{"id":131,"date":"2010-09-20T08:41:52","date_gmt":"2010-09-20T08:41:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/mindfulnessmatters\/2010\/09\/metaphor-monday-topple-a-nantan-with-a-cow.html"},"modified":"2010-09-20T08:41:52","modified_gmt":"2010-09-20T08:41:52","slug":"metaphor-monday-topple-a-nantan-with-a-cow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/2010\/09\/metaphor-monday-topple-a-nantan-with-a-cow.html","title":{"rendered":"Metaphor Monday :: Topple a Nant’an with a Cow"},"content":{"rendered":"

Back to the Starfish and the Spider<\/i><\/a>. The starfish represents the decentralized organization and provides a fitting metaphor for the Buddha’s notion of self. There is no “person” at the top, no executive, no CEO in control of self. The self is an interplexing network of connections. <\/p>\n

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Neuroscience confirms the Buddha’s idea. We can’t go inside the brain and find the self. Whatever self is, it arises out of the interplay of these sensory and brain processes. <\/div>\n
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The spider is the ego self, the notion of self that leads to anguish because it has a prodigious appetite for material objects, adoration, admiration, and confirmation. The spider self is always seeking things, approval, and validation. It’s constantly preoccupied with the question of OK-ness (see entry on ) and needs energy and resources for protection and glorification. <\/div>\n
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\"Apache-Warrior.jpg\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Brafman and Beckstrom present the fascinating case of the Apache. They were able to fight off the Spanish, Mexicans, and Americans for centuries because they were decentralized. There was no one place for their adversaries to attack, no one person to take down. In other words, no spider to kill. <\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The Apaches were lead by Nant’ans, spiritual leaders like Geronimo who led by example not edict. If an Nant’an was killed, another stepped forward to take his place. The Apache remained resilient, mobile, and impervious to destruction.<\/div>\n
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This persisted until 1914. The Americans gave the Nant’ans cattle shifting their power from symbolic to material. “The cows changed everything. Once the Nant’ans gained authoritative power, they began fighting with each other for seats on the newly created tribal councils.” Greed undermined their real power to lead.<\/div>\n
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This is a potent metaphor for self. If we see the cows as attachments wherever we are attached we are vulnerable; we have something to protect. Our identity shifts from values to things. Attachment to things (even beliefs about ourselves) gives us something to protect and resources must be mobilized to take care of them. We lose fluidity, mobility, and resilience.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Suzuki Roshi said if “your mind have a lot of sheep and cows, give them a large meadow.” Don’t try to control them; don’t try to possess them. Just let them be. Likewise, when it comes to the ideology of ourselves, are we better off with a decentralized model where we lead by example rather than material power. <\/div>\n
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This decentralized, non-attached way of being helps us to persist without unnecessary anguish, suffering, and dissatisfaction. <\/div>\n
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If someone offers you a cow: beware! These cows may come in the form of a promotion, a bigger house, a more expensive car. These things can weigh the self down and centralize it into a vulnerable form. <\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
(photograph courtesy of http:\/\/www.old-picture.com\/indians\/Apache-Warrior.htm<\/a>)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Back to the Starfish and the Spider. The starfish represents the decentralized organization and provides a fitting metaphor for the Buddha’s notion of self. There is no “person” at the top, no executive, no CEO in control of self. The self is an interplexing network of connections.  Neuroscience confirms the Buddha’s idea. We can’t go…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":268,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-awake-at-work","category-book-shelf","category-buddha-101"],"yoast_head":"\nMetaphor Monday :: Topple a Nant'an with a Cow - Mindfulness Matters<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/2010\/09\/metaphor-monday-topple-a-nantan-with-a-cow.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Metaphor Monday :: Topple a Nant'an with a Cow - Mindfulness Matters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Back to the Starfish and the Spider. 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Dr. Kozak's ability to translate ancient healing traditions into pragmatic applications suitable for modern lifestyles through the use of metaphors have made him a strong voice in healthcare and business. Beginning with a journey to India in the 80\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s where he took the Bodhisattva vows from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Arnie Dr. Kozak began his lifelong practice in mindfulness meditation. Intent on finding a way to bring the practical healing attributes of mindfulness he began incorporating these techniques in his private practice. In 2002 Dr. Kozak created Exquisite Mind in Burlington, Vermont as a vehicle that could expand his wisdom to larger audiences beyond individual psychotherapy to professionals and corporations, health care providers, public groups and, most recently with Exquisite Mind Golf, amateur and professional golfers. His award-winning new book, Wild Chickens and Petty Tyrants: 108 Metaphors for Mindfulness (Wisdom Publications, 2009) is a thoughtful, funny, and inspiring translation of mindfulness practice through the inventive use of metaphor applicable to our daily lives. In addition to his work with Exquisite Mind, Arnie Kozak, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist\u00e2\u20ac\u201dDoctorate has been a Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Vermont and is a Clinical Instructor in Psychiatry and Medicine, University of Vermont College of Medicine. He has studied and practiced clinical psychology, meditation, and yoga for more than 25 years. He has studied with several meditation masters, including S. N. Goenka, Larry Rosenberg, Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. After receiving his bachelors degree with honors from Tufts University, he was awarded a Presidential Fellowship to get his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University at Buffalo. He completed his training as a Psychological Fellow at the Harvard Medical School. Prior to founding the Exquisite Mind in 2002, Arnie worked ten years in the private sector for the PKC Corporation consulting on mental health content for this revolutionary software company.","sameAs":["http:\/\/exquisitemind.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/author\/akozak"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/268"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}