Liz Notes:

Methods for cultivating self compassion - Maitri

That’s why when we are doing the practice, we’re imagining a flow of care, acceptance, love, in the middle of feeling these difficult or challenging emotions.

“This is the most difficult practice you will ever do.” - Pema Chodron

“Yeshe Nga” - The Five Wisdoms. How the “Five Buddha Families” is rendered in Tibetan

Mirror like Wisdom - melong tabu yeshe in Tibetan

One way to think about Vajrayana practices - a way to teach the Dharma to our shadow side. The part of us that’s struggling, looking for healing. Because these practices open us up, they tend to get below our armor and below our conceptual beliefs about who we are.

We need to get below this in order to cleanse, purify, address, face into our shadow stuff. But in order to find freedom on this path is we have to be willing to face our shadow.

Using the conceptual mind as a way of opening ourselves to the non-conceptual experience. And then infuse these difficult emotions with loving kindness.

Often/usually, our conceptual mind leads us into suffering because generally it reinforces our stories about ourselves. But with these technologies, we can use it to open up and connect instead of walling ourselves off.

Vajra - indestructible, diamond

five spokes of the vajra

color blue, element water, dawn, east, winter, rugged mountains, icy rivers, simple modern design, monochrome colors, Japanese zen aesthetic,

Buddha is Akshobia. Means “immovable” Female Buddha “Lochana”? I think it’s Mamaki

Main distorted manifestation: aggression. Hot or burning anger. ICE - cold, calculating. Highly critical. Has to be right. Detached. Cold intellectual mind. Hyper vigilance. Always surveying the environment for danger.

Increased heart rate, cortisol, hyper vigilence. Hair trigger.

Hell realm both hot and cold.

Very hard to be intimate. Hard to express emotion. Not connected with emotions. Don’t really know. Highly reactive.

Clarified form