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Happy Lunar New Year 2023 – Year of the Rabbit! 🐰

a new year signifying rebirth, new birth, a fresh start – a reminder that we can always begin again and start anew. may this new year bring you much luck, good health, and happiness. may it bring you calm, peace, and relaxation amidst the comings and goings of life!

~j

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PS – Patreon Members received a full size digital print of this art. If you’d like to receive this and other free digital art prints, join today for as little as $3/month and you also have access to all past art gifts. Patreon link can be found here: https://linktr.ee/jaysenwaller

bows of gratitude for the support 🙏🏻

PPS – You can also purchase this art on various products at my Redbubble store. Direct link found here: https://linktr.ee/jaysenwaller 💫

#LunarNewYear #YearOfTheRabbit #LunarNewYear2023 #YearOfTheRabbit2023 #FreshStart #BeginAgain #StartAnew #calm #peace #OpenHeart #Path #Practice #JinpaLhaga #JMWart #Art #Enso #Calligraphy #Drawing #Illustration

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we live in a compelling time. violence is always, or should always be, disconcerting. yet here we are with political violence on the rise and threatening the state of our representative democracy. aggressive, provocative, violent rhetoric has become commonplace among some of our more extreme politicians, with little to no accountability from their leaders or their base.

there are real world consequences, though. in New Mexico a failed GOP candidate hired shooters to shoot up the homes of Democrats. election workers and volunteers have been receiving death threats for simply doing their job. and of course there was the Jan. 6th insurrection, along with other smaller, also armed, insurrections occurring at State Capitols, leading up to and following that day. current House of Representatives members who encouraged and motivated the January 6th insurrection, still hold office or were re-elected.

one particular example i find jaw dropping is Marjorie Taylor Greene. she actively tweeted out the location of Nancy Pelosi on Jan 6th, who then was Speaker of the House and third in succession to the Presidency, while insurrectionists were calling out Pelosi’s name and calling for her death. not only is Greene still in Congress, but now sits on the Homeland Security Committee of all committees. that this is acceptable speaks to how far we’ve drifted from sanity.

so what do we do? what do we do as individuals in the face of these challenges? we begin with ourselves, our own heart, our own mind. we train with them and practice with them in a way that isn’t aggressive and promotes equanimity. we embody peace in our practice as our practice. we train to allow our thoughts and emotions without the perceived need to act out of our thoughts or emotions through our words and/or actions. we “be” the non-violence and peace we seek in and wish for the world, and then we promote and support this way of living with those around us and our leaders.

may we open our hearts, may we embody non-violence, may sanity arise.
~j

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#nonviolence #nonaggression #peace #OpenHeart #sanity #path #practice #EngagedBuddhism #JinpaLhaga #

GerardVanderhaarQuotes

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too many weaponize God, as if they could ever fully know the heart of Mystery through fear, control, manipulation, or hostility.

to dance with the Divine is to finally let go and fully open to Love.

for all the scripture picking and choosing, why would anyone choose anything but these three words:  God is love.

what else is there beyond the confines of delusion which births our grasping and aggression?

there is only Love.

surrender the ego, open the heart, and have a beginner’s mind. life lives Life, love loves Love.

~j

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#GodIsLove #Love #Mystery #Buddhanature #BeginnersMind #OpenHeart #Path #Practice #JinpaLhaga #MeisterEckhartQuotes

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deep bows of gratitude for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. this day and everyday.

there will be many quotes posted today in honor of Dr. King. they are at times beautiful, inspirational, wise, pointed and challenging seeds that can and should take root in our hearts and minds.

on this day, i strongly offer and encourage the reading of Dr. King’s autobiography to see such wisdom in the context of his larger works, longer writings, and letters. in context of history, religion, politics, and culture. in the context of the forces of truth, light and love pushing back and transforming forces of ignorance, fear, hate, and darkness we are still seeing active today.

Dr. King was/is a revolutionary of the heart and spirit, calling for a Beloved Community to arise out of the awareness of our interdependence, the ground of being which is Love, and the work of fierce compassion that excludes no one, and works tirelessly towards true equality, justice, and healing.

Dr. King didn’t just call for specific actions, he called for a way of Being Love in this world, a true prophetic message.

may his vision arise, may hearts open, may it be so.

~j

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#MLKjr #DrKing #MartinLutherKingJr #revolutionary #BelovedCommunity #equality #justice #SocialJustice #healing #transformation #love #service #OpenHeart #EngagedBuddhism #JinpaLhaga

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beautiful, authentic, beneficial – needed wisdom from my friend @thebrandonalter. he does such incredible healing work along with his husband via @thespiritualgayz. 💙🙏🏻

may his message and their work continue to be of benefit for all whom it resonates with. 

~j

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#healing #pain #OpenHeart #path #practice #spirituality

Posted @withregram • @thebrandonalter 

YOUR PAIN DOESN’T WANT TO BE HERE EITHER.

Ever since my Mom died I’ve been holding more pain than usual. I can feel it stored up in my hips and my heart, like a squirrel setting aside nuts for the winter. But the difference is, I don’t want these reserves.

And then it struck me, last week, while forcing myself to do some Yoga I really didn’t want to be doing: maybe the Pain doesn’t want to be here either. 

Instead of looking at it like an enemy, what if the Pain is just as miserable as I am? What if it wants to be somewhere else too—to become something else? Surely the Pain has a destiny if its own— and it can’t live it out when it’s  stuck in my body and your heart.

What if we made an agreement, the Pain and I, to let go of each other? What if I figured out how to stop holding it hostage; just opened the door to let it go and didn’t even watch it leave? What if I turned around so it could sneak out, unseen?

Or course Pain isn’t just one thing. It can’t leave all at once. But maybe you just keep the door open, and keep your back turned, and bit by bit it trickles out. 

What if letting go of the Pain wasn’t just an act of kindness towards yourself, it was a great act of generosity towards the Pain, too?

I know, I’m not the only one holding large amounts of pain these days. So if you know how to hold the door open, if you know how to liberate yourself from it, and it from you, let me know.

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“Wherever you stand be the soul of that place.” ~ Rumi

this *photoart really speaks to me. it feels appropriate for challenging times. 

even in darkness the moon still reflects light and that light can bring hope and comfort. we can stand in the midst of darkness and the light with integrity and dignity, with a sense of solidity, with a groundedness buoyed by a practice of mindfulness, awareness, and lovingkindness.  

such a way of living can be our path and practice, and a benefit for this world in this life we have. a healing force, a compassionate and anchoring force, a courageous force in this life and world.

it may not be an easy path, and we will likely not meet each moment in such a way, but we can return to it again and again as often as necessary. this is practice and practice is path, and such a path is worthy of this sacred, precious life.

~j

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#presence #courage #bravery #mindfulness #lovingkindness #OpenHeart #path #practice #EngagedBuddhism #JinpaLhaga #RumiQuotes
*unfortunately, even after a search, unable to credit image.

to me, this seems very similar and may be just another way of practicing living in mindfulness and lovingkindness – the quality of our energy in this life and world, how we are present with awareness and open hearts. 

i am reminded of Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians in the Bible where he instructs to “pray without ceasing.” this points to a type of prayer that is a state of being, a way of being present, a way of engagement in the world.

such a way, can be our path and practice, and a benefit for this world in this life we have. it can be a beautiful way to live.

~j

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#prayer #presence #mindfulness #awareness #lovingkindness #OpenHearts #path #practice #EngagedBuddhism #JinpaLhaga #RichardRohrQuotes

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some Buddhist texts begin, “Oh Nobly Born…” 

that’s you!

pick yourself up, friends, you are a luminous embodiment of love, worthy of this sacred gift, this incarnation of life.

as is everyone else.

treasure not trash.

~j

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#TreasureNotTrash #AllLife #sacred #life #OhNoblyBorn #OpenHeart #path #practice #EngagedBuddhism #JinpaLhaga #ZuiganRoshiQuotes

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may we hold this important reminder – this awareness and true wisdom – within our hearts even as some overcome with aggression, lost in their delusion, resort to violence as a means to fulfill their desired agenda.

~j

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#nonviolence #nonaggression #wisdom #awareness #TrueStrength #OpenHeart #tenderness #kindness #path #practice #EngagedBuddhism #JinpaLhaga #KahlilGibranQuotes

still reflecting on the anniversary of the Jan 6th Insurrection and the continued efforts by some to consolidate power at all costs, with no regard to the harm caused to individuals, to groups, to the democratic foundations of this country.
what is the antidote to such insanity? in Buddhsim, the starting point is our own hearts and minds, sanity begins within ourselves. this doesn’t mean we ignore the structures and institutions that cause or contribute to harm, of course we work on them, but we include ourselves – our own heart and mind, because we are who create and inform the structures and institutions, the society and culture at large.
may we be the beneficial change we seek, may we be the healers and builders needed when others in their delusion harm and destroy.

~j

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#sanity #SaneWorld #healers #builders #OpenHeart #path #practice #EngagedBuddhism #JinpaLhaga #PemaChodronQuotes