"Pay attention to what you're paying attention to." - Howard Rheingold It's a Zen/Tao thing. Most of the time when my attention is fully engaged, exactly where and how I am in time and space, I'm not paying attention to being there. I may notice that shift that occurs on long drives when "I" sudden... Continue Reading →
The Contradictions the "mind" comes up against, these are the only realities, the criterion of the real. There is no contradiction in what is imaginary. Contradiction is the test of necessity. - Simone Weil Yesterday I participated in a group discussion, the subject was turning towards Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha as refuge. It was the... Continue Reading →
"The gifts of caring, attention, affection, appreciation, and love are some of the most precious gifts you can give, and they don't cost you anything." - Deepak Chopra Sounds great, but in my experience isn't true. All of the above cost. Sometimes more than people can imagine. It's another spiritual "feel good" meme. You will... Continue Reading →
"Whatever you do it can be done willingly or unwillingly. If you do it unwillingly, you suffer. If you do it willingly, with attention, and as passionately as possible, you're at peace." - unknown Lately I've been noticing two types of willing. Well, three if you include unwillingness. Which is a negative willing. One willingness... Continue Reading →
"Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others." - Buddha (More Gautama than Buddha.) Well, that leaves out Sangha, doesn't it? Except for what we can learn about how we react to each person within a Sangha. And a place to practice our "Human, Being" skills. Buddhism, has two Buddha's. Buddha Two, the... Continue Reading →
"You don't get to chose how you're going to die. Or when. But you can decide how your going to live now. - Joan Baez Someone once suggested to me, that if I want to have any say in exactly how I am in any moment, I need to live in the unfolding or point... Continue Reading →
"You can't find passion thinking about it in your head." - Marie Forleo Exactly so. I can talk myself into doing things, I do that often, but Marie is absolutely correct that I can't use the stream of thought to access that inner pool of passion. And passion is not not about energy levels, having... Continue Reading →
"The day you teach the child the name of the bird, the child will never see that bird again." - J. Krishnamurti A somewhat confusing statement at first. And I believe part of the point is that a "bird" exists outside of the name. The actuality of "bird" stands alone without any label at all.... Continue Reading →
"It take courage to be kind." - Maya Angelou" Honestly, this is refreshing. After reading and hearing so much misdirected information about being kind, it's good to have a reality check. "Being kind is free." NO, IT's NOT. Contingent and relative to circumstances and my passing state, my response to the world can vary. Obviously... Continue Reading →
"We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used in creating them." Albert Einstein What do you think? The question came after a non-dualism talk on the Internet. There was a lot of discussion pointing out all kinds of things that people had read or heard about non-dualism, how "embracing non-dualism" was some... Continue Reading →
"The Distance between heaven and earth is no greater than one thought." - Mongolian proverb I am either caught up by paying attention to streaming thoughts, where there are stories upon stories, all somehow related to the "I" as the center of the universe. Or, I am exactly where the body exists in time and... Continue Reading →
"Stay away from what might have been, and look at what can be." - Marsha Petrie Sue Two of the biggest demons in Buddha world are the words might and could. This is the way things could have been or might be in the future. On face value, neither one is troublesome on it's own.... Continue Reading →
"The Journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." - Lao Tzu And there it is, two perspectives folded into one. Journey is a funny word isn't it? Journey implies destination. I am journeying somewhere. Where I'm headed matters, even with no guarantees of arrival (there never is), it sets a mood, a... Continue Reading →
"Find out who you are, and do it on Purpose." -Dolly Parton I don't know much about Dolly Parton, except I admire how she sees the world. She's done a lot to support the local economy in Sevierville, Tennessee. And she seems to have the talent of cutting right to the point. Find out who... Continue Reading →
"All we have to do is decide is what to do with the time given us." - J.R.R Tolkien Or, we have anyway, just because. I do try to avoid the concept that "time" is a "thing" that is somehow gifted to us. A lot of spiritual stuff is like that though. There are us... Continue Reading →
"Beware of mood swings, if you don't like me, come back tomorrow." - unknown Mood. It's a funny thing, this general state we call, "mood." Good mood, bad mood. An overall state of processing. Emotions are dynamics that have labels, so I can "know" the emotion. I am sad, happy, angry, to name a few.... Continue Reading →
"Where the sacred union of sun and moon shifts from duality to one." - unknown Or something like that. And no, this isn't about technique. (Although maybe by using the word sex, the stats will go up. Just for this blog. Clickbait for Zen!) The above phrase was from an internet search using Zen/Sex/Buddhism as... Continue Reading →
"All of this, a thousand-fold and colorful, has always been there.. - Herman Hesse, "Siddhartha" Yesterday I had received an email about a point I brought up in a group. I had suggested that Gautama wasn't pointing to some exotic "nirvana" or constant "mindfulness" as some state of "happiness." He had noticed in his early... Continue Reading →
" To put everything in balance is good, to put everything in harmony is better." - Victor Hugo Interesting comment. Balance is when you meet someone about halfway, harmony is when you move away from the shit you let go of to meet someone halfway. That's Harmony. It's the part most of us miss. Harmony... Continue Reading →
"Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life." - Rachel Carson Rachel doesn't know that for a fact, but it's an attractive statement and perhaps an encouragement. (I'm starting to despise all these empirically stated meme's that really reflect one persons position.) People who spend... Continue Reading →
"There is one true inner voice. Trust it. - Gloria Steinem OK. Somewhere inside all those internal arguments and ramblings, there must be a true me with a true voice lurking inside. You know, "Someone" who knows exactly what to do. What direction to go, how I should be, and what to think next. What... Continue Reading →
"Why can't we all just get along?" - Rodney King That it, right? Gautama was asked what things supported his practice over the years. He replied Mediation and Sangha. I agree. Sangha is important. Probably more than ever considering the state of unrest in the world. And often, for some strange reason, people believe that... Continue Reading →
Something looks back from the trees, and knows me for who I am. - Jane Hirshfield A sangha, post the desperate Covid times, reconvenes. One person was the lynchpin that started the motion, by being honest about herself and her feelings. A redirect. And the weaving begins. Sharing leads to others jumping on board. Courage... Continue Reading →
"Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen." Brene Brown Of course, it's hard to engage in a courageous adventure when perpetually getting ready and waiting for "the right time." I hear that voice that says, "I will go on a courageous adventure, when the time is right, I'm not ready yet. And... Continue Reading →
"Free from desire you realize the mystery, caught in desire you see only the manifestations." - Lao Tzu Sensing and Sensual. It's odd how certain words lend themselves to a feeling, isn't it? Sensual, is a sensual word. Tactile, a babies contact with the universe. The first unspoken contact with the other, who, theoretically, will... Continue Reading →
"We do not remember days, we remember moments." - Cesare Pavese In a formal sitting of 45 minutes, there are approximately 2,700 moments. At least that's what my past guides indicated. I can't imagine how many moments there must be in life. At some point we start to look at those moments, flowing, like sand... Continue Reading →
"It isn't how much we give, it's how much love we put into the giving." - unknown genius I'm at war with the word happiness. I think it sucks. It's been perverted and used to sell so many books, talks, and merchandise, it's painful. Want to sell something? Convince others they can't be happy without... Continue Reading →
"For every complex problem, there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong." - H.L Mencken I seem to have the very human knack of searching out what's wrong with things. Well, everything, really. It's as though the stream of thought is absolutely tops in finding, no, that's not true, CREATING, what's wrong. Every... Continue Reading →
Chaos is not disorder. Chaos is the totality of existence. You can call it God, you could use the term Tao. I like "Chaos." It means more to us in English. Chaos is all things, wild and wonderful, connected perfectly by the life force. - Frederick Lenz Chaos. That's it right? Carol, brought out this... Continue Reading →
When you don't know how you know.................. But you know you know....................... And you know you knew, and that's all you needed to know. - unknown I'm not an official bird watcher. I mean I like the avian community, they are all amazing creatures! Sailing, tacking, racing, swooping, and expressing love in waterless oceans. They... Continue Reading →
We cling to our own point of view, as though everything depended on it. Yet our opinions have no permanency; like autumn and winter, they gradually pass away. - Zhuangzi Lately I've been seeing how much of my interactions with others involves the ancient art of opinion. It's one of the fun pastimes humans seem... Continue Reading →
"Give, even if you only have a little." - attributed to Gautama (aka, the Buddha!) Ok, so I'm on this spinning rock traveling at 1000 mph, as I gaily move through the galaxy. Well, not so gaily, at least consistently gaiety. (I declare, gaiety is so situational.) And I manifested out of everything that has... Continue Reading →
"Do small things with great love.' - Mother Teresa I live inside of these moments. And the only difference is where my attention lies, either on streaming thoughts, which means I'm "thinking about" the moment. Or, after taking a breath or two, feeling attention shifting to being in these passing moments, with thoughts running in... Continue Reading →
"The only Zen you bring to the top of a mountain is the Zen you bring with you." - unknown I keep leaving to find myself. I dive into books, deep books and shallow books, ones with stories of hero's and villains, cops and robbers, truth seekers and liars, and occasionally a tome that instructs... Continue Reading →
"When you realize nothing is lacking, the whole world belongs to you." - Lao Tzu Exactly so. Planless plans are sometimes the best. Yesterday was a day of wonder and miracles. A river, and arguing geese, who were a whole show unto themselves. Cool breezes reminding us that winter isn't entirely out the door. Two... Continue Reading →
"Happiness can exist only in acceptance." - George Orwell This seems out of context, and isn't at all true. Said at the risk of getting taken to task because I dare to disagree with George. Well, I don't accept that "Happiness can exist only in acceptance." Hopefully we are all starting to see that, regardless... Continue Reading →
"The past always looks better than it was. It's only pleasant because it isn't here." - Finley Peter Dunne A meditator had been inquiring into her own memory, stating that an insight had dropped in, and she realized that attention, when it's on streaming thought, is just as intense as reality. The stream of thought... Continue Reading →
"You can't start a new chapter in life if you keep reading the old one." - unknown Lately I've been noticing how all things rise and fall. How everything changes. How nothing stays the same. Nothing is ever the same way twice. Every single event is new and fresh. This means everything, feelings, moments, emotions,... Continue Reading →
"This is not a rehearsal." - Anonymous Lots of info on the recent incident with the Dali Lama, opinions, defenses, outrages, apologies, spins, and "what to do about it" are the new attention magnets of the day. People are outraged or defensive, a lot of people "can't believe" that such a "spiritual person" could do... Continue Reading →
"Expectation is the root of all heartache." - Shakespeare Shakespeare, and Cheri Huber. One evening the Sangha was discussing the much sought after "Happiness." Someone had just gotten done whining about her desire to be happy. Cheri's encouragement? "Go ahead, who's stopping you?" Ouch, that puts us back in a place of responsibility for how... Continue Reading →
"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life." - Steve Jobs Yesterday I facilitated a group on change and the self. A meditation group in Novi at a local church had asked me assist and give a talk. The discussion was about change, and how to cope in a universe that... Continue Reading →
"The great gift of human beings is we have the power of empathy, we can all sense a mysterious connection to each other." - Meyrl Streep Her first name is impossible to spell wrong. It must be the combination of letters. She's right, we all seem to sense some connection with each other. Even if... Continue Reading →
"Your intuition knows what to write, so get out of the way." - Ray Bradbury Intuition, intuit, sometimes referred to as a six sense. Actually we're past six at this point. But I think calling it the "six sense" is pointing in the right direction. In my experience, it's a "knowing" of sorts. Like when... Continue Reading →
" I'm under construction, thanks for your patience." - Unknown I'm in a bad mood. What does that mean anyway? BAD MOOD? Well, for starts no one on this planet is listening to me, or doing what I want them to do. I mean that really sucks. What is it about people anyway? Don't they... Continue Reading →
"The world is it's own magic." Shunryu Suzuki We are the magic, us humans, being. And it's funny, how we keep looking to each other for some sort of way out or comfort concerning living life fully as a human being. Oh, this "teacher" knows this, and Oh, this "teacher" knows that, and we run... Continue Reading →
"Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth." - Pema Chodron Seems right, doesn't it? And it also seems truthful when we move closer to the truth of ourselves. That's a difficult place, a place that lays bare ourselves, to ourselves. A lot of the time it can seem very negative, this... Continue Reading →
"You only get to be a victim once, after that your a volunteer." Naomi Judd Well, that's per victimization. But still only one victimization at a time. It becomes problematic when any of us become professional serial "victims." I see this often when people decide that "witnessing" victims won't do, they decide to become one.... Continue Reading →
"If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow." - Chinese Proverb Well, after several decades of trying to find an easier way out, a search that seems so discursive and really deserves the word "meandering", I find myself in the same place hearing the same words... Continue Reading →
"At the end of the day, I can end up feeling wacky, because I've made mountains out of molehills. With meditation I can keep them as molehills." - Ringo Starr Deciding to meditate, not the original decision, but the one that happens daily, or maybe weekly, can be problematic. Ringo's comment seems realistic, and very... Continue Reading →
"For every complex problem there is an answer that's clear, simple, and wrong." - H. L Mencken I am horribly wrong about almost everything I think I know, and spend an awful amount of time attempting to find answers to stuff. It's fun in a way, even though it feels like I'm stuck in a... Continue Reading →
“Opinions are fantasy. They may be based on fact or not. Opinion presents personal bias and pre-conclusion. Opinions are language trading cards, we use them to gain value and hope to make them true. – People’s Dharma Circle
“The quality of your life will depend entirely upon the focus of your attention.” – Huber
Visions of a People's Dharma 