Embracing Life

Embracing life means embracing the hard stuff too.

Gratitude

Gratitude:  breathing, eating, shelter, consciousness.

Meditation and Prayer

Taking time to meditate and pray is one thing. Living in meditation and prayer is quite another.

Evolution and Religion

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/23/opinion/23wright.html
An interesting approach to reconciling science and religion on the issue of natural selection and evolution. Personally I never had the conflict.

Jacob and Awareness

“Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, ‘The Source is present in this place, but I did not know it'” (Gen 28:16). Mindfulness is knowing it. Wake up.

Breathing

I breathe. The earth breathes. The universe breathes.

I am a Walking Tree

I am a walking tree. I am ancient. I hear the voices of millennia.

Our Bodies are Mobile Trees

Our bodies are mobile trees, our legs the roots, our torsos the trunks, our outstretched arms the branches, our necks and heads the tree tops. We are rooted in the earth reaching out to the stars.

God and the Self as Nothing

The Source is nothing. Nothing does not mean a vacuum, but no thing (no/thing). No/thing is pure energy.

A favorite quote of mine in this regard is from Dov Baer of Mezrich as translated in Lawrence Kushner,The Book of Words, p. 96 (Woodstock, VT: Jewish Lights, 1993): “You need to think of yourself as nothing. Forget yourself entirely. Pray only for the sake of God’s presence. Only then will you come to transcend time and attain the ‘World of Thought.’ No contradictions. No distinctions between life and death or sea and dry land. All the same . . . This can only happen if you forget yourself entirely. But it cannot be the case while you are attached to the tangible reality of this world. Fixated on the distinctions between good and evil and mundane creation. How otherwise could one possibly transcend time and attain ultimate unification. Thus, as long as you remain convinced that you are ‘something,’ preoccupied with your daily needs, then the Holy One cannot be present, for God is without end, that is, ‘nothing,’ no vessel can contain the One. But this is not so when you think of yourself as nothing.”

Here, “nothing” really means without boundaries and limits.

Dov Baer expresses his ideas more dualistically than I would (e.g. “attached to tangible reality,” “mundane creation,” and “World of Thought”), but his message is beautiful: To feel the presence of the Source, one must drop all categories, especially the self.

God

I don’t see God as an entity at all, as a thing. God is not a being, but an energy that pervades the universe and transcends the universe. For that reason, I don’t even use the word, “God,” but instead use “Source,” or sometimes “Source of Being.” To relate to the Source, one must transcend all categories (which are, by definition, finite and limited). The Source is neither personal nor impersonal, but the sacred energy/breath that underlies all existence.

This is not an easy place for me to reside. I only get there at moments. Often I am deluded by my own self and its desires, which get in the way. But I do get there at times–certainly more now than when I was younger. And that makes all the effort worthwhile.

The SOURCE

The SOURCE is nothing. Nothing does not mean a vacuum, but no thing (no/thing). No/thing is pure energy.

Love

Love is the transcendence of self.

Meaningful Conversation

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/17/talk-deeply-be-happy/
Substantive conversation and talking deeply leads to greater happiness. I have always seen meaningful discussion as the core of teaching and wisdom (which should be the goal of all learning)

Our Bodies Are Poems II

Our bodies are poems, Every cell, tissue, nerve, muscle, bone, and organ are the words.

Our Body Are Poems I

Our body are poems with beauty and meaning found in every cell, tissue, nerve, muscle, bone, and organ.

Our Bodes Are Texts

Our bodies are texts in which we write the stories of our lives.

My Heart Beats

My heart beats, a tiny pulsating cell in the heart of humanity, in the heart of all life, in the heart of the earth, in the heart of the universe, in the heart of the multiverse, in the heart of the Source.

A Tree Rooted

A tree rooted in the earth feeling the sun’s rays. The ground’s juices. Heaven’s breath. Two realms linked in an ancient creature.

Resurrection

A discussion of resurrection in a modern context:

http://www.newsweek.com/2010/03/24/far-from-heaven.html

A Great Photograph

A great photograph is not a reproduction, but a distillation.

A Person

You can no more equate a person with an image than you can cup your hands to hold the wind.

Habits and Feeling

Unconscious habits impede feeling. Conscious habits clarify and intensify feeling.

Conscious Habits

Conscious awareness of habits makes you more flexible.

Flexibility and Habits

Flexibility is the capacity to constantly monitor and alter your habits and routines.

Adaptation and Habit

We need habits and routines to get through day-to-day life, yet the ability to adapt and change is the key to long-term well-bing.

Where am I?

Where am I? Here? Or there?

When We Change

When we change, others change. When we heal, others heal. When we love, others love.

The Road Less Traveled II

I did not realize I had take the road less traveled until I was far along it.

The Road Less Traveled I

The road less traveled has no sign posts.

Freedom

Freedom is the choice to take the keys out of our pockets to unlock the chains we have placed on ourselves.

Time

Time is not for filling, but for feeling.

Memory

Everything will be forgotten.  Nothing will be forgotten.

When the Ground Shakes

When the ground shakes beneath us, look inward.  There is our foundation.

When the Ground Shakes

When the ground shakes beneath us, look inward. There is our foundation.

Surrender

The greater the stress, the more you need to let go and surrender.

Surrender

The greater the stress, the more you need to let go and surrender.

Meeting People

Meet people where they are rather than where you would like them to be.

Dianne and I

Dianne and I sitting across from each other at adjoining tables.  What could be better?

Unlikely Animal Friends

Thanks to Deirdre Good for bringing this to my attention: the unlikely friendship of an orangutan and a hound dog.  A great story of sharing and fun.

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/unlikely-animal-friends-4317/Overview

Body Sensations

One of my practices is to focus my awareness on different parts of my body. Today I settled on my foot : particularly the heel, the ball, and each toe. Feeling my toes against a wall not only connects me to my to toes, but it also has the effect of rebalancing the muscles, tendons, and skeletal structure of my feet. It alters my torso as well and also helps to align my head, neck, and spine.

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