On staying open today

assisi cloisterA lot of the time we practice with what we don’t know, rather than what we do. Some situations in life, or in our day, are not clear. Our practice is to hold open a space, not rushing the answer, allowing the situation or the person to go through the necessary process at its own pace.

The quest for certainty blocks the search for meaning.
Uncertainty is the very condition to impel man to unfold his powers.

 Erich Fromm

Bare awareness

Looking Outside

If everything is noted, all your emotional difficulties will disappear.

When you feel happy, don’t get involved with your happiness.

And when you feel sad, don’t get involved with it.

Whatever comes, don’t worry. Just be aware of it.

Dipa Ma, Knee Deep in Grace

More on being kind to ourselves

acceptWhen we apply the instruction to be soft and nonjudgmental to whatever we see at this very moment, the embarrassing reflection in the mirror becomes our friend. We soften further and lighten up more, because we know it’s the only way we can continue to work with others and be of any benefit in the world. This is the beginning of growing up.

Pema Chodron, Comfortable with Uncertainty

Exploring new areas

thresholdIn Celtic folk tales a curse that could happen to a person was to get stuck in a field and not be able to get back out of it, to be stuck in that place for ever. It was seen as a definite curse to be unable to venture or to change. We all know this experience in some small way; we all get ourselves stuck in routines and habits that act like shackles. We all refuse to open our eyes to the vision that is before us; too often we select what we hear and what we respond to. The open gate is the opposite of this. It is the invitation to adventure and to grow, the call to be among the living and vital elements of the world. The open gate is the call to explore new areas of yourself and the world around you. It is a challenge to come and discover that the world and ourselves are filled with mystery …. The open gate is the choice that  is always … before us.  It is a sign of the opportunity that is ours.

David Adam, The Open Gate

Training the mind

30481195_e1fd7690bbListening to your own heart is really very interesting. This untrained heart races around following its own habits. It jumps about excitedly, randomly, because it has never been trained. Train your heart!…Meditation is about the heart; it’s about developing the heart or mind, about developing your own heart. This is very, very important.

Ajahn Chah, Food for the Heart

Sunday Quote: A Project for the New Year

 

The snow goose need not bathe to make itself white.

Neither need you do anything but be yourself.

Lao Tzu