Meditation is like a mirror or coin with two sides.
Facing out is letting go
and facing in is compassion.
Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje
photo of old Irish Three penny coin.
Tag: Life
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.
Sunday Quote: Home
Your body is your first home:
“Breathing in, I arrive in my body.
Breathing out, I am home.”
Thich Nhat Hahn
Time simply for ourselves
One reason we do sitting meditation is to strengthen our capacity to be with ourselves. It is a profound act of gentleness, because we allow ourselves to simply be, without any need to achieve or do. The weekend allows us a little more time to cultivate this space in our lives, through winding down, walking in nature, creating some area for “Non-doing”. This is a key to happiness, growth and to real relationships with others.
No other person will completely feel like we do, think like we do, act like we do. Each of us is unique, and our aloneness is the other side of our uniqueness. The question is whether we let our aloneness become loneliness or whether we allow it to lead us into solitude. Loneliness is painful; solitude is peaceful. Loneliness makes us cling to others in desperation; solitude allows us to respect others in their uniqueness and create community.
Henri Nouwen.
photo simon speed
