The Meditator's Dilemma: An Innovative Approach to Overcoming Obstacles and Revitalizing Your Practice

Relaxation helps set the stage, and playfulness mitigates the intensity that most of us bring to meditation.

the first step in creating the holding environment is giving ourselves permission to meditate in a personally creative and meaningful way, rather than force ourselves to align with traditional instructions.

I understood immediately that certain things—attention, great energy, total concentration, tenderness, risk, beauty—were elements of poetry. And I understood that these elements did not grow as grass grows from a seed, naturally and unstoppably, but rather were somehow gathered and discovered by the poet, and placed inside the poem. —Mary Oliver

Learning to stay receptively attentive when the mind is settled is one of the high arts of meditation. Generally we are either (a) attending to something actively, (b) spaced out, or (c) absorbed in an experience. When mindfulness becomes more stable and is accompanied by relaxation and interest, a fourth mode of perceiving becomes viable. Attentio

There are two kinds of light—the glow that illuminates, and the glare that obscures. —James Thurber

Audio versions of many of these practices are available at http://www.shambhala.com/the-meditator-s-dilemma.html and at www.billandsusan.net/meditatorsdilemma

We can never understand the nature of the mind through intense effort, but only by relaxing, just as breaking a wild horse requires that one approach it gently and treat it kindly rather than running after it and trying to use force. So do not try to catch hold of the nature of the mind, just leave it like it is.3

Our emotional needs matter. This is our North Star. We want to know how meditation can help improve our balance of mind, increase our focus, and decrease our stress.

yet it is itself the greatest of our miseries. —Blaise Pascal