Both are Buddhists teachers, thinkers, thought leaders.
Notes - Sharon learned there is suffering in life - it is just not you. We can approach everything with choice. After a disruptive and difficult youth - she ended up in a session quite by accident on Buddhism. Krista talked about Buddhism is reality based. Life is complicated, challenging, Start with what is real. Buddha discovered the nature of reality and understood that others could understand also. Being realistic is the key.
Outer reality - it is highly rational for us to love our enemies. This is a phrase from Jesus. Buddha said something similar, hatred will never come from hatred. What might happen is you may move from hatred to non hatred. Once at non hatred move to love?
To me this reality also speaks to happiness or non hatred is an inside job. Sharon talks about giving over our energy to someone else by being annoyed, by being angry, by being consumed by another. We go over "the list" we have created on how this person has leg us down even though it is the same. It has not changed.
Jesus's teachings negated by our ego centric psychology. Jesus only had 4 years - the Buddha had more than 46 years to "suffer". How to put practices into place with intimate relationships? Much funny interaction between the three - laughing. Ultimately, one of the aspects I got out of the discussion was "mindfulness".
Always goes back to inner work. Great poignancy is that we can work with ourselves and become transformed. The work begins (Sharon) with mindfulness. Take a direct look at our entire emotional landscape. Use mindfulness to breakdown the emotions. One of life's big mysteries is that we don't talk to each other about waking up and being afraid - suffering is part of the nature of things. We can find each other in the vulnerability (honesty?). Robert talked about the idea of addiction. We think we need whatever because it makes us better and it takes us over. Mindfulness can intervene.
Look for the good in others. Find one good thing about them - (Sharon said her reaction to her teacher was "I am not going to do that - stupid people to that..."). Think of someone who is incredibly obnoxious (Sharon telling a story about her experience) she remembered someone and watching them do a very generous thing towards someone else - she noted she did not want to think about that. Bringing it back to looking for the good in others.
Realize how our interpretation, perception, experience mire our state of being. I can consciously move my experience beyond. Eckhart Tolle - moving back to present moment. Remember the moment - make it a tiny bit better - the moment becomes connected to the future moment (dual) the richness of moments is a positive view of time. Imagine that when Buddha found nirvana he also saw all of our future moments in nirvana too.
Buddhism: Engaged realism - Robert Thurman.
What resonates for me today is mindfulness and looking for the good in others or in situations as a way of managing relationships, work, challenges, complications.
Minnesota winter day in early January 2015.
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