Month: April 2011

Everything that happens today is a blessing

Karl DuffyLeave a comment

It is not easy to be open to everything that happens in a day, either outside us or within us, still less to see them all as “blessings”. Here Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, reminds us to do so, maybe from the perspective of her work with people in the last moments of their lives, when they have let go of some of the things which assumed great importance during their lives. Her words remind us today that life has a richness to be experienced and is not just to be managed or gotten through. Every aspect of this day can teach us, if we have eyes to see.

Learn to get in touch with silence within yourself, and know that everything in this life has purpose.

There are no mistakes, no coincidences, all events are blessings given to us to learn from.

Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

Spring: On not becoming identified with passing experiences

Karl Duffy1 Comment

This  quote from the great Lama Gendun Rinpoche, reminds us to hold lightly  experiences we have had and not allow our identity be defined by some of the events in our history. The practice of meditation is really one of trying to let go and then trust that life will unfold in a bigger picture –  which is often not visible as we go through individual events.  We sometimes need to let go of a memory – an idea of how things were or should be –  in order to be fully present for what is here and now. We continue walking in the present until the mystery becomes clear.

Happiness cannot be found through great effort and willpower, but is already present, in open relaxation and letting go. Don’t strain yourself, there is nothing to do or undo. Whatever momentarily arises in the body-mind has no real importance at all, has little reality whatsoever. Why identify with, and become attached to it, passing judgment upon it and ourselves?

Teens Day 19: Connect with your core

Karl Duffy2 Comments

 

When your mind is reeling in confusion, breathe deeply into the centre of your chest.

Connecting to the core of your being this way extends loving kindness to yourself , even when there is none in sight.

Ezra Bayda

Today, send out goodness

Karl DuffyLeave a comment

If you send out goodness from yourself, or if you share that which is happy or good within you, it will all come back to you multiplied ten thousand times. In the kingdom of love there is no competition; there is no possessiveness or control. The more love you give away, the more love you will have.

John O’Donoghue

Do not try to become anything

Karl Duffy1 Comment

Sometime go outside and sit,
In the evening at sunset,
When there’s a slight breeze that touches your body,
And makes the leaves and the trees move gently.
You’re not trying to do anything, really.
You’re simply allowing yourself to be,
Very open from deep within,
Without holding onto anything whatsoever. Don’t bring something back from the past, from a memory.

Tsogni Rinpoche

Do not try to become anything. Do not make yourself  into anything.

Do not be a meditator. When you sit, let it be. When you walk, let it be.

Grasp at nothing. Resist nothing.

Ajahn Chah

Teens Day 18: A strong sense of self

Karl DuffyLeave a comment

In meditation we first become familiar with a technique: to recognize and release thoughts and emotions and return our attention to the breath. As we learn to abide peacefully, we also become familiar with what I call a healthy sense of self. We become strong, caring, clear-minded individuals in harmony with ourselves and our environment. The meditation posture itself embodies this healthiness: grounded, balanced and relaxed.

Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche