Basics of 9 sec Practice

1. Maxine's excerpt from "Simplity", April 14, Monday

Pema Pera: While 9 seconds is very short, seemingly laughably short compared to usual contemplation techniques, it does have the advantage of already being integrated with daily life
... the very fact that you come back to it every fifteen minutes does not give you a chance to drift away and forget about it altogether
... and when you keep doing it, you will find that the practice colors the remaining 891 seconds of the quarter of an hour as well

 

2.  From the log "Space", April 9

 

Pema Pera: to let reality speak for itself
Pema Pera: the Universe, Being
Pema Pera: whatever term you like to use as a pointer

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Caledonia Heron: acceptance and observance of that allows for an open space to operate from
Caledonia Heron: perhaps where space is alive :)
Pema Pera: yes indeed!
Pema Pera: to let go of our own intentions and goals and plans is so important

 

 3.   From the log "Stopping", April 6

Pema Pera: May I quote my favorite Rumi poem?
Caledonia Heron: certainly
Types Sideways: please
Pema Pera: see whether that works in this box . . .
Pema Pera: The Guest House This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they are a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture, still, treat each guest honorably. He may be clearing you out for some new delight. The dark thought, the shame, the malice. meet them at the door laughing and invite them in. Be grateful for whatever comes. because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.

4.  From the log "Why Write?", April 12

Pema Pera: here goes: we are poking holes in our habitually limited view of the world
Pema Pera: with those 9-sec tricks 

5.  From the log "Simplicity, April 15

Pema Pera: seeing is simple, integration in daily life can take infinite shades and colors
Pema Pera: Here is a suggestion, for the time in between the 9 seconds windows: how about simply trying to stay more with what is, rather than with what you have — do you think that idea is compact and portable enough to carry along with you during the remaining almost-15 min-interval?
Maxine Walden: please say a bit more,
Pema Pera: the first step in the 9-sec practice is simply to remember to do it — to stop and do anything at all
Maxine Walden: yes, that is clear
Pema Pera: the second step is to become comfortable with it, with taking a breath, relaxing, dropping the momentum of what you were doing, and taking a short note
Maxine Walden: dropping the momentum…that seems important and I will try to look to it
Pema Pera: but then third step, which we haven’t really talked about yet, is the question of how to let these source of inspiration inundate the plains of the remaining 891 seconds ^^