"Think of meditation...
in terms of process rather than of goal.
Think of it as something that allows you
to see more clearly what is going on
inside yourself, in your own mind,
in your own emotions, in your own body.
And think of it as a process
which allows you also to see more clearly
what is going on in the outside world,
what is happening out there as well as
what is happening in here.
And which allows you,
once it has helped you reach something
that looks like a goal,
to see more clearly
into the nature of that goal
and to realize that, for all its value,
it is not at the end of the journey.
Other goals lie beyond,
and other goals beyond them too,
so much so that you may conclude
that the process itself is the goal,
and be content in that realization until the process
shows you that even that is not
the whole of the truth."
"And it is said that we should practice meditation as if it were a bird we are holding in our hands. Hold it too casually and the bird flies away. Hold it too tightly and the bird is smothered. Hold it neither casually nor tightly, and the bird rests between our palms and enchants us with its singing. In terms of our journey, what this means is that if we walk carelessly, taking no real heed of where we are, we lose our way; and if we walk doggedly, with our heads down instead of watching for the signposts, we lose our way just as surely, and often wander even further from the path."
"The only guideline is that there are no prizes for travelling quickly. Time means little in work of this kind. Rush ahead too eagerly, and you will soon find the need to go back and retrace some of your early steps. Travel at the right speed, and each step will take you, surely and steadily, to the next one. You still may find the need to retrace your steps from time to time. We never, in a way, outgrow the earlier exercises as we pass on to the later ones.
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"ClassicalDressage.com" and "Zen in the Art of Dressage" are both productions of Shana Ritter and Dr. Thomas Ritter.
"But if you travel at the right pace, then retracing your steps will be done not because your earlier steps were misplaced, but because by retracing them you will (...) actually be continuing your journey forward.
"The paradox arises because when you retrace your steps you find the countryside around you has changed from when you first passed that way. Like revisiting scenes in dreams, nothing is quite as it was. The journey of meditation does not take place in a straight line nor at an even pace. We move in and out of experiences rather like a path winds its way up the wooded slopes of a mountain, sometimes almost losing itself, sometimes appearing to double back, sometimes rising steeply, sometimes gently and slowly."
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