I’ve held onto Vipassana like a compass I was afraid to drop. I had experienced the ebbs and flows of trying to maintain a practice and I knew how easily I could get side tracked. I’ve talked to individuals who have lost their practice for decades only later realizing the opportunity they were missing. I held on tightly enough to keep walking on the path but now this clasping is getting in the way of my growth.
I must learn how to relax my grip with the wisdom that I’ve now learned how to maintain my balance. I can share the new Ryan with my peers, community, and family with a gentle confidence that I’m on the path. My life will surely become a little more bumpy as I try to walk through challenges that I previously shielded myself from, but this is life. This is where the risks meet the rewards.
This blog will begin to evolve with me. I’m not sure exactly how it will look in a month or two and that’s exciting. I want to invest more time into my growth, this blog, and the community it’s developing. I am going to explore ways to draw an income from writing, not because I want to become rich, but because I want to develop a lifestyle that allows me to devote more and more time to my spiritual growth and contribution. Blogging is not an activity that gets people rich.
But after talking with fellow meditators, I have some concerns about misrepresenting this tradition. People who are inexperienced in this tradition might see my blog, think it’s coming from the organization, and believe that either I or the organization is trying to profit from the teachings. It must be completely clear that this isn’t the case. Therefore, I will be modifying the presentation of the blog to make it clear that it’s separate from the tradition.
While I’ll be changing the presentation a little bit, the content will be primarily the same. I’ll be sharing my thoughts and experiences regarding the influence of meditation on my daily life. Hopefully this will still interest and inspire you and we can continue to grow a supportive meditation community together. Time to meditate.
