I was in a clothing store lately trying to find a simple business like blouse to go with some black pants. Most of my clothes are in storage and are far away. It isn't easy finding something that fits now. I have one waist that is higher than the other and one buttock that is non-existent. Now that I have gained some weight there is a midriff bulge that shows through anything that clings to me.
I did manage to find a crisp white cotton blouse that I don't have to tuck in for $9.99 at Ross. There was a large line of people and only two women at the cashier station. I surveyed the situation and wondered if I could stand that long. I thought I would go for it and I stood patiently and watched as the tension in the lines got stronger and the pain in my leg got stronger. I tried to balance on one leg for some relief -trying not to think about just leaving. It reminded me of the many times when sitting in meditation retreats for so long, the discomfort with just being present becomes almost too much to bear-- but you stay. And so I stayed.
As I drew closer to the cashier, she stopped and asked a group of women by the door if she could see their receipt before they left. The women looked shocked and indignant and said they already showed their receipt (which they did not). Then they bolted through the door with the goods. The two cashiers looked helplessly at each other as they couldn't leave the cash registers and two long lines of people watched as these women took advantage of the situation in order to steal.
This was a common tactic in Noe Valley where I used to live. A group of young adults would enter a store and one would cause a scene to distract the business owner while the others grabbed as much as they could and ran out with it.
Everywhere I go there seems to be a shortage of workers--- restaurants, retailers, cafes, etc.
Most of these places pay minimum wage. But minimum wage isn't good enough to live in the Bay Area or most of America. This makes a lot of businesses vulnerable to theft. I am glad that after 10 years of no increases, the minimum wage was raised to $7.25. It's a start. Will that hurt the profits of Ross, Starbucks, etc.? You bet it will. But will it help the millions of Americans that can't make ends meet on minimum wage- You can bet it will.
According to the most recent survey on hunger and homelessness conducted by the United States Conference of Mayors, 40% of adults requesting emergency food assistance were employed.
Which is more important? Profit or Social improvement.
The house was new, big, and beautiful. But I knew it was a change from the even larger home out in the country that he was used to. Change is uncomfortable for everyone. I tried to make note of the positive things for him- less commute to work, lower maintenance, etc. I also admired how everything on the east coast was so spacious. The Bay Area is so crowded with people, small living quarters and very expensive.
“It’s all relative,” he said as we finish loading the dishwasher. The others had left and we had cleared the dinner table. I wanted to finish by hand washing the crystal but I could tell my host was exhausted and I, too, was losing energy.
We plopped ourselves on the couch. “I feel so claustrophobic,” he continued speaking; his voice labored by the Parkinsons. “Í used to look out the window at the beautiful countryside, and now I look out to another person’s house.”
I looked around at the family room and kitchen that seemed as large a space as a whole city block. Hmmm….. I thought.
Homes have a special connection in our lives. People laugh, love, play, relax and take shelter there. They hold an abundance of memories and emotions. It is the most cherished object and prized investment that I have seen in my practice. Yet like any thing that is held on too close, it can go from beautiful home to a dangerous prison. I have experienced people living in lavish homes by themselves who cannot afford to pay for the heating bills. I have experienced couples staying in country homes lonely and anxious because they are far from an active community.
I watched my friend struggle to get up the stairs of his new home. People stay in their homes way past the time that they should, I observed. But I also know the pain of letting go.
I never had a very solid home. I moved around a lot most of my life. When I did finally buy a home with my spouse, it was fun as we fixed it up with beautiful things that we enjoyed. Yet I hadn’t had that home more than 6 years when this accident happened and I have never seen my home again. By that time, I was well prepared from previous transitions to move on and I have a strange awareness when it is appropriate to let go of living space and move on to something else-whatever that may be.
It is quite humorous to me how east coasters view their environment differently from me.
From my point of view, everything there is large and with big expanses of land between houses and buildings. People, too, have large families, and communities have large pools. Yet, I have heard people say, “look, there is no more land to build on”. While I see a whole condo development that could possibly be built on someone’s front lawn. Ha! Ha! The relative and the absolute is everywhere we go.
Generosity gives rise to abundance, and by insuring that our practice
is complete, we create the right environment to use these resources
constructively. Sometimes when we give, people respond ungratefully. If we
can resist getting upset, we are practicing patience. Giving not out of
a sense of obligation or reluctantly nor with a wish to outdo others
but with joy is the practice of enthusiastic effort. Directing our full
attention to an act of generosity is concentration. Discerning and
understanding what is appropriate to give and what is not, and remembering
that the giver, the act of generosity, and the recipient are all
interdependent and empty of inherent existence are the practice of wisdom.
Including these different factors in our actions will bring many
excellent results such as a good body and mind, the resources we need, a
pleasant appearance, supportive companions, the ability to complete what we
undertake, and the focus not to be distracted by the disturbing
emotions and so forth. This is how to insure that we will enjoy many conducive
conditions in a future human life. On the other hand, our miserliness
or impatience now could make us face many difficult circumstances in the
future.
--from "How Karma Works: The Twelve Links of Dependent Arising" by
Geshe Sonam Rinchen, translated by Ruth Sonam, published by Snow Lion
Publications
The everyday practice is simply to develop a complete acceptance
and openness to all situations and emotions, and to all people,
experiencing everything totally
without mental reservations and blockages,
so that one never withdraws or centralizes onto oneself.
- Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche
Well, we are leaving the New Jersey/New York area, and we have seen everyone we wanted to (except for one) and done everything we set out to do.
More on that later. Here's a quote from Sharon Salzberg, keep it in mind today:
"The quality of kindness gives us the ability to take abstract ideals like compassion, or 'love they neighbor,' and make them authentic and palpable and vibrant each and every day, going to work or going to school or going home, or getting through a situation we would never in a million years have chosen. When we really examine kindness we find it is a deep and abiding understanding of how connected we are. We see that kindness inspires a sense of ethics independent of any religious adherence, which can guide our families, communities, and the world we live in towards realizing greater safety and peace. I think this spirit underlies one of His Holiness the Dalai Lama's most famous quotations: 'My true religion is kindness.' "
An excerpt from The Force of Kindness: Change Your Life with Love & Compassion by Sharon Salzberg
...it is extremely important to look inward and try to promote the
right kind of attitude, which is based on awareness of reality. A sense of
caring for others is crucial. And it is actually the best way of caring
for oneself. ...the moment you think of others, this automatically
opens our inner door--you can communicate with other people easily, without
any difficulties. The moment you think just of yourself and disregard
others, then because of your own attitude, you also get the feeling that
other people also have a similar attitude toward you. That brings
suspicion, fear. Result? You yourself lose inner calmness.
Therefore, I usually say that although a certain kind of selfishness
is basically right--self and the happiness of that self are our original
right, and we have every right to overcome suffering--but selfishness
that leads to no hesitation to harm another, to exploit another, that
kind of selfishness is blind. Therefore, I sometimes jokingly describe it
this way: if we are going to be selfish, we should be wisely selfish
rather than foolishly selfish.
I feel that the moment you adopt a sense of caring for others, that
brings inner strength. Inner strength brings us inner tranquility, more
self-confidence. Through these attitudes, even though your surroundings
may not be friendly or may not be positive, still you can sustain peace
of mind.
--from "The Art of Peace: Nobel Peace Laureates Discuss Human Rights,
Conflict and Reconciliation" by the Dalai Lama and other Nobel
Laureates, edited by Jeffrey Hopkins, published by Snow Lion Publications
I just had to share the above. I read quite a bit even while I am on the road. Right now we are in Memphis, Tennessee. Check us out on our travel blog at http://jlarocca.typepad.com/rvlarocca/
Every single sentient being wishes to be happy and free of suffering.
By no means does Buddhism say this is wrong; rather, this is where we
start from.
The very root of this yearning for happiness, this yearning to be free
of suffering, is the fundamental expression of the buddha-nature. If
for the time being we turn our gaze away from the myriad ways that we can
stray from the agenda--trying to find happiness by buying a more
luxurious car, or a bigger house, or getting a better job--and just come back
to the primary desire of wishing to be happy, we find at the very
source of our yearning for happiness the buddha-nature wanting to realize
itself. It's like a seed that wants to spring into the sunlight.
Sometimes it gets terribly contorted, when we want to injure somebody else for
the sake of our own happiness, but the fundamental yearning is
something to be embraced.
--from "The Four Immeasurables: Cultivating a Boundless Heart" by B.
Alan Wallace, edited by Zara Houshmand, published by Snow Lion
Publications
It was my little niece’s first communion and my first visit to a Christian church in probably –well, many a year. It held all the beauty and fascination that I remember as a child. The pews, the stained glass, the ornate altar and statues and that certain smell. A very similar smell that is in a Buddhist zendo. Part incense and part musk, and part human emotion all wrapped up in a tight little package.
The little girls and boys ( 8 & 9 year olds) went through the motions as they sang, and recited, and prayed. I sat in the pew next to her god parents who reeked of alcohol at 12 noon, and had to smile thinking of all the times I attended church as a teenager high on something or another.
My little niece looked like a cheap K-Mart doll dressed up in an ill-fitting white dress with a hand me down dirty sequined tiara on her head, but her smile lit up the room as she went through this rite of passage. I was happy for her not so much for this event but for her ability to be with her peers and enjoy the moment with them. I know that would not have been possible without the therapy that she has been receiving for a condition known as Aspergers Syndrome.
Then there is the reception. A get together of adults and TV, food and cocktails and kids running amok. A general scene of chaos. How different, I thought, of how my experience was when I was growing up. Family and guests would gather around and I would read each card aloud, and open the gift, and look at the giver and say thank you (no matter what the gift was) and smile. Here the children were ignored and they ripped open cards and presents and no one knew what came from who and no one cared. After all it's not about the gifts on a day like this, is it?
In general, by the term “dharma practitioner” we mean a person who is able to handle all kinds of circumstances, both good and bad,
one who can take even the worst experiences as catalysts to help further progress in his or her practice.
The circumstances in which we find ourselves should actually clarify our practice, our experiences, and our realization, and we should be able to understand all situations , both favorable and unfavorable, as teachings on the path.
from The Wish Fulfilling Jewel by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
I am not a big poetry fan, but I was quite touched when I heard a poem spoke recited aloud by my friend, Alice. It was by Mary Oliver and since then I have heard a lot of people are big fans of hers. Count me as one, too. This is a favorite-
Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean-
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
The one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
Inspiration for the upcoming week:
The essence of it is to let yourself see how much clinging to how you want your life to be is nothing more than a process of self-torture. Drop it, and allow yourself to fall openly and unguardedly in love with your life as it is and everything in it.
quote from the book, Heal Thy Self.
“Never regard study as a duty, but as the enviable opportunity to learn to know the liberating influence of beauty in the realm of the spirit for your own personal joy and to the profit of the community to which your later work belongs. Albert Einstein
Do you think Einstein was a Buddhist??
A human being is part of a whole, called by us the Universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.
Albert Einstein quote (German born American Physicist who developed the special and general theories of relativity. Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921. 1879-1955)
How would we feel if one of our children was overpowered by a serious
disease and did some terrible things without knowing what he or she was
doing? We should try to view someone dear who suddenly hurts us in the
same light. If we can see that person is out of control and sick with
negative emotions, we will not feel so much hatred and disgust. There
may be resentment, and we may not be able to love that person more than
before, but almost automatically there will be a certain sympathy that
will lessen or end our hatred and allow us to forgive.
-- from "Daring Steps Toward Fearlessness: The Three Vehicles of
Buddhism" by Ringu Tulku Rinpoche, edited and translated by Rosemarie Fuchs,
published by Snow Lion Publications
Thank you, Jeff, for this reminder-
For us to survive on the spiritual path, there are many challenges to face, and there is much to learn. We have to discover how to deal with obstacles and difficulties; how to process doubts and see through wrong views; how to inspire ourselves when we least feel like it; how to understand ourselves and our moods; how really to work with and integrate the teachings and practices; how to evoke compassion and enact it in life; and how to transform our suffering and emotions.
On the spiritual path, all of us need the support and the good foundation that come from really knowing the teachings, and this cannot be stressed strongly enough. For the more we study and practice, the more we shall embody discernment, clarity, and insight. Then, when the truth comes knocking, we will know it, with certainty, for what it is, and gladly open the door, because we’ll have guessed that it may well be the truth of who we really are.
--
--
Jeff Rubin
Managing Partner
The Usability Group, LLC
Atlanta - New York/New Jersey
I only want to meditate, I thought, when I went to my first all day sitting at a zen center. But there wasn't just sitting, there was chanting, work practice, walking meditation, and oryoki meals. It took me many years to come to appreciate the full practice and embrace it. Chanting was the worst. I never liked my voice. Earlier when I would hear my voice on my answering machine, I would cringe at the slowness of my words; part of a leftover southern drawl. Now when I hear myself on a taped teleclass that I teach, I hear a voice of umms, likes, and cliches- oh, so California now.
In a large zendo your voice blends with others as you chant, either slowly or quickly. Here in my own apartment by myself, there was just one voice chanting, and as awkward as that my seem, it was quite refreshing, (although I had a hard time quieting my inner critic).
We have the ability and the responsibility to choose to direct our
actions on a virtuous path.
When we weigh a particular act, to determine whether it is moral or
spiritual, our criterion should be the quality of our motivation. When
someone deliberately makes a resolution not to steal, if he or she is
simply motivated by the fear of getting caught and being punished by the
law, it is doubtful whether engaging in that resolution is a moral act,
since moral considerations have not dictated his or her choice.
In another instance, the resolution not to steal may be motivated by
fear of public opinion: "What would my friends and neighbors think? All
would scorn me. I would become an outcast." Though the act of making a
resolution may be positive, whether it is a moral act is again doubtful.
Now, the same resolution may be taken with the thought "If I steal, I
am acting against the divine law of God." Someone else may think,
"Stealing is nonvirtuous; it causes others to suffer." When such
considerations motivate one, the resolution is moral or ethical; it is also
spiritual. In the practice of Buddha's doctrine, if your underlying
consideration in avoiding a nonvirtuous act is that it would thwart your
attainment of a state transcending sorrow, such restraint is a moral act.
-- by the Dalai Lama, edited by Nicholas Vreeland, from "An Open Heart:
Practicing Compassion in Everyday Life"
"Do not search for the truth; only cease to cherish opinions."
- from the third Zen patriarch
Luminosity is the sense of celebration that comes with the sense of
humor.
Humor and celebration are indivisible at this point: celebration means
sense
of humor. Celebration means a sense of delightfulness, an uplifting
quality.
We could use all sorts of jargon, but fundamentally speaking,
celebration is
a sense of earth, actually celebrating the earth, and a sense of earth
and
space making love together. Humor comes from space, or sky, and earth
is the
celebration. When the earth begins to celebrate, space begins to make
love
to the earth -- that's the meeting point of earth and space....Earth
blossoms and sky begins to pay attention to it. Sky begins to shine all
kinds of light over the earth and accommodate it with its space to grow
flowers or trees, to maintain rocks, waterfalls, skyscrapers, and
highways
-- whatever we have on this earth. We don't have to be particularly
romantic
about it. We're not just talking about nature, we're talking about
reality.
-Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche
“Living in such challenging times, many of us are moved to respond to our circumstances with greater compassion and equanimity. We can cultivate these qualities by working gently yet precisely with our emotions and our state of mind.”
- Pema Chödrön
I am grateful to Noah and Joanne who came to visit me with the Pema Chodron and Jack Kornfield video of them being interviewed by Michael Krasny at the Nob Hill Auditorium. It was wonderful to see two great teachers talk and answer questions from the audience.
May all beings experience happiness and the root of happiness!
Concern for others to be happy and compassion wishing them to be free
from suffering are needed not only as the basis for a bodhichitta
motivation for mahamudra* practice, but also for keeping that practice on
course to its intended goal. When we have changed our focus in life from
the contents of our experience to the process of experience, there is
great danger of becoming fixated on mind itself. This is because the
direct experience of mind itself is totally blissful - in a calm and serene
sense - and entails extraordinary clarity and starkness. Concern for
others is one of the strongest forces that brings us back down to earth
after having been up in the clouds. Although all appearances exist as a
function of mind, other beings do not exist merely in our head. Their
suffering is real and it hurts them just as much as ours hurts us.
Furthermore, to be concerned about someone does not mean to be
frantically worried about this person. If we are fixated on our child's
problems at school, for example, we lose sight that whatever appearance of the
problems our mind gives rise to is a function of mind. Believing the
appearance to be the solid reality "out there," we again feel hopeless to
do anything and thus become extremely anxious and tense. We worry to
the point of becoming sick and we over-react toward our child, which does
not help. If we focus instead on the process of mind that gives rise to
our perception of the problem as if it existed as some horrible monster
"out there," we do not eliminate our concern for our child, only our
worry. This allows us to take whatever clear and calm action is necessary
to alleviate the problem, Thus not only is compassion necessary for
successful practice of mahamudra, but mahamudra realization is necessary
for successful practice of compassion.
* "Mahamudra" is a Sanskrit word meaning "great seal" and refers to the
nature of all phenomena. Mahamudra also refers to sophisticated
Buddhist systems of meditation and practice to realize this great sealing
nature.
-- by His Holiness the Dalai Lama from "The Gelug/Kagyu Tradition of
Mahamudra," published by Snow Lion Publications
"Mind is fickle and objects are seductive, it is said. The Buddha told us not to be that way. Don't chase after one object, then another, then a third. That pursuit is not your real home, your real mother"
Tsoknyi Rinpoche
My husband and I were invited to speak at the 18th annual Stanford Trauma Symposium on July 26th at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Cabana in Palo Alto. I look forward to it because I feel like I have a lot of constructive criticism as well as praise for them.
But enough of me, I will do tonglen for my good friend, Joseph, who suffered a heart attack last week and is recovering and is also due for a kidney transplant. I will also do tonglen for all those who are suffering.
See how to practice Tonglen by Pema Chodron below:
THE PRACTICE OF TONGLEN
Transforming Confusion into Wisdom
City Retreat | Berkeley Shambhala Center
Fall 1999
In order to have compassion for others, we have to have compassion for ourselves.
In particular, to care about other people who are fearful, angry, jealous, overpowered by addictions of all kinds, arrogant, proud, miserly, selfish, mean —you name it— to have compassion and to care for these people, means not to run from the pain of finding these things in ourselves. In fact, one's whole attitude toward pain can change. Instead of fending it off and hiding from it, one could open one's heart and allow oneself to feel that pain, feel it as something that will soften and purify us and make us far more loving and kind.
The tonglen practice is a method for connecting with suffering —ours and that which is all around us— everywhere we go. It is a method for overcoming fear of suffering and for dissolving the tightness of our heart. Primarily it is a method for awakening the compassion that is inherent in all of us, no matter how cruel or cold we might seem
to be.
We begin the practice by taking on the suffering of a person we know to be hurting and who we wish to help. For instance, if you know of a child who is being hurt, you breathe in the wish to take away all the pain and fear of that child. Then, as you breathe out, you send the child happiness, joy or whatever would relieve their pain. This is the core of the practice: breathing in other's pain so they can be well and have more space to relax and open, and breathing out, sending them relaxation or whatever you feel would bring them relief and happiness. However, we often cannot do this practice because we come face to face with our own fear, our own resistance, anger, or whatever our personal pain, our personal stuckness happens to be at that moment.
At that point you can change the focus and begin to do tonglen for what you are feeling and for millions of others just like you who at that very moment of time are feeling exactly the same stuckness and misery. Maybe you are able to name your pain. You recognize it clearly as terror or revulsion or anger or wanting to get revenge. So you breathe in for all the people who are caught with that same emotion and you send out relief or whatever opens up the space for yourself and all those countless others. Maybe you can't name what you're feeling. But you can feel it —a tightness in the stomach, a heavy darkness or whatever. Just contact what you are feeling and breathe in, take it in —for all of us and send out relief to all of us.
People often say that this practice goes against the grain of how we usually hold ourselves together. Truthfully, this practice does go against the grain of wanting things on our own terms, of wanting it to work out for ourselves no matter what happens to the others. The practice dissolves the armor of self-protection we've tried so hard to create around ourselves. In Buddhist language one would say that it dissolves the fixation and clinging of ego.
Tonglen reverses the usual logic of avoiding suffering and seeking pleasure and, in the process, we become liberated from a very ancient prison of selfishness. We begin to feel love both for ourselves and others and also we being to take care of ourselves and others. It awakens our compassion and it also introduces us to a far larger view of reality. It introduces us to the unlimited spaciousness that Buddhists call shunyata. By doing the practice, we begin to connect with the open dimension of our being. At first we experience this as things not being such a big deal or so solid as they seemed before.
Tonglen can be done for those who are ill, those who are dying or have just died, or for those that are in pain of any kind. It can be done either as a formal meditation practice or right on the spot at any time. For example, if you are out walking and you see someone in pain —right on the spot you can begin to breathe in their pain and send some out some relief. Or, more likely, you might see someone in pain and look away because it brings up your fear or anger; it brings up your resistance and confusion.
So on the spot you can do tonglen for all the people who are just like you, for everyone who wishes to be compassionate but instead is afraid, for everyone who wishes to be brave but instead is a coward.
Rather than beating yourself up, use your own stuckness as a stepping stone to understanding what people are up against all over the world.
Breathe in for all of us and breathe out for all of us.
Use what seems like poison as medicine. Use your personal suffering as the path to compassion for all beings.
My sister-in-law was over one day discussing the various atrocities that she had seen on the news that day. You know the usual- child molestation, political faux pas, consumer rip-offs, etc. Her heart grew heavy as she recited the litany of human suffering but her mind grew angry at the world. There was no talk about the "Basic Goodness" in the world just how awful everything has become.
This morning was no less of an awful news day with what happened in London. I am reminded that suffering and death is not limited to London or the US. I also remembered the following story:
The Mustard Seed
The reputation of Buddha Shakyamuni had spread far and wide. Not only was he renowned as a great, compassionate and fully enlightened human being, but also as a skilled teacher and a miraculous healer who could even bring the dead back to life.
One day, a woman approached him after a teaching begging that he do something to restore her dead child to her. The Buddha listened patiently to her plea and saw how great was her despair. He said to her, "Mother, if you bring me just one mustard seed from any household in which no person has died, then I shall revive your child."
The woman was greatly encouraged by the Teacher's words. She traveled from door to door throughout her own village, but could not find even a single residence in which no one had died. She went out of town, wandering to this hamlet and that in search of the tiny seed that the Buddha had requested. Days later, muddy and footsore, she returned to the place where the Buddha and his followers were passing the rainy season.
She was ushered into the Teacher's presence worn out, but not discouraged. "Master, try as I might, I could not locate the token you requested as an offering. But I have come to understand that death visits every household and eventually, every single one of us. I would like now, to 'enter the stream' and work towards the liberation that the teachings provide."
Every first and third Sundays of the month, I hold a meditation group here in the community center of the condo complex where I live. Sometimes friends from Shambhala Center come, and sometimes people from the condo community come and sometimes, I just sit alone like yesterday.
I am sitting quietly and alone in the room. All doors except one is locked and I have a sign that says meditation in progress from 9:30am to noon. This does not deter a woman with a large cart to start knocking on the window to let her in. When I point to the sign, she reads it and ignores it and uses her own key to come in. She announces that she must water the plants. I announce that meditation is in progress till noon and that she should come back then. She replies that the plants haven't been watered in three weeks and that she must water them. I tell her to please leave and come back when it is appropriate. She ignores me and let's herself in and her cart and starts to water the plants and make a racket.
I start to stew in anger and also laugh at the irony of the situation. Here I am trying to meditate in peace and someone has entered my space with one big whack. It took me a good half an hour to let go of the situation and do some tonglen for her and the plants.
I realized also that if I was another person this could have been a very confrontational exchange between two people. But I also realized the value that my practice has given me to not go in that direction and I bowed and got up at noon and left that place and had a wonderful day.
Quantum Physics reveals that everything in the manifest universe, including our thoughts and emotions, is ultimately composed of packets of energy, vibrating at specific frequencies. As you think, feel and act, so you create the primary vibration of your being. The result is an attraction of circumstances, people, challenges and opportunities in exact vibrational resonance with your own vibrational frequency."
~Asoka Selvarajah, Ph.D
Thank you, Leslie, for sharing this with me:
Now, when the waters are pressing mightily
on the walls of the dams,
now, when the white storks, returning,
are transformed in the middle of the firmament
into fleets of jet planes,
we will feel again how strong are the ribs
how vigorious is the warm air in the lungs
and how much daring is needed to love on the exposed plain,
when the great dangers are arched above,
and how much love is required
to fill all the empty vessels
and the watches that stopped telling time,
and how much breath,
a whirlwind of breath,
to sing the small song of spring.
--Yehuda Amichai
(translated from Hebrew, by Leon Wieselteir.)
“Live in joy, In love, Even among those who hate. Live in joy, In health, Even among the afflicted. Live in joy, In peace, Even among the troubled. Look within. Be still. Free from fear and attachment, Know the sweet joy of the way.” -from the Dhammapada
"Like sleeping or eating, meditation brings health and happiness. It gives us all - including our children - the opportunity to bring peace to ourselves and our families." Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche
Zen master, Seung Sahn, passed away on November 30. He was well liked and respected by all. I never met him but felt very close to him through my teacher, Kwong Roshi. Of course, many of his books I have read and studied. He has written- Only Don't Know, Dropping Ashed on the Buddha, and The Compass of Zen which you can get at www.amazon.com.
Allen’s Thanksgiving Prayer
Thanksgiving Prayer
In this food I see clearly the presence of the entire universe supporting my existence.
I recognize that this food is the gift of the whole universe,
Each morsel is a sacrifice of life, May I be worthy to receive it.
All living beings are struggling for life. May they all have enough food to eat today. These plates are filled with food. I am aware that each morsel is the fruit of much hard work by those who produced it.
May the energy in this food,
Give me the strength,
To transform my unwholesome qualities,
of greed, anger, and ignorance,
Into the wholesome ones, of generosity, love, and compassion.
I am grateful for this food, I accept this sacrifice,
By relying on Buddha’s Boundless Heart.
May it help me realize the Path of Awakening,
For the sake of all beings.
-Allen Alix
"You know whether you are distant from God or not by how you treat other
people."
Lee Lozowick
Lee is the lead singer in a blues band, playing to tens of thousands of people in Europe each summer, has recorded over 20 albums and authored 17 books. He is an uncompromising advocate of conscious child-raising practices, founded The Baul Theater Company, started, written most of the lyrics for, and sang with three bands
He says that the fruits of our spiritual practice are always and only expressed in and through our lives, has no use for the term enlightenment, throws curve balls around unexpected corners of the mind, warms the heart in totally unsuspecting ways, and hardly ever evokes a neutral response. He gives very few public talks in the United States, but will be speaking at the California Institute of Integral Studies.
Until one is committed there is always hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help that would never otherwise have occurred.
A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising to one's favor all manner of unforeseen accidents and meetings, and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would come his way. Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. -Goethe
After my accident, I had a large open wound on my right hip. There were exposed pins that were placed to hold my pelvis back together. A large black sponge covered the wound, and a big piece of plastic tape secured the sponge. A small disk with a tube came out of this dressing and the tube went into a machine called a wound vac. This machine would suck out the fluids from my wound and cause it to shrink. Trouble was, with a wound this large they weren’t sure it would work. Eight months later I can attest that it does work. This machine that I affectionately call Kitty follows me around everywhere I go. Kitty purrs like a kitten when everything is fine and croaks loudly like a frog when there is an air leak in the dressing. (Ugh!) Those are the times when I feel like tossing Kitty out the window. The only problem is that I would go out the window with it, since Kitty is attached to me.
Kitty reminds me of the baggage that we carry everywhere. The good stuff that keeps us going all day and seduces us into thinking it makes us happy. There is also the bad stuff, the destructive emotions. Stuff that we repress, try to get rid of, control, or manipulate. You know that sticky stinky stuff that you can’t wash off. You come back to it over and over again in your mind and in your sleep.
Attachments can be good for us and bad for us. They can totally control us or we can control them. But we don’t have to be slaves to these attachments; we do have a choice in life. I think that is why so many people are coming to professional coaches. They want to take back control of their lives. As a mentor once said to me, “ Does the Monkey ride you or do you ride the Monkey”. Get it? Now get a coach at www.coachfederation.org or email me at fern@afdadvisors.com to see if you are ready to be coached.