by Ethan Indigo Smith
March 8, 2013

from ZenGardner Website

Change your thinking and change the world

utilizing just one aspect of the Tibetan Practice of Tummo,

inner heat.
 

Isolation. Retreat. Quiet solace in a meditative moment. And for what?

One idea behind the ancient Tibetan practice of Tummo reveals exactly why. It allows you to be hollow and empty of energy taxing emotions and thoughts; in other words, to be clear.

The process of Tummo ends in the physical production of heat. Tummo leads to the physical overcoming of the conditions of temperature. This happens to be a nice skill atop the cold Himalayan mountains, but operates as much more than that. It happens to exemplify the very reason for meditation.

A major part of the process serves as a potent component toward self-development, one that Tibetan Buddhists and your average Joe on the street can readily identify with and immediately benefit from.

The meditative aspect so clearly illustrated in Tummo and suggested in many other practices is to imagine clearing all emotions and thoughts to the point of being hollow save one small flame. Being hollow and clear of all emotions and thoughts one can harness the energy it took to create and deal with those same emotions and thoughts, and transform the energy into the inner fire of Tummo.

Even just a portion of the energy required for all that feeling and thinking is enough to create the inner fire when applied correctly. This meditative concept reflects our physical and meditative powers, but also of an exercise in thinking that could truly save us from ourselves.

Human beings are always asking “why?”

• We ask why so much that we conjure beliefs and act on them as if total truth

• We ask why so much that we come up with answers to questions on figments of a series of why questions

• We ask why so much that our minds are often crowded by answers or beliefs to why questions that no one asked but ourselves and about things which never happened

The reason we can’t see the forest through the trees is because of all our beliefs.

Our beliefs which come and go as the leaves on trees, are not our true root or trunk or being. Just as trees let go of their leaves, people need to let go of beliefs every so often as well. If we let go of emotions and thoughts for just a bit we can settle into our true nature and ignore our beliefs, beliefs which often hinder our true potential.

Let go like in Tummo so as to be like the tree, not the leaf. Every time you find yourself asking “why” questions concerning beliefs and figments, stop and change the beliefs into clarity, and being as centered and balanced as a tree.

Change the world by changing your thinking.

Watch Your Thoughts