Thursday, June 30, 2016

all that is right and beautiful in the world...

"We can train ourselves in the art of deep, compassionate listening and loving speech. The Fourth Mindfulness Training can be our guide."
~Thich Nhat Hanh~
“Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful speech and the inability to listen to others, I am committed to cultivating loving speech and compassionate listening in order to relieve suffering and to promote reconciliation and peace in myself and among other people, ethnic and religious groups, and nations. Knowing that words can create happiness or suffering, I am committed to speaking truthfully using words that inspire confidence, joy, and hope. When anger is manifesting in me, I am determined not to speak. I will practice mindful breathing and walking in order to recognize and to look deeply into my anger. I know that the roots of anger can be found in my wrong perceptions and lack of understanding of the suffering in myself and in the other person. I will speak and listen in a way that can help myself and the other person to transform suffering and see the way out of difficult situations. I am determined not to spread news that I do not know to be certain and not to utter words that can cause division or discord. I will practice Right Diligence to nourish my capacity for understanding, love, joy, and inclusiveness, and gradually transform anger, violence, and fear that lie deep in my consciousness.”

Monday, June 27, 2016

a quiet mind...

“A quiet mind is all you need. All else will happen rightly, 
once your mind is quiet. As the sun on rising makes the world active, 
so does self-awareness affect changes in the mind. In the light 
of calm and steady self-awareness, inner energies wake up 
and work miracles without any effort on your part”
  ~Nisargadatta Maharaj


Wednesday, June 22, 2016

better to have a heart without words, than words without heart...

"Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul.
It is daily admission of one’s weakness...
And so, it is better in prayer to have a heart
without words than words without heart."
~ Gandhi

Sunday, June 19, 2016

convinced that I am, but I am not convinced of what I am...

CONVERSATIONS WITH ANNAMALAI SWAMI
Q: I am convinced that I am, but I am not convinced of what I am. Intellectually I know that I am the Self but I don't experience this. I have to make a lot of effort.
Annamalai Swami: To experience the Self you have to dive deep into the consciousness 'I am.’
Q: You mean I should keep the mind there?
AS: Yes. When you see the rope as a rope there is no snake. You also know that there never was a snake.
When you cease to imagine that you are a body and a mind, reality shines of its own accord. If you stabilize in this state you can see that the mind didn't go anywhere; you will gain the direct insight that it never really existed. 'Keeping the mind in its source' is just another of saying 'direct realization that it never existed'.
Q: But how is one to awaken from perpetual body-consciousness? For consciousness to manifest one must have a body.

His and Hers Set of Leather Infinity Bracelets
 
AS: If there is the constant meditation that consciousness is your own reality in which all phenomena are appearing and disappearing, that meditation is the activity of the sattvic mind. It is this activity which erases and dissolves the tamas and rajas which cover the reality.
The human body is the only vehicle in which it is very convenient to realize the unmanifest Self. With the body and the mind we can investigate and discover the Reality, which remains unaffected by the body and the mind. With a good car we can travel fast and reach our destination. We know that the car is not the person; the person is in the car. We should regard the body in the same way that we regard a car. We should not think 'I am the body'. We should think 'This body is a useful vehicle. If I maintain it and give it proper fuel, I can use it to take me to my destination.'

Saturday, June 18, 2016

the water, the pourer, the vase and such things...


The Wheel of Sharp Weapons 
"When a vase has been filled by the dripping of water, 
The first drops themselves did not fill it alone; 
Nor was it made full by the last several drops. 
It was filled by an interdependent collection
Of causes and forces that came all together— 
The water, the pourer, the vase and such things."
~by Dharmarakṣita~

Friday, June 17, 2016

~~~)oOo(~ open mind, open heart ~)oOo(~~~

~~~)oOo(~)oOo(~~~

"Realize that there isn't somebody in there to protect.
There is no need for an emotional barrier or the feelings 
of separation and isolation that come from that barrier.
The only reason you ever thought that you needed protection 
was because of a very innocent misunderstanding.
This happened because when you were given a concept
of yourself in very early childhood, you also received
a kit with which to build walls that would protect this concept.
You learned to add to the kit as circumstances arose.
If a good dose of anger seemed useful, you would add that
to the kit, or perhaps you added resentment, shame, blame,
or victimization. Whether you cling to a self-image as a good person
or an inadequate person, the kit of identity is used to protect that image."
~Adyashanti,
Emptiness Dancing

~~~)oOo(~)oOo(~~~

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Others will kill. We shall not kill. Thus we should direct our hearts.

"Others will kill. We shall not kill. Thus we should direct our hearts.
Others will be cruel. We shall not be cruel. Thus should we direct our hearts.
Others will speak falsely. We will speak what is true. Thus we should direct our hearts.
Others will be fraudulent. We shall not be fraudulent. Thus we should direct our hearts.
Others will be hateful. We shall become loving. Thus we shall direct our hearts.
Others will be unwise. We shall become wise. Thus we shall direct our hearts."
~Buddha~

Sunday, June 12, 2016

do the very best you can with both your heart and mind...

 Lakota Instructions for Living
Teach me... (Lakota) 5"x7" typography quote:
Friend do it this way - that is,
whatever you do in life,
do the very best you can
with both your heart and mind.

And if you do it that way,
the Power Of The Universe
will come to your assistance,
if your heart and mind are in Unity.
When one sits in the Hoop Of The People,
one must be responsible because
All of Creation is related.
And the hurt of one is the hurt of all.
And the honor of one is the honor of all.
And whatever we do effects everything in the universe.
If you do it that way - that is,
if you truly join your heart and mind
as One - whatever you ask for,
that's the Way It's Going To Be.
~ Passed down from White Buffalo Calf Woman

Saturday, June 11, 2016

still water of our heart...

"Everything inside and around us wants to reflect itself in us. 
We don’t have to go anywhere to obtain the truth. 
We only need to be still and things will reveal themselves
in the still water of our heart."
~Thich Nhat Hanh
Faerie Dell Mystical Still Water 

 artwork  by TerryCulpanGallery on etsy

Thursday, June 9, 2016

to be...

"To be calm becomes kind of a revolutionary act. 
To be happy with your own non-upgraded existence. 
To be comfortable with our messy, human selves, 
would not be good for business."