working vacation meditation retreat
Jun. 6th, 2001 09:36 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
iamomI've been thinking about the value of vacation time ever since I returned from my vacation last week. Vacations from work but not life are not really vacations, they're just a break from work. But some of us (most certainly including myself) need full-on vacations probably at least once each year just to clear the mind, relax, and recuperate from the vicissitudes of regular life.
Although, I must acknowledge that this need for escape could probably be reduced or even eliminated if one were to undertake a regular sitting meditation practice each day. This would undoubtedly help to re-establish that oneness of mind on a more regular basis (and not just during vacations), and it would also help to maintain a steady sense of self-awareness throughout each day. The maintenance of that self-awareness in the most literal fashion, from one moment to the next, is the only thing that keeps me sane. If I'm not doing that, it's not hard for me to slip into the world of 'other-identification,' which sees me get wrapped up in the events of my life, worrying about this thing or that thing, and just generally heaping clothes on my mind's bed.
Heh - while my dogs could attest to the comfort of lying in a pile of clothes, the best rest for the mind is usually gotten while bare on clean sheets only.
Although, I must acknowledge that this need for escape could probably be reduced or even eliminated if one were to undertake a regular sitting meditation practice each day. This would undoubtedly help to re-establish that oneness of mind on a more regular basis (and not just during vacations), and it would also help to maintain a steady sense of self-awareness throughout each day. The maintenance of that self-awareness in the most literal fashion, from one moment to the next, is the only thing that keeps me sane. If I'm not doing that, it's not hard for me to slip into the world of 'other-identification,' which sees me get wrapped up in the events of my life, worrying about this thing or that thing, and just generally heaping clothes on my mind's bed.
Heh - while my dogs could attest to the comfort of lying in a pile of clothes, the best rest for the mind is usually gotten while bare on clean sheets only.
