This can also be useful for people beginning their mediation practices. I know that when I started meditating years ago, I had so much trouble with how to deal with arising thoughts, and I fell into the common trap of thinking that I had to actively banish all the thoughts that came through and "make" my mind blank.
It was only when I realized that the thoughts could arise and fade on their own without my interaction. It was a non-grasping kind of stillness that I needed. The imagery of the full bottle is a great way to help illustrate this!
Absolutely! It is so true for meditation. Banishing thoughts and making them an "enemy" is a major barrier to finding a way to relax into meditation ... And by relax, I don't mean making the bottle "empty" or trying to 'bliss out.' I hadn't thought how the full bottle metaphor applies so beautifully. Thank you! _/|\_
The metaphor of a full bottle, unshakeable is a marvellous metaphor to me. I really grasped what enlightenment is after reading and listening to this.
I have been noticing how often I find myself having an emotional reaction to things that are not satisfactory to me. My bottle needs filling a lot more I think. 🤔
What a great metaphor! Thank you for this post.
This can also be useful for people beginning their mediation practices. I know that when I started meditating years ago, I had so much trouble with how to deal with arising thoughts, and I fell into the common trap of thinking that I had to actively banish all the thoughts that came through and "make" my mind blank.
It was only when I realized that the thoughts could arise and fade on their own without my interaction. It was a non-grasping kind of stillness that I needed. The imagery of the full bottle is a great way to help illustrate this!
Absolutely! It is so true for meditation. Banishing thoughts and making them an "enemy" is a major barrier to finding a way to relax into meditation ... And by relax, I don't mean making the bottle "empty" or trying to 'bliss out.' I hadn't thought how the full bottle metaphor applies so beautifully. Thank you! _/|\_
The metaphor of a full bottle, unshakeable is a marvellous metaphor to me. I really grasped what enlightenment is after reading and listening to this.
I have been noticing how often I find myself having an emotional reaction to things that are not satisfactory to me. My bottle needs filling a lot more I think. 🤔
The metaphor always worked for me, too. I can feel the noise of my self becoming deafening when I'm reactive!