{"id":2125,"date":"2012-02-20T09:45:58","date_gmt":"2012-02-20T14:45:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/mindfulnessmatters\/?p=2125"},"modified":"2012-02-20T09:45:58","modified_gmt":"2012-02-20T14:45:58","slug":"coming-to-ground-science-and-buddha-suggest-humility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/2012\/02\/coming-to-ground-science-and-buddha-suggest-humility.html","title":{"rendered":"Coming to Ground: Science and Buddha Suggest Humility"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I spent this past weekend at the Barre Center for Buddhist studies leading a workshop on metaphors and the Buddha’s teachings. We shared poems, conversation, and meditation practice. We contemplated the ubiquity of metaphors, their power to inspire and influence, and how the Buddha’s teachings relied upon metaphors.<\/p>\n

The upshot of these considerations is an invitation to loosen our grasp on our thoughts. If these thoughts are constructed, filtered, and biased then we shouldn’t treat them with grave seriousness. They are best guesses. Meditation practice helps us to make the best guesses that we can. There is a comforting coming to ground that opens up when we consider how we are metaphorical creatures. A humility that can help us to live with ease in the world.<\/p>\n

This coming to ground reminds me of the David Whyte poem, “The Opening of Eyes” from his collection, Songs for Coming Home<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

That day I saw beneath dark clouds
\nthe passing light over the water
\nand I heard the voice of the world speak out,
\nI knew then, as I had before
\nlife is no passing memory of what has been
\nnor the remaining pages in a great book
\nwaiting to be read.<\/p>\n

It is the opening of eyes long closed.
\nIt is the vision of far off things
\nseen for the silence they hold.
\nIt is the heart after years
\nof secret conversing
\nspeaking out loud in the clear air.<\/p>\n

It is Moses in the desert
\nfallen to his knees before the lit bush.
\nIt is the man throwing away his shoes
\nas if to enter heaven
\nand finding himself astonished,
\nopened at last,
\nfallen in love with solid ground.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\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\/2125","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=2125"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2125\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2133,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2125\/revisions\/2133"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}