Insights and Reflections from Dharma Student Vanessa Bachynsky

“Everything comes out of nothing”

Reading this, I imagine you have some interest in Spirituality and Creativity. I certainly have had an interest in both worlds for most of my life. I would go to catechism class on Sundays, sing, dance, and draw crazy cartoons during the day, and then do a rosary before bed to purify my sins.

I guess what I didn’t realize was how the two worlds are actually one in the same. Well, have the potential to be. Doug Sensei is a master at making anything a spiritual, or awakening practice. Including creative pursuits. He says that there are two types of creativity:

1. Adaptive Creativity
2. Quantum Creativity

Adaptive Creativity is pretty much reworking the same old thing, and there is nothing wrong with that. But what’s important to remember is that to be awakening, to be expanding your richness and clarity of being, you must go beyond yourself.

“Want everything you don’t want, and let go of what you do”

Quantum Creativity, Doug Sensei teaches, is what Buddha-Dharma calls “insight”. Insight means to be questioning everything. You end up in silence, which is one step before the void, and then you jump, and out of the void comes the “big bang”, or insight. In other words, Quantum creativity is not George being creative, it is emptiness speaking through George.

“Now out of nothing comes something”

It takes a great deal of trust to go to the void, because there is nothing for your ego there. Your yearning to know spaciousness needs to be stronger than your fear of it. Yet, Doug Sensei says, there is great freedom in this.

Does the idea of nothingness scare you, or excite you?

Does a blank page, a bare canvas, or an empty dance floor invite you, or intimidate you?

Do you believe that you came out of nothing? I imagine that the more of a relationship we build with the transcendental, the more we can trust that it is working through us, and the less restricted we are by an “ego reference point” as Doug Sensei calls it.

As an artist I would like to be less restricted, because I believe the more open and free I am, the greater potential I have to speak to the hearts of others by what I do. I am willing to give up a fixed idea of Vanessa if it means gaining a common ground of being with others.

Weekly thoughts and insights from participants of the “Well-Being” class series.

This week’s contribution is by Andy Rogers:

Tonight I went to Cara’s first class of a series on well-being. As a recent graduate from Traditional Chinese Medicine school, Cara carries a lot of weight on the topic, and she treated us to a fascinating overview of the influences on well-being from the TCM point of view.

How does this relate to dharma or meditation?

Well, if you’re a student of awareness, you’ll be used to looking closely at the body and mind. You’ll be used to looking at your patterns and you’ll be interested in anything that helps shine new light on them.

 So if you tend toward confusion, it’s good to know that when your mind feels unclear it could be a reaction to shock – maybe a childhood trauma is being triggered when you freeze or get confused. Or if you’re like me and tend to over-indulge your negative emotions, it’s motivating to hear how they affect your heart, lungs or kidney function. To help keep up good states, you’ll want clues on balancing out your system once you’re aware of what might be going on – how can you tweak your diet or lifestyle to address the effects of over-thinking or worry?

A negative emotion arises right now because I won’t be in Calgary for Cara’s other classes on well-being. But I’m pleased for you if you can be there next week, when Cara offers tools to generate positive mind states that promote overall well-being.

Thanks for offering up your knowledge Cara! May you be well and happy!