"Feeling vs. Fixing" with Jean Haley this Sunday (12/15) at Minneapolis Insight

Dear Community,

Sunday (12/15) 10am Community Practice & Discussion with Jean Haley

One of the preliminary practices that Phillip Moffit teaches on retreats is taking the vow to renounce judging, comparing, and fixing, to the best that we are able.  

In my experience, noticing these habits of mind is easier than knowing what to do next.   And, even as I type these words, I realize that the desire to “know what to do next” is a form of fixing!

The advice Phillip offers is to recognize what’s happening, including the felt sense of fixing, and to rest there.  

This can be especially difficult, in my experience, when what we are trying to fix is something or someone dear to us – whether that be the challenged planet or an ill friend or relative.  It’s hard to let go and let be -- to feel what’s beneath the thoughts.

Lately I’ve been exploring the brahmaviharas as another way to work with the fixing mind.   Sending out love and compassion – to those I care about and to myself – helps stop the rumination and recognize what’s in my heart.  What I’ve often discovered is a feeling of helplessness and a deep grief born of that helplessness.

Angel Kyodo Williams, a Zen teacher, describes uncovering a similar feeling when thinking about vulnerable women and children:

I hate that I can’t do anything about violence against women and children, and that makes me hate the perpetrators.  But I don’t even know them, so generating hate for them is, I think, almost impossible.  What I actually hate is that I feel helpless.

Perhaps you’ve had a similar experience of discovery when you’ve dropped beneath the judging, comparing, or fixing mind.  And perhaps you’ve also found lovingkindness or compassion to be of some help.  

Please join us this Sunday to investigate and practice together. All are welcome. Registration and Zoom information available here.

With mettā,
Minneapolis Insight