Meditation and Letting Go of the GOT Finale

C'mon now, 2 more episodes would have filled in the blanks and we all wouldn't be nearly as upset with the writers of Game of Thrones. The unfortunate reality is they didn't and we were left with a very confusing and disappointing finale. If you're still feeling the sting (as I'm sure you are now because I just re-opened the wound), never fear, the Nine Breathings of Purification is here! The Nine Breathings of Purification is a Buddhist meditation technique that works to release the three root poisons: anger, attachment, and ignorance. These poisons are understood to be the root of all suffering and if you can release them, you will no longer suffer. I would like to make it clear that a lack of suffering doesn't mean you'll enjoy perfect health. Health and wellness are two sides of the same coin but I'll go into that in another post..."No longer suffering" means your maladies and frustrations in life (or with poor writing) won't affect your emotional health.

Anger poison is being angry about things (obviously), but in an obsessive way. You know that one person who is simply mad all the time and lashes out about every little thing? They are consumed by the anger poison. Being angry has it's time and place, but to constantly stay in that state is exhausting for everyone and can actually affect your physical health. Conditions like hypertension, heart disease, and adrenal fatigue are frequently found in people with a tendency towards anger.

Attachment is a reluctance to let go of things. I say reluctance because no one has an inability to let go, it's just a difficult thing to do and we usually don't want to do it. This isn't just about holding grudges, it's holding on to past relationships, lost loved ones, guilt, and all the rest of the emotional baggage we feel the need to carry with us. Why? Yes our scars teach us life's lessons, but the lesson itself is what we want to hang on to, not the pain and suffering we went through to learn it.

Ignorance can also be understood as self doubt or fear and it's the biggest poison of them all. Doubting ourselves is what leads to regret. A surprising amount of people will stay in a toxic environment because they don't believe they can do better outside it. Staying in an "okay" relationship because you don't think you can do better? Self doubt. Want to start your own business but afraid to? Self doubt. Ultimately, all of our suffering comes down to self doubt: "what if I don't have what it takes?" We get angry with ourselves when we fail (anger), we refuse to forgive ourselves of our failures (attachment), and it continues to fuel the "but what if" conversation (self doubt). It's time to start a new one...

The technique itself is simple and you can read all about it in Awakening the Sacred Body by Tenzin Wangyal Rinproche. Simply put, you take three deep breaths to clear out each channel of it's poison, and abide in the light of your true self; one that is free from self inflicted suffering. To close (and you should do this with every meditation in your repertoire), you dedicate your merit to whomever you so desire. The book also includes a second meditation called the Tsa Lung exercises for the chakras, and comes with access to an online video where the author demonstrates and guides his readers in the meditations. So let's release our anger towards the writers, let go of the past eight years, and maintain our faith and hope that someone out there will write a great spin-off. #TyrionForTheIronThrone