I think 99 times and find nothing.
I stop thinking,
swim in silence,
and the truth comes to me.
Albert Einstein
Category: Be fully present
Pause and notice
In parting, I would like to give you one small piece of advice to keep in your heart. You may have heard me say this before, but it is the key point of the entire path, so it bears repeating: All that we are looking for in life — all the happiness, contentment, and peace of mind — is right here in the present moment. Our very own awareness is itself fundamentally pure and good. The only problem is that we get so caught up in the ups and downs of life that we don’t take the time to pause and notice what we already have.
Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, from Farewell letter before beginning a period of extended solitary retreat in 2011
photo benson kua
Now is the only time
Now is the only time. How we relate to it creates the future. In other words, if we’re going to be more cheerful in the future, it’s because of our aspiration and exertion to be cheerful in the present. What we do accumulates; the future is the result of what we do right now.
Pema Chodron
Clear mind
Clear mind is like the full moon in the sky. Sometimes clouds come and cover it, but the moon is always behind them. Clouds go away, then the moon shines brightly. So don’t worry about clear mind: it is always there. When thinking comes, behind it is clear mind. When thinking goes, there is only clear mind. Thinking comes and goes, comes and goes, You must not be attached to the coming or the going.
Seung Sahn, 1927 – 2004
photo AnRo0002
Sunday Quote: Beauty
Nothing here below is profane
for those who know how to see.
Teilhard de Chardin, Jesuit priest and philosopher, The Divine Milieu, p.69
Relating to ourselves and others
Although Rogers is talking about external relationships, this is the essence of mindfulness practice – simply relating to each moment, including difficult ones, without trying to change them or fix them:
In my early years I was asking the question: How can I treat, or cure, or change this person? Now I would phrase the question in this way: How can I provide a relationship which this person may use for his own personal growth?
Carl Rogers
