Nothing to say, yet
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Talk: 19990217-Larry_Rosenberg-UNK-shining_the_light_of_death_on_life_part_4-43036 Leandra Tejedor.json Start_time: 01:15:46 Display_question: I have a brain tumor, and for me the thought of aging is quite a beautiful thought. I look forward to aging but not to the potential for more illness. Keyword_search: brain tumor, aging, illness, intimacy, wisdom, discernment, steady mind, satipanya, fear, impermanent Question_content: Questioner: I have a brain tumor. Larry: I see. Questioner: So, for me, the tumor is still there and can become active in any moment. For me the thought of aging is quite a beautiful thought. I look forward to aging. Larry: Well, after we finish aging, we're going to get to illness. Yeah. But I can give you a preview of it, because in a way, I'm going to be saying the same thing over, and over, again. You have some apprehension right, as to what is in store for you. Is it's not all out? Will this lead to this? You've had probably had quite a fright from the event. And so, the practice, in other words, do everything you can physically, from a medical healing point of view, of course, but let's say you do all of that. You have wonderful doctors, and wonderful… you're doing everything that you know, to try to heal this condition, period. And then there's bound to be something left off, in parentheses, but will this occur again? Will I be subject to this again? And then all the things, you know better than I, what the mind can make up. Break_line: Intimacy of practice would be intimacy…. you see, the mind will make up what that future will be. It isn't what the future is going to be. You don't know what's going to happen, you really don't. But the mind has a powerful tendency to invent a future, and in this case, what we're talking about, is a future that's not such a happy ending, and which will produce anxiety, and a body that's full of powerful, painful sensations, and disabling thoughts, and so forth. So, the practice would be… wisdom would be discernment, to understand, just the way things actually are right now, and to be able to tell the difference between stories that the mind makes up about what is going to happen, and the actuality of what actually is, in this moment. Which is you seem all right, you sound coherent to me, et cetera. Do you see what I'm getting at? Break_line: Okay, now to do that, that takes a steady mind, and that's why I keep coming back. I feel this is best for people who are doing this practice. And a sensitive mind that can begin to discern. And the wisdom part of our practice, is called satipanya, mindfulness with discernment. And so, when, let's say, I'm not even going to say if, I'm going to say when, because probably it does come up to you, right? Questioner: Yeah. Larry: When that comes up, is for you to practice with it, just as you would with anything else that comes up. Using the breathing, calming the mind to become breath, or having the breath accompany you, as you examine what it brings up, in the body. Which might, if there's fear, there's bound to be some sensations, in the body, that are unpleasant. To be able to tell the difference between notions that the mind makes up. Futuristic scenarios. To hear it as just that. It's not a fact, and as you see it, and see its impermanent nature, see it arise, operate, fall away, and then you're back with… you seem fine to me. It's a nice warm building, there are kind people here. Now. Now. Do you see… it is all designed to help you stay with. Break_line: Now, at some point, we'll all be in your boat. I mean, we're all in your boat right now. But it's easier to miss that, until life gives you a jolt. That's what I was talking about. Now you have a choice. When life has done this, it's happened to you, it can turn you into a very frightened, timid, hysterical, morbid, depressed, anxious person, or you can use it to grow spiritually, to mature, and everyone in your life will benefit from it. You were given a glimpse of death, and it can help you see how precious we all are to each other. And so, your view probably has already happened to you. Yeah. So I vote take that road. The events happen, that's a fact. And now it's a question of what you do with it. We'll get much more detail when we get to the illness part. But that's the basic. End_time: 01:20:24
