13 Comments
May 15, 2023Liked by Renee Faber

A heavy post, indeed.

>"If you’ve ever trekked you know the challenges; the desire to quit, the fortitude not to, the sweat, the glory, the misery"

A teaching from Jack Engler recently landed with me which declared that meditation is a process of grieving.

Your words "it's a painful, breaking free of the rods of assumptions and beliefs that we inherited" and your description of the struggle with continuing practice is all real.

The rod in my eye: I admit to many that I appreciate monotony, I've even been actively seeking the calm of monotony for years, but it alludes me. I believed that it would allow me more time for self-reflection, more opportunity for intra-personal growth.

The lesson I've been painfully learning these last couple of years is in this teaching, that growth is only obtainable through change and challenge.

I feel I've known it all along, and have even shallowly shared this lesson with others and yet still failed (and likely will again fail) to truly grasp the depth of it.

Calm is not where growth occurs. It is just another form of mud.

Thank you for sharing your words of wisdom and commission with us ♡

Expand full comment
author

Phia, I always so appreciate when you offer your wisdom and experience.

Do you find monotony feels more akin to pressing the pause button more than experiencing calm? Your words are making me link the idea of calm with the idea of peace and how those two relate. And I love how you saw calm being another form of mud. Thank you for the inspiration to go deeper with these ideas. 😊

Expand full comment

I have never considered it to be a pause before, but seeing the juxtaposition of it against how turmoil enables growth helps me idealize calmness less.

Thank you for that :)

Expand full comment
author

I never considered it either until I read your words. That's why I love this comment section☺️

Expand full comment

Always your words are so powerful, making me stop, consider and now, ponder deeply for the day...

Expand full comment
author

I so appreciate you for always taking the time to ponder with me over this last year. I can't believe it's been a little over a year on Substack!

I am thankful for our writing connection, Alice, and always look forward to your beautiful offerings. Wish I could meet you in Portugal for the retreat🌝

Expand full comment

Purity is a human construct invented to polarise the world even more than it already is. Evocative piece as usual Renee 💜🌼

Expand full comment
author

This idea is so strange to me as of late. I am thinking purity is an attempt to externally fix what we feel is missing inside of us. Thank you for taking the time to read this rather dense writing. ☺️🌺

Expand full comment

Loved this especially the idea of a soul-trek: it’s never the destination but the journey.

Expand full comment
author

Thank you, David, for taking the time to ponder this with me. You're so right, soul-trekking is about the journey. And, I find I still need to remind myself of this often!

Expand full comment

I loved this, Renee! Food for thought as I head off to Mass to pray for my soul. 😊 No guilt... this lotus is rising! Blessings and peace to you!

Expand full comment
author

Thank you, Coco! I hope Mass was restorative and peace-filled today. ☺️

Expand full comment
Comment removed
Expand full comment
author

Thank you, Hannah, for taking the time to listen! I appreciate you pondering with me😊

Expand full comment