contemplation

act…

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment


we sit, we practice. we practice with our breath, with our thoughts, with all that is in our hearts. allowing all of it to rise and fall, to arrive and pass away. in doing so, we open our hearts, we develop compassion for our own self and our own situation.but what good would it do, to end the journey there? compassion, once developed, naturally extends if we remain open. 

the cushion is a great place to start, but not to stay. 

go out into the world and offer your compassion through your words and actions.
~j

what are we waiting for?

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment


in case you are wondering, now is the time to engage this life, to stand up and speak out for justice, equality and peace.we do so with empathy, compassion and courage. we do so with open hearts and steady minds rooted in meditation and contemplative practice.

we are interdependent and each of us has a role to play, a job to do, working to retain sanity and peace and to heal suffering for the benefit of all people.

~j

09.04.17
#Bodhisattvas #MeditateAndResist #TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #TheMettaGarden

our lives…

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment

Moon and Tree through Lines

 

“Our lives are like the plants, floating along the water’s edge, illumined by the moon.”
~ Ryokan

held.
carried.

we reflect
the beauty
of this life

given
for a time.

and then
given back
just as easily
and all too quickly.

~j

not knowing…

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment


Even though we’re making our way through an enormous mystery, we often think we do a pretty good job of trying to explain just how things are—until we actually experience the thing we’re trying to explain. Then we realize our words and ideas are like trying to grab a single drop of rain in a thunderstorm.
~

Ed Brickell
#BeginnersMind #contemplation #words #ideas #mystery #NotKnowing #JMWart

the experience of our life as it is…

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment

  

“…disasters do happen and our pictures of how our life should be are blown away. Then we have a choice: do we face the disaster directly and make it our practice or do we run once again, learning nothing and compounding our difficulties? If we want a life that’s peaceful and productive, what do we need? We need the ability (which we learn slowly and unwillingly) to be the experience of our life as it is.”
~ Charlotte Joko Beck

meditation is a practice…

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment

  

meditation is a practice


coming back to reality ~
here i am. 

this is my breath coming in 

and going out.

this is my body aching or at rest.
hearing the sounds of this moment.

taking care of oneself in this reality ~
i feel my body. i feel any tension or pain.

i hold it with tenderness and breathe into it
and breathe out of it. 
i hear the confusion in my mind.
thoughts racing nowhere.
i hold this feeling with understanding
and compassion.
letting go and coming back to my breath. 
i hear the lovely sounds of life around me.
i am grateful and smile.

staying open to reality ~
my heart has the capacity to hold 

the entire world and all of life.
my mind, the wisdom to let go. 
i stay open to the present, 
trusting life and my true nature, 
trusting the capacity of my heart to 
stay open and grow.  
and in this space of understanding 
and compassion 
– in this openness – 
i am able to be of benefit 
to others’ well being 
and their end to suffering 
as well as my own.

~j