Tag: mindfulness

Like Daisies Dipped in Dew.

The mind is constantly shifting, moving swiftly from thought to thought. Love lost and found again…conversations with our boss. How do we manage to find our peace?

Science now speculate over 50,000 thoughts per day – like floodwaters raging following an unforgiving storm.

And at the river’s edge, the heart waits – contemplating its fate. Is it fear that drives or is it faith which compels?

In any event, there is no pause to course; in the end, only what we believe remains.

As Marcus Aurelius once wrote, “the soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.” If this, and nothing else were true – mine would share the shade of daisies dipped in morning dew.

In peace…

Namaste ❤

The Children’s Hour.

We have little ones visiting our office today; their pattering feet bustling with the joy of a new discovery.

And, never to be dissuaded – they fearlessly sidle up, transfixed by the whirring spinning dots of a high tech computer screen.

“Can you make it green like my Mommy’s eyes,” the youngest boy pleads. And just like that, a spark of wonderment illuminates the air.

I must say, I somewhat ‘envy’ the arduousness of their task – rising each morning for the singular purpose of revealing…

A ‘climbing tree’ to the right of our building, and a car ‘that goes really, really fast.’

And don’t forget the strawberry frosted donuts left on a table in the downstairs break room – “With sprinkles!” a pony-tailed ‘princess’ vigorously exclaims.

As I sit here, I’m reminded of Longfellow’s musings; between the dark and daylight, when the night is just beginning to lower…a pause that is the Children’s hour.

So, come now…please share in their joy.

Namaste ❤

“Between the dark and the daylight,
When the night is beginning to lower,
Comes a pause in the day’s occupations,
That is known as the Children’s Hour.

I hear in the chamber above me
The patter of little feet,
The sound of a door that is opened,
And voices soft and sweet.

From my study I see in the lamplight,
Descending the broad hall stair,
Grave Alice, and laughing Allegra,
And Edith with golden hair.

A whisper, and then a silence:
Yet I know by their merry eyes
They are plotting and planning together
To take me by surprise.

A sudden rush from the stairway,
A sudden raid from the hall!
By three doors left unguarded
They enter my castle wall!

They climb up into my turret
O’er the arms and back of my chair;
If I try to escape, they surround me;
They seem to be everywhere.

They almost devour me with kisses,
Their arms about me entwine,
Till I think of the Bishop of Bingen
In his Mouse-Tower on the Rhine!

Do you think, O blue-eyed banditti,
Because you have scaled the wall,
Such an old mustache as I am
Is not a match for you all!

I have you fast in my fortress,
And will not let you depart,
But put you down into the dungeon
In the round-tower of my heart.

And there will I keep you forever,
Yes, forever and a day,
Till the walls shall crumble to ruin,
And moulder in dust away!”

Finding Our Awareness.

When we practice mindfulness, we expand our capacity for this fullness of life. Moment by moment, bit by bit – we take it all in, our heart relaxing to the expansiveness of this single point in time.

In this space, our consciousness grows. We begin to pay attention, to cultivate our awareness. Even the sound of trees swaying may become like a symphony.

Which is body, which is spirit? The space between, of narrowed focus until only an impression remains.

And, the pacing of breath – our teacher.

In peace, my loves…

Namaste ❤️

Where the Wild Things Lay.

What is your longer term intention, my loves? Is it peace, is it love – or, simply the cherishing of moments in which happiness has graced us with her presence?

So often our days are filled with temporary obligations – take out the trash, walk the dog, make sure all the bills get paid. In time, it becomes our ‘cadence’ – marking a pace louder than any heart might share.

In doing so, our spiritual direction becomes clouded; we lose the context of our being.

“When despair for the world grows in me,” shares Wendell Berry, “and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be, I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. I come into the peace of wild things…I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.”

He knew what so many have difficulty expressing; that no matter the difficulty our direction is clear. We endeavor for the purpose of life’s much higher things; we strive for a peace within.

To lie amidst the wild things, to watch the grasses grow. And, without concern for the ‘how’ or ‘why’; rather, simply for the cause of being.

In peace…

Namaste ❤️

The Miracle of Our Being.

My neighbor once saw me walking through the woods.

“Something wrong?” he shouted.

“No, not at all…” 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 through their 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 our being.

“Whereever you are,” reminds Shunryu Suzuki, “you are one with the clouds and one with the sun and the stars you see. You are one with everything. That is more true than I can say, and more true than you can hear.”

Indeed, there is no higher truth, my loves—and, it marks the beginning of our endless path of possibilities.

An Invitation to Come Home.

“The ache for Home lies in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.” – Maya Angelou​

Have you ever discovered a space you felt truly to be home?

Somewhere, tucked away, along an outstretched piece of trail – or perhaps, cozied up next to a blazing winter’s fire.

Close your eyes, and be with me in that space – and then, tell me, just how does it make you feel?

I’ve always loved this sense of coming home. Just the mere action of stepping through the door—of letting go, of leaving something else behind—has the capacity to completely transform my state of being. Looking out through the back porch window, where the garden pathway is just slightly overgrown, my soul is at peace. In this moment, I know I belong.

As humans, we crave this experience of belonging—instinctively, gravitating towards a space in which our lives may simply unfold. Our mindfulness practices invites us here—to relax, to breathe, to observe, to touch, to experience life just as it really is.

Why? Because, everyone needs a place to call home.

Through our mindfulness practice, we can begin to rest into the awareness of who we really are—and, irrespective of our circumstances, have faith that there is a sense of belonging with us wherever we may go.

It’s all right here, my darlings, right where the heart is—and, within each breath, an invitation to please come home.

 

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.

Finding Our Way Home Once Again.

Someone asked a question of me this morning, “How do we keep our practice ‘alive’?”

They were referring to the practice of mindfulness training; specifically, maintaining a connection with our truest self when all else seems to be slipping into chaos.

It’s never easy, is it? We may spend hours dedicated to our meditation practice – but, that sense of bliss is never everlasting. Maybe, that’s the mistake we’re all making? Thinking once we’ve lost our ‘center’, we’ve failed.

But, the true success is in finding our way back once again.

My darlings, our lives are filled with unexpected moments. In a single day, we may experience an endless array of emotions – from extraordinary upset to absolute contentedness. We may cry, we may cringe, we may fumble, we may fall – but always, deep within the very center of our heart, there is this irrefutable capacity for gratitude.

And, gratitude is the stepping point for resilience.

In his talk, The Living Dharma, Thich Nhat Hanh offers,

“Living Dharma is when we know how to walk mindfully, when we know how to sit mindfully, when we know how to eat mindfully, we know how to breathe mindfully, we know how to recognize what is happening in the present moment. If we practice mindfulness in our daily life, then we are making Dharma shine all around us. Living Dharma is not made by images and sounds, it is made by life.”

Indeed, to find our balance, we must move around – recalibrating our ‘sense of center’ to whatever life may throw our way.

It’s in those moments when our lives are turned upside down…

That we may relax…

That we may breathe…

That we may find our way home once again.

The practice isn’t about avoiding life’s upsets, my darlings – rather, it’s about embracing them.

“Let go of the battle. Breathe quietly and let it be.”

[blockquote source=”Christopher Pointdexter”]”Never could I breathe love if I did not first learn to inhale a little bit of chaos.” [/blockquote]

There is a saying in Buddhist teachings, “though you may be capable of great things, remember always – that life consists within the small.”

There is often a density to our struggles, a tendency to amplify the true nature of our experience. To attach our ‘story lines’, to editorialize – instead of opening to the center point of our awareness.

Certainly, it’s human nature to withdraw when we feel at risk. But, how much running is really to be done when the threat is mostly in our head?

More importantly, how do we – in those microscopic, split-second moments of reactivity – discern between that which is perceived and real?

Insight Meditation Center teacher, and author Tara Brach offers,

“It’s hard to hang out with the truth of what we’re feeling. We may sincerely intend to pause and be mindful whenever a crisis arises or whenever we feel stuck and confused, but our conditioning to react, escape, or become possessed by emotion is very strong.”

Which begs the question, how do we continue to ‘carry our Zen’ – when all of our senses urge us to run away?

Breathe…“Let go of the battle. Breathe quietly and let it be.”

And though, it might seem impossible, at best – remember, that this breath is the ‘stepping point’ in opening to our awareness.

With each breath, comes the opportunity to pause…to reflect; to breathe deep the laughter, the joys, the regret; to open to our sorrows and our splendor, as well; to take it all in, before we react.

My darlings, it is this very breath that becomes our soul connection.

And, in this tiny, split second fraction of a moment – we find our passageway to awareness.

Namaste, my most beautiful friends…remember, to let go and just simply breathe.

Finding the ‘Pockets of Wakefulness’ in Every Moment.

In his book, Peace is Every Breath: A Practice for Our Busy Lives, Thích Nhất Hạnh writes,

“We need a collective awakening. One Buddha is not enough. All of us have to become Buddhas in order for our planet to have a chance.”

He was referring to the ‘mindless overborrowing’ of our species against this planet—this practice of material over spiritual enrichment, which has diminished our resources and left us none the richer.

That, in order to effect a more positive global change, we must ‘wake up’ to the miracles within each moment.

Fortunately, you and I have already made this discovery—and, through each action we strive to bring peace to every step.

My darlings, enlightenment isn’t a matter of suddenly waking up—rather, it is a gradual retuning to what is already there…these pockets of wakefulness in each one of our moments.

For me, wakefulness is found in the gently furled edges of a morning glory’s bloom, and in the damp, roughened bark of my favorite walking path tree. It is the soft ‘breath’ of a hummingbird’s wings, and in the  never-ending light of a child’s inquisitive ‘glow.’

Indeed, ‘the present moment is a teacher that will always be with you, a teacher that will never fail you.’ And, and these miracles of mindfulness are all around.

Together, we are an indomitable force, my loves—a force, that has the capacity to bring lasting peace to this world.