And as far as this post goes, I think that’s why I avoided meditation from ages 17-23. I noticed the tendency towards escapism in myself, so I worked much more on stuff like the debilitating social anxiety and depression I had at the time.

Also, congrats on the site. It looks great – you’ve also incorporated some nice features, while maintaining simplicity and clarity.

This was the closest I’ve been to facing death, and I hope its the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Love the new site man – looks great!

Great post, your pendulum references reminds me too of the ‘being’ and ‘doing’ swing that I struggle with balancing at times. I feel sometimes I can just be mindful/aware of all that is arising and just hold that space but then poof something is happening in my life and I’m caught up again in the ‘doing’ (not that doing is bad, just feels incomplete sometimes). Finding that balance and level of just being mindful and acting from that space seems to be a challenge.

Also, with the shadown side my relationships have really brought out the fear of intimacy/rejection swing these days in reaction to a more clinging swing in the past. Interesing things to explore in one’s life and practice for sure! Thanks for sharing.

shine on,

shawn

It’s a decent deal, too. The campus is located in the middle of downtown, perfectly situated for classrooms to look out at the bay and docks. A lot of the professors that I have also teach at UNCW. I may go there after I get this Associates, but I won’t have residency by then (which sucks), so I’m open to any suggestion, in-state or out. Right now, it’s tough to align myself with any curriculum that doesn’t resemble the integral objective, and I’m sure you can see where I’m coming from.