Category: Be fully present

Not grasping

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Some things may not be grasped in the moment they are happening. They are  in motion, and thus cannot be fully clear. Things are continually changing, even from minute  to minute. Our main practice is to try to be aware of each breath and each moment, as if it is fresh, without seeing it with preconceived eyes. A second aspect is to say “Don’t know” frequently, and allow events develop, without placing immediate judgmental labels as to whether they are “good” or “bad”
The past mind is unattainable’; the present mind is unattainable; the future mind is unattainable
The Diamond Sutra

Don’t put names

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Words

We rarely take a breath without making a judgment.

Don’t mistake naming for knowing.

Ezra Bayda, Saying Yes to Life

Part of the path

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Our habitual patterns are, of course, well established, seductive, and comforting. Just wishing for them to be ventilated isn’t enough. Mindfulness and awareness are key. Do we see the stories that we’re telling ourselves and question their validity? When we are distracted by a strong emotion, do we remember that it is part of our path? Can we feel the emotion and breathe it into our hearts for ourselves and everyone else? If we can remember to experiment like this even occasionally, we are training as a warrior. And when we can’t practice when distracted but know that we can’t, we are still training well.

Pema Chodron

photo calle eklund

Each moment is complete

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washing day 

Treat every moment as your last.

It is not preparation for something else

Shunryu Suzuki

Sunday Quote: Eyes to see

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Life’s face is never the same
though we may look at it for all eternity.

Kolbein Falkeid, Norwegian poet, 1933 –

photo paula rey

Windy weather

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It has been very windy the past few days,  here in Ireland and across the water in England causing coastal surges and flooding.  The wind blowing through is another commonly used metaphor for thoughts –  how to let them pass without believing their content – and for the stillness of a mind that can hold all things in awareness:

One windy day two monks were arguing about a flapping banner. The first said, “I say the banner is moving, not the wind.” The second said, “I say the wind is moving, not the banner.” A third monk passed by and said, “The wind is not moving. The banner is not moving. Your minds are moving.”

Raymond Kurzweil, The Singularity is Near

photo henning leweke