Paths of Awakening: Letting Go of Self-centered Living - The Path of Selflessness (January - June 2013)

Beginning in January, the Florida Community of Mindfulness began a six month period of practice, Letting Go of Self-centered Living – The Path of Selflessness. This is the first focused six-month exploration of a specific aspect of the Buddha’s Way that our sangha has undertaken; we are calling these practice periods Paths of Awakening. We intend these themed journeys to become part of our community’s on-going practice fabric. This first practice period will continue until June 2013.

Most of us live our lives ensnared in “self,” constantly working to satisfy, protect or otherwise placate this constant sense of “I, me, mine.” Living through egocentricity can produce separation and disconnection, unnecessary conflict and stress, on-going emotional drama and sense of aloneness, and a subtle feeling that something is always is missing in our life…there is never enough!

There is another path, one that brings ease, openness, connection and contentment to life. By following this path, we learn how to let go of ego cherishing and self-centeredness, and live in deeper connection and kindness with all aspects of our life and environment. In other words, we begin to live a life of selfless service to others rather than to our narcissistic self-dramatizing ego.

We invite you to join us as we explore this path of letting go of ego-centricity during the first six months of 2013.

How to Participate

Our journey together involves teachings, meditations, and daily life practice.

Teachings and meditations related to Letting Go of Self-centered Living – The Path of Selflessness will be offered each week at our Practice Center in Tampa and also at the Naples and St. Petersburg sanghas, as well as during Days (and Half Days) of Mindfulness, and at our January and April retreats. Concurrently, nearly sixty-five members of our community will be involved in a practice and study session that we call an Intensive, entitled Deconstructing the Myth of Self, which begins in February.

Fred's talks and discussions led by senior practitioners of FCM during the six months will include:

How to generate genuine altruistic aspiration and motivation in one’s life
How to identify and let go of ego-based obscurations (e.g. selfishness, greed, self-serving strategies of manipulation and control of others, impatience and frustration, among many others)
How to cultivate selfless-based virtues (e.g. generosity, self-restraint, patience, joyful effort, mindfulness, acceptance and understanding)
How to live a life of love (friendship, kindness, compassion, taking joy in the joy of others, and equanimity) and create unselfish relationships
How to live a life based on Dharma rather than Drama.

We support integration of the teachings and meditations into daily life practice in the following ways:

Encouraging members and friends of FCM to focus in their personal lives on practicing greater selflessness and a lessening of ego cherishing during the six months of the practice period
During weekly sangha, Days of mindfulness, etc., sharing our insights and experiences of practicing the teachings from the preceding week(s)
Participating in workshops (generally offered once a month) that support our transformation in specific areas, such as breaking negative ego-driven habits, working with anger, developing patterns of mindful consumption, and similar topics.

We welcome you to join us at any point during this six-month practice period. You will find links to recordings of Fred’s talks in Teachings, if you are interested in reviewing information that you may have missed. We look forward to sharing this journey with you!