Year of Impermanence
The importance of a consistent contemplation practice became an experiential realization in the past year. I vaguely recall reading a passage from 'Words of My Perfect Teacher' in the past year about the how critical the teaching on impermanence is. When I picked up the books many years ago, I knew it was a 'classic' Vajrayana text and enjoyed reading it but I wasn't actually practicing ngondro at that time. In the past year, I have revisited the book as part of my practice and the teachings are coming to 'life' so to speak. Since I am still on the 'outer' preliminaries of the practice, the teaching on impermanence and death is one of the 4 thoughts that turn the mind towards dharma.