ESSENCE OF ALL PRACTICE:
The intention to open to the presence and action of God/The Dharmadatu/Allah/a well harmonized brain functioning intuitively beyond the small self (ie surrender of the small self to a greater functioning). As Krishna puts it at the end of the Gita, “Abandoning all Dharmas (practices, rules, guidelines) surrender to Me, and let Me do the rest.”
MINDFUL ATTENTION
Mindfulness: Balancing narrow and wide focus attention (concentration, open awareness), zazen, tantra yoga practices of mindfulness and open, spacious awareness
HEARTFUL ATTENTION:
Loving kindness, Compassion, Forgiveness, gratitude, reverence, prayer, tantra yoga practices of heartful awareness and surrender
REFLECTIVE INQUIRY:
Mindful CBT, science and non-duality, interspiritual meditation, creative visualization, sustainability
PREPARATION (using body and energy)
Breathing, relaxation, kundalini yoga, tantra yoga
KARMA YOGA: (bringing together the skills of surrender, mindful attention, heartful attention, reflective inquiry
1. Mindful and heartful attention in action: mindful eating, simple living, mindfulness at work, mindful leadership
2. Selfless service: Caregiving, Selfless service,
3. Art: Contemplative art, storytelling
4. Science: science and nonduality
5. Relationships: parenting, marriage, childbirth, coming of age
6. Healing: 12 step outreach, mindfulness in correctional institutions
7. Education: Mindfulness in schools
8. The body: aikido, tai chi, walking meditation
9. Nature: environmental mindfulness and mysticism,
the intention in the opening – the essence of all practice – was to state it in a way that would be understandable to religious and non-religious folks (that’s why I put in the bit about harmonious brain functioning).
This was very rough, done in about 5 minutes, but might be a good place to start in thinking about how to integrate the myriad practices people discover when they start to investigate meditative and contemplative practices.