{"id":36914,"date":"2020-10-06T16:15:49","date_gmt":"2020-10-06T23:15:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nalandabodhi.org\/?p=36914"},"modified":"2026-04-22T11:10:52","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T18:10:52","slug":"an-inward-turning-meditation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nalandabodhi.org\/nl\/2020\/10\/06\/an-inward-turning-meditation\/","title":{"rendered":"An Inward Turning Meditation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In third grade we were studying ancient Egypt and our teacher helped us make a play about the Pharaohs. I was the sacred cat called \u201cthe Servant of Ptah.\u201d I had a black cat suit and lovely whiskers. My parents and their academic friends gave me rave reviews. No doubt it was the praise from often critical parents as much as my confidence in being a cat that forged my intention to pursue acting.<\/p>

I slogged through grade school to high school with this bright light of future glory as my North Star. High school theater was a clique of pretty girls; I sneered and turned away. The college I chose didn\u2019t have a theater major but it did have a demanding acting teacher, so I learned, graduated, then went to New York and became an actress.<\/p>

But this is not the point of this story. I have a set of cards printed with slogans. Ancient guidance for the Buddhist bodhisattva path. For decades I have turned over a card each day, pondering its slogan. Recently I drew, \u201cDo not be swayed by external circumstances.\u201d I interpret this to mean: keep meditating even when you feel ill, or would rather go shopping or hiking, or when the house needs cleaning or emails checking. And yes, it does mean that. But more.<\/p>

From my youthful determination to become an actress, I learned to keep going. However, there came a time when my determination had become, \u201cIf you bang your head against the wall long enough, eventually the wall will fall.\u201d I left NYC because, while the wall did fall, my head really hurt from the banging of it.<\/p>

Meditation won\u2019t be fueled very long by wanting attention or approval, or even feeling good. Such external desires soon make practice seem like tedious head banging. There has to be an intimate recognition that something is missing, some vital nutrient is being denied. In close attention to your inner longing, you recognize and commit to your need for happiness. A commitment, a determination, which persists even while slogging through things that get you no-where, like girl\u2018s gym was in relation to my acting ambitions. You ignore attractions that hint at excitement, intimacy or pleasure. And even if pleasured, you don\u2019t forget that the stage or the cushion is calling. Having committed to meditation, \u201cDo not be swayed by external circumstances\u201d means craving what you cannot authentically live without. Commitment to our caring heart doesn\u2019t demand head banging! Ironically the more we create a habit of quiet, unmoved by external circumstances, the more our hardened hearts soften, our caring and tenderness open to let the light of our inner world flood us and others with love, inviting us to a grand dance.\u00a0<\/p>

Perhaps my childhood desire wasn\u2019t for approval and fame after all. Perhaps I really wanted to become the sacred cat, the servant, not of Ptah, but of peac<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Inward Turning \u2013 An Exercise<\/h2>\n

During this pandemic, \u201cDo not be swayed by external circumstances\u201d could refer to scary
things like job losses, family separations, anxieties about economics, food shortages, illnesses and loneliness. It can become easy to doubt or dismiss our North Star of authenticity and yearning for truth if we don\u2019t give ourselves opportunities to reconnect with our inner desire for true happiness by turning within.<\/p>\n

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  1. Sit comfortably and allow your body to relax.<\/li>\n
  2. Turn your attention to your breath. Let it slow down and become quiet.<\/li>\n
  3. When you feel settled, bring the slogan, \u201cDo not be swayed by external circumstances\u201d to mind.<\/li>\n
  4. Rest with it for a little while.<\/li>\n
  5. What external circumstance is the most seductive or persuasive challenge to your desire for peace right now? Does it have an effect on, or in, your body?<\/li>\n
  6. Can you turn inward and connect with your desire for lasting happiness?<\/li>\n
  7. What does this slogan mean for you, in this moment?<\/li>\n
  8. Whether answers arise or not, stay present with your relaxed body and quiet breathing.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    For more about these mind training teachings, see Teachings on Lojong: The Seven Points of Mind Training<\/a> by Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche (audio) and \u201cHow Lojong Awakens Your Heart\u201d<\/a> by Pema Ch\u00f6dron.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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    \n\t\t\t\t\t\"Mitra\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t
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    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMitra Lee Worley\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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    Mitra Lee Worley, professor emerita and a founding faculty member of Naropa University, became a student of Ch\u00f6gyam Trungpa Rinpoche in 1974. At Naropa, she developed the undergraduate program in theater studies and co-created a low-residency master\u2019s program in contemplative education, among many other initiatives over four decades. Mitra Lee earned a master\u2019s degree in Buddhist studies\/Tibetan language through Naropa, and in 2005, Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche appointed her as one of Nalandabodhi\u2019s four senior western teachers, known as mitras (from the Sanskrit word kalyanamitra, which means \u201cspiritual friend\u201d). Her two books, Coming from Nothing: The Sacred Art of Acting and Teaching Presence: Field Notes for Players, present topics and exercises from her contemplative performance and embodied teaching techniques. Mitra Lee currently studies and teaches within Nalandabodhi International, and she also offers workshops based on the Space Awareness teachings of Chogyam Trungpa, which she has been practicing since 1975.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    An actor looks back on her early theater ambitions and shares the effect of her longstanding meditation practice and her daily contemplation of the lojong, mind training, slogans.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":36912,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[3009],"tags":[3417,3410,3405],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAn Inward Turning Meditation - Nalandabodhi International<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An actor looks back on her early theater ambitions and shares the effect of her longstanding meditation practice and her daily contemplation of the lojong, mind training, slogans.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nalandabodhi.org\/nl\/2020\/10\/06\/an-inward-turning-meditation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"nl_NL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"An Inward Turning Meditation - 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