{"id":45577,"date":"2021-11-19T06:03:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-19T14:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nalandabodhi.org\/?p=45577"},"modified":"2026-04-22T09:31:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T16:31:18","slug":"the-power-of-offering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nalandabodhi.org\/nl\/2021\/11\/19\/the-power-of-offering\/","title":{"rendered":"THE POWER OF OFFERING"},"content":{"rendered":"
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One day I arrived early to a large event, hoping to orient myself and settle in before it began. However, I was approached right away by a friend requesting that I help with some last-minute flower arranging. \u201cOh my dear, no, no; I don\u2019t do flowers. Haven\u2019t a clue.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t possibly help.\u201d On and on I protested while she gently dragged me down the hall and into the kitchen, where buckets of blossoms stood at attention beside an assortment of vases.<\/p>

\u00a0I stood there, frozen in my fear of not being able to do what was expected, worried about making a mess of it, about being a disappointment instead of a help. My friend looked at me quizzically as I blurted out: \u201cI really can\u2019t do this. You\u2019re trained and experienced; I\u2019m not. It will be awful.\u201d\u00a0 Then, with great kindness, she said, \u201cCarole, just think of it as an offering.\u201d<\/p>

In that moment everything changed. Her words went right into my heart and I understood. This wasn\u2019t about me. This wasn\u2019t about skill or lack of skill.\u00a0 This was \u00a0 about offering whatever I could to the situation in which I found myself. Making that simple shift enabled me to cut through the negative thinking that was holding me back. I was able to relax into more openness, clarity and a willingness to step out of my comfort zone.<\/p>

My friend happened to be schooled in the art of flower arranging and was a skilled practitioner of Ikebana. However, she did not try to school me in that moment, but instead gave me a deeper instruction about how to approach something I was so uncertain about. She relieved my anxiety by giving me a fresh way to think about the activity and let go into the simple act of offering.\u00a0<\/p>

Calm abiding meditation is also very helpful in becoming familiar with how we get stuck in our thoughts and emotions and how to get unstuck. If you are not familiar with this practice, try the following:<\/p>

Find a quiet place in which you can sit comfortably in an upright, relaxed posture.<\/p>

You may sit on a cushion with your legs crossed or sit in a chair with your feet flat on the floor in front of you. Hands resting on your thighs.<\/p>

With a soft downward gaze, look at the floor about 4 feet in front of you.\u00a0<\/p>

Place your attention on your breath and breathe normally.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

You will notice thoughts and emotions of all kinds. Try not to follow them. Simply observe them coming and going.\u00a0 If you notice that you are getting caught up in them, gently bring your attention back to your breath.<\/p>

Do this for five to fifteen minutes a session, gradually increasing the length of the sessions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

If you wish, at the end of each session, offer your practice for the benefit of others.<\/p>

And if you feel concerned about \u201cnot doing it well,\u201d just think of your meditation as an offering.<\/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\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\"Carol\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\tCarol Flemming\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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Carole Fleming is a founding member of Nalandabodhi and student of Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche. Now retired from the practice of psychotherapy, she lives in Santa Rosa, CA where she enjoys gardening and being mother, grandmother and great grandmother to an ever-expanding family.<\/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":"

Thanks to the wisdom of a trusted friend, the author makes a sudden shift that dissolves her anxiety and uncertainty. Included is a simple meditation exercise for getting unstuck.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":45600,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[3009],"tags":[3414,3418,3417,3405],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTHE POWER OF OFFERING - Nalandabodhi International<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Thanks to the wisdom of a trusted friend, the author makes a sudden shift that dissolves her anxiety and uncertainty. 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