In this very breath that we take now
lies the secret that all great teachers try to tell us.
Peter Matthiessen
Tag: Stress Reduction
At ease with the energy
So the intelligent way of working with emotions is to try to relate with their basic substance, the abstract quality of the emotions, so to speak. The basic “isness” quality of the emotions, the fundamental nature of the emotions, is just energy. And if one is able to relate with energy, then the energies have no conflict with you. They become a natural process
Chogyam Trungpa, The Myth of Freedom and the Way of Meditation
Don’t put names
We rarely take a breath without making a judgment.
Don’t mistake naming for knowing.
Ezra Bayda, Saying Yes to Life
Part of the path
Our habitual patterns are, of course, well established, seductive, and comforting. Just wishing for them to be ventilated isn’t enough. Mindfulness and awareness are key. Do we see the stories that we’re telling ourselves and question their validity? When we are distracted by a strong emotion, do we remember that it is part of our path? Can we feel the emotion and breathe it into our hearts for ourselves and everyone else? If we can remember to experiment like this even occasionally, we are training as a warrior. And when we can’t practice when distracted but know that we can’t, we are still training well.
Pema Chodron
photo calle eklund
Windy weather
It has been very windy the past few days, here in Ireland and across the water in England causing coastal surges and flooding. The wind blowing through is another commonly used metaphor for thoughts – how to let them pass without believing their content – and for the stillness of a mind that can hold all things in awareness:
One windy day two monks were arguing about a flapping banner. The first said, “I say the banner is moving, not the wind.” The second said, “I say the wind is moving, not the banner.” A third monk passed by and said, “The wind is not moving. The banner is not moving. Your minds are moving.”
Raymond Kurzweil, The Singularity is Near
photo henning leweke
Passing by
The towns and the countryside that the traveler sees through a train window does not slow down the train, nor does the train affect them. Neither disturbs the other. This is how to should see the thoughts that pass through your mind when you meditate.
Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
photo miguel pires da rosa
Mindfulbalance 