Hey PhilosophersNotes Tribe! Today it’s Big Mind-Big Heart by Genpo Roshi!
Big Mind-Big Heart by Genpo Roshi
“There is a transcendent awareness, a Big Mind, a Big Heart, present and readily acces– sible to each and every one of us. When we realize it, we see it is the source of true peace, happiness, satisfaction, courage and joy. And yet, we don’t know how to access it, we don’t know how to bring it into our awareness. We don’t know how to manifest it or embody it.
For the past thirty-six years, I have been searching for a way to assist people to access this awareness. In June 1999, after much study and difficulty, I finally found a simple, effective way which I have been exploring and refining since then. I call it the Big Mind/ Big Heart process, or simply, Big Mind.”
~ Zen Master Dennis Genpo Merzel from Big Mind · Big Heart
And from Brian:
Zen Master Dennis Genpo Merzel. Also known as Genpo Roshi.
I was first introduced to him and his incredible Big Mind process during a week-long event produced by the Integral Institute in Boulder, Colorado a few years ago. It was stunning how easily and quickly Genpo was able to bring us through his process to get a glimpse of the higher thresholds of consciousness known as Big Mind.
In this book, he playfully and brilliantly articulates his wisdom while presenting the Big Mind process—a process that integrates Zen Buddhism with Voice Dialogue.
You can check out the reviews of this book here »
And as always, what’s your BIGGEST Aha! moment from this Note and how are you going to implement the wisdom from today into your life? Drop a comment and let the discussions roll!
And twitter users, don’t forget the #50days 
Also, because lots of people are joining in on the Challenge a few days late and in case you miss a day or two, check out this page » We’ve listed every Note that will be discussed (on which day) along with links to the discussion posts.
Can’t wait to get the discussion going on today’s Note. Talk to you guys tomorrow and if you haven’t got your 100 PhilosophersNotes yet, you can grab them here »
FinerMinds is hosted by 
Quite liked this note because it covers many of the same principles we’ve been exploring so far but framed them in a different way. A couple of powerful ideas came out of it for me today:
1] Right View — I’m very conscious nowadays to think through things from other perspectives and it’s prevented many arguments! It’s incredible how it ‘throws’ other people though when you do this — it’s almost like their brains are being fried as they try to get their heads around why you are trying to see things from their point of view rather than arguing with them! Love it!!
Jayne, great early comment this morning. Serving clients I know you’ve gained great experience in exploring all the perspectives. One of the most freeing lessons I learned during corporate days was I did not need to be “right.” It always feels better to let the ones with limited perspectives be “right.” Sometimes, as you well know, not resisting the other’s perspective actually opened the door (sometimes slowly) to reconsideration.
2] Being stuck — this is THE biggy for me! I know I’ve been in Dukkha for a long time with my writing but I feel like my feet are slowly coming out of the quick sand and I’m starting to take slow but steady steps! Soon enough I’ll be leaping along!
3] Integrated — I love this concept of being an integrated person. The last week, I’ve been struggling to stay on a positive vibration because a lot is going on in my world at the moment. I’ve also caught a had cold which I think is all the negative toxins being flushed away once and for all. Don’t understand why I’ve been impatient, moody and miserable though but then it occured to me. It’s my inner voice resisting the change so I know I’ve got to relax and go with the flow. This is such powerful stuff and I really do feel like a major transformation is underway and this ‘feeling crappy’ is part of the process!
Here’s to ‘Sukkha’!
Love your comment #3 on Integrated. Sounds like you’ve had a lot of different perspectives going on inside yourself, lots of inner debate that gives you the outer feeling of being impatient, moody. Lots of churning, and I totally agree that “feeling crappy” plays a vital part in the process.
Even when we’re always happy for no reason (peace and well-being) I think our minds and our moods are often tumbling in response to each shift of the gears. Even that Maserati goes through stages to get to high gear and speeding ahead on a straight shot.
Hi! I found these quotes from the “Big Mind – Big Heart PhilosophersNote to be
of great value to me. Free up the wheel .…. interesting concept .… so the wheel can go round and round and round .…. Today I am going to appreciate the stuckness that I am experiencing. Yes .… the wheel will eventually free itself up when I start wanting what I am getting .…. or get some kind of idea about what I want … lol!
Monastery walls are crumbling .…. the World is our Spiritual Temple .… Cool!
“What Buddha discovered and taught was to free up the wheel.”
you too peter..
BIG MIND
…BE MINDFUL
…DON’T GET STUCK ANYWHERE OR WITH ANYTHING
…BE FLEXIBLE
…THERE IS NO 100 %
…LIFE IS A CLASSROOM
…HAVE GRATITUDE FOR ALL YOU HAVE NOW..
BIG HEART
beautiful way to begi the day.….
intergrated
aware of delf and selves
of others and none others
in concert with desires, fears, thoughts.…
but CLEARRLY the CONCERTMASTER
I AM SO VERY MUCH ME
UNIQUELY ME
GRATEFULLY ME
I WANT WHAT I GET
(BTW< I GET WHAT I WANT»»>b/c I WANT WHAT I NEED!!!!!)
this program is helping me reprogram,
i am SO grateful for this, and for all of you.
HAVE AN AWESOME DAY!!!!!
thy jaik
i like that wanting what you need …dont forget to leave room for source to make the ultimate decision..and remain greatful
All of Genpo Roshi’s teachings resonate. In the journey of learning to write fiction, a strict (Buddhist) teacher demanded we deeply explore our own material before making stuff up. What? Not only had my life been boring, but I’d grown up in a step-family with values so opposed to mine that I’d made my own history inadmissible evidence.
But no way around in this workshop demanding on-the-spot writing which had to be read aloud immediately after. (Oh pain and protest trying to force Dukkha to move.) An amazing discovery, though, was that as I wrote of actual events, I suddenly saw that I could have reacted another way. I’d write the story of this different response, and see my own life in a whole new perspective.
More freeing was the next step: seeing the world as if I were the loathsome stepfather, and a previously unimagined world sprang into existence. I felt a new kind of compassion I might never have known by other means. From this practice, door after door sprang open.
Interviewing all the voices within myself, thanking them for service, and rewarding them with new roles re-oriented my life.
Dukkha changed to Sukkha.
What a great concept, to write about our lives with the reactions and responses we would have liked to have had. I am going to try that out today. Thanks for sharing.
Ahhh…so good for me to hear this one this morning…I am only halfway through this note, but I must admit…what I am still working on in myself is the need to be right. I have come so, so far in relation to where I come from, but I have work, yet, to do. But, again in relation to this note, when I am connected on a daily and frequent basis with the Big Mind, then I let go of this long-held need. When I get caught up in stress or worry, it is as if someone flipped the stephanie-must-be-right switch. Argh.
Recently my 7-year-old has been meditating with me, which is a wondeful thing, for which I am immensely grateful. However, though I can go deep in meditation rather quickly these days, when I meditate with her, she can not help but sometimes interupt or ask questions. She is doing much better than I expected, and she is seeing benefits, but personally my meditation time has felt less connected, and I do not have any more hours in the day to meditate with her and then on my own. So, I have been feeling less connected with Big Mind…
Stephanie, you make strong, good observations here. Yes, let go of being “right” and the whole world will change. You’re getting there.
On meditating when the child asks questions: maybe — speaking here without real experience — you could teach her that she is like the mind (the small mind) when you are meditating. As you know, while meditating, thoughts come up, but we do not deal with them. We thank them and let them go. (Or, with Wayne Dyer, just say NEXT).
In a separate lesson apart from mediation, maybe you could find a story way of teaching her that not all questions are heard during meditation. If she forgets and speaks them, you will gently let them go. Ask her to remember her own questions (make a note) and remind you after mediation.
It may take several applications. Just wondering. What if you tried something like this? Or something better?
Thank you…yes, I think this could work, sometimes! She fell into it so easliy the first few days, that, even though I know it is not the case, I thought *maybe* it could always be easy
Then, she started having questions. But, it is such a wonderful thing to share with her, and she is a very intense kid, so I think it is a very important thing for her well-being as she grows up. The more I think about it, the more I think she and I can have these talks, and I need to make/find time for my own meditation, again.
“If enough of us can get to that level of consciousness, I believe the whole planet, would be transformed.”
My 7-year-old put it this way, a few days into daily meditation together, “You know what mommy? The world would be a better place if everybody meditated. Everybody would be happier and nicer to each other.”
Amen.
What a lovely idea, meditating together
Hi Maxine -
The Winter Feast for the Soul is a 40-day worldwide meditation for world peace with meditations available online (http://www.winterfeastforthesoul.com). There is a daily 4-minute mindfulness for children meditation and a longer version for older kids/teens, and we have been doing both each day. Even if you do not join in on the dates mentioned, the meditations are available to download or as podcasts at http://www.talkshoe.com. I have also seen other online meditations for children. When my girls were younger, I used children CDs from hemi-sync (http://www.hemi-sync.com), Robbie the Rabbit was their favorite. I really think Robbie the Rabbit helped with my older daughter’s confidence.
Thankfully there is a growing movement encouraging children to meditate, and even teaching it in schools (see http://www.davidlynchfoundation.org).
Cheers! Stephanie
Thanks Stephanie, I’ll take a look at this.
Stephanie, you show us all tremendous hope for the world. When 7-year-olds are meditating, the joyful world we envision cannot be so far away!
I just replied to Maxine, but in case you miss it…there is a growing movement to encourage kids to meditate…see http://www.davidlynchfoundation.org…yes, let’s keep envisioning that world!
Stephanie, thanks! I did not know about this, though I’ve long been a fan of David Lynch and his little book of big ideas, “Catching the Big Fish.” I’m going to recommend this site to a friend of mine whose child, I think, would love becoming involved.
Genpo (as well as Ken Wilber and many others) talk about how it just takes a small percentage of the world raising the consciousness to bring the whole planet to the tipping point. I know it is in my notes from the Big Mind weekend… I think it was shockingly low, like 20% could change the world’s consciousness.
That is so cool about your 7 year old meditating. I didn’t give it a shot till I was in my 30s.
20%?!? That’s great! Are we there yet
I first read this note in November 2009, and I still love the little examples.
The tale of the elephant and the different perspectives was a real eye opener for me. Each blind man was right, but he wasn’t seeing the Big picture.
Since reading Covey 10 years ago, I have tried to seek first to understand, before being understood. I’ve tried to listen and understand the others persons point of view. This certainly helped me yesterday in my discussion with another parent about our differences of opinion.
However, my problem has always been that I listen to someone elses opinion, and then possibly because I don’t have confidence in myself , I end up thinking that there opinion is more valid than mine.
The other quote that I keep in mind is Confucius “Even when walking in the company of two other men. I am bound to be able to learn from them. the good points of the one I copy; the bad points of the other I correct in myself.” or as another note said, “How am I that”. I was upset recently with the interpretation I had put on another’s actions, and then my lovely sister, gently pointed out, that I had also acted in a similar way. That really made me think.
Love the quote on Integrated Free-functioning human being, “I am absolutely unique, there is no one else in the entire world exactly like me. I have no need to prove anything or to be special since I am special and unique to begin with”. Wow! Am I that, wow!
Maxine, I hear you on listening graciously to other’s opinions and then having the illusion that you have no opinion of our own. It isn’t true, you know, but I’ve had that happen to me, too. Some people can be so quick and loud with their opinions, that they seem to blast our own thoughts out of the atmosphere.
Let the hot air die down before deciding you don’t have an opinion. When the dust settlesyou’ll know what you, your unique self, truly thinks. (And we know we never have to worry about what those others kinds of our opinions, because, with Carnegie, they care more for their own slight headaches than for our deaths.)
I’m hoping that here in the 50-Day Tribe you are gaining great confidence in your opinions!
Thanks Chris, You have a wonderful way of lifting us all with your comments
2.
Not sure whether to post this or not, but following on from my last post. I love Sarah Ban Breathnachs books, I read Simple Abundance and Romancing the Ordinary daily. With Valentines day fast approaching, it’s so easy to begin to think of what’s lacking in our lives. Having lost a husband, and the recent decline in my relationship with my boyfriend, it’s certainly one thing on my mind.
But rather than focus on the lack of a partner, Sarah suggests we love ourselves. One suggestion is :
“Write a long, wonderful love letter to yourself from your authentic self. compliment yourself for everything you are doing right now, just the way you are. Let your authentic self encourage you as you would a young child. Mail the letter and save it for when you’re feeling discouraged.”
It might not be quite the same as receiving such a letter from a partner, but it seems better than wallowing in self pity at any loneliness we might feel
Now where did I put that card?
Sounds good to me. Write that letter to yourself and actually mail it.** Once, in a workshop, we wrote letters to ourselves about what we wanted to create. The leader collected them, held them for six months, then mailed them to us. What an amazing shock!
A letter from one of the many voices inside Maxine, to the Maxine who’s in charge of her life, could be not only a support, but a real delight.
On another note: I don’t let what others say or expect about Valentine’s Day — expectations from the crowd — influence what I myself am actually feeling any year when Valentine’s Day rolls around. Commercial pressure is there, too, trying to make people feel “left out” is they don’t go to expensive restaurant with a partner, if they don’t send expensive roses, etc, etc.
How do YOU really feel right now, this year?
**I have multiple email addresses. Sometimes I send myself an email to my primary inbox from one of my other addresses. Surprise!
I’ve written the card, and will be posting later
This letter idea is beautiful, Maxine. I think it’d be nice to send a letter like that to a couple of people in my life too…
Chris, I often do the same about sending myself email, then my phone will notify me that I have new email. I am almost always surprised!
Lol.…what a nice way to let you know just how much you love you
I really like the idea of being a ‘Temple without Walls’ — “seeing the whole world as the monastery, as the practice, as the spiritual temple.” Confining our spiritual experiences and practices to a specific setting seems so limiting. It is refreshing and liberating to express our spiritual beingness anywhere and any time we are so moved. Truly, life is our classroom and lessons abound at every turn. I am grateful for my life and the lessons that provide opportunity for growth and spiritual expression. Namaste, PN Tribe
Angela, for years even the in-crowd has been saying “my body is a temple.” In truth, though, as we are seeing more and more clearly from the 50-Day Challenge, our very lives are temples. Our ever act has spiritual significance.
This makes me think of an Emily Dickinson poem
Some keep the Sabbath going to the Church —
I keep it, staying at Home —
With a Bobolink for a Chorister —
And an Orchard, for a Dome —
Some keep the Sabbath in Surplice —
I just wear my Wings —
And instead of tolling the Bell, for Church,
Our little Sexton — sings.
God preaches, a noted Clergyman —
And the sermon is never long,
So instead of getting to Heaven, at last —
I’m going, all along.
That’s an awesome poem, Chris. Every time I hear something by Emily Dickinson, it’s really great.
I agree with Soma, that is a great poem and it says it succinctly and beautifully. I’m thankful that you shared it Chris.
Hear! Hear! Stephanie, you did not even need to put quotation marks around that. As I read I can truly believe this is you, your special and unique self.
Much gratitude, Chris! I decided when reading this quote that this needs to be the thing I read each morning! It feels so good!
I’ve been through a few Big Mind sessions and they are fantastic. Highly recommended. I can feel my neurons tingle, man. I love that.
I hadn’t read this book yet, though. The two things that affected me the most this morning were:
1) Using every moment as an opportunity to practice. I like to be reminded of that. I felt myself expand and relax just at the thought. Just the idea of it shifts my perspective. The whole world is a monastery, or the whole world is a dojo? I tend to gravitate to the latter, and both are true and untrue. Which fits the whole theme, I think. As an instant reframe, though, “as if the whole world were a monastery” is a really nice sampling point.
2) The integrated masculine and feminine compassion. That kind of balance is key, and holding both at the same time is glory and just the thought stretches me. Like yoga-for-the-spirit stretches.
And yet, remaining unattached and rolling like a wheel. Quite a ride!
Katin, your point #1, very nicely put, especially this : “As an instant reframe, though,‘as if the whole world were a monastery’ is a really nice sampling point.”
I’ve noticed that others with a western orientation, especially Caroline Myss, are saying the same things about the whole world becoming the convent and the monastery. No longer a separation. (And the all life is infintely better for it.)
Also, I think this 50-Day experience is proving to be a magnificant cauldron (or even crucible) teaching us to use everything in life, everything that happens every day, as opportunities for practice.
These days I’m viewing everything from a re-frame!
LEARNINGS
Good morning, all. What perfect lessons at a perfect time. From what little I understand about the intention and workings of Genpo Roshi’s Big Mind/Big Heart process, it appears to be a psycho/spiritual therapeutic process for integrating the shadow (disowned) parts of a person’s psyche. The goal of the work is to “give voice” to all parts of one’s self in order to access a stage (Ken Wilber’s distinction) of psychological and spiritual transcendent awareness (Big Mind/Big Heart). It’s “disintegration” that keeps us disconnected from the whole and unable to experience Big Mind/Big Heart. For those of you who know Genpo Roshi’s work and this process, is this a fair description of the process and its aims?
To me, this is magical and delicate work that’s probably best undertaken with the guidance of a skilled psychotherapist or spiritual master. This brings me to my forum experience of yesterday. I really enjoy participating and sharing my experiences with all in this forum. In this sprit, I find it really valuable to read about others’ experiences with the material, and I appreciate comments being used to relate personally to these experiences. I have a request. I would prefer to be related to/with in the forum as opposed to being prescribed to with unsolicited offers of “help,” especially when shining the light on “shadow” material. To me, this is the kind of communication that needs to be invited at the very least.
IMPLEMENTATION
The implementation for today is just to take to heart the message of compassionate severity, speak my truth here, and make a heartfelt request. Thank for considering my communication request and for your many kind and supportive comments. I’m appreciating this experience and enjoy participating fully.
Best, Tom
Jeepers, Tom. If you mean my posts, the furthest thought from my mind is ever offering “HELP” to anyone. The intent is to share a thought, as in “sharing a breath.” Yesterday I did pick up that I had put my foot in my mouth in regard to something in my first reply to. I never meant for it to hurt you. I apologize for having giving the impression of trying to help. I grovel with humiliation at your having perceived it this way. Oh yes, another perspective.
Chris, I really appreciate your courageous message and commend you for sharing your heart. Yes, in part, I was referring to our communication, and I understand that your intentions were coming from a compassionate place. I appreciate and accept your apology and thank you for extending words of friendship! It’s in these moments that I wish we had deeper context/higher fidelity for our communication. If we were face to face, I’d probably ask for a hug! Take care, Tom
That’s the ticket, guys! We could better utilize a “deeper context/higher fidelity” medium. Not that this is shoddy, by any means. Every thing has a start, and I am exceedingly grateful. My nntp newsgroups come to mind when I think of interactive forums. We can certainly consider the next step we take, apart from our own dynamic personal transformations, in the future.
Thanks for addressing the shadow work, Tom. I love to look at things in a Jungian perspective, and this more fully fleshes out what I got from today’s PNotes. I didn’t quite put that dimension to the company aspect, but it is dead-on.
Mark, thanks for highlighting the subtly of the corporate/work team metaphor and how it can be linked to Jung’s depth psychology. A gentle modern version of this work is Stephen Gilligan’s self-relations psychotherapy (see The Courage to Love).
Tom, your summation of the process is accurate. Genpo even uses the term Shadow Voices as he leads people into those areas we all have but few want to admit… the killer, the sexual pervert… it gets very intense.
Thanks, AF. I’ve not done a workshop with Genpo Roshi and have no practical experiences with that particular meditation, so I was describing what I was seeing and filling in the rest.
A Big Mind facilitator just asks questions, I wouldn’t consider it a meditation but I’m not sure what term fits. He asks permision to speak to… say the voice of joy… you shift your body and say yes and say I am the voice of joy. At first (for me) it looked and felt fake. I was wondering am I just playing along or is something truly happening. Then I started to feel things I never had and sometimes the entire crowd answered the same thing. I had answers/thoughts I was never aware of before and knew we were really tapping into something.
Genpo is careful to never take a break or stop for the day leaving people in an unpleasant voice.
Helpful examples. Also, thank you for the video links as well. I’m really enjoying BigMindTV! Best, Tom
Part 1
First thing that caught my attention, Do we need the self? Yes absolutely. Do we need to be identified with it 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? Absolutely not……
I have come to realize some time ago, that we need the participation of the self to be able to advance. For me the challenge was to be able to have the self cooperation to allow new precepts and ideas to penetrate deep enough so they can stick. Have always been a free thinker and wanted to learn of my own volition, I had to learn that learning is going through a filtering process done by the self, and according to a set of rules, certain things were not allowed to pass by. This is causing much turmoil in the changing process, always double guessing everything that is presented.
Taking the time to allow the self to come to term with the new material presented, allowing an open communication with the self. Without the full cooperation of the self no change is going to take place. For me that was the most difficult part.
Now I have found the process of allowing the self to cooperate, so that the processing of new thoughts, ideas and concept is allowed especially when generated from the outside. One day the thought of getting up earlier to “prepare” for the day came to me, at first I wasn’t too sure of what that meant. So I did, not really knowing what to do, the self decided to get the clutter out of the way, like checking and answering e mails, getting the dish from the night before done, and then getting on with the meditation and this exercise and carrying on the rest of the day. Now the process is different. The dishes are done the night before, first thing in the morning is a short meditation before reading the note. By lowering the brain wave, opened up the unconscious and give the self the security needed to allow new thought to pass the “gate”. Without the exercise first thing, when I start reading the note many arguments arise from the self, fears and strong feelings, emotional distress. And after that it’s very difficult to go ahead and learn.
I love the elephant and the blind men story, many time I refused to hear from someone else on a certain idea or process and it always end up in turmoil and totally non productive. But when I am open and listen carefully without judgment, things usually flow easier and faster bringing forth better working conditions or better understanding. Being aware is for me the answer to be open. And sometime situation can take me by surprise and I need to be even more careful and listen to whomever I am with at the time. Also to let go when someone is not open to my idea and give them room to figure it out by themselves.
Wonderful progress, Bernard! I was addressing the very same “schedule shift” this morning. It’s been slow for me…I am experimenting, finding the best possible mix to incorporate into my ritual. Monday mornings are a tad mucked up, and I realize that Mondays are “bad” for everyone, so what I can’t do the night or weekend before I can easily do in the afternoon, because little really gets done Monday mornings in the business world. I may change that perception. I have to do what works for ME. So every day can be consistent, no shuffling or juggling needs to be done. When this challenge gets done I will have a MEGAspace open for bombastic utilization. Much gratitude to Brian and Vishen. =)
It’s great to hear how you are subtly shifting things around and noticing what does and doesn’t work for you. It’s one of those choices that may not seem like much in the beginning but that have a HUGE effect on us in the long run. Give yourself a big old hug from me Bernard.
Hello
Thanks for the hug I love it.
PN Tribe. This is my farewell post, and rather than simply disappear I wanted to say THANK YOU as well as goodbye. I’ll continue enjoying all 100 of the books, but I’m letting go of comments and replies on the Intense Debate message board. I wish you all well on life’s journey.
Well Chris, I for one, will miss reading your comments, and your zebra face has filled the board from day 1. I do hope that this gives you more time to work with your writings. Love and light to you and great wishes for all your days. Thanks for not disappearing without a goodbye
Thanks for ‘sharing a breath’ with all of us!
I’ll miss you… and your comments…!
“Bliss’ings on you!
Hi Chris, Good Luck, but miss your PNs! (Personal Notes).
Muran
Thank YOU, Chris. Your comments have been a pleasure and a joy to soak up.
Will miss you humour and insight Chris…take care
( x x
But…but…Chris! We will miss you in the FLOW! Is it a time constraint. Nevermind, nunna my biz.
Here’s to ya on your journey, and thanks so much for being here and sharing. Stay in touch.
Oh no, your words of wisdom will be truly missed. Au revoir
Maxine
I’m sorry to hear that Chris as I have greatly enjoyed your comments. Good luck to you and yours!
“My purpose is to shine light on the raw forces that trap people in false and limited selves, showing startling ways of finding their true selves, leading to their becoming Light Bearers.” Your light has shone, and your voice will be dearly missed. I hope our paths cross again…perhaps when I get a chance to read your book? My best to you…
Take care, Chris. I appreciated your supportive comments beautifully descriptive writing. Thanks for sharing. Best to you! ~ Tom
Well let me start todays comment off by saying that I am frustrated. My roommate, who is a constant source of …challenge for me to remain where and who I want to be came home totally drunk at 1:15 in the morning andf made alot of noise before goign to bed. Just after I had fallen back to sleep, his alarm staretd going off at like 2:30–2:45am. After the second time, I got up and went to the bathroom, and could hear him snoring over the alarm. Even though I asked, and my bf pounded on the door and asked him to turn it off, it kept going off till about 4:30am. i am proud of myself for maintaing an OUTWARD sense of peace and calm, but inside, I wasn’t so on top of it. Some days I can see challenges for what they are, and other days they are simply FRUSTRATRIONS.…ok…lol…I guess I’m done blamoing and complaining and now I can move onto reading and writing.
And yes things have began to run smoother as I have started identifyign and gving jobs and tasks to some of the employees. And I agree with Genpo, since I have started acknowledging and paying attention to the different aspects within me, they have all started to serve me in good ways. My mind has tasks and goals and is finding to be very happy with that rather than with the directionless abandonment it had before.
Lol…what a good note for me today eh? Big Heart, Big Mind…thats exactly what I need right now…shifting views and perspectives…I guess I need to shift my anger over to curiosity and question why I would need to be woken up in the middle of the night and what I can get out of having so little sleep…perhaps the weariness of mind to actually be able to open it up to no view at all???
I love the company analogy. Here, inside me, I have a multi-national corporation
Well…I guessI don’t have to much to say today. I’ve never really gotten the whole BUddhist thing. I mean, I understand about how it’s necessary to let go of attachments and try to see all perpectives, but that’s about it really. The rest if it just does nothig for me really Maybe I’m being a little stuck in my own consciousness or ways of seeing things, maybe I’m resisting that which is different and new, maybe I’m groggy from lack of sleep.…If any of you have comments or suggestions today I will gladly welcome and appreciate them.
Here’s to being ever expansive, to keeping our feet on the path even when it has become a mountain goat foot path on the edge of a chasm
Peace and love to you all…the dog and I are going for our walk now.
Hiya, 33s. Roommates are generally from Hell, so I always opt to live alone. =)
I see we both like the company analogy and, yes, it is a matter of owning up to those voics and giving them more play. Otherwise the ignored ones just sit and fester. I’m really grooving on the mind-mapping. It is a godsend for artistic types like me. I do have a logical side, too, but it’s never been well-disciplined.
Get some sleep and remember, anger is futile. Just get even. =)
Hi! Commenting on your first half…I know how challenging it can be dealing with the noise of others. I live alone but over the last few months some very noisy neighbors have moved in around me and at first it was the hardest thing for me to deal with. The fighting, the pounding music, loud conversations, etc. would always happen at a time when I wanted to take a nap, read a book, do yoga, etc. I used to get so flippin’ mad and would have some not very nice thoughts…not cool. Finally one day I asked myself “why not believe in the good of the people around me?” When I started thinking that everything changed! Yes there are moments where they are loud but my reaction to it is much different. Also, I have taken the noise as a sign that it is time to move out of my apartment and well I’m excited to move on. I’m a different person now and need a new space to accomodate this new me
Good luck with the roomie!
Day 22 Big Mind Big Heart09 February 2010
I can get really wrapped up in this source of information today. I love the dispersion of non-dual and dualistic belief practices. It is never a matter of all one or nothing. There are no absolutes, just as nothing is impossible. Genpo Roshi has certainly gone beyond, or transcended, the finite in search of utilizing the infinite. The opposite is reflected in the profusion of churches and religions, all claiming to be “The Way”. I have spent the greater part of my life studying cultures and integrating beliefs and practices beneficial to me into my lifestyle. None were 100% suitable. All had something to offer. His point is well taken. I had encountered Dukkha and Sukkha before. Sukkha is Nirvana, which is freedom from suffering…which is life…which is Dukkha.
(second verse, not same as the first…)
Listening to the voices…ahhh…there we go! They speak only to me and I feel at home there. Genpo cautioned against off-handedly disowning any voice, because it continues to function, covertly and unhealthily, if not heard and heeded. These voices, or employees of mine, constitute the aggregate of me, and, if fully integrated, may just evolve into the Unique Ability I seek within for utilization without. I have found a great Mind Mapping program (software) and am employing it to channel these voices into a coherent, comprehensible incorporation of my talents, none of which has stepped forward as union spokesman. The challenge has been, and remains, to continue with the FLOW (love that word) in a persistent, consistent, diligent and patient manner…albeit playful once I have regained my humor and chillability. I can chill…yeah, I’m kewl. I can do it. =)
Hmm…mindmapping the voices…I love the look of mindmapping, but have never put it to use…
Imagine a world where everybody was free, happy and joyful, where everybody came from a place of generosity and giving freely without any strings attached. Strings….. Remove the strings…. Get everyone free. Free from fear to another perspective situation.
Flow with life. Have the spaciousness to hold multiple perspectives. Live from Big Mind.
Build the temples without walls. Get integrated. Create the mind of Great Joy and the mind of Great Appreciation and Gratitude.
If any of you would like to add me on Facebook, here is the link to my profile. I feel very close to many of you and would like to be in touch with you in ways other than just this comment board. http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=profile&a...
(1) Genpo Roshi is my favorite Zen Master. OK, he’s the only Zen Master I’ve ever met. I did a weekend of Big Mind with him in Seattle in 2008. I’m not sure what I expected a Zen Master to be, but the wise cracking, swearing, drinking, Harley rider I met was certainly not it. Shit, I’m practically a Zen Master myself I remember thinking.
Then Big Mind started. WOW. Life changing experience. This was the first transformation/growth event I had ever attended and it didn’t take long for me to truly feel and experience things I never had before.
Search YouTube or visit BigMind.org for some videos of Big Mind in action. It is so simple, I thought it looked fake. It is really something to experience. I did a full week of it with Bill Harris later in 2008 and I just discovered that one of Genpo’s top students, KC Kyozen Sato Sensei, is doing a Big Mind workshop this weekend about 20 minutes from my house. That settles what I’ll be doing come Saturday.
I can’t recommend trying Big Mind enough — you can do it live, with DVDs or the book (though I find the book the toughest way to go).
I was also at that event in Seattle in 2008. It was one of the most profound experiences of my life. Genpo was amazing (although I never heard him swear!) I too can’t recommend Big Mind enough and I think it best for a first-timer to go to a seminar to really get “it”.
Hi AF, thanks for the pointer to YouTube and BigMind.org. I really enjoy hearing Genpo Roshi speak and the vids on the meditation are really helpful. Thank you! ~ Tom
Will have to check out the Big Mind workshop. Thanks for sharing!
I will check out the youtube for sure. It sounds like you’ve been at the right time and place with his teachings a few times. Thanks for sharing. I’m feeling a little stuck right now with my female-male compassion, I’m very much a nurturer. I’m new at teaching autistic kids and need to beef up my masculine or else they will walk all over me with their behaviors. I don’t want to squash them, but I need to become firmer with my directions and not allowing them to persevere with some dialogue and behaviors. The PN’s are really helping me evolve in so many ways.
Chris: You’re like one of the still small voices that we should listen for. It can be burdensome to be a still small voice when you have other things to do. Although regular commentary can be beneficial, perhaps saving your views for extreme importance could conserve your time and energy without depriving the rest of us of your insights.
Godspeed in any case.
Rolana
All these still small voices are the voices of our experience.
When today’s circumstances trigger recollections of yesterdays results, we can tell whether or not to proceed.
When we seek help from a more experienced person (an expert) we draw on their still small voices. The benefits of his experiences depend on how varied his experiences have been. Sometimes some experts’ ten years experience comsists of two years five times. They lack variety
This is a good excuse to seek as much variety in our lives as possible.
“I include all the aspects of the self, all the dualistic voices and Big Mind, the non-dual, no-self, and I transcend them. I am also known as the Master, or the Unique Self. I am absolutely unique, there is no one else in the entire world exactly like me. I have no need to prove anything or to be special since I am special and unique to begin with.
I am also known as the natural self or ordinary mind. I do not need to put on airs or a façade. I am natural and unassuming. I am unconditionally joyful. My happiness is not dependent on conditions or circumstances. I am one with whatever feeling or emotion comes up. I am the mind of Great Joy and the mind of Great Appreciation and Gratitude.”
Yes!
Hi Team,
Brian starts with a Genpo quote:
“There is a transcendent awareness, a Big Mind, a Big Heart, present and readily accessible to each and every one of us.” I completely acknowledge the “phenotypic” experience of this, and I have a very different explanatory framework for what is actually going on. I agree with his characterisation that a fear, anxiety and stress produce suffering, and it is possible to shift our being to a state that does not experience fear and anxiety, and experiences a joy in being, and is aware that the “conscious egoic self” is but a very small part of that being. All these things appear true to me also. Where we differ, is in the why and the what of the underlying cause of those experiences. To me, it appears that most of that experience comes from various aspects of the process of storing and retrieving information as an interference pattern, and the “associations” or “intuitions” that are the natural by product. This process is a part of what constitutes our conscious awareness, and it also powers the vast number of things that our brain does “automatically” that we are not consciously in control of (because our conscious is too slow). So we have this vast unconscious set of processes producing “holographic” associations, most of which we are consciously ignorant of most of the time. Making the time, and developing the disciplines to bring those intuitions to conscious awareness, and to surrender the attempts to consciously control them, and choose to simply “set the context” consciously, then “go with the flow” produces a profoundly different experience of being from the usual experience available to most of us most of the time.
Genpo’s practices are great at this.
“Right View” I love the paradox in that. The “Right View” is the view that does not have the concept of “right”. When one can resolve that paradox, one has achieved that particular level of “enlightenment”. Looked at from a systems perspective, all distinctions must start simply. The simplest distinction is a binary — thing and not thing — in this case right and wrong. Actually, such simple distinctions, while required as part of development, are almost always too simplistic for reality. Reality is usually composed of infinite spectra, not simple binaries. Thus we get infinite possible paths to infinite possible levels of enlightenment, from infinite possible perspectives. Duhh! What is “right” in there?
“A Maserati Stuck in First Gear” — love that too, being something of a petrol head in an earlier phase of my life. The true power of driving well is in training the body to do all the mechanical stuff without awareness (changing gears, steering, throttle, brakes etc) and keeping the awareness as far ahead in space and time as is possible; then one experiences driving in the zone. Train ourselves to use all of the holographic abilities of brain. Unfortunately, most social institutional processes teach us to ignore or invalidate those intuitive abilities; for the very practical reason that people operating from such abilities do not display conformity of positive response to control — they tend to do their own thing — which is not what many “vested interests”, at many levels, think they want (to me that is simple laziness and ignorance on their part — time they “woke up” to their longer term interests — which are essentially the same as everyone else’s).
“Dukkha & Sukkha” love this!. Let’s “flow”!!!
“We’re at the point in our evolution that we all have to become conscious.” YES !!! And that means making the effort to understand all that is going on, not simply accepting the myths of the past. Don’t lose the essential truths in those myths, and don’t take them too literally either. Most myth is metaphorical, not literal. The literal mind is usually trapped in Dukkha.
Part 2
“Each of us has innumerable voices, or aspects, within us.” Oh yes. Every time we experience trauma in our lives, our brains are programmed by evolution to store what worked in those situations, and to replay that if the context recurs. It is a mechanism that served our ancestors well (obviously — because we are here); yet it has dangers. Now it is required that we bring awareness to all those patterns, to have oversight, and to take responsibility for the contexts that trigger them, so that we get to choose them, rather than they get to run us. they are not “bad” or “wrong” — they are present, and sometimes necessary; and sometimes the simple context machine of our evolutionary past is not the best arbiter of when is approriate, and sometimes it is.
“Integrated Feminine/Masculine Compassion” — yes this works, even if in a more “mythic” context.
“Integrated Free-Functioning Human Being” –absolutely YES. I simply ask, is that truly possible without understanding all of the levels of systems and interrelationship within us. In so far as we are ignorant of any of them, to that degree they get to control us. In so far as we bring the light of awareness to all levels, to that degree we create a partnership that permeates and transcends all levels. Me likes that too
Cheers Bri & Den!
“Great Gratitude and Appreciation“
“That’s the beautiful thing, that’s the secret: to want what you get” and at the same time, there is no real contradiction in being unreasonable, and using the powers that you have to create something that does not yet exist — for it can be true that you want what you have — which is reality as it is, now, which includes your ability to create (sotto voce — this is my subconscious speaking to me, rather than me speaking to you, and if it speaks to you — listen).
“I am the True Self. In other words, I am the one that truly transcends.” Love that
“Can you imagine a world where everybody was free, happy and joyful, where everybody came from a place of generosity and giving freely without any strings attached.” Yeah I can. I see it emerging like little flower emerging from deeply rooted plants. Just an occasional flower now and then, here and there, at present; and soon to be a floral carpet.
Thank you Brian, Vishen and Genpo — great way to spend an hour.
Heya Ted, what’s shakin’? Regarding your comment on the full self-integration, I looked at it as fully realized Self, or Self-Actualization realized. Another concept comes to mind when reading that section and it is this, “We are no greater than the least-common denominator within us”. If the “company” has one lackluster employee, it cannot function above that employee’s level of productivity. Kinda like the “weakest link” of the chain axiom. Moreso recalling the balance among our four pillars of emotional, mental, spiritual and physical. Then, again, that constitutes trying to oversome a weakness, and is that really fully necessary, and can we become completely integrated without it?
Hi Mark
Thanks for the comments.
Yes, there is always a “rate limiting step” in any process, and one can circumvent it to a degree with redundancy, and multiple possible pathways, and there will still be a rate limiting step at some point.
There is another idea in there also.
In so far as we have undistinguished processes running within us, they use up processing power that could be available for other tasks. For many, there comes a point where there are so many undistinguished tasks running simultaneously, that the cease to be able to function in the normal world.
Each level of transcendence seems to carry with it a requirement to go back down to the “basement”, and do a bottom up “house clean”, turning off all the un-required systems, and freeing up resources for use at the top level.
Seems to apply to just about everything that passes for “culture”.
(2) This note really resonated for me as today is the final day of The Oneness Experiment. Big Mind, Oneness – all the same to me. Love the idea of Right View and being able to shift perspectives. That boils down to the message of flexibility that so many notes cover. Also living without fear and treating every moment in every day as your temple. Life is our classroom, so go and experiment.
“Do we need the self? Yes, absolutely. Do we need to be identified with it 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? Absolutely not. – one of my favorite Genpo quotes.
Interesting tidbit – Big Mind-Big Heart was written solely on Genpo’s Blackberry. He was literally all thumbs in writing it.
I can still recall the energy flowing through me as we did different voices in Big Mind. Amazing stuff. At one point I felt like The Incredible Hulk, my eyes were closed and I could feel my energy extending so far around me, beyond my body. I felt huge and powerful. I didn’t want to open my eyes and lose it. I slowly opened my eyes and the feeling stayed. I was blown away. The process is so experiential, words can’t do it justice.
Really liked the concept of Shifting Perspective…need to realize that the big picture is not always visable at on moment.….….….….need to respect and be open to other perspectives.….….….….….….also liked idea of being mindful of daily tasks.….….need to take time to be in moment of the day to day stuff.….….can bring tasks to new level.….……believe in idea of increasing level of consciousness among individuals to increase level of joy and generosity.….….….….sounds like a worthwhile goal to work on .….….…..Thanks again for notes and insights !!!
I have read the book and I’ve even taken a Big Mind seminar and have several DVDs on the process. I’ve never felt so calm and peaceful and fearless as when I was at the seminar. So centered and confident. So spacious and alive. So grounded and open. I highly recommend it to everyone!!!
The idea of not being limited to your perspective as truth resonated with me. Growing up we attended a church where there was a certain smug assurance that if you don’t worship in our way you’re doomed. I rejected that as it suggested an unreasonable God which didn’t match my view, and which I refused to accept.
Later in college I took a number of religion classes. What struck me was that while the specific words differed the broad themes were quite consistent across faiths. Similiar to the elephant story Genpo relates I formed an analogy of a house. The reality remains constant but how you describe it would differ depending on which room you are in, if you are outside or inside, if outside on which face and at what distance, etc. The reality is constant but the experience — which is true and accurate for the participants — remains the same.
The other big “ah-ha” was correcting the translation of “dukkha”. Buddha’s teachings make so much more sense now. Life is sufferering feels a bit dark and defeatest. But to say it is as a stuck wheel, dysfunctional and not moving that sets up a different and more empowering paradigm.
Now on with gettting unstuck and back to flowing freely! PN are a HUGE help — tons of traction from this.
oh…that sounds great…I have had that sensation at a different seminar…it is amazing to be in the presence of people who can hold energy in a room of so many!
Today’s “ah ha” for me was looking at the notion of “practice” differently. Is it possible for me to begin making everything—the commonplace along with the extraordinary—a part of my practice? I practice meditation at certain times and then I go about my business. I practice the recorder at other times and then go about my business. I practice drawing and then go about my business. But what if I put a quiet awareness on the “going about my business” part? What then? Would that mean my whole life was a practice? Is that a good thing? Given this new (for me) idea of the term, practice, I think it would be a very good thing. If for no other reason than to squeeze the most juice out of each moment…from first to second…all the way to fifth gear…and then downshifting back to neutral.
Accepting the + and the -, the masculine and the feminine, this duality on earth, I’m working on that right now!
Dukkha and Sukkha, life is motion, energy needs to flow. Unblock the resistance and flow with Life.
Loved the quote about “we need the self? yes. We need to be indetified 24/7 with the self? NO!!! YES
Also the idea of never being right or wrong , very true, often tempting to think we have found THE solution,
but there is many truths , many ways and that’s why life is a beautiful mosaic.
Very Zen like .
Part 1 of 3
Hello! One day I’ll get to a point where I will comment the day of the note
So Big Mind Big Heart is another one of those books that has been on my must read list but I have yet to get to. I believe in divine timing because the ideas in this book I would have not gotten if I had read the book years ago. I’m in a different place now and well I could really appreciate everything in this note.
My fave idea and one that I find super important to remember on a daily basis is that of Right View. It’s funny how I have always described myself as open minded and accepting of others point of view but after reading/listening to the idea of Right View I see that I still have some work to do
“Be aware of the limitation that your perspective is the absolute truth”. Love this!
post 2 of 3
It helped me see that although I am pretty open to all views I still placed my limitations on them. And this goes for the views of others as well as my own. I actually find that I am more open and compassionate to the views of others rather than my own which is why I have been in the place of feeling stuck and struggling. Since the challenge I am much better at practicing compassion towards myself but with this note I can see where I can extend the boundaries of compassion…and this is what I need to do.
My next fave idea is that of Dukkha & Sukkah. I am always seeking balance in my life and well I can see that this balance I am seeking is really Sukkha. To me balance=liberation. For a long time now I have been feeling stuck, especially since I am stll at my full time job but want to leave to start my practice. I recognize that the longer I stay at work the longer I will be stuck and struggle. I still need to sit with this as I need to make peace with my current situation. I can’t exactly quit now but what I can do is appreciate every moment I am at work as that appreciation will bring me into the flow of Sukkha.
post 3 of 3
I have want I am getting right now (my experience at work) rather than trying to hard to get what I want (liberation from work). That hit home for me in a BIG way! I admit it is not easy and that is partially because it is a hard concept to fully grasp and practice but I am practicing away!
Lastly, although I found it hard to accept, I really like the balance between male/female compassion and how important it is for us to hold space for both. I know for myself that if I become to nurturing with myself in compassion then I will justify not doing a lot of the things that I need to do. I need to start recognizing when my fear is getting in the way and not nurture that fear but rather stand up to it and not let it hold me back. I need to start being more ruthless and decisive with myself. I have been holding back too long and well it’s getting boring!
The ah ha for me today was the female-male compassion. I am a new autism support teacher. I am a very nurturing person, love to teach. Yet I am learning that in my new classroom I have to use more of my masculine compassion while teaching or these kids will give me the run around and not much will get accomplished. I don’t want to squash them, yet if I use a bit more of the male, a firmer voice with direction it will help to decrease some of the perseverance some of these little peeps have with verbalization and other behaviors instead of focusing at the tasks at hand. (I will definitely let one little peep tell me about his being a lizard only after we are done with the spelling test!)
I love to listen to the voices from all of the people that I am, I apologize for those times when I couldn’t listen or choose to act on the ideas they have. I am facing fears a little better after all of the books we’ve heard about, so many state that acknowledging the fear and saying ta ta to them is essential. I am really great at seeing others perspectives and not believing that theirs or mine is the only best idea.
Thanks a gain Pn for these great ideas we are learning about.
Big Mind, Big Heart is Genpo Roshi’s term for a spiritual state of being I have heard about for years. In fact my true self has looked out to the world some times and without common language communicated and understood what existed for short moments. So I somehow knew that this state existed yet I never dreamed I could move in and out of this awakend state at will. Now thanks to Genpo Roshi being the chicken pecking at my surrounding egg at the right time I feel I will come out or go in and be aware of the world and the life on it. I look forward to getting his book and studying it and practicing meditation until I also learn to awaken to Big Mind and Big Heart. I particularly love that he quotes Maslow in pointing out we need to transcend beyond our ego self and become part of the universal lives and souls on this planet.
Big MInd Big Heart
Association with self
Right view
No one is smart enough to either be 100% right or wrong. We all see partial truths — learn how to shift perspectives.
Dukka and Suka — What good is a wheel if it doesn’t move?
Tear down the monastery wall and see the whole world as the monestary (Love this).
Our life is our classroom! Again, appreciate appreciate appreciate.
I love the Big Mind Process — this is a fascinating approach and I can’t wait to get this book. Really brilliant.
Every voice of the self needs to be heard.
Integrated compassion so important. Integrated free functioning human being.
Want what you get not get what you want.
Don’t get stuck on the absolute. Don”t get stuck anywhere.
Create from the place of gererosity.
LOVED this note.
Thank you,
Christina