Tag: heart

Seeing all we have

Karl DuffyLeave a comment

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It is important to emphasize, in discussing meditation … that you shouldn’t start out with some idea of gaining. This is the deepest paradox in all of meditation: we want to get somewhere—we wouldn’t have taken up the practice if we didn’t — but the way to get there is just to be fully here. The way to get from point A to point B is really to be at A. When we follow the breathing in the hope of becoming something better, we are compromising our connection to the present, which is all we ever have. If your breathing is shallow, your mind and body restless, let them be that way, for as long as they need to. Just watch them. The first law  is that everything is constantly changing. No one is saying that the breathing should be some particular way all the time. If you find yourself disappointed with your meditation, there’s a good chance that some idea of gaining is present. See that, and let it go. However your practice seems to you, cherish it just the way it is. You may think that you want it to change, but that act of acceptance is in itself a major change.

Larry Rosenberg, The Art of Doing Nothing

photo griff le riff

The secret of living fully

Karl Duffy2 Comments

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A man sees in the world

what he carries in his heart.

Goethe, Faust

It is only with the heart that one can see rightly;

what is essential is invisible to the eye.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

photo zuliannyGM

Wanting more

Karl Duffy1 Comment

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So, how can we achieve inner contentment? There are two methods. One method is to obtain everything that we want and desire – all the money, houses, and cars; the perfect mate; and the perfect body. The Dalai Lama has already pointed out the disadvantage of this approach; if our wants and desires remain unchecked, sooner or later we will run up against something that we want but can’t have. The second, and more reliable, method is not to have what we want but rather to want and appreciate what we have.

        The Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler, The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living

photo of Black Friday 2013 by powhusku

Accepting each moment

Karl Duffy1 Comment

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All things, the grass as well as the trees,
are tender and soft while alive
When dead, they are withered and dried.

Therefore the stiff and the rigid are companions of death
The gentle and the kind are the companions of life

Lao Tzu

photo Francisco Javier Epinoza Pérez

Living with our fears

Karl Duffy2 Comments

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A quote from the –  always thought-provoking – teaching of Thich Nhat Hanh,  who is in hospital having suffered a brain hemorrhage a few days ago,  in response to the request from his community for our thoughts and support. It suggests a way of working with whatever frightens us – illness, not knowing, demands in work and life that seem too challenging, our own sense of not being good enough:

The first part of looking at our fear is just inviting it into our awareness without judgment. We just acknowledge gently that it is there. This brings a lot of relief already. Then, once our fear has calmed down, we can embrace it tenderly and look deeply into its roots, its sources. Understanding the origins of our anxieties and fears will help us let go of them. Is our fear coming from something that is happening right now or is it an old fear, a fear from when we were small that we’ve kept inside? When we practice inviting all our fears up, we become aware that we are still alive, that we still have many things to treasure and enjoy. If we are not pushing down and managing our fear, we can enjoy the sunshine, the fog, the air, and the water. If you can look deep into your fear and have a clear vision of it, then you really can live a life that is worthwhile.

photo oyvind holmstad

Strong back, Soft front

Karl Duffy2 Comments

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Roshi Joan Halifax developed this practice in relation to her work with the dying, but I think it can apply in any workplace.  In meditation practice we develop our capacity to sit still, settle into, and be held up by, the body, rather than our habitual relating to life from just our thinking mind. The strength of the spine allows us to support ourselves. We can then carry this supported sense into whatever our workday brings, keeping an open, soft, welcome for whatever each moment brings. Whenever something challenging is encountered, we can remind ourself of our inner strength by quietly saying to ourselves, “Strong back”. Rather than retreating into a position of defensiveness or fear, we open to things as they are:

All too often our so-called strength comes from fear not love; instead of having a strong back, many of us have a defended front shielding a weak spine. In other words, we walk around brittle and defensive, trying to conceal our lack of confidence. If we strengthen our backs, metaphorically speaking, and develop a spine that’s flexible but sturdy, then we can risk having a front that’s soft and open, representing choiceless compassion. The place in your body where these two meet – strong back and soft front – is the brave, tender ground in which to root our caring deeply.

Joan Halifax