positive attachment signals & resolutions

Thanks Annie, what a wonderful reflection.  I put this together as a part of personal practice, so that as positive experiences and wants come up, the attachment which often has come also can really empty out into recognizing this deep ever present source and these wants can be transformed in both experience and resulting actions.  I basically internalized the three poisons and three marks teaching and brought out what has worked in practice in terms of my own life - because this unconditional love needed this.

So for examples, when I wake up in the middle of the night to respond to a cry, or early morning for sitting time, I sometimes notice that rough feelings of resistance come up from a subtler desire to stay with a sleepy state (which is already passing) - which I now notice is actually a desire for deep clarity in the moment, which I then notice is already here (clarity in knowing the sleepiness) and the attachment dissipates.  I find that noting the experiences which are such as this in my own life helps in practice to keep me touching this momentary clarity.  This way, when I now notice the sleepiness, the gift of the experience is much fuller, and my response comes out of this clarity.

Stimulation has been a big one in this culture and my own life, the seemingly constant want for yet more and more stimulating input, which I have noticed is actually a deep desire for rest - rest from separateness, rest from seeking, etc.  I would even group violent anger here, as this is basically the attachment to the energy which comes with extreme stimulation (which is very beneficial in survival modes) and when seen clearly is also a desire for rest - rest from survival conflict.  When I notice stimulation coming up, I am now brought into recognition of the deep rest, the silence which is always a part of this moment too.  In this way, I also do not react against highly stimulating activity either, can come to remain at rest and fully energized in the effortless breath, able to be appreciating the seeming chaos which may come up at times.

Last, and my personal favorite, is the sweetness.  I found so many times I have been wanting the next high, the next high five, the next piece of pie, and the next taste of the big pie in the sky - instead of just the flow of this 'good' or 'bad'.  Noticing that this desire for sweetness is actually a simple call to recognize the constant flowing change again draws me into this ever present expression and source, which is actually so much sweeter!  When I am settling in the flow, both sweet experiences and bitter ones taste better, like wholeness and unconditional love! 

So here we are completion, compassion, and creativity - breath in breath :-)

I am so grateful for you Annie, you take me deep - cheers, Michael

If you are asking for input?  Just off the top, you have abrupt and non-penetrable lines ending at what could be complementary expressions.  You show 3 dimensions but they all appear as either/or not both/and.  I might assume by the coloring that your are expressing variations and subtlies, which would work if the color faded rather than ended at each distinction.

The choice of vocabulary also makes me think in terms of resolution rather than engagement.