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Post by t-bob on Aug 1, 2019 19:49:37 GMT -5
Plant Yourself in Your Surroundings
Taking refuge is not some kind of evasion or escape, but is the planting of our “selves” deeply in the nature of what surrounds us. We lodge ourselves in the deep waves and in the shallow pools, in the crests and depressions of our lives. Sometimes, even wreckage can make a temporary resting place.
—Gary Thorp, “Shelter from the Storm”
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Post by t-bob on Aug 2, 2019 8:54:02 GMT -5
How to Be Your Brightest Self
What is the light? You are the light, with your ability to be conscious and mindful, and to act with wisdom and foresight. To serve the light means to show up—by which I mean, to be present—for yourself, as your best and highest self, and to show up for others in your life as well.
—Dawa Tarchin Phillips, “What to Do When You Don’t Know What’s Next”
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Post by t-bob on Aug 3, 2019 9:10:20 GMT -5
Expanding Your Net of Compassion
Not favoring any one thing over another allows you to center yourself within a boundless net of interconnection and to expand your circle of caring.
—Wendy Egyoku Nakao Roshi, “Hold to the Center!”
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Post by t-bob on Aug 4, 2019 9:52:47 GMT -5
Detaching from Attachment
Emptiness doesn’t mean that the mind is annihilated. All that’s annihilated is clinging and attachment. What you have to do is to see what emptiness is like as it actually appears and then not latch onto it.
—Upasika Kee Nanayon, “A Glob of Tar”
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Post by t-bob on Aug 5, 2019 9:17:57 GMT -5
When Transformation Comes
Transformation is not something you do but something that happens when the conditions are right.
—Ken McLeod, “Anger”
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Post by t-bob on Aug 6, 2019 8:22:55 GMT -5
The Circle of Attention
What gets our attention in the present is colored by our impulses and innate disposition—our habits of thought developed in the past.
—Sandra Weinberg, “Eating and the Wheel of Life”
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Post by t-bob on Aug 7, 2019 8:15:15 GMT -5
The Benefits of the Unfamiliar
A sense of defamiliarization is a recurring feature of spiritual life, and it can come to us in many ways—in art, in travel, in practice. However it comes, it offers an opportunity for openness and intimacy, both, if one can allow oneself to fall into them.
—Henry Shukman, “Far from Home”
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Post by t-bob on Aug 8, 2019 8:36:21 GMT -5
Permission to Move Forward
May we know we’ve been abandoned by the past, that the past has left us and moved on. So too have previous versions of our bodies left us, so too have previous iterations of the earth and its ecology left us.
—Leora Fridman, “Notes on Abandon”
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Post by t-bob on Aug 9, 2019 9:17:27 GMT -5
Mindfully Open Your Heart
With regular mindfulness practice … we witness how we close our hearts to other human beings. Once we see this clearly, we can practice opening our hearts to everyone, including ourselves.
—Ronya Fakhoury Banks, “How Buddhism Helped Me Embrace My Palestinian Heritage”
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Post by t-bob on Aug 10, 2019 9:42:28 GMT -5
Self-Care Helps You Help Others
Thinking of yourself first, when your goal is to help others, might seem counterintuitive, but in fact it is the only way it can work. In the end, the notion of putting oneself last is really an inside-out form of self-cherishing. That’s why during pre-flight instructions the flight attendant says to put on your own oxygen mask first.
—Cyndi Lee, “May I Be Happy”
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Post by t-bob on Aug 11, 2019 8:52:10 GMT -5
Discovering True Clarity
In consistent practice you begin to see that your initial ideas about it were just that: ideas. It can be hard to let go of the dream, of the seductive promise of ease and clarity. But in dropping those ideas, you might find yourself opening to the ease of the breath rising and falling, a clarity felt, not imagined.
—Alex Tzelnic, “Dreaming Up, And Revising, Our Buddhist Practice”
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Post by t-bob on Aug 14, 2019 9:01:12 GMT -5
How We Arrive at Our Views
Once we perceive, we habitually jump to thoughts and feelings about what is being perceived. These thoughts and feelings, rooted in past experiences and conditioning, then influence the mood of our mind. When perception, thoughts, and feelings are repeated or imprinted through experiences, they solidify into view or belief.
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Post by t-bob on Aug 16, 2019 9:14:28 GMT -5
How Can the Buddha Inspire Us?
The Buddha vowed to discover the end of suffering, and by his own efforts achieved enlightenment. He then spent the rest of his life sharing his realizations with others. We can draw inspiration from this person, a human being like ourselves.
—Beth Roth, “Family Dharma: Taking Refuge (On the Wings of Angels)”
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Post by t-bob on Aug 17, 2019 9:31:27 GMT -5
The Magic of Opening Up
When we can open to all parts of ourselves and to others in the world, something quite extraordinary happens. We begin to connect with one another
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Post by t-bob on Aug 18, 2019 9:59:48 GMT -5
How Nature Grounds Us
When you are lost or caught up in an emotional storm or contracted in self-centeredness or plagued by obsessive thoughts, notice what happens when you step outside or go for a walk and pay attention to the sky, the air, the light, the movement of wind, the feel of grass under your feet
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Post by t-bob on Aug 19, 2019 8:47:18 GMT -5
Take a Second for Gratitude
Every morning, I say, “I vow to be grateful for the precious opportunity of human birth.” And I don’t let myself use the excuse that I don’t have time. It doesn’t take much time to be grateful.
—Susan Moon, “Stop Shopping”
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Post by t-bob on Aug 20, 2019 8:52:59 GMT -5
The Fleeting Nature of Sensation
Whether pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral, gross or subtle, every sensation shares the same characteristic: it arises and passes away, arises and passes away.
—S. N. Goenka, “Finding Sense in Sensation”
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Post by t-bob on Aug 21, 2019 9:06:43 GMT -5
Becoming Honest about Who We Are
Meditation is a patient process of knowing that gradually over time, habits are dissolving. We don’t actually get rid of anything. We are just steadfast with ourselves, developing clearer awareness and becoming honest about who we are and what we do.
—Pema Chödrön, “Making Friends with Oneself”
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Post by t-bob on Aug 22, 2019 8:52:26 GMT -5
How to Stop Suffering
Buddhism presents rigorous means of investigating the causes of suffering and happiness. It is intent not only on counteracting suffering once it has arisen, but also on identifying and counteracting the causes of suffering before it arises.
—B. Alan Wallace, “Overlapping Worlds”
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Post by t-bob on Aug 23, 2019 12:04:37 GMT -5
Come Back to Equanimity
Sooner or later we all end up acting as if a seam separates friend and foe. When we get too used to this, we believe that this seam really exists. Poor and rich, important and unimportant—none of that exists. It’s only glitter on the waves.
—Kodo Sawaki Roshi, “To You”
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