Practicing Presence
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In this space I share insights
from my yoga and meditation practices. As I have read others' awakenings and found them useful, I let these flow outward as well. Discard expectations. Discover freedom. |
Hello?
Is anybody listening?
If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is listening, does it make a sound?
Words are our Golden Records, roaming interstellar space.
Dandelion seeds, blown onto the wind.
If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is listening, does it make a sound?
Words are our Golden Records, roaming interstellar space.
Dandelion seeds, blown onto the wind.
Reception
Who will receive my message?
You.
No one.
Anyone.
Everyone.
Me.
You.
No one.
Anyone.
Everyone.
Me.
Thoughts
So many of our thoughts are unnecessary.
I think so.
I think so.
Humility
Humility does not mean lowering yourself, but realizing others are not lower than you.
Flow Out Easy
let your mind out free
Stand under the sky
see what you see
hear what you hear
feel what you feel
breathe in the scents
Let the wind run through you and clean you out
let your mind move to the sound of your breathing
move to the feel of your breathing...
slowly it leaves the space in your head
you are lighter
slowly it leaks out through your eyes
through your ears
through your fingers and your feet...
let it go.
flow out easy...
It mingles with the world
becomes one with the world
blows over and around the world like the wind
binds you to the earth and pulls you to the sky
to the top of the sky
blows farther and farther out till it meets itself
flows together and clothes the world like air
you and all are one and everything is bound to you
you are the center and you know the world
flow out easy...
Stand under the sky
see what you see
hear what you hear
feel what you feel
breathe in the scents
Let the wind run through you and clean you out
let your mind move to the sound of your breathing
move to the feel of your breathing...
slowly it leaves the space in your head
you are lighter
slowly it leaks out through your eyes
through your ears
through your fingers and your feet...
let it go.
flow out easy...
It mingles with the world
becomes one with the world
blows over and around the world like the wind
binds you to the earth and pulls you to the sky
to the top of the sky
blows farther and farther out till it meets itself
flows together and clothes the world like air
you and all are one and everything is bound to you
you are the center and you know the world
flow out easy...
The Word
ink
stains the paper
finding the fibers
it
s. p. r. e. a. d. s
darkly illuminating
these
thoughts
stains the paper
finding the fibers
it
s. p. r. e. a. d. s
darkly illuminating
these
thoughts
Tao
Rest in the hammock that is the Great Smile.
Pixels
Words are pixels. What a challenge it is, to paint like Seurat!
PURR
Perceive what the Universe unfolds. Receive. Respond.
Often the right response is to let things be.
Often the right response is to let things be.
Teach and Learn
How to question.
How to differentiate facts from fantasy, opinion, manipulation, and propaganda.
How to find facts.
How to differentiate facts from fantasy, opinion, manipulation, and propaganda.
How to find facts.
Discernment
Refrain from jumping to confusions.
​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VVhI2maEbE
Constant flux, in constant balance.
Imagine being a pinpoint on one of the arcs.
Your path ascends and descends, appears and disappears.
From this vantage, it is impossible to see the whole cosmic dance.
Imagine being the pinpoint at the very center. The absolute center.
All flows from it and returns to it, in perfect symmetry.
The Center
is ever
Constant.
Unchanging.
Eternal.
Kaleidoscope
You are inside a kaleidoscope.
All the elements symmetrical, balanced.
Then a turn. The elements tumble into disarray.
Ultimately they resolve into a new balance.
Sometimes you turn the kaleidoscope.
Sometimes life turns it.
All the elements symmetrical, balanced.
Then a turn. The elements tumble into disarray.
Ultimately they resolve into a new balance.
Sometimes you turn the kaleidoscope.
Sometimes life turns it.
The Sky
No matter what the weather, the sky remains the sky.
Your life’s weather is not you. You are the sky.
Your life’s weather is not you. You are the sky.
The Eye of the Hurricane
While forces swirl around the eye of the hurricane,
the eye remains calm, steady, and bright.
The eye of your life’s hurricane is your center.
While participating in life, keep your center alight.
Rest there often.
Then storms will not carry you away.
Laws
Human laws are human decisions, needing human means to enforce them.
Nature’s laws need no such enforcement.
Nature’s laws need no such enforcement.
Thoughts on Thoughts
Thoughts are Possibilities.
That a thought arises does not make it true.
That a thought arises does not make it true.
Be Aware
We do not exist only between our ears.
No Expectations
Regard your loved ones, abandoning all your unspoken expectations.
What remains?
Only LOVE.
What remains?
Only LOVE.
Formless Potential
Instead of reading these words,
Let yourself be immersed in the blank space of the page.
Find and abide in formless potential.
Let yourself be immersed in the blank space of the page.
Find and abide in formless potential.
Which is True?
This is a two-part exercise in discernment.
For each section below, you are free to choose or reject multiple responses.
For each section below, you are free to choose or reject multiple responses.
PART 2
Which is true?
Which is true?
- There are rules for things like outfits and music. Everyone should follow them.
- I am right. The other person is are wrong.
- The other person is right. I am wrong.
- We have different preferences.
- I treat my preferences as rules.
- Rules arise from humans' preferences.
- No one is right or wrong.
Invisible Roads
We suffer when we set up invisible roads, known only to us,
that we expect others – even the universe! – to walk on.
Others, and the Universe, walk their own roads.
that we expect others – even the universe! – to walk on.
Others, and the Universe, walk their own roads.
What is Constant
Change and Stillness are simultaneously constant.
Differentiate
Differentiate wishes from expectations.
Expectations set the stage for disappointment to enter.
Expectations set the stage for disappointment to enter.
Rubin’s Vase
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Where are you spending your life? With your mind picking over the past? Fretting over the future? Or resting in the space of the present? |
Fact or Belief?
An argument can be convincing without being true.
Perspective
While on the page, take time to shift focus from the words to the space.
To Be. To Think.
Be = One. Being.
Think = Two. Thinking about.
About this. About that.
About what was, about what might have been, about what is, about what might be, about what will come.
Think = Two. Thinking about.
About this. About that.
About what was, about what might have been, about what is, about what might be, about what will come.
Heads or Tails?
There are equal and opposite aspects to all possibilities.
The Show
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When drama appears, you need not go on stage and take a part. Just sit back and watch the show. |
Parts of a Whole
Drama divides. The Universe integrates.
Discover
Every moment is a discovery.
Universe
One, eternal, producing countless creations, endless experiences.
All manifestations are impermanent, always transforming and morphing.
Including me. I do not expect the Universe to be personally concerned with me.
All manifestations are impermanent, always transforming and morphing.
Including me. I do not expect the Universe to be personally concerned with me.
Human Creativity
Some create to uplift, and some create to oppress.
The Overactive Mind
Is the mind running about indiscriminately, thoughts chasing about endlessly?
One might as well always have fork in hand, constantly spearing and putting it to the mouth,
even when there is no meal.
One might as well always have fork in hand, constantly spearing and putting it to the mouth,
even when there is no meal.
All Voices, All Eyes, All Ears
Refrain from imposing your beliefs on others.
All voices are spoken with the air we all breathe.
All eyes and ears are the eyes and ears of the Universe. That is how all is seen and heard.
All voices are spoken with the air we all breathe.
All eyes and ears are the eyes and ears of the Universe. That is how all is seen and heard.
Keep in Touch
The people you love, but do not contact, are like favorite books left on the shelf.
You are happy to know they are there, but are they happy to be collecting dust?
You are happy to know they are there, but are they happy to be collecting dust?
Be
Be filled with emptiness.
Nothing is here. Everything is here.
Nothing is here. Everything is here.
Critical Thinking
To enjoy a fictional story, we suspend disbelief and ignore plot holes.
This can become a habit.
Be mindful about plot holes in real life.
Take note of the inconsistent and implausible.
In real life, plot holes become pitfalls.
This can become a habit.
Be mindful about plot holes in real life.
Take note of the inconsistent and implausible.
In real life, plot holes become pitfalls.
Agitation
Treat agitated thoughts and emotions like laundry tumbling in a hot dryer.
The time to sort is when all has settled and cooled.
The time to sort is when all has settled and cooled.
B
B is for Breath.
Breathe.
Be.
Breathe.
Be.
Your ByPass Route
Practicing mindfulness and meditation rewires the brain. What does this mean?
Imagine that the bulk of what enters your consciousness is taken directly into the Big City. There, you get tangled up in traffic and crowds, overstimulated by honking horns and sirens, vigilant for for what to approach and what to avoid.
Meditation and mindfulness build a bypass route on which you travel peacefully. .
Imagine that the bulk of what enters your consciousness is taken directly into the Big City. There, you get tangled up in traffic and crowds, overstimulated by honking horns and sirens, vigilant for for what to approach and what to avoid.
Meditation and mindfulness build a bypass route on which you travel peacefully. .
Stillness
Stillness is potent.
From stillness, everything is potential.
From stillness, everything is potential.
What exists?
We label and judge.
“This is smart. This is stupid. This is pretty. This is ugly. This is good. This is bad.”
What exists when we refrain from judgment?
Only “this.”
“This” is.
Th...IS
“This is smart. This is stupid. This is pretty. This is ugly. This is good. This is bad.”
What exists when we refrain from judgment?
Only “this.”
“This” is.
Th...IS
Differences
This appeared to me in a dream.
There was a world with no differences.
One kind of rock. One kind of tree. One kind of bird. One kind of dog. One kind of cat. One kind of flower.
The one kind of people said, “The world is so big! There is room for more than one kind.”
In response, diverse variety appeared.
The various forms of rocks, trees, and so on continued to flow in balance and harmony.
But the people immediately formed different opinions about which were “good”, which “bad,” which “best,” which “worst.”
One kind of rock. One kind of tree. One kind of bird. One kind of dog. One kind of cat. One kind of flower.
The one kind of people said, “The world is so big! There is room for more than one kind.”
In response, diverse variety appeared.
The various forms of rocks, trees, and so on continued to flow in balance and harmony.
But the people immediately formed different opinions about which were “good”, which “bad,” which “best,” which “worst.”
Tic-Tac-Toe
Is life a game of Tic-Tac-Toe between “You” and the Infinite?
Are you anxious to win?
When you finally line up three X’s, will you find happiness?
The Infinite’s grid is endless, its X’s and O’s countless, everchanging, and always in balance.
How can “You” be playing against the Infinite?
“You” are a pattern among the Infinite’s patterns of X’s and O’s.
Are you anxious to win?
When you finally line up three X’s, will you find happiness?
The Infinite’s grid is endless, its X’s and O’s countless, everchanging, and always in balance.
How can “You” be playing against the Infinite?
“You” are a pattern among the Infinite’s patterns of X’s and O’s.
Music of the Universe
Where do you find yourself in the eternal music of the Universe?
Are you composing?
Conducting?
An instrument?
A player?
A beat?
A note?
A chord?
A melody?
The audience?
Does music know it is music?
Does music care from where it arises, and where it goes?
Are you composing?
Conducting?
An instrument?
A player?
A beat?
A note?
A chord?
A melody?
The audience?
Does music know it is music?
Does music care from where it arises, and where it goes?
Bird
Somehow, a bird appeared in my room.
I opened a window. Let it fly.
Now it is in your room.
See the glint in its eye?
I opened a window. Let it fly.
Now it is in your room.
See the glint in its eye?