remember-you do likewise. Take time to meditate. Many times you will be wrestling with problems, the solution of which can be spiritually discerned. Don‘t get so busy that you don’t have time to meditate. Take the time. ”(David O. Mc. Kay, "Consciousness of God: Supreme Goal of Life" Improvement Era (June 1967), 80 -82. Harold B. Lee, “Harold B. Lee's Response to President Mc. Kay's Counsel to Meditate, ” "Take Time to Be Holy" Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, 19. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 2000: 175)

“Therefore, let your hearts be comforted concerning Zion; for all flesh is in mine hands, be still and know that I am God. ” (Doctrine and Covenants 101: 16) “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. ” (John 14: 18) “Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you…” (Doctrine and Covenants 88: 63) “Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not. ” (Doctrine and Covenants 6: 36) “…For in this world your joy is not full, but in me your joy is full. ” (Doctrine and Covenants 101: 37) “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. ” (Revelation 3: 20)

--Meditation isn’t a mystical practice used to produce zombie-like devotees who extinguish all their thoughts while in a trance-like state! Instead, it is akin to pondering with a listening and teachable frame of mind. Often referred to as mindfulness, meditation is the practice of making space for enlightenment or inspiration by managing our thoughts and emotions more skillfully. --Make your Meditative State Portable --Zenify your Schedule!

U--Unite With the Present Moment “Within what is allotted to us, we can have spiritual contentment. Being content means acceptance without self-pity. Thus, developing greater contentment within certain of our existing constraints and opportunities is one of our challenges. Thus ‘the holy present’ contains the allotted acres for our discipleship. Hence, we can and ‘ought to be content with the things allotted to us, ’being circumstantially content but without being self-satisfied and behaviorally content with ourselves (see 3 Ne. 12: 48; 3 Ne. 27: 27; Matt. 5: 48). Such contentment is more than shoulder-shrugging passivity. It reflects our participative assent rather than uncaring resignation. Meanwhile, the discontented continue to build their own pools of self-pity, some Olympic size. ” (Elder Neal A. Maxwell, “Content with the Things Allotted unto Us, ” Ensign, May 2000, pp. 72 -74)

--Pay attention to the now, Now Thyself! --Reduce and Eliminate Distractions --See, Hear, Smell, Touch, Feel --Live Gratefully, rather than always looking to the next thing --Inventory your Simple Joys and Blessings “Both abundance and lack [of abundance] exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend…when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that’s present—love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature, and personal pursuits that bring us [happiness]—the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience heaven on earth. ” (Sarah Ban Breathnach, in John Cook, comp. , The Book of Positive Quotations, 2 nd ed. (2007), 342)

S--Seek Selflessness --Look for ways to help others --Move beyond your own “Goldilocks Zone” --Let go of Self-gratifying attachments --Rest, Breathe, Release, Practice

The Bridle Meditations “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath Conventional Reality Ultimate Reality made us free, and be not Shenpad --Social Conditioning --Presence of God entangled again with the Attachment “Wherefore, men are free according to the --Human Traditions --Eternal Truths yoke of bondage. ” Joy----> flesh; and all things are given them which are --Emotional and Cognitive --Divine Nature (Galatians 5: 1) Peace expedient unto man. And they are free to Architecture Love choose liberty and eternal life, through the --Reactive and Habitual Abiding --Proactive and Meditative “Come unto me, great Mediator of all men, or Agency to choose --Teachable and Responsive --Defensive Default Setting captivity and death, according to the captivity --God’s Commands. All ye that labour --Tempting Temptations Atonement and are heavy laden, and power of the devil. . ” (2 Nephi 2: 27) --Comforting, Healing --Angst Filled, Destructive Meditation and I will give you --Selfless --Ego-Centric <------Angst rest. ” (Matt 11: 28) --Unstable, Unsteady Grasping --Stable, Steady --Humble, Serving --Prideful, Possessive Clinging --Demanding Reciprocity Aversion --Unselfish Giving --Entitlement Shenpad Rest Suffering --Fulfillment --Unsatisfactoriness --Unity and Wholeness --Entropy