Monday Night Meditation Class with Nikki Mirghafori

Including all experiences in awareness including the goodness in life.

moving out of the retreat form; honouring others; unresponsive cittas and microphones; recognizing and using the underlying foundation with confidence; empathy and sympathy for ourselves and others from a confident citta; connections to others; story of the calm and loving peace activist; recommending skillful means: using the 5 precepts to bear the welfare of others in mind and to cultivate respect for oneself; offering value to each other; cultural themes – intention and convention; using the pause; top down morality; guilt and confession, unskillfulness of some religious forms ; sila - being clear about intention to help the citta; finding balance and clarity; skillful use of the restful aspects of meditation; common social behaviours, gossip and fuzziness of intention; ongoing attunement of attention to what really counts; your citta has the capacity for great well being and clarity; respecting and gladdening the citta and spending time each day listening to the citta; reflection on the triangular mural in the hall; the earth touching mudra; dealing with mundane busyness in life; using the 10 second pause to touch your own earth element and call on the earth mother

Please give examples of how to cultivate right view within and outside meditation

Using citta to cultivate citta with experience; using the imagination / the world of the citta to help steer the citta; using the Five Subjects of Frequent Recollection; taking it up at least at the end of each day; cleaning up at the end of the day

1. On being a bored Buddhist 2. On feeling tight and uncomfortable 3. On body tension 4. On grasping and “I am”. 5. On benefits of nature 6. On letting wandering thoughts arise and pass. 7. On noticing states of mind; 8. On investigating "self"; 9. On suffering as a teacher; 10. On inner lights during meditation 11. On "nimmita".

vitaka, vichara; assessing the feelings; breathing and lengthening

the intelligence of citta responding to the needs of the puja; noticing (vitaka) and getting into the flow (vichara) sampling, assessing, appreciating, snuggles in - like trying on new clothes; the result is piti (a refreshing lifting up) and the citta appreciates this; these are the factors and not the object(s) of Samadhi; how does your citta fit in your body?; posture and balance can trigger it; feel it and adjust the two experiences – adjusting to it and sensitivity to it; can be sensed (a visual sense) and feel it (tactile) and can adjust between the two of these to be with it; thoroughly sensitive to it; calming any excitement or over eagerness with the breath; noticing the experience and noticing the noticing; sensitive to the mind consciousness, its objects; we are aware that we are aware; objects releasing by themselves