Week 1 Reflections on The Seven Factors of Awakening

 From week 1 on a course on the seven factors of awakening.

• What supports you to feel at ease? 

Dharma talks, discussions, and readings. Meditating, nature walks, exercise, quilting, cross stitch are part of my practice. 

 

• How do you conceive of the journey towards awakening?

The old adage that it is more about the journey then the destination, really applies for me. The potential for awakening is what motivates me. The brief glimpses and moments of clarity are the sukha.

 

• Do any of the awakening factors interest you in particular: mindfulness, investigation of states, energy, joy, tranquility, unification of mind, equanimity?

The most difficult to understand and apply for me is equanimity. I always have to work to remind myself that this a heavenly abode. But I'm always starting from a place that this is a place of aloofness or selfishness that doesn't sound very liberating. 

• What supports you when practice is difficult?

Again it is about the journey. My faith, saddha, is a strong part of my practice. So if today I'm not feeling it I know I have tomorrow. I know deep down that the process and practice is good for me and my intimate and social relationships. I also try to embrace this reality of impermance and uncertainty.

• What does freedom feel like?

A mind at peace. I feel into my body, follow my breathe and then concentrate. From this I can arrive at a space that while expansive is still grounded. In a intimate or social setting it is slowingdown, making eye contact mostly listening and purposefully making appropriate responses. 

Morning readings

I have started a practice of reading philosophy each morning in bed as I wake up for up to a half-hour. 

This includes passages from Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius and a book by Luc Ferry, called A Brief History of Thought. 

My interest in Stoicism has been mainly aroused by Stephen Batchelor. However other sources have also had a strong influence on me. In particular, Sam Harris's app, Waking Up has a stoicism section with lectures/sermons/talks by William B Irvine which I find very interesting and helpful.

I read two passages from Marcus Aurelius's Meditations. I use two translations. I contrast and compare each of them, especially the footnotes, which are often quite different. As each footnote tends to refer to another passage or footnote, I occasionally link to other readings in the Meditations. The two books I'm using for the Meditaitons are 

• The Penguim Classics version translated by Martin Hammon, with introduction by Diskin Clay
• The Basic Books version by Robin Waterfield

Luc Ferry's book is working its way through the history of ideas from early Stoicism onwards. I'm currently struggling through his description of Nietzche's philosophy. 

This makes for a wonderful way to start most days.