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though as individuals we may not have the ability to take on forces bigger than us, we as a community have the ability to work together in the face of such forces. however, we also individually have great power. we individually have the underlying power of our choice, our intention, our vow to work with our own heart & mind, benefitting ourselves & all those we come in contact with, a rippling out that continues beyond us. is this not love in action? is this not the ancient power the prophets, seers, & mystics of old speak of? we are part of a lineage of love that taps into the inherent luminous wisdom of things that exists here in this moment & also beyond space & time. seeds of love & good heartedness planted, that with the right conditions will bloom. remember, the darkest winter still gives way to spring. 

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#power #PlantingSeeds #OpenHeart #LiveByVow #love #SitDownRiseUp #MindfulResistance #PemaChodron #JinpaLhaga 

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“This is the moment to return to whichever practice reinforces our moral clarity, so that we do not wake up one day to find it eroded beyond recognition.”
~ Sofia Ali-Khan

friends, we are being asked to meet a moment that perhaps we thought we were here in the US were exceptionally immune to – the threat of fascism & fall of our representative democracy. it isn’t something ahead of us, but something already here & already doing immense damage & harm. this isn’t my opinion, but the observable reality multitudes of historians & authoritarian experts are alerting us to.

moral clarity, resilience, courage are being asked of us in a way that most of us have never faced. it is easy to be overwhelmed & indeed this is that “flood the zone” tactic they are using. but we cannot afford to check out or be indifferent to the harm & suffering taking place. however to stay the course without burn out, without losing the joy & beauty still available in life, we must have a way of connecting with, pay attention to, & prioritize such joy & beauty.

i’m resharing a practice i came up with for myself to cope, called The Five R’s:

The Five R’s: for self & community care…

i hope it is beneficial for you in all we are facing & will face ahead. may all be safe, happy, at ease, & free from harm & suffering.

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#TheFiveRs #selfcare #balance #clarity #resilience #courage #SitDownRiseUp #MindfulResistance #bodhisattvas #SofiaAliKhan #JinpaLhaga

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“this, your very heart

broken open, heals the world.

dam breaks, water flows.”

you are an embodiment of love.

you, as love, are the medicine the world needs.

know your worth, your value, your power.

open-hearted, steady, & focused, your love will move mountains, & ripple out through the world.

remember this.

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#bodhisattvas #love #medicine #healing #power #OpenHeart #path #practice #haiku #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

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“though it is hot, stay
what is old shall fall away
you are born from love.”

you matter. i matter. 

together we matter & it is together, in community, that we can push back against fascism & oppression power, against cruelty & indifference. it is us, as embodiments of love, choosing to put such love into action, that we can be forces of healing, inspiration, & light, moved from a place of compassion born from empathy & open hearts.

love is our power & it is manifest in our work together, making the world anew. what can be more powerful?

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#stay #love #MadeAnew #healing #compassion #empathy #OpenHeart #SitDownRiseUp #MindfulResistance #power #haiku #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

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to survive,

keep your heart open.

no matter what.

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#survival #OpenHeart #SitDownRiseUp #MindfulResistance #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

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re-sharing this incredible art that i have hanging on my wall, by David Hayward – The Naked Pastor.

today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Lenten season leading up to Easter. traditionally, a time of prayer, fasting, & alms giving to the poor – all of which means nothing if we do not see Christ in others & treat them accordingly, loving them so.

“For I desire mercy, not sacrifice…”

~ Hosea 6:6 & Matthew 12:7

may this season be a meditation on all inclusive love, a love that houses the unhoused, feeds the hungry, cares for the poor, heals the sick, tends to the imprisoned, welcomes the foreigner, & invites in the outcast.

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#AshWednesday #Lent #Christ #LoveThyNeighbor #TheGoldenRule #OpenHeart #path #practice #TheNakedPastor #JinpaLhaga

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with fascism, the strategy is to gut the reality of truth, to make everything questionable & foundationless, murky & directionless. up becomes down, cruelty becomes benevolence.

but the truth is the truth. love is love, & neither can be long hidden. they are written into life itself. they are written in our hearts & they rise to the surface through our intimacy with nature & our relationships with each other.

open hearts, open eyes, open ears.

remember what is true.

remember what is love.

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#fascism #truth #love #clarity #SitDownRiseUp #MindfulResistance #OpenHearts #path #practice #haiku #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

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amidst all of the gaslighting, lies, & propaganda we saw last night – so much of which can be easily fact-checked & debunked with a simple Google search – please find the still point within the noise & intentional overwhelm which is the strategy of fascism.

remember what is true, then speak it.

remember what is love, then do it.

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#fascism #gaslighting #propaganda #truth #RightSpeech #love #compassion #SitDownRiseUp #MindfulResistance OpenHeart #path #practice #GeorgeOrwell #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

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i took a few days off from social media & news, so i’m returning having caught up on the absolute shameful disaster that is our current governing majority in how it treats our ally Ukraine, & how it has completely succumbed to whatever nefarious forces have had us capitulate & align w/ Putin’s Russia rather than the democratic nations of the free world. the greatest generation, having fought the existential threat of fascism already only to have it arise in our own country, must be turning in their graves.

may Ukraine, Zelensky, & the Ukrainian people find true ally support where it can be found, may they be free from continued unprovoked Russian aggression & invasion, may there be peace w/ Russia’s exit, & may freedom & sovereignty for all people be a valued principle we hold to despite the insidious forces that work against it. may we all hold onto the light of love & hope in an age of growing darkness.

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#SlavaUkraini🇺🇦 #Ukraine🇺🇦 #democracy #sovereignty #freedom #nonaggression #OpenHeart #SitDownRiseUp #MindfulResistance #JinpaLhaga #JMWart #calligraphy

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like so many, i am still practicing finding balance in these challenging times. here are some steps i developed for myself to keep engaged skillfully without burning out. i hope they also bring benefit to you.

The Five R’s:

for self & community care in a time of resistance to fascism.

REST

get proper sleep. take naps. meditate. spend time in nature. listen to music. read for fun.

RISE

get up. bear witness. engage. take the action that you can where you are & how you are able. protest, march, boycott, call your Reps, write letters, post content, create art, write poetry, have one on one conversations – even the difficult ones. support others – orgs, charities, people doing the work you are unable to do.

RESIST

don’t obey in advance. don’t give in to hopelessness, despair, cynicism, or hate. don’t isolate yourself, connect with community instead. don’t accept lies or propaganda for truth. don’t give up on democracy or the power of love, goodness, kindness, beauty, & light. still have joy in things that are joyful, & gratitude for the good things, places, & people still present & available.

RINSE

literally – take a shower, give yourself a feeling of cleanliness & freshness. allow the water to wash away all you are carrying, down the drain. cleanse yourself of all the worry, concern, stress – at least once a day (i prefer the end of the day before bed). another option is a sun or moon bath, stand for a few minutes in the sunlight or moonlight & let it all go for a bit & just allow life, allow the light to shine on you, & in you, as a reminder that we are part of something far more vast than this one moment & we are supported by a universe beyond time.

REPEAT

consistency & persistence are evidence of our commitment to love & work like a kind of ordinary magic over time. bodhisattvas, those committed to love & freeing others from suffering, keep showing up. we too, can simply keep showing up, trusting that through love, what is needed will appear & we can be of benefit.

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#TheFiveRs #rest #rise #resist #rinse #repeat #selfcare #balance #engaged #bearingwitness #OpenHeart #love #path #practice #JinpaLhaga #JMWart