The range of what we think and do is limited by what we fail to notice.
And because we fail to notice that we fail to notice there is little we can do to change
until we notice how failing to notice shapes our thoughts and deeds.
R.D. Laing
Tag: Be fully present
Just being fully present
Here it is – right now.
Start thinking about it and you miss it.
Huang Po, Chinese Zen Master, died 850
Where we learn
A nice reminder from Charlotte Joko Beck that we do not have to look far for things to practice with. Might be pleased to have a mosquito considering the cold rain showers we are having in Ireland.
Life always gives us exactly the teacher we need
at every moment.
This includes every mosquito,
every misfortune,
every red light,
every traffic jam,
every obnoxious supervisor (or employee),
every illness, every loss,
every moment of joy or depression,
every addiction,
every piece of garbage,
every breath.
Every moment is the guru.
Charlotte Joko Beck
photo abenteurer morane
Always labelling
When we taste something, what is the ‘realness’ of it? We can say, ‘It tastes nice’ but this is what we think about it, not what the taste is. We can say, ‘It’s a grape’, but that’s a designation, a perception, isn’t it? What is the actual taste? We say, ‘It’s sweet’, but ‘sweet’ is a judgment, isn’t it? We come to understand that the reality of it is indefinable, and that for most of our life we are operating at the level of interpretations and classifications, of secondary experiences, rather than living the actuality of it.
Ajahn Sucitto, Gnosis and Non-Dualism
Nothing to become
Mindfulness provides a simple but powerful route for getting ourselves unstuck, back in touch with our own wisdom and vitality. The most important point is to be really yourself and not try to become anything that you are not already.…. being in touch with your deepest nature, and letting it flow out of you unimpeded.
Jon Kabat-Zinn, Mindfulness Meditation for Everyday Life
…but noticing blessings
Beannachtai na Féile Padraig oraibh go léir!
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day (literally “The Blessings of St Patrick’s Day be with you all”)
The word “blessing” is related in English to the word “blood.” Blessing is like the spiritual bloodstream that flows through the universe. When we bless something we are returning what we have received to its source. We know we receive life and breath from a source which is beyond us. We haven’t bought it or earned it. We are just put here and life comes to us from some mysterious source, and we can give it back. That is like the blood coming from the heart and going back to the heart. That blood keeps on flowing and if we tune in to the bloodstream of blessing the world comes alive. The same thing happens if we cut off the bloodstream or drain the sap from a tree; life withers.
The gifts or blessings of life are always there but if we are not aware of them, they don’t do much for us. That is where gratefulness comes in. Gratefulness makes us aware of the gift and makes us happy. As long as we take things for granted they don’t make us happy. Gratefulness is the key to happiness.
David Steindl-Rast.
