Because people know that they are judged largely on the basis of their appearance, many people spend far more time working on how they look than on how they behave. - Rabbi Joseph Telushkin
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When you look at spiritual leaders, when you look at religious teachers, you find there probably aren’t as many saints as you would hope. It isn’t for lack of trying; people are just often bad at being saints. - Koun Franz
Working a job or being involved in the business world is an extraordinary learning opportunity and a very underrated spiritual training ground. You spend eight hours a day at work, but only 20 minutes to an hour a day practicing on the cushion. But those eight hours are also a practice. You’re practicing being kind to yourself, having compassion for others, being insightful, developing good work habits, teamwork, leadership, and so on. - David Nichtern
The origin of suffering is not desire, but attachment, fixation, or objectification of the desire. - David Nichtern
If I am ill, I am happy, because I exhaust past negative karma.
If I am healthy, I am happy, because I have a fit mind and body for practice and virtuous actions. If my illness benefits beings, I pray to the Three Jewels that I may be sick. If recovering from illness benefits beings, I pray to the Three Jewels that I may be cured. If my death benefits beings, I pray that I may die. If my life benefits beings, I pray that I may live. —Gyalse Ngulchu Tokme Zangpo Here’s a common sense approach to evaluating life satisfaction from author Chris Prentiss. In his book, Zen And The Art Of Happiness, he writes: “If who you are and what you have is what you want, if you’re satisfied with the conditions of your life, congratulations – do more of what you’ve been doing and you’ll get more of what you already have. But if who you are, what you want, what you have, and your current conditions are less than what you want or are different from what you want, you have to make some changes, basic changes, inner changes. Failure to make those changes will find you fruitlessly continuing to seek the things you desire as the years pass by.”
To love is, first of all, to accept ourselves as we actually are. That is why in this love meditation, ‘Know thyself’ is the first practice of love. When we practice this, we see the conditions that have caused us to be the way we are. This makes it easy for us to accept ourselves, including our suffering and our happiness at the same time. - Thich Nhat Hanh
In his book, Mind To Matter, Dr. Dawson Church (PhD) tells of interviewing a woman (Adeline) who had a “spontaneous remission” from cancer. While in her early 30s, Adeline was diagnosed with cervical cancer and informed it had spread throughout her body. Though physicians recommended surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, they told Adeline that any recovery chance was very slim.
Unwilling to destroy her body via the treatments offered, Adeline opted to make her last few months as peaceful and tranquil as possible. Here’s how she made that happen: • She began taking long walks in nature; • She took long, leisurely baths daily, letting water out as it cooled and adding hot water; • She visualized. As she walked in nature and lay in the tub, she imagined tiny glistening healing stars raining from the sky; • She “saw” those stars enter her body and whenever the point of a star touched a cancer cell, it popped like a bubble; • She ate the healthiest diet possible; • She meditated every day; • She read inspiration literature; • She began taking even longer walks finding herself feeling physically better than she’d ever felt; • She terminated relationships with friends whose company was upsetting; • With the exception of a few friends, she spent most of her time in solitude. When Adeline returned to the hospital for a further check up nine months later, doctors could not detect any trace of cancer in her body. Dr. Dawson offers this insight about her cancer remission: “Adeline changed her energy in every possible way. She changed the energy of her physical environment by immersing herself in nature. She filled her mind with positive and specific images like the healing stars and the uplifting energy of inspirational books. She ate food with an elevated energetic signature. She eliminated the energy of unhappy friends. She bathed daily, a practice that fills the body with electrons, countering the free radicals that are a major source of oxidative stress and cell degeneration.” Interviewing her seven years later, Dr. Dawson noted that Adeline was “still meditating, eating clean, and living a low stress lifestyle.” And, of course, she was still cancer free. We’re not called to discern between wholesome and unwholesome actions, between ‘good’ and ‘bad.’ Choosing the good, the wholesome, is not a question of discernment; it’s a question of ethics. We discern between two or more wholesome options —choosing that which results in the highest benefit for the greatest number. - Tashi Nyima
Having a philosophy of life is not complex. There are only two approaches. The first one exhibits confidence and comfort and is found in those who say: My life is great. Wonderful things generally come way. I am a very fortunate person. The second one leans toward the negative and skeptical and shows up in the person who says: I never have any luck. Good things always seem to happen to others. People are only looking out for themselves. Thus, your philosophy of life comes down to your choice. If you see things positively, then that is magnified. When you view things negatively, then that is expanded. Your choice! - Victor M. Parachin
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Victor M. Parachin ...is aVedic educator, yoga instructor, Buddhist meditation teacher and author of a dozen books. Buy his books at amazon or your local bookstore. Archives
November 2024
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