Meditation is not a means of forgetting the ego; it is a method of using the ego to observe and tame its own manifestations.
Mark EpsteinRead
While the primary function of formal Buddhist meditation is to create the possibility of the experience of "being," my work as a therapist has shown me that the demands of intimate life can be just as useful as meditation in moving people toward this capacity. Just as in formal meditation, intimate relationships teach us that the more we relate to each other as objects, the greater our disappointment. The trick, as in meditation, is to use this disappointment to change the way we relate.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Intimate relationships can help us become more aware of our capacity to 'be', similar to meditation.
This quote emphasizes the parallels between formal meditation and intimate relationships in fostering self-awareness and personal growth. It suggests that while meditation is traditionally viewed as a means to experience existence fully, the challenges and interactions in close relationships can also lead to profound insights and transformations. Both practices teach us about our tendencies to objectify others, and they encourage us to use moments of disappointment as opportunities for change in how we connect with one another.
Themes
MeditationRelationshipsSelf-AwarenessIntimacyDisappointment
In practice
Example use cases
In a workshop on personal growth, this quote can be shared to highlight the importance of both meditation and relationships.
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It’s one of my theories that when people give you advice, they’re really just talking to themselves in the past.
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We are looking for a way to feel more real, but we do not realize that to feel more real we have to push ourselves further into the unknown.
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