Tag: Life

Being woken up

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springbudsIt seems to me that almost all our sadnesses are moments of tension, which we feel as paralysis because we no longer hear our astonished emotions living. Because we are alone with the unfamiliar presence that has entered us; because everything we trust and are used to is for a moment taken away from us; because we stand in the midst of a transition where we cannot remain standing. That is why the sadness passes: the new presence inside us, the presence that has been added, has entered our heart, has gone into its innermost chamber and is no longer even there, is already in our bloodstream.

Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet

Perspective and wisdom

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The objective of science is life, and the objective of wisdom is death.

Science says: ‘We must live,’ and seeks the means of prolonging, increasing, facilitating and amplifying life, of making it tolerable and acceptable; wisdom says: ‘We must die,’ and seeks methods that prepare us to die well.”

Miguel de Unamuno, Spanish Poet, novelist, and playwright, 1864 – 1936

Sunday quote: Beyond words

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blue camas 2

We have reduced our way of speaking about mystery to rational explanations;

but …… mystery enters through the heart.

Pope Francis address to Brazilian bishops, 27 July 2013

…no ideal place

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File:Dún Laoghaire PD Dún Laoghaire, Ireland, Dublin. Sea Cloud.jpg

The Spiritual  journey is not about finally getting to a place that’s really swell. Thinking that we can find some lasting pleasure is what in Buddhism is called samsara, a cycle that goes round endlessly and causes us to suffer greatly…. Instead,  this very moment is the perfect teacher, and lucky for us, it’s with us wherever we are. However, most of us do not take these situations as teachings. We run like crazy. We use all kinds of ways to escape. There are so many ways that have been dreamt up to get us away from this moment, to soften its hard edge, deaden it so that we do not have to feel the full impact of the pain that arises when we cannot manipulate the situation to make us come out looking fine.

Pema Chodron, When Things fall apart.

Photo of Dun Laoghaire Harbour, Co. Dublin

Never really arriving…..

Karl Duffy7 Comments

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Things falling apart is a kind of testing and also a kind of healing. We think that the point is to pass the test or to overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It’s just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy.

Pema Chodron

Richness of life

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colours

Practice will not eliminate negative emotions. Emotions are part of the palette of life, part of the way consciousness moves. Not only can’t you get rid of them, but you’d feel empty and impoverished if you did. Practice can change your relationship to emotions, so that instead of being swamped by certain feeling states, you can hold them, contain them, see into their essence, and ultimately, use emotions in the service of your liberation.

Sally Kempton