meditation

listening…

~ jaysen ~ 1 Comment

  

if what is presented in Buddhism -that we are interconnected and all things are impermanent and changing – is indeed true, then our most grateful and honorable response is to aspire to and practice toward authentic engagement with life. in other words…Presence. to be Present, we can practice a most beneficial skill…Listening. and the first step toward skillful listening is to stop talking.
~j
#RightListening #StopTheChatter #presence #relationships #communication #practice #listening #authenticity #ThisMoment #impermanence #interconnection #change #life #meditation #Buddhism 

be still…

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just as a lake when stilled reflects the luminous moon, so do we when stilled reflect the vast, luminous nature of being.~j

#CalmAbiding #stillness #silence #NotReactionInsteadThoughtfulAction #zen #mindfulness #meditation

wake up…

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“The teachings of Buddhism are directed at people who don’t have a lot of time to waste. That includes all of us, whether we’re aware of it or not. From the point of view of the teachings, thinking that we have ample time to do things later is the greatest myth, the greatest hang-up, and the greatest poison. That, along with our continual, deep-seated tendency to try to get away from what we are doing, clouds our perceptions and our thinking. 
If we knew that tonight we were going to go blind, we would take a longing, last real look at every blade of grass, every cloud formation, every speck of dust, every rainbow, raindrop—everything. If we knew we were going to go deaf tomorrow, we would treasure every single sound we heard. The teachings try to scare us into waking up to how little time there is and to the preciousness of human birth.”
~ Pema Chödrön

breathe…

~ jaysen ~ 1 Comment

  

breathe…one of my favorite Thich Nhat Hanh calligraphies.
the breath is life, to reconnect with the breath is to reconnect with life. to be present as one breathes is to be present in this moment, to be present with life. we cannot be lost in thought, in worry, in anger, if we are with our breath – paying attention to it as we breathe in. does it feel cold, is it warm? does it tingle at the nose? does the chest rise, does the belly expand as the breath fills our bodies? when we breathe out, do we feel the belly sink in, the chest fall, the body relax?
this is meditation. to find a comfortable sitting position, settling our bodies, back straight, eyes softened or closed, finding and releasing tension, and then observing our breath. thoughts can come and go. we let them. we allow them to come and go without judging or correcting ourselves for having them, and without running away with them. when we do run with our thoughts and we become aware that we have, we simply return to observing our breath. practice. this is what we practice. we do this each day so we grow a capacity to “be” with life, no matter what has manifest. we practice so we can learn to pause before our reactions, so we can make a thoughtful choice of action.
(breathing in)

calm body

(breathing out)

calm mind
when we breathe in we are giving our body oxygen, life. a body provided for is a calm body. when we breathe out we are letting go, we are surrendering – quite literally – our life, our breath, along with all of our fears, worries, or anger. a mind provided for is a calm mind.
I know this, just as I know life is filled with impermanence and change (and there has been plenty of that both professionally and personally this year). and although we more often than not have an aversion to change, which causes us suffering, it is important to remember that without change there’d be no possibility of something better, no opportunity for our growth as precious human beings in this life to find a new home, a new place to continue our learning and growth.
yet when change comes heavy and fast, it can be jarring, unsettling and painful. the ground is removed from under our feet and we feel insecure. it is discomforting and heart aching to witness this happening to those we care about and not have a way to fix it or make it better. as was the case today. 
so I remind myself as I remind them and all of us, breathe…
~j

09.01.15

the experience of our life as it is…

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“…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…

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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