After
years of heavy addiction, Chris Grosso found himself literally on his
knees, utterly lost and broken. Grasping for life, he needed to find a
new path, one that went beyond conventional religious or spiritual
doctrine—
one free of bullshit. Indie Spiritualist
(Beyond Words Publishing, 2014) empowers readers to accept themselves
as they are, in all their humanity and imperfect perfection. In this
excerpt learn the basics of vipassana meditation, a simple relaxation
practice that can be done by anyone and in any setting.
Vipassana Meditation
Besides
being asked, “What’s an Indie Spiritualist?” the second most common
question I’m typically asked is “What type of meditation do you
practice?”
While I personally practice many different types of
meditation—never feeling like I have to stay within the confines of
only one tradition—I typically respond with
vipassana, as I’ve
found it to be the most universally applicable form of meditation
around. Any form of meditation that resonates with you—whether guided,
mantra, movement, and so forth—will definitely be of benefit.
I
adore meditation because there are countless ways to meditate, with no
particular style being any better than another. It’s all about what
resonates with
you. You can find many free guided meditations online by searching Google or YouTube, as well as by visiting your local library.
Most meditation
practices are to spirituality what Bob Ross was to painting—very laid
back and go with the flow. And while your practice may not provide you
with happy little trees, it will over time create a greater sense of
peace, clarity, and serenity in your life, and that’s sorta like happy
little trees, right?
Through years of drug addiction, I did
considerable damage to myself, resulting in heavy bouts of depression
and anxiety. For years, I relied on antidepressant and anti-anxiety
medications to keep me in a somewhat balanced state, but after
cultivating a dedicated meditation practice I eventually found myself at
a place where, under doctor supervision, I was able to taper off the
medication and no longer needed it.
Let me make it perfectly clear, however, that there is absolutely
nothing wrong
with taking prescribed medication for conditions like anxiety,
depression, and so forth. I recognize that they were very necessary in
my life at that time, as I was very chemically off-balance. There is
nothing
unspiritual about taking prescribed medication when needed, because our own mental and emotional well-being
must come first before we can truly help others.
Whether
we are on medication or not, meditation practices will certainly help
us to not only cultivate more calm in our lives, but also to handle
things like stress, anxiety, and depression in gentler ways. For the
benefit of those who are new to meditation, I’m providing these simple
guided instructions for the practice of vipassana.
Make the jump here to read the full blog
Nos
últimos anos o Budismo virou a religião da moda nos paises ocidentais.
São diversas revistas e livros falando sobre os benefícios da meditação,
yoga e outras praticas budistas. Mas o que o budismo pensa a cerca da homossexualidade? Como nós homossexuais
somos vistos por esta religião milenar? Estas e outras perguntas
fundamentais para se entender o budismo foram respondidas pela
Associação Brasil Soka Gakkai Internacional (http://www.bsgi.org.br/) e pela Lama Chagdud Khadro, diretora da Escola Nyingma do Budismo Vajrayana – Chagdud Gonpa (http://www.odsal-ling.org/), exclusivamente para o Armário X. 
