At the concentration retreat I attended recently, my Buddhist teachers used the metaphor of planting seeds. When we meditate, we seed the mind with healthy habits. Over time, these habits create a mental landscape of less suffering and more fulfillment.
We focused on four seeds in particular:
The Seed of Acceptance – accepting what's here because it happens to be what IS here.
The Seed of Appreciation – inclining the mind towards appreciating what’s here.
The Seed of Renunciation – deciding ahead of time to not to follow the mind’s endless stories, and instead …
The Seed of Being Present – knowing there’s goodness in the simple act of noticing present-moment sensory experience.
We can plant these seeds in meditation, and we can plant them in life. We can plant them when we think the meditation is going well, or when we think it’s going badly. We can plant them when we’re clear, or when we’re angry, or muddled, or sad. It only takes a split second. We can forget to plant seeds in the next moment, get lost, remember all over again and plant another!
Nothing needs to be remotely perfect. We have ZERO control of how the moment is configured, anyway. Really take that in. Sounds, thoughts, feelings, the weather – they’re all just what’s happening, all part of a tumbling flow of inexorable causes and conditions that are far, far greater than us.
Sunny skies: plant a seed. Snow and rain: plant a seed. Earthquake, direct hit from an asteroid, alien invasion: plant a seed. Always the same strategy!
I love how humble this is. Just this tiny seed of remembering to be a bit more friendly and accepting, and remembering to come back to the present. And yet ... repeated enough, these seeds take root and sprout.
Over time, we can arrive at a very different mental landscape, one we actually had a hand in creating. It’s such a sweet paradox. We have very little control over the present moment, but we can intentionally plant seeds that help determine all future moments. So it’s both a relief and an empowering call to action – all at once.
Let’s go plant some seeds!
Grateful for this community.
Love, Jeff
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Eudēmonia 3-Day Summit – Florida
November 1-3, 2024
West Palm Beach, Florida
Happy to announce that I’m part of an impressive lineup of people who know more than I do about almost everything. I guess they needed someone to sit around and do nothing?
There are many many fascinating talks and offerings and experiential activities at the first-ever Eudēmonia Summit. Dan, Sebene and I will be there to offer a Meditation Party, plus each morning I’ll guide meditation for curious attendees and luminaries. Come say hi!
Here’s some copy from their website:
“Eudēmonia—named after the ancient Greek word for “well-being”—is poised to become the world’s largest wellness gathering. Alongside other experts, scientists, teachers, and creators, we’ll be exploring the latest in evidence-based research on cultivating your well-being.”
Planting Seeds