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Wow! I am having a really hard time accepting groundlessness (Pema Chodron's tern I think). Groundlessness as in accepting that there IS NO "ground under your feet." The understanding that things will go up and down forever, good times and bad times, and there's nothing you can do about it.

I'm going through a really rough time in my life. I feel like I'm falling into a black pit or being spun around so that I don't know which way is up or down. But doesn't Buddhism tell us that it shouldn't matter which way is up or down as long as you know where you are? Like the focus should be inwards instead of out?

Yeah, exactly. But I guess my question is how to go about adopting that belief. It can't happen in a mere thought, or even a day. So should I meditate on it or read more... I dunno. I'm just having a problem detaching myself from the physicalities (money, clothes, etc) and accepting samsara.

On the one hand you know it true, yet on the other its such a freaking hard truth to swallow the you do everything possible to reject it. Sounds to me like someone still has attachments.

I try to incorporate mindful association in my meditation classes. Groundlessness can be understood by using your third eye's ability to see passed obstacles. For instance, you can visualize the air in your lungs. Start within your chest, breath in, and then exhale. Do this about 30 or so times. 30 is a good number because it establishes calm and allows you to become self-associative. After that, focus on breathing out. Again, 30 or so times. As you continue passed that, be mindful of both breathing in and out. As you breath in and out, try to see in your mind's eye each breath simply passing through you as if you're incorporeal (have no substance, no flesh, et cetera). As you breath out, do the same thing.

After you are through with the breathing exercise, try to focus on the ground at your base (where your sitting down or lying down, depending on your meditation style). Watch it in your mind's eye for a good ten minutes. Take note on its distinct shape and how it presses up against you. Now, in your mind's eye, let it dissolve but keep yourself in the exact spot. Focus on the sensation of simply floating (levitating, hovering, et cetera) and use the mantra, "Without substance, without form."

A good book to read for this sort of meditation and others I teach in my classes would be "Creating True Peace" by Thich Nhat Hanh. He has many other very good meditations that can help in your daily path.

Good luck.

You are all very silly people.

There is no illusion to escape.

There is ground beneath your feet.

How many blades of grass in a field? Think about that.

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