Payton led a very lively discussion this Sunday on what choices we have around the moment between stimulus and response. Specifically, the chain of experiences as described by Christina Feldman:
What we contact, we feel [this is Vedana or Feeling Tone].
What we feel, we perceive.
What we perceive, we think about.
What we think about, we dwell upon.
What we dwell upon becomes the shape of our mind.
The shape of our mind becomes the shape of our world.
Christina suggests an alternate chain of events:
What we contact, we feel [this is Vedana or Feeling Tone].
What we feel, we perceive.
What we perceive, we can reflect upon.
What we reflect upon, we can find an appropriate response to.
The ground for this discussion was a rich talk by Christina Feldman from a recent retreat at IMS. The talk is here:
Burlington Buddhist Sangha 