Meditation – Page 564 – Mindfulbalance

The wonder of this day

January 28, 2017January 31, 2017 Karl DuffyLeave a comment

All that is eternal in me
Welcomes the wonder of this day,
The field of brightness it creates
Offering time for each thing
To arise and illuminate.

May my mind come alive today
To the invisible geography
That invites me to new frontiers,
To break the dead shells of yesterdays,
To risk being disturbed and changed.

May I have the courage today
To live the life I would love,
To postpone my dream no longer
But do at last what I came here for
And waste my heart on fear no more.

John O’Donohue, Morning Prayer

Small things

January 27, 2017January 30, 2017 Karl Duffy2 Comments

Whenever I stopped long enough to reflect on such questions as “Why am I here?” and “What is my purpose?” the answer seemed pretty clear. I actually found it long ago in some lines by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, words I’ve quoted often because they’ve served me so well as a kind of north star, timeless wisdom by which to navigate:

“Ours is not the task

of fixing the whole world at once

but of stretching out to mend

the part of the world that is within our reach”

Katrina Kenison, Mending the world

Being aware of our patterns

January 26, 2017January 30, 2017 Karl Duffy1 Comment

One reason we strengthen our awareness in meditation is to see more clearly the patterns laid down in our childhood, how we believe these to be our personality and the limiting stories which they often tell us about our abilities.

According to neuroscience, even before events happen the brain has already made a prediction about what is most likely to happen, and sets in motion the perception, behaviors, emotions, physiologic responses and interpersonal ways of relating that best fit with what is predicted. In a sense, we learn from the past what to predict for the future and then live the future we expect.

Regina Pally, The Predicting Brain

photo MarcCooperUK

Keep starting over

January 25, 2017January 25, 2017 Karl Duffy3 Comments

Research by Carol Dweck at Stanford University says that it is better if we develop a “growth mindset” which sees challenges and mistakes as opportunities to grow and does not give up when things go wrong. A learning organization is one that is prepared to make mistakes. And, as someone said to me yesterday, even the challenge of a person’s mood can be an occasion to learn:

If I had a message to my contemporaries it is surely this: Be anything you like…. but at all costs avoid one thing: success . . .

If you are too obsessed with success, you will forget to live.

If you have learned only how to be a success,

your life has probably been wasted

Thomas Merton

photo: cc-by-2.5

The life that’s waiting

January 24, 2017January 23, 2017 Karl DuffyLeave a comment

We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned,

so as to have the life that is waiting for us.

Joseph Campbell

Doors

January 23, 2017January 19, 2017 Karl Duffy1 Comment

Close some doors today.

Not because of pride, incapacity or arrogance,

but simply because they lead you nowhere

Paulo Coelho.

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