Take time each day to.....
Watch a patch of graceful clouds as they move
Silently
Without need for command or approval
To gaze up at the bows of a living tree,
Grateful for the air which moves its branches
And allows us to breathe....
Take time each day to....
Feel the warmth of sunlight on your skin
Or appreciate the heaven's rain, our Earth's nourishment
Or both
To shift your focus from ceaseless thinking
To your constant breath flow,
Your living essence....
And that which cannot be seen
Take time each day send love to someone you care about
Either with words, or thoughts, or actions
And simply radiate Love from your heart
To all Beings
And to your Self
Aum Shanti
We will not hold these physical embodiments forever--
Let us spend our time carefully,
For Life is Sacred
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
That may be hunger
There are two kinds of emotional suffering we go through as a humans.
There is the emotional reaction to an unfortunate circumstance -- the resultant feelings of sadness, disappointment, anger, confusion, worry, etc. Life contains its fair share of ups and downs. Many of those we have no control over.
Then there is the type of emotional suffering that seems to come from nowhere -- that sneaky and often persistent unhappiness, stress, worry, restlessness and malaise. It can catch us off guard and we think -"Huh? Why am I feeling bad?" Often this leads to identification of external sources of blame (I am not happy because I am without a partner, or I my career has not advanced yet, etc.)
What is going on here?
The malaise often stems from a deficiency in a basic human need. You are working very hard to cover all the bases of life (work, home, social life, etc.), right? You do this because society conditions us to believe that when we "have it all" we will be happy. And it is hard work! We are busy. We exist in a constant flurry of thoughts and tasks and interactions. This leads to an overactive and exhausted brain. Especially if enough sleep is not being found.
"Doing it all" or trying hard in life often means forgetting a basic human need -- to "Do nothing at all".
Here is my advice: do nothing at all for at least for a few minutes every day.
Preferably in a warm and quiet natural setting. Right now I am sitting on my front porch in half shade, under an expansive jacaranda tree. This appears to be working...
The "doing nothing at all" is not really doing nothing at all. It is very powerful practice called meditation.
There are many different traditions and teachings of meditation, some with a spiritual focus, some without out.
To me meditation is simply sitting in stillness and in observance of what is happening now- eye open or closed. You may focus on your breath to quiet the talking voice of thought in your head. But you do this gently,
With a softness, with an allowing~
It is amazing how hard it is to meditate every day for at least five minutes.
I know. I became starved over the past year with the exception of a few spiritual Sundays, sneak moments of gratitude and peace. My wheels were spinning fast and constantly; yet I didn't feel a sense of change, of effort paying off, of forward motion into a more peaceful and content existence. I thought when I passed my licensing exam that I would be happy (and experienced my fleeting "high"), but truly I felt the same uneasiness. I continued to bound out of bed and hit the coffeepot and then the gym. Same old routine, regardless of whether I was tired or not. Tea? Meditation? Where did you guys go?
They never went anywhere; I did. Ironically a recent injury changed that. I have had to stop doing most of regular stuff (working, exercise, walking, taking showers standing up). I am on crutches. I lost something for a period of time. But I gained some wonderful things - Change, and ahhh - Insight. The routine broke. With less to do I rediscovered peace in the now. For staring in awe at the jacaranda tree. For chanting with my Tibetan sound CD, for paying attention to my breath more than once a week.
I am sharing this because I can't help it. And I hope that they benefit you.
Ask yourself -"How am I feeling?"
Then ask - "When did I last feed myself with meditation, or other means of full immersion into the Now?"
Chances are you hungry.
Namaste my friends
There is the emotional reaction to an unfortunate circumstance -- the resultant feelings of sadness, disappointment, anger, confusion, worry, etc. Life contains its fair share of ups and downs. Many of those we have no control over.
Then there is the type of emotional suffering that seems to come from nowhere -- that sneaky and often persistent unhappiness, stress, worry, restlessness and malaise. It can catch us off guard and we think -"Huh? Why am I feeling bad?" Often this leads to identification of external sources of blame (I am not happy because I am without a partner, or I my career has not advanced yet, etc.)
What is going on here?
The malaise often stems from a deficiency in a basic human need. You are working very hard to cover all the bases of life (work, home, social life, etc.), right? You do this because society conditions us to believe that when we "have it all" we will be happy. And it is hard work! We are busy. We exist in a constant flurry of thoughts and tasks and interactions. This leads to an overactive and exhausted brain. Especially if enough sleep is not being found.
"Doing it all" or trying hard in life often means forgetting a basic human need -- to "Do nothing at all".
Here is my advice: do nothing at all for at least for a few minutes every day.
Preferably in a warm and quiet natural setting. Right now I am sitting on my front porch in half shade, under an expansive jacaranda tree. This appears to be working...
The "doing nothing at all" is not really doing nothing at all. It is very powerful practice called meditation.
There are many different traditions and teachings of meditation, some with a spiritual focus, some without out.
To me meditation is simply sitting in stillness and in observance of what is happening now- eye open or closed. You may focus on your breath to quiet the talking voice of thought in your head. But you do this gently,
With a softness, with an allowing~
It is amazing how hard it is to meditate every day for at least five minutes.
I know. I became starved over the past year with the exception of a few spiritual Sundays, sneak moments of gratitude and peace. My wheels were spinning fast and constantly; yet I didn't feel a sense of change, of effort paying off, of forward motion into a more peaceful and content existence. I thought when I passed my licensing exam that I would be happy (and experienced my fleeting "high"), but truly I felt the same uneasiness. I continued to bound out of bed and hit the coffeepot and then the gym. Same old routine, regardless of whether I was tired or not. Tea? Meditation? Where did you guys go?
They never went anywhere; I did. Ironically a recent injury changed that. I have had to stop doing most of regular stuff (working, exercise, walking, taking showers standing up). I am on crutches. I lost something for a period of time. But I gained some wonderful things - Change, and ahhh - Insight. The routine broke. With less to do I rediscovered peace in the now. For staring in awe at the jacaranda tree. For chanting with my Tibetan sound CD, for paying attention to my breath more than once a week.
I am sharing this because I can't help it. And I hope that they benefit you.
Ask yourself -"How am I feeling?"
Then ask - "When did I last feed myself with meditation, or other means of full immersion into the Now?"
Chances are you hungry.
Namaste my friends
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