2013 – Page 118 – Mindfulbalance

Inner strength

January 5, 2013January 4, 2013 Karl Duffy1 Comment

You are the sky.

Everything else – it’s just the weather.

Pema Chodron

The roots of our struggles

January 4, 2013January 3, 2013 Karl DuffyLeave a comment

We lean forward out of the present moment. Or we dig in our heels and lean backward. Or we twist away from the naked truth of the moment. All three experiences keep us from being present with How It Is just now. This war with the present moment keeps us almost continually uncomfortable in our own skin. And the sense of un-satisfactoriness that results, though usually beneath the threshold of our awareness, nonetheless drives much of our experience, and many of our decisions, in an unconscious, reactive way.

Stephen Cope, The WIsdom of Yoga

Cultivate surprise

January 4, 2013January 3, 2013 Karl Duffy4 Comments

Where shall beginners begin? The obvious starting point is surprise. You will find that you can grow the seeds of gratefulness just by making room. Let’s follow Alice Walker’s advice: “Expect nothing. Live frugally on surprise.” To expect nothing may mean not taking for granted that your car will start when you turn the key. Try this and you will be surprised by a marvel of technology worthy of sincere gratitude. Or you may not be thrilled by your job, but if for a moment you can stop taking it for granted, you will taste the surprise of having a job at all, while millions are unemployed. If this makes you feel a flicker of gratefulness, you’ll be a little more joyful all day, a little more alive. From there it is only a small step to seeing the whole universe and every smallest part of it as surprising. From the humble starting point of daily surprises, the practice of gratefulness leads to these transcendent heights.

David Steindl-Rast

Writing our life story

January 3, 2013January 3, 2013 Karl Duffy1 Comment

William Blake wrote: “I dare not pretend to be any other than the Secretary; the Authors are in Eternity.” Maybe he was talking about art, but his words apply to our lives and personal stories. We act on the dictates of fate and do our best to create the life that has been mysteriously ordained for us. Like the artist, we listen to the muse and live by inspiration, experiment, and improvisation. So, in the end, we realize our authority doesn’t really belong to us after all. It comes from within — and yet it’s also mysteriously deep and “other.” It’s a complicated business, authoring our lives. If we can do it, we can find deep joy in our capacity to create something, someone, new. But we may have to insist on our authority, because someone will always appear who wants that enjoyment for himself — a parent, a spouse, a business partner, a spiritual teacher. Remind this person of Blake’s insight: the authors are in eternity. You and I — our job is to listen.

Thomas Moore, Are You the Author of Your Life’s Story?

Starting now

January 3, 2013January 2, 2013 Karl Duffy2 Comments

There is only this moment in which you are either awake or not awake, causing suffering or not for yourself or others; therefore, the most skillful means for finding ultimate freedom is not to focus on some future aim but rather to liberate this moment. And by constantly repeating this process, you will gradually come to reside in freedom without it being anything special. There is only this time, and your only choice is to work with life just as it is at present.

Phillip Moffitt, Loving Life’s Questions

Dawn over the Alps, Jan 1, 2013

A little light

January 2, 2013January 2, 2013 Karl DuffyLeave a comment

Often we want to be able to see into the future. We say “How will the next year be for me? Where will I be five or ten years from now?” There are no answers to these questions. Mostly we have just enough light to see the next step: what we have to do the coming hour or the following day. The art of living is to enjoy what we can see and not complain about what remains in the dark. When we are able to take the next step that follows, with the trust that we will have enough light for the step that follows, we can walk through life with joy and be surprised at how far we go. Let’s rejoice in the little light we carry and not ask for the great beam that would take all shadows away.

Henri Nouwen

About this Blog

Mindfulbalance supports the slow, patient practice of mindfulness meditation, as a way to find balance and meaning in life, reduce stress and develop health and wellbeing. It contains reflections to encourage the practice of meditation as well as occasional posts from psychology, spirituality and the wisdom traditions. The daily posts are prompted by Rilke's advice: "Write about what your everyday life offers you, your sorrows and desires, the thoughts that pass through your mind, and your belief in some kind of beauty". Written in County Laois, Ireland