{"id":1968,"date":"2011-12-25T18:49:06","date_gmt":"2011-12-25T23:49:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/mindfulnessmatters\/?p=1968"},"modified":"2011-12-26T21:43:24","modified_gmt":"2011-12-27T02:43:24","slug":"minding-the-fires-of-the-holidays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/2011\/12\/minding-the-fires-of-the-holidays.html","title":{"rendered":"Minding the Fires of the Holidays"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo Credit: Elysa Pizzolato<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you are like me, like most people, you are probably digesting a large Christmas meal. How fortunate we are to have the opportunity to engage in gluttony. And how readily we fall into that trap. The holidays are an incubator for what the Buddha called the three fires — greed, aversion, and ignorance \u00a0— all of which may be in abundance during this holiday.<\/p>\n

Ironically, the antidotes to the three fires — the water to douse their flames — are the intended sentiments for this holiday, at least mostly so. Generosity, lovingness, and, perhaps, wisdom<\/p>\n

The rioting over Air Jordan sneakers fans the fires of the holiday flames. Greed — the need to have material things in short-supply, and the willingness to engage in violence in the pursuit of them are the epitome of ignorance, nay delusion.<\/p>\n

According to Huffington Post:<\/p>\n

Yesterday’s\u00a0release<\/a>\u00a0of new Air Jordans has caused a\u00a0US-wide shopping frenzy<\/a>\u00a0leading to vandalism, violence and arrests. Shoppers waited in lines for hours to purchase the retro model of the most popular version of the Air Jordan shoes, which cost $180.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is a flagrant example of hatred and greed in action. Less flagrant incidents can occur in any moment if we push or pull against the experience of now. In fact, if we are not utterly mindful and resting in equanimity in this moment that pushing and pulling is taking place. “I ate too much, I wish I hadn’t …” “Will I experience everything I ought to experience …?”<\/p>\n

When the push and pull is in place, anxiety is also present. “I” is also present. Why not focus outside of “I” on generosity and love this holiday season? Relinquish needing things to go any particular wa and embrace the moment as it is.<\/p>\n

And while you are at it enjoy this holiday with an open heart. Peace, gratitude, and love to my readers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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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\/1968","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=1968"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1968\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1977,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1968\/revisions\/1977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}