I wish to draw attention to the following problem:
the idea of happiness presupposes that at present we are unhappy.
Kosho Uchiyama Roshi, Sōtō Zen monk, 1812 – 1998
not in the future
Tag: Mindfulness
the most important
In an age of speed, I began to think, nothing could be more invigorating than going slow.
In an age of distraction, nothing could feel more luxurious than paying attention.
And in an age of constant movement, nothing is more urgent than sitting still.
Pico Iyer, The Art of Stillness
a reminder for the new month
Just as a mirror remains clear and undisturbed regardless of the reflections it holds, so awareness remains pure and unaffected by the ever-changing flow of thoughts, sensations, and perceptions.
To seek happiness in experience is to overlook the happiness that we are – the peace of our own being, prior to all objects.
Rupert Spira, You Are the Happiness You Seek
an experience of stillness
Just for today claim a window of time – even ten minutes is enough to begin – and rest into an experience of stillness.
Connect gently with your breath, breathing in the life-sustaining breath of the spirit, breathing out and releasing whatever distracts us from this moment. As thoughts or anxieties arise, gently release them and return to this moment. The invitation is toward both an outer and inner silence. Notice the way silence nourishes you and consider ways to give yourself this gift each day.
Christine Valters Paintner, Benedictine oblate, spiritual director, and author, The Soul’s Slow Ripening: 12 Celtic Practices for Seeking the Sacred
all forms of fear
Unease, anxiety, tension, stress, worry – all forms of fear – are caused by too much future, and not enough presence.
Guilt, regret, resentment, grievances, sadness, bitterness, and all forms of non-forgiveness are caused by too much past, and not enough presence.
Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment
Loosen the grip
Psychoanalysis, at its best, doesn’t give us answers but loosens the grip of the questions we’re obsessed with.
Sometimes the most liberating thing is to realize that we don’t need to know why we are the way we are –
we just need to live more freely with the uncertainty.
Adam Phillips, British psychoanalytic psychotherapist and essayist, Going Sane
Mindfulbalance 