How can you champion and cultivate your creative fire? By bringing your open and warm attention to it. Invest your attention in the right places. Reflect on what brings you alive. Talk about what you love in your life. Reflect on what you love in your family members. It is so easy to focus and talk about what we don’t like. That is often the default pathway. I have heard many detailed life stories from my students, and with some of them, I don’t even know how many family members they have, because I only hear about one person—the sister or mother who never seems to love and accept them.

I want to hear about all the people you love. Who do you encounter at your work? You tell me who you have difficulty with, but I want to hear who you have a nice relationship with, who you work well with, who you enjoy collaborating with. Let’s talk about what is alive in your relationships. Let’s talk about what is alive through your senses. Let’s talk about what moves you and inspires you in your life. If you don’t reflect on what brings you alive, you could lose the connection to it. Every time you remember what brings you alive, it activates something in you—changes occur in your brain, in your body, in your breath. Recognizing what brings you alive brings positive energy and joy. We all experience sparks of inspiration and connection, but often we don’t acknowledge them or reflect on them because we are too busy.

When the joy of inspiration and connection comes, notice the qualities that are present. You may feel a sense of freedom, curiosity, freshness, vividness. You may feel energized and inspired. When this happens, action becomes effortless and joyful. Instead of draining you, your actions give you strength.

So often we do something because we think we are supposed to. Then life becomes a chore. We feel heavy, tired. There is no space, no light; we feel no enthusiasm or warmth. We somehow believe we need to be in control in order for life to go well. Ego is always trying to take charge. But if you follow the path of inspiration rather than your agenda, you might discover that something else is available. But first, you have to go into that space of being that is truly unbounded and trust it. When you go into that space, ego is not being fed. All forms of ego—thoughts, feelings, ideas—release their grip. There is naturally more space, and when you nourish the space with your awareness, a new sense of yourself arises, with fresh thoughts and fresh emotions.

Related: Free Expresion

If you have a new idea you want to express, just do it. What is holding you back? We may think: It might not work. I might mess it up. Don’t follow those voices. Just do it! Start right away. Don’t be afraid of failure. If something works, great! If not, that’s fine, too. It’s much more fun to live life joyfully than to always be afraid that something might not work. Things don’t always have to turn out the way you planned. If you look through eyes of openness and freshness, you will see goodness in whatever you do. You just haven’t allowed yourself to see it before. Ego has prevented it. Ego has a diminished view of things. Consider self-respect, self-value, for example. Someone may pay you a compliment for something you have done, but often you meet it with, Well, I was lucky there. Or, I’m surprised that turned out as well as it did. It is as if we feel we have to qualify our successes or protect ourselves from the simple enjoyment of our accomplishments. We feel too naked or exposed. We need to embrace our fear of being seen and being acknowledged.

The causes and conditions for new thoughts to emerge are space and awareness. Since they already exist within you, you don’t even have to exert much effort to access them. Just say Yes! to the fresh idea that arises. When you feel energy and inspiration, fearlessly take action. Even if it is a familiar idea that didn’t quite work before but you would like to try it again, take action. It might not work this time either, but guess what—it doesn’t have to work. By giving your idea the space to not work, there is a greater chance that it will work, that a solution will be found. So, take action! Trust your inner intelligence. It is unscripted, improvisational. Dance with it. Recognize the distinction between what intuitively and spontaneously arises and what ego manipulates. When you recognize the difference, you will wholeheartedly say Yes!

Related: The Light Is Always There

When those moments happen in my life, I don’t want to be the obstacle to what life is offering me. I say, Let’s do it! How much effort does it take to say yes to a good friend’s invitation to Saturday night dinner? Many things in life are no more difficult than that, because the right causes and conditions are already present. But even when we think a project is valuable, it may not manifest because the right causes and conditions are not present. There have been times when I had difficulty implementing an idea, so it didn’t work. Why feel bad? Not everything works. Giving energy to something that is not working or not giving energy to what is working is fruitless. If you put energy into what is working, so much can flow.

When you recognize that the causes and conditions are supporting your vision, at that point it is your commitment that counts. Don’t hold back. Look at some of the decisions you have made that changed the course of your life. Can you see where you were open, where you said yes and something happened as a result? Follow the trail of yes. Don’t dwell on what didn’t happen, or what could have happened but didn’t. Remember the times you followed your inspiration and bring your attention there. When inspiration arises, even if it is only a flash, your open attention will nurture it. A flash can spark a revolution. Take the leap and say yes!

♦

This excerpt has been reprinted with permission from Spontaneous Creativity by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche. The book can be found online at hayhouse.com or amazon.com.

The post Follow the Trail of “Yes” appeared first on Tricycle: The Buddhist Review.

There is no better protection than the refuge of unbounded sacred space, infinite awareness, and genuine warmth. Any external source of refuge is ultimately unreliable. Looking for refuge in money or material possessions cannot protect you from the pain of loss, because everything you have will be lost to you someday. No matter how good your health insurance is or how healthy your lifestyle, sooner or later you will suffer from injury or sickness; eventually you will die. Finding your perfect soul mate cannot protect you from someday losing your beloved through separation, divorce, or death.

With the inner refuge, you are not depending on someone or something outside you to make you feel secure. The first refuge, unbounded sacred space, is a true support because it is unchanging, indestructible, beyond birth and death, and eternal. Whatever difficulties you face, the first refuge supports you in allowing your experiences and hosting them fully. The second inner refuge, the light of awareness, can never be diminished or extinguished by any cause or condition. Inner light is unceasing—forever luminous and clear. Even in the darkest of circumstances, you can trust that it is always there. You can also trust that the warmth of the third refuge is within you. It spontaneously arises from the union of openness and awareness. There may be moments when you feel emotionally cold and dark, when it seems that all the light has gone from your life. But your experience and inner truth are not in sync—the light is always there. At these moments, access to the inner refuge may seem distant, but a sense of trust may bring you a glimmer of the inner refuge that can lead to a shift in the darkness of your experience. Trust is a necessary companion on the path. There is no situation so bad that you can’t turn toward the three doors. As you become more familiar with entering and abiding in the inner refuge, you will begin to trust in its healing presence.

Related: Finding True Refuge 

We all long for that inner connection, just as a lost child longs to reunite with his or her mother. When you connect with the inner refuge, you can rest in that space just as a child rests in his or her mother’s loving arms, feeling protected, safe, secure, complete.

Beyond the Ego

There is a Tibetan joke about a yogi who leaves his hermitage to get supplies. Afraid of getting lost in a crowded marketplace, he ties a red ribbon around his leg. As long as the ribbon is there, he feels secure. But at one point he looks down and notices that the ribbon has fallen off. He frantically runs back and forth through the market, yelling, “I’m lost! I’m lost! Did anyone see me? I’m the one wearing the red ribbon around his leg.”

His reaction may seem quite silly to us, but most of us react in a similar way. We lose our job, or an important relationship comes to an end, and we feel lost. Who am I? We forget where we put our cell phone, and we panic and feel disoriented. Where am I? We have all experienced losing the red ribbon. But the truth is, we are never lost.

Drawing attention to stillness, silence, and spaciousness shifts your focus from feeding the insecurity of the ego to connecting with pure being. Anytime you identify with a sense of “I”—”I feel something”; “I have lost some­ thing”; “I am lost”—you are identifying with the wrong person. You are identifying with the ego, with your pain body, not with your true nature.

Being aware of the three doors is not work. In fact, the more effort you put into connecting with stillness, silence, and spaciousness, the more elusive the inner refuge seems. Connecting with the inner refuge is simply a matter of shifting your attention. If you are already still, be aware of stillness. When you are silent, hear the silence that is already there. Notice the spaciousness at the very center of your being. As you rest in awareness, you connect with your authentic self. The effort of seeking dissipates, and you are unbounded sacred space, infinite awareness, and genuine warmth—you are the inner refuge. The inner sacred space is so simple and close that if we search for it, we cannot find it. But it is always there for you, the source of all the elemental qualities you need. As the inner refuge, you are whole and complete in each moment.

Related: Fear of Silence

Self-Guided Meditations: Retrieving from the Inner Refuge

Formal Practice

I recommend setting aside at least 30 minutes each day to sit quietly in meditation.

To begin, sit comfortably with legs crossed, spine straight, and chest open. If your physical condition does not permit such a posture, choose any upright position that is comfortable, open, and uplifting. Settle into your posture. Take a deep breath, hold it for a moment, and then exhale fully. Repeat several times. Then let your breath find a natural rhythm. Reflect on the element you need most at this time.

The first inner refuge:

Gradually bring your attention inward. Be aware of the stillness of your body from the crown of your head to the soles of your feet. Give your physical body loving attention. As your body rests in the warmth of awareness, every cell responds. Feel a sense of well-being from this caring attention.

Rest in stillness. If your mind wanders, gently bring it back. It is one thing to be physically still, another thing to be aware of that stillness. When you are aware of stillness, it will support you.

Through the doorway of stillness, gradually become aware of simply being open. This is a glimpse of the unbounded sacred space of the inner refuge. Trust this.

Rest in that refuge for as long as the experience remains fresh.

The second inner refuge:

Listen and hear the silence in and around you. Listen with your entire body. Feel the silence throughout your whole being.

Gradually, through the door of silence, allow yourself to experience a deep sense of peace. As you rest here, awareness of unbounded space dawns, fresh, clear, and lively, and you connect with authentic presence.

Rest here as long as the experience remains fresh.

The third inner refuge:

Draw clear and open attention to your heart. Be aware of the spaciousness at the center of your being. This space is like a clear, open sky.

You are that sky. Be aware of it, feel it, connect with it.

When the sky is clear, the sun shines and you feel its warmth. Allow a sense of warmth to arise within you. Feel and connect with that genuine warmth.

Appreciate this and rest here as long as the experience remains fresh.

♦

From The True Source of Healing, by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche (July 7, 2015). Reprinted with permission of Hay House.

[This story was first published in 2015]

The post The Light Is Always There appeared first on Tricycle: The Buddhist Review.

During the month of January we’ll be reading Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche’s Tibetan Yogas of Body, Speech and Mind at the Tricycle Book Club. Pick up a copy and join the discussion.

The post Video: Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche on “The Three Pills” appeared first on Tricycle: The Buddhist Review.