impermanence – Page 357 – Mindfulbalance

The secret for a full life

July 23, 2015July 6, 2015 Karl Duffy3 Comments

File:BBGMonarchButterflyWings.jpg

The butterfly counts not months but moments,

and has time enough.

Rabindranath Tagore

Representations and reality

July 17, 2015July 17, 2015 Karl Duffy1 Comment

Consciousness works by making maps, and there is always a gap between our maps and the territory of our lives. A surprise is a landscape feature that was not on my map. Surprises are common and an indication you are alive. Our representations are fragile and based on poor data. The mind assigns value to events, saying, “This is good” and “This is bad,” but the values we give things are usually just arm-waving and scrambling about. The world is truly unpredictable in its consequences and our reactions to events are also unpredictable, even if we have a deep meditation practice.

We can make an ally of surprise. Meditation methods are not intended to make the world predictable, but they provide a space in which we can have our reactions without fighting with ourselves. And in the end, meditation resets the maps and opinions to zero. When we meditate, there is nothing else in the world, and whatever we have is enough.

John Tarrant, 7 Ways to Make the Most of Life’s Surprises.

Always changing

July 6, 2015July 9, 2015 Karl Duffy3 Comments

It is the stubbornness with which we refuse to let what’s growing underneath come through that pains us. It is the fear that nothing is growing underneath that feeds our despair. It is the moment that we cease growing in any direction that is truly deadly.…Imagine if trees never shed their leaves, or if waves never turned over, or if clouds dumped their rain and disappeared. I say this to remind myself as much as you: Little deaths prevent big deaths. What matters most is waiting its turn, underneath all that is expending itself to prepare the way.

Mark Nepo, The Book of Awakening

A finite world

June 30, 2015July 9, 2015 Karl Duffy1 Comment

If to enjoy even an enjoyable present we must have the assurance of a happy future, we are “crying for the moon.” We have no such assurance. The best predictions are still matters of probability rather than certainty, and to the best of our knowledge every one of us is going to suffer and die. If, then, we cannot live happily without an assured future, we are certainly not adapted to living in a finite world where, despite the best plans, accidents will happen, and where death comes at the end.

Alan Watts, The Wisdom of Insecurity

It is more about letting go

June 26, 2015July 9, 2015 Karl Duffy1 Comment

It seems that perfection is attained not when there is nothing more to add,

but when there is nothing more to remove.

(Il semble que la perfection soit atteinte non quand il n’y a plus rien à ajouter,

mais quand il n’y a plus rien à retrancher)

Antoine de Saint Exupéry, Terre des Hommes

photo hiro2006

Sunday Quote: A place for mystery

June 21, 2015June 20, 2015 Karl Duffy1 Comment

On the day of the Summer Solstice and the longest day of the year…

If we ever reach the point where we think we thoroughly understand who we are,

and where we come from,

we will have failed

Carl Sagan, 1934 – 1996 U.S. Astronomer and Cosmologist

About this Blog

Mindfulbalance supports the slow, patient practice of mindfulness meditation, as a way to find balance and meaning in life, reduce stress and develop health and wellbeing. It contains reflections to encourage the practice of meditation as well as occasional posts from psychology, spirituality and the wisdom traditions. The daily posts are prompted by Rilke's advice: "Write about what your everyday life offers you, your sorrows and desires, the thoughts that pass through your mind, and your belief in some kind of beauty". Written in County Laois, Ireland