The mind creates the abyss,
the heart crosses it.
Nisargadatta Maharaj, 1897 – 1981, Indian non-dualist teacher
Overcoming our fears
Month: April 2021
Sunday Quote: Upside down
People were created to be loved,
and things, to be used.
The world is in chaos, because everything is upside down
Dalai Lama
Breathe
One of the oldest Muslim mystical sayings talks about the process of achieving a more refined spiritual consciousness consisting of the following steps:
Hoosh dar dam: To become mindful and aware of one’s breath
Nazar bar qadam: To have one’s eyes on one’s feet. Literally, to watch where you are and where you are heading
Khalvat dar anjoman: To maintain a practice of solitude and full presence, even and especially in the midst of the hustle and bustle of crowd
It all begins with becoming aware of the breath.
Omid Safi, Learning How to Breathe Again
90 seconds
We have a choice. We can spend our whole life suffering because we can’t relax with how things really are, or we can relax and embrace the open-endedness of the human situation, which is fresh, unfixated, unbiased.
So the challenge is to notice the emotional tug of shenpa when it arises and to stay with it for one and a half minutes without the storyline. Can you do this once a day, or many times throughout the day, as the feeling arises? This is the challenge. This is the process of unmasking, letting go, opening the mind and heart.
Pema Chödrön, Living Beautifully: with Uncertainty and Change
Allow all to pass
Just do your best. This is the whole of practice, the whole of our life. All sorts of chatter comes up in the midst of the circumstances of our life. Something breaks, we clean it up or fix it up. Or we can start chattering about, “Why does this happen to me? Oh, I always do this. What am I going to do? What does this mean?” We all know the consequences of that. After speaking with someone, do we continue holding on to the discussion with “internal” chatter, like, “Why did they say that to me? It’s not fair.” If that chatter — habits of reactions, habits of thoughts and emotions—arises, then right there in the noticed chatter is our practice. Just be chatter in the midst of doing, and allow chatter to pass.
Elihu Genmyo Smith , Zen Buddhist teacher, Do Your Best
Reset your compass
When you’re overwhelmed by illness or loss, by the conflicts around you, when you feel you are lost in the darkness, sometimes all you can do is to breathe consciously and gently with your pain and anguish and know that with this simple gesture you are resetting the compass of your heart, no matter your circumstances.
By taking that one simple, mindful breath, you will return again to compassion and realize that you are more than your fears and confusions.
Jack Kornfield
Mindfulbalance 