In looking at my experience of the process of participation (with this practice), the first thing that arises is a feeling of gratitude. From my first contact with the practice, at a daylong retreat with Cheri, I was drawn to participate further. I attended that daylong retreat at the invitation of a friend who correctly projected that I would enjoy it. Attending retreats strengthened the willingness to participate. To this day, when a request, invitation or opportunity from the Zen Center, now Living Compassion, comes my way, a "yes" always arises. Not all comes into fruition, and the yes remains. For this willingness, I am deeply grateful.

As I look at other areas of life, I see how conditioning will come in and say "NO!" More and more, I catch that and examine what is going on. The other day, I was asked to demonstrate my work at a local festival and the first response was "No, I'm too busy."    Hmmmmmmmm. I called back and said, "I think we can work something out." It was a great day and a fabulous time.

Conditioning tells me that it is impossible to say yes to everything. There is not enough time in a person's life to DO everything. This is a great example of one process does not lead to another.  Saying yes is just saying yes. "Yes, let's see."

Another aspect of participation that I'm looking at is this: Different ideas and ways of being in the world are coming up. Ways that haven't been given much expression thus far in life. Parts of "me" would like to participate in life: the athlete, the traveler, the sculptor, the employer, the garden designer, the retired person, the monk, to name a few.  I love the Best Year Yet work for just this reason. It gives me a format that provides a structure to make some changes in what roles are emphasized. It's not particularly comfortable because roles that are well entrenched don't let go so easily.  Conditioning calls me nuts and is constantly telling me that I will not succeed. Well that's nothing new. Before practice, I just wasn't hearing those voices, but I bet they were still yakking away.

I do have experiences of resistance and suffering, and I bring practice to these areas.  I find myself identified with processes that impede the flow of life. Yes, this is where I am. This is the work for me. How can I say yes to the resistance?  How not to resist the resistance? This is where I'm looking now.  Gasshō.