A river grows wider the farther it flows,
and its water is never the same as before.
So too the soul: it expands as it travels,
Though to your eyes, it wears the same name.
Rumi, Masnavi III, 1400-1402
same and different
Author: Karl Duffy
This is a Mindfulness Practice Blog written in Laois, Ireland, containing reflections on meditation practice, psychological growth, spirituality and wellness which hopefully may encourage and benefit others as they reflect on their lives and seek to develop a more balanced, mindful and conscious approach to it.
the real prison
So many of us live with an underlying sense that we are not enough.
We believe that if only we were smarter, more disciplined, or more lovable, we’d finally be at peace.
Yet the real prison is not our imperfections, but the belief that we should be perfect.
Tara Brach, Radical Acceptance
Underneath is bliss
The key to freedom is realizing that you are not your thoughts or emotions. You are the witness to them.
When you stop identifying with them, you stop being disturbed by them, and your natural peace and bliss emerge
Michael Singer — The Untethered Soul
Sunday quote: patience
Adapt the pace of nature;
her secret is patience
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Where we identify
It’s easy to identify with all the places we’ve been hurt and abandoned, but can we identify with the timeless wholeness that weathers every condition?
If we can’t, we may spend this life protecting ourselves and never really risk really living
Sensei Bonnie Myotai Treace,
Complaining
For some unfortunate reason,
complaining, rejecting or fearing something strengthens your sense of ego and makes you feel important.
You contract back into your small and false self
and from there, unfortunately, it becomes harder and harder to reemerge
Richard Rohr, The Naked Now
Mindfulbalance 