Our humble way… is to root ourselves –
beneath the thousand dreams and excuses
that keep us from the ground we walk.
Mark Nepo.
Category: Be fully present
Beneath all the effort
What are we when there is no one doing anything, no one attaining anything, no place to go?
There “is” no place to go.
The whole foundation is already here in each one of us.
It is the same in all of us.
There is only one foundation, which is presence, wholeness, boundless love.
Toni Packer, The Wonder of Presence: And the Way of Meditative Inquiry
The wisest choice
Yesterday’s clarity is today’s stupidity
The universe has dark and light,
Entrust oneself to change.
Ikkyu, 1394 -1481, Japanese Zen Buddhist priest
Why awareness is good
Watching the show, without getting swept up in it, leads to greater peace of mind
Life does not consist mainly – or even largely – of facts and happenings.
It consists mainly of the storm of thoughts that is forever blowing through one’s head.
Mark Twain
Knowing in a new way
Wisdom is not the gathering of more facts and information, as if that would eventually coalesce into truth.
Wisdom is precisely a different way of seeing and knowing the “ten thousand things” in a new way.
I suggest that wisdom is precisely the freedom to be truly present to what is right in front of you. Presence is wisdom! People who are fully present know how to see fully, rightly, and truthfully. Presence is the one thing necessary for wisdom, and in many ways, it is the hardest thing of all. Just try to keep 1) your heart space open, 2) your mind without division or resistance, and 3) your body not somewhere else — and all at the same time!
Most religions just decided it was easier to believe doctrines and obey often-arbitrary laws than the truly converting work of being present. Those who can be present will know what they need to know, and in a wisdom way.
Richard Rohr, The Naked Now, Learning to See as the Mystics See
Rest
In the rhythm of the Christian Tradition, Holy Saturday was a day of waiting, of bare church decoration, of things pared down and distractions minimized.
Wait without thought, for you are not ready for thought. T. S. Eliot
Wise intention and skillful service need to be nourished by periods of quiet and prayer. Every great tradition includes some from of the Sabbath. In the West we inherited the blessing of the Christian and Jewish Sabbath. Muslims have Friday as their holy day, and likewise Hindus and Buddhists renew their vows of simplicity on full moon, new moon, and quarter moon days. When I was young, Massachusetts had Sabbath “Blue Laws” requiring all forms of business to stop on Sundays. But now, one generation later, we have twenty-four-hour supermarkets and twenty-four-hour banking, seven days a week; our consumer society has claimed the right to operate without constraint. This is a recipe for burnout.
Jack Kornfield, After the Ecstasy, the Laundry: How the heart grows wise on the Spiritual Path
Mindfulbalance 