photography

#TheShapeOfThings

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment

i fell in love with black & white photography during my recent dive into the 7 day b&w photo challenge.

it became an extension of my medita…tion practice, my Buddhist – more specifically Zen aesthetic and art.

sitting. observing. listening – above all, listening.

so much around us is speaking to us, reaching out to connect, simply with its inherent presence if we are open to it.

the light. the dark. the shape of things.

i want to document this new journey. what has been made and what can be found. hashtagging these b&w photographs with #TheShapeOfThings.

i look forward to seeing anew and hope it brings something valuable to the journey.

~j
11.19.17

#JMWphotography #JMWart #BWphotography #Zen #Buddhism #Meditation #Life

 

washing machine

ready to awaken…

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment

Zen Student:Is there anything I can do to make myself enlightened?
Zen Master:

As little as you can do to make the sun rise in the morning.
Zen Student:

Then of what use are the spiritual exercises you prescribe?
Zen Master:

To make sure you are not asleep when the sun begins to rise.
#zen #wisdom #practice #awareness #WakeUp #meditation

the next step…

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment


my reading preparation…”Start Here Now: An Open-Hearted Guide to the Path and Practice of Meditation” by Susan Piver

“Turning the Mind Into an Ally” by Sakyong Mipham

“Buddha’s Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, & Wisdom” by Rick Hanson, PH.D. with Richard Mendius, MD
…after 8 years of a personal meditation practice and seeing the benefit, in two weeks I begin a nine week course through The Open Heart Project in Shamatha (Sanskrit for “peacefully abiding”) meditation to both strengthen and grow my own practice and to become a certified meditation instructor. grateful for this opportunity and next step on the journey.
~j

09.13.16
#Shamatha #meditation #practice #Shambhala #Buddhism #TheOpenHeartProject #gratitude

revolution? awakening?

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment

any movement that is not self-aware, self-conscious, that does not entertain some level of humility and openness to critical thinking and questioning is in danger of slipping into fundamentalism and extremism no matter how good the intentions motivating it.
revolutions can bring benefit, or bring harm. and very often some of both. there is always a price. one person’s gain, another person’s loss.
a true revolution of the heart and true awakening, however, opens the heart – defeating the real enemies of pride, ego, ignorance, greed, and the notion of “other.”
~j

#WakeUp #RevolutionOfTheHeart #Awakening #Humility #Heart 

beauty is waiting, love is calling…

~ jaysen ~ 1 Comment

tibetan prayer flags

 

the thing is, around every corner beauty is waiting to be seen,
anxiously calling our attention.

and love.
love is calling to be held close and to be given away.

beauty and love.

sometimes they are disguised as the wind dancing through and with the
willing, swaying trees.
sometimes they are disguised as the little ants working together in
purpose or in laughter from a good joke, or the taste of your favorite
food, or the look in your beloved’s eyes.
sometimes they are hidden in struggle and grief, pain and loss.

but they are always present.

can we see the beauty in our broken moments?
can we hold ourselves with love?

sometimes the beauty we find and the love we discover are in how we
respond to life.

we have the capacity of heart to respond to life with openness, with a
spacious quality that allows.  love allows.

so we still ourselves.
becoming aware of our breath.
we listen with fresh ears.
we look deeply.
and we stay open.

everything is a miracle, every moment sacred.

~j
02.13.15