Three Meditation Exercises

Three Meditation Exercises. On What It Is Possible to Be, Do, and Have

Reflect on the single greatest obstacle in your life right now; the one that prevents you from becoming the person you might be, the one that prevents you from attaining what it is you most want. It’s best if you write it down. Go ahead. Imagine who you could be, and what you could do, if that obstacle was completely removed from your life.

Now reflect on what you would do if you only had six months left to live. Write it down. What would your priorities be if you knew that your time was limited?

Now reflect on what you would do if you were given ten million dollars, a hundred million dollars. Write it down. Write it down in as much detail as you like.

Now. Know that whatever you can imagine, you can experience.
You can, you really can BE, DO, and HAVE whatever you want. That is the nature of things. . . . If you want it . . . . The choice IS yours.

The idea that wanting is a bad thing is a punishing, life-denying notion. It is an idea with more affinity to Puritan repression than to any authentic spiritual instinct. Craving and clinging may lead to frustration and unhappiness. But Wanting, the setting of clear intention, planning towards the fulfillment of that intention, can bring freedom, joy, and effective ongoing habits towards action.

The thought leads to the word, the word leads to the action, the action repeated leads to the habit, anchored in a new mindset. The world itself is transformed by your desire. And all the living beings there . . . if you want it . . .

Jizo by Michele Benzamin-Miki