October 30, 2024

“Dzogchen in Everyday Life” – 12th Episode: Changing Conditions Summary 2

This is the second of two exceptional episodes concluding the series on “The Relief of Emotions on a Daily Basis” and families of emotions directly related to the ongoing climate upheavals and changing conditions, with our guest Mila Khyentse Rinpoche.

Host: Marie-Laure

dzogchentoday-dzogchen in Everyday Life–11.jpg

In previous episodes, we’ve found that we don’t necessarily make the connection between the evolution of the external conditions and our emotional states, and that this keeps us in a state of tension and constant suffering. Our usual mode of response to this suffering is the famous fight or flight, which only serves to maintain this state of malaise and confusion.

We’ve also seen that Dzogchen offers a different path to our usual responses, one that enables us to achieve genuine emotional calm, develop greater clarity about our living conditions and help us to respond more appropriately to situations.

Notes

Dzogchen is a directly accessible tradition that can be practiced in a variety of ways in our daily lives, focusing on liberation from suffering and the means to achieve it.

In this episode, we invite you to deepen your understanding of the mechanism of suffering. We discuss about the power of the imagination, its mechanism and how we can master it in order to overcome suffering. We conclude with two guided practices.

Recap & Takeaways

“Dzogchen in Everyday Life” series, episode 12: “the Relief of Emotions on a Daily Basis” and families of emotions directly related to the ongoing climate upheavals and changing conditions – Deepening

In this podcast, Mila Khyentse talks about:

The power of imagination 2’32
Using the power of imagination (mental projection) as mind training 5’50
Developing clarity and recognizing that thoughts are not real 7’18
Identifying the duality of reality : the intention & action 9’12
Being aware of the intention before action 11’54
Mastering the intention to direct action instead of reacting 13’57
Positive or negative thinking have the same nature according to Dzogchen tradition 18’14
Clearly recognizing the projection process : a way to overcome suffering 19’20

PRACTICES

Practice # 1 : Gaining clarity by recognizing the illusion of projections 20’30

Specific posture: two feet flat on the ground, hands flat on the knees, head a bit down
Eyes open, focus on one point
Remain present at whatever arises and let go
Imagine what will happen to you in 10 minutes, then 1 hour, then 1 year, then 10 years, then 30 years
Finally let go and remain concentrated on the here and now
Practice feedback

Practice # 2 : Developing a broader vision of the reality 29’15

Same posture : two feet flat on the ground, hands flat on the knees, head a bit down
Eyes open, focus on one point
Remain present at whatever arises and let go
Gradually raise the eyes up and concentrate to one point in front
Remain present in the space in front of you
In that state of concentration, recall one emotion and concentrate directly to the sensation of the emotion
Take a deep breath and hold the air for an instant
Release gradually the air and focus on the emotion
Start again the same process few times
Conclude with a long exhale, lower the gaze and remain present

Practice recommandation: 10 minutes per day everyday.