Dancing With Life: Buddhist Insights for Finding Meaning and Joy in the Face of Suffering

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The third part, “Removing the Sources of Chaos,” examines why people behave unskillfully and cause suffering for themselves and others. So much fun and so beautiful to see kids and adults get swept up in the playful energy of this program. You have an array of skills for averting it when possible and surviving it when it is unpreventable. I was expecting 'warm and fuzzy', but it is a very good instructional book on The Twelve Insights of the Four Noble Truths.

Dancing with Life: Phillip Moffitt, Fred Stella

Although he is covering some of the basics of Buddhism and Vipassana practice, I found the depth and insight of some parts of the book surprising and profound, even the review of meditation techniques. The second major theme is intentionality, the commitment to living all the moments of your life based on your values as you move toward your goals. One of my patients walked into my office yesterday, sat down, let out a big sigh, and said, “I’ve been dancing with life all week!But first you must learn to discern what is authentic, to separate it from the many false or episodic identities you have undoubtedly acquired in your struggle to find your way in life. In which area of your life is it most difficult for you to have the clarity that allows you to know what is really happening? Suggestion: Either in a group or in dyads, have each person describe how compulsiveness manifests in their life. Out last month on Rodale Press is Moffitt’s 352-page Dancing with Life, in which he delves into the deep understanding of the Four Noble Truths, which was Buddha’s first teaching after “he found freedom from his own suffering,” Moffitt says on his Web site.

Dancing with Life by Phillip Moffitt | Review | Spirituality

Some groups are reading whole chapters each week, while others are varying the length of the assignment from week to week. early on the ego complex is presented with an incedibly confounding realization - that it and the body it identifies with are vulnerable to all sorts of harm and that its ability to protect itself is limited.

I. As I point out in Chapter One, the insights of the Four Noble Truths are interrelated; therefore, as you progress through the insights you might go back and re-read or reflect on previous insights. He reminds us that it is possible to respond to our suffering in a way whereby we are not defined by it; rather, suffering is simply part of our dance. Remember the times when you’ve felt as though there is little you do each day that has any real, lasting significance. Discuss how the wisdom reflected in the chapters on balancing priorities and keeping boundaries support overcoming ordinary compulsiveness.

Dancing with life : Buddist insights for finding meaning and

Suggestion: Have each person state to the group whether they believe it is really possible to significantly increase the clarity in their life. We are discovering new positions through the dance and although we practice again and again, each performance on stage is never exactly the same. After missing a weekend series of talks on the Four Noble Truths, one of the attendees told me that he was awakened to the profound depth of these teachings.The next section, “Developing Skillful Behaviors,” presents skills that will guide you to live according to your values and intentions. Your book has truly been a wonderful addition and catalyst for my new experience of “falling in love with the Dharma.

Books by Phillip Moffitt - Dharma Wisdom

For each of the Four Noble Truths there are three aspects, which form a paradigm of reflection, investigation, and insight. this was one of the best books in terms of laying out the foundation of buddhist thinking as it pertains to meditation practice as well as a wealth of collected techniques to help a practitioner deeper their practice.I would recommend not only reading his books, all of them, but working with him if you are a beginner or many years in Buddhist practitioner. Many dancers and non-dancers have recognized and experienced this connection between dance and life, thus inspiring them to come up with some heart-felt dance quotes. Moffitt makes these teachings available for meditation students from all spiritual traditions to use as gateways for exploring the nature of mind and as additional means for tracking and classifying meditative experiences.