Yesterday I travelled to the Buddhist centre where I wrote my first book back in 2011 for a day of teachings from its founder Chime Rinpoche. I parked my car in the village and walked towards the house and had one of those moments where you look back over the past six years and realise just how far you’ve come.

Back in 2011 I was a very different person
I was still drinking
I was two years into bankruptcy
I was struggling with low self-esteem, lack of confidence, remorse, regrets and a deep sense of failure.
In the summer of 2011 over a six month period I travelled to Marpa House every Friday morning and came home on Saturday evening (to wine and a takeaway), spending two days every week immersed in writing my life story; something that was both challenging and cathartic. As I walked towards the house yesterday reflecting on how I left much of the ‘old’ Jo behind six years ago, I knew it was going to be a poignant day; I hadn’t even got there and there were tears streaming down my face!

There are a few insights from Rinpoche that I’d like to share with you over the coming days but there was one main theme which he kept coming back to, and it’s something that I do too: MEDITATION

He talked about there being three stages in our journey:

1. Listen
2. Reflect
3. Practice

Or in other words:

1. We listen and learn HOW to to do it,
2. We reflect on HOW this is going to work for us (where are we going to meditate and at what time etc)
3. We stop talking about it and DO it

We can find freedom without meditation but with it we take the express train
Training the mind will set us free, quickly
The more you do it the more you change your brain
The more you change your brain the more that will be reflected in your life
So
The more you put it off
The more you are saying NO to your potential
And WHY would you willingly be less than you could be?

What about making the commitment today to be the best you possible?
What about making the commitment to sit on your cushion and be with all that you are?
What about making the commitment to honour the journey you are on and all that you have been through to this point, and then drawing a line in the sand and letting it go? 

Chime Rinpoche made everyone laugh with this example about allowing our thoughts in and giving them a cup of tea, because every single one of the 200+ people in the room knew exactly what he was talking about. Only WE can sit on our cushion, no one can make that decision for us, and only WE can let our thoughts know that there is no more tea during our practice. The amazing effect of doing that is that your brain changes so much that even when you are NOT meditating you are more present, more focused, more able to concentrate on EVERYTHING that you are doing. It’s an amazing place to live, and I urge you to go and sit on your cushion now if you haven’t already today!

*this blog was first published in April 2017

Member Quote Of The Day.

In this section you will read something that has been said by one of the Quantum Sobriety Online Programme members over on the very lively private forum: