That path…
For ten years, I studied Buddhism. It helped me release some of my fears. My anger at God. It gave me a new way to look at what happened to me. How to understand and embrace pain in life. And it gave me a path toward healing and opening my heart.
That path was called the “Eightfold Path” in reference to the eight steps one could take to learn, grow, and heal. When I wrote the title above, I immediately flashed back to that Buddhist training and realized that more than a couple of those steps applied here.
Not a bitch session
The journey through this part of my writing is a journey into the unknown. It winds through darkness and descent, into that “soul’s underworld” spoken of in mythology and religion — the journey for understanding, meaning, transformation, and rebirth. In a bit, I’ll write more about that “Descent to the Underworld,” and what my journey there taught me. But first, I’ll revisit those Buddhist tools.
I call this piece “Right Mind” because it’s essential that I approach this whole phase of the book in the right way if I want to find peace. This part is not a bitch session or a blind casting of rage and blame. For sure, I won’t let anyone off the hook, and that includes myself. But there is just raging, and then there is a balanced review of what life has been and what it can teach.
My tools
So, from that Eightfold Path, I employed five of those steps here:
- Right View
- Right Intention
- Right Mindfulness
- Right Concentration
- Right Effort
All of them combine to make “right mind,” my approach to this segment. I noted in one of my earlier posts that this part of the book is all about “the willingness to unravel.” But I want to unravel in a meaningful, controlled, and chosen way to learn.
So my steps are:
RIGHT VIEW: to see things as they are, not as I want them to be, so I can use the healing tools effectively. It is viewing things as objectively as possible with a Beginner’s Mind — staying open to new knowledge and not assuming I already know everything.
RIGHT INTENTION: to bring the right attitude and mindset to the task. It is the resolve to avoid ill-will but instead bring kindness to the task at hand, and a willingness to grow.
RIGHT MINDFULNESS: to be fully aware, in the present moment, of “where I’m at.” It includes being fully attentive to all of my senses, thoughts, and feelings.
RIGHT CONCENTRATION: to maintain a calm and steady manner so I can deeply focus on the work at hand.
RIGHT EFFORT: to apply all of these tools to the effort of change…essentially don’t just look, but do the work of growth.
One last step
To these, I add one step of my own: RIGHT TIME
I have done my best all through my life to heal. But at the same time, I could only do as much as I was ready for at any given time. It has been a journey of stages.
First, I had to just get safe in my life and free. Then I had to learn how to live in my present moment, and catch up on vital lessons I missed early on. This was followed by protecting the next generation, then caring for my aging parents.
It is only now, finally, that I can come back to the deepest work — seeing FULLY what was done, what it caused, how it could happen, and releasing all of my grief, anger, and trauma. That is the work that leads to insight, wisdom, and a new future.
So in this part now — the RIGHT TIME — it is the time after I have lived through the suffering and poison, to shatter my prison and fly free. It is finally time to gather the healing and wisdom from my whole life.
Tags: healing, life, love, mental-health, spirituality
Soul Mosaic 
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