Tag: awareness

A Reminder of Who We Really Are.

“The flower does not try to become the sun; it already is the sun. It does not try to become a tulip; it already contains the qualities of tulip within it. When you achieve this insight, you stop suffering. We suffer because we want to deny ourselves. We want to be something else, and so we never stop running.” ~ Thích Nhất Hạnh

A difficult concept to understand, yet one that is well worthy of our attention.

Can you imagine for just a moment, my dears – the sense of never having to be anything other than who you truly are? To be at one with the aspect of emotion, that continuously forces us from this present moment? To know that the full force of these cosmos have effortlessly formed this entity that we call ‘self.’

Just as the flower is comprised of all things – of time, of space, the energy of snow and of rain – you too, are a composite of this much bigger ‘whole.’ You are, one of the greatest miracles of this universe.

And, you are, all and everything you ever need to be, my darlings. But, like the flower – we are absent one thing. That is, the need for a separate self.

Look out into the stars tonight, my darlings – and know, that you are a part of that, too.

Much love, and many blessings, my friends. And, thoughtful mindful musings to you on this day.

 

The Choice that Begins with You.

When I was a little girl, my mother forced me to wear a woolen winter coat.

She had convinced herself, you see, that with the slightest shifting of breeze, her little one would freeze directly into a human Popsicle.

My mother was just this way; protective beyond all measure of the word, and with a love to reach the ends of this earth.

Oh, but how I hated that dreadful coat.

It was itchy and stiff and restricted all movement. Not to mention, it attracted snow like the tail end of a Coton De Tulear.

And, though – I’d feign initial compliance; rest assured – just as soon as my little boots would fade from view – I’d find a way to slip out of that winter ‘straight jacket.’

I think old habits can sometimes feel this way – uncomfortable and stiff – like an old winter coat, threatening to steal away our joy.

Our tendency is to pull away – to back away from the intensity of the emotion. We try to fix, to modify, to improve…and yet, in adding ‘more’ we end up with ‘less.’

And, just why do you think that is?

The Buddha taught that we should remain open and joyful irrespective of our circumstances. To avoid the old behaviors which only serve to reinforce that pain.

But, stuff a willful wee-wanderer into an ‘old winter coat’ – and well, just sit back and see what happens.

“Have you ever had an itch and not scratched it?” asks beloved Buddhist nun, Pema Chödrön. “In the Buddhist tradition, this points to a vast paradox: that by refraining from our urge to scratch, great peace and happiness is available.”

It’s hard to imagine, though, isn’t it? That by sticking it through for just a short while longer, we might actually realize a greater sense of peace.

Sometimes, I think we get ‘stuck’ on those short-term solutions. We don’t have the time, the patience, or the wherewithal – to disentangle ourselves from old habits.

We want to feel better, quickly.

And so, we succumb to those same old, tired habits. As soon as we feel the itch, we scratch.

“There was a story that was widely circulated a few days after the attacks of September 11, 2001, that illustrates our dilemma. A Native American grandfather was speaking to his grandson about violence and cruelty in the world and how it comes about. He said it was as if two wolves were fighting in his heart. One wolf was vengeful and angry, and the other wolf was understanding and kind. The young man asked his grandfather which wolf would win the fight in his heart. And the grandfather answered, ‘The one that wins will be the one I choose to feed.'”

Indeed, the habit which wins is the one we choose to feed. And, it begins by placing a little ‘pause’ in between – in between our ‘right now’ emotional reaction, and that potential for inner-peace.

“This choice” offers Ani Pema “and the attitudes and actions that follow from it, are like a medicine that has the potential to cure all suffering.”

And, did you know – my dearest darlings…that this choice, it begins with you.

Wishing You the Beauty in all Things.

The sky lit with brilliant hue, of fiery orange and incandescent blue.

Proving beyond all lingering doubts, that—when you’re able to see the beauty in things…then, my loves, it is beauty which surrounds you.

“To learn to see,” wrote Friedrich Nietzsche “to accustom the eye to calmness, to patience, and to allow things to come up to it” – without judgement, without the habit of preconceived notion.

What you are looking for is already within you—a flash of blue in its richest hue. This is what it means to truly see.

“I exist as I am, that is enough,
If no other in the world be aware I sit content,
And if each and all be aware I sit content.
One world is aware, and by the far the largest to me, and that is myself,
And whether I come to my own today or in ten thousand or ten million years,
I can cheerfully take it now, or with equal cheerfulness, I can wait.”
― Walt Whitman

Indeed, whether in my own today or in ten thousand million years, with equal cheerfulness…I wait. Knowing that within each, most glorious step there is this moment of awakening.

Namaste, my loves – and on this day, I wish you the gift of beauty in all things.

Be Here Now, and Be Free.

“Only this actual moment is life.” ― Thích Nhất Hạnh

There’s a Buddhist story which speaks to false perception.

The story is about a young couple who lived during the seventeenth century. When the war broke out, the young man was called into service – leaving his pregnant wife to support the home all alone.

The young man fought for over 3 years, until he was finally allowed to come home.

On the day of his return, the young wife stood with their young son at the entrance of the village. She couldn’t wait to see her husband, and cried with such joy when the two were finally reunited.

“This is your son,” she said softly. “It is through his eyes, that I have met with you each day.”

After they returned home, the young woman left for market – leaving the young man alone for the first time with his son.

The father tried desperately to persuade the young boy to call him ‘father’, but – with every effort, the little one refused.

“No, you are not my daddy.” the little one protested. “My daddy is another man who comes here every evening. Mommy talks with him for a long time, and she cries with him, too. Every time my Mommy sits down, he sits down also. And, every time she lies down, he lies down, as well.”

All of the young man’s happiness dissipated in that moment. Once full of joy, he was now – a block of ice.

When his wife returned home, he refused to acknowledge her. and so, she sat silently in her kitchen preparing their offering.

When she had finished, the young man placed the offering at the shrine. He then unrolled a mat, lit the incense, and bowed before his ancestors to announce his safe return.

And then, without saying a word – he rolled up the mat up, before his dear wife had the opportunity to kneel upon the earth. You see, he had become so convinced that his wife was unfaithful – that he felt her unworthy to kneel before their sacred ancestors.

For three days, neither said a word to the other – allowing their suffering to grow until it became too great a burden to bear.

By the fourth day, the woman’s pain was unbearable – and she threw herself into the river, and drowned.

That night, the young man stayed with the child – and, when it was dark, he leaned in to light a gas lamp.

There,” the young boy shouted, pointing to a shadow against the wall. “There is my daddy. Every night my daddy comes, and mommy talks with him for hours and hours. And, sometimes she cries – and, daddy cries, too.”

The truth was suddenly all too clear. The man who had visited every evening, was actually the woman’s shadow. She had fashioned this story to quell the little boy’s longing.

“That’s your daddy,” she had once said to him. “And, you can say ‘I love you, daddy’ any time you wish.”

We’ve all suffered the burden of our own misconception. Someone says or does something at work, and suddenly a ‘new story’ unfolds.

But, how often do we pause to ask ourselves – are we so certain of this truth before us?

The Buddha taught that there is a ‘river of perception’ within us all; that we might learn to sit at the banks, and contemplate how we really feel.

Are we so very certain of our perceptions?

My darlings, we have all fallen victim to these stories within. Perhaps, moving forward we might allow this question to serve as our ‘mindfulness bell.’

Remember, “only this actual moment is life.”

The Miracle of Mindfulness.

My neighbor once saw me walking through the woods.

“Something wrong?” he shouted.

“No, not at…” I smiled. “This tree is absolutely perfect.”

I like to lay my hands upon the trees, you see—to feel their roughened texture in the ‘lines’ time has worn well into its grooves. For me, the trees have always served as the most formidable of forest preachers. Why, sometimes I can even ‘feel’ the tree before I’ve ever shifted my hand.

“In their highest boughs the world rustles,” shares author, Hermann Hesse. “Their roots rest in infinity; but they do not lose themselves there, they struggle with all the force of their lives for one thing only: to fulfill themselves according to their own laws, to build up their own form, to represent themselves.”

This is the heart of my practice – to find this spaciousness of connection, our inexplicable bond with all living things. To understand, that we are here so very much alive…my darlings, this is the miracle of mindfulness.

Life Is Still Precious, Just As It Is.

“Be Yourself,” the venerable Thich Nhan Haht once counseled. “Life is precious as it is. All the elements for your happiness are already here. There is no need to run, strive, search, or struggle. Just Be.”

Such a wonderful reminder – and yet, how easily we forget with life’s first ‘pinch.’

Colors fade to muted grey; while icy winds steal the warmth of spring. Our breath quickens. We become restless – as our once glowing facade falls into a half-smile.

If only we might learn to shine the light of awareness on this unsettledness; to illuminate the dauntlessness of our own perception.

“Don’t judge it or try to destroy it,” suggests brother Thay. “because this restlessness is you yourself. It is born, has some period of existence, and fades away, quite naturally. Don’t be in too big a hurry to find its source. Don’t try too hard to make it disappear. Just illuminate it. You will see that little by little it will change, merge, become connected with you, the observer.”

Just as the sun always finds its way – to every twig, every leaf, and every mountain spring. So, too, will the light of awareness eventually find its place…that we might sit, that we might breathe, that we might one day find our way.

And, find within this precious moment…a stunning reminder;

That life is still precious, just as it is.

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These Challenges to Freedom.

[blockquote source=”Eric Klein and Devi Bliss”]”You can be really, really busy with a full schedule of activities and *still* be lifeless. You can set goals, check off action items, follow the dictates of your conditioning without being present to the deeper calling of your life. You and I could spend a lifetime without being present. We could live our lives in the dark . . . if we don’t heed the Call.

What is the Call?

The Call is unique to you. It’s beckoning you to realize, embody, and fulfill your life purpose. To enter, more deeply, more fully, more consistently your true life.”[/blockquote]

Oh, I just love this. And, such a wonderful reminder from our friends at Wisdom Heart!

Sometimes, we might experience this as a gentle knowing; an unexpected nudge to help us find and fulfill our purpose.

It is this inner unsettledness that leads us to a much deeper introspection, offering the soft light of awareness to our path ahead.

And yet, so often we feel caught in the ‘crosshairs’ of struggle, as we try to force fit our hearts into society’s expectations.

At what point did ‘status’ become an indicator of bliss? My darlings, I can assure you happiness holds no monetary value.

So, how do we break free from these self-imposed chains? How do we disentangle ourselves from another’s opinion?

By realizing (and embracing), that everything we experience is an integral part of our spiritual awakening.

Every doubt, every fear…ever moment spent tumbling forward into the darkness – it’s all very much needed.

To help us find, and power through, these challenges to freedom.

The Courage to Crack Open that Door.

“This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
STILL, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice.
meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.

Be grateful for whatever comes.
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.” – Jelaluddin Rumi

My darlings, what are we so afraid of?

In our hearts, we know, there are blessings to greet us. And yet…we are desperately discouraged by the thought of ‘new light.’

Are we so certain this visitor might uncover our flaws?

Or, are they here to help us see that which has been buried for far too long?

The joy, the love, and this new-found awareness. My darlings, they are here to share the most precious gift of all.

And all we ever truly need, is just enough courage to crack open that door.

The Sunrise of Our Soul.

“Go within ,
hear the story of sunrise from sun itself~
if there were no sunrise within
I would have set long ago. ” – Jalāl ad-Dīn Rumi

My darlings, there is beautiful light within us. An untouched radiance, gifted to this human soul.

Sparked by a single, glowing ember. A flickering glimpse into spirit – undeterred, resilient.

And, with each new breath – it grows.

Watch it rise and fall; awareness, dancing shadows along the wall. Through its grace, we are defined.

We are the sun, gathering light.

And this, is the sunrise of our soul.

Promise me, you’ll not wait till the end to enjoy it.

Photo: Steve McCurry (who is, by far, one of the very best ‘image catchers’ in the world.)

The Only Thing to Fear.

I noticed something rather curious today.

My dearest pup, though sweet beyond words, tends to pull a bit when we are out ‘exploring.’

And, who am I to fault him? I mean, how wonderful to witness such joie de vivre, in spite of how it may impact our ‘walking manners.’

While normally I am completely transfixed by my surroundings, today…I was busy typing out the first few lines of my daily posting.

My goodness, aren’t those mobile devices such a dreadful thing?

I’d walk a bit, then pause to reflect – delighting in the patterns of this newly formed text. I suppose, for a moment or two, I had become lost in the process of creation, until a slack in the leash pulled me home again.

I looked down to watch my sweet little pup, yield his exuberance to the pace of creation.

trot, trot…pause; trot, trot…pause.

Every so often, he would take a quick peek behind – as if he knew, just how much these words meant to me.

And though, I’ve always felt animals to be ‘in tune’ with our energy – never before have I witnessed this level of connection;

Intuitive, effortless, and without expectation.

How ironic that I had been writing a piece about ‘fear’ – only to realize;

that the only thing to fear is when we’ve stopped paying attention.

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