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Awakened beings don’t usually do things that make them miserable. Their lives may still have some misery, but they don’t pick it up. They don’t identify with it; they don’t make it their own. They stop and look at it; they feel, experiencing
their life as it is right now, and they leave it there. - Ajahn Sundara Being a hermit doesn’t mean you live in the deep forest; it means that your mind is free from dualistic constructs. ―Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava
These two words – good enough – can be a powerful mantra to embrace because we live in a the culture which demands that we meet impossible standards. Everyone should be tall, thin, healthy, wealthy, intelligent, witty, attractive. This can leave us with the feeling of “not enough.” We fall victim to a downward spiral of believing we are not smart enough, successful enough, wealthy enough, attractive enough, and that we don’t have enough or do enough. Correct this by adjusting your self-view by focusing on the small, good things you are doing and experiencing. Repeat this mantra to yourself as often as necessary – good enough! - Victor M. Parachin
We can complacently watch life from the sidelines, or we can risk our pride, our ideas, and whatever else we use to separate ourselves from others and leap fully into our life. Take that leap. - Michael Wenger
We have the wisdom to know what makes us turn into hellish beings with hellish lives, and the wisdom to know how to bring those lives into a place of goodness, kindness, love and peace, the qualities that make a liveable world. - Ajahan Sundara
Herpreet Thind is associate Professor of Public Health, UMass Lowell and is a behavioral scientist who researches how physical activity – and specifically yoga – can prevent and help manage chronic diseases. She recently published an article on a web site called Theconversation.com about the wide variety of benefits - to body, mind and spirit - which come from a regular yoga practice. Here are some highlights:
(read the entire article here: https://theconversation.com/yoga-modern-research-shows-a-variety-of-benefits-to-both-body-and-mind-from-the-ancient-practice-197662 ) Balance is a skill we develop, we don’t achieve it straightaway. We’re not working with an inanimate object. We are working with energy, our big energy body that doesn’t always tell us in advance how it is going to respond. So we have to become skilled in receiving this energy without misinterpreting it or being confused by the energetic movement of the mind and body. - Ajahan Sundara
The Buddha encountered a group who were fire worshipers. To them, fire was a symbol of purity and light. The Buddha tapped into their spiritual practice reminding them that everything is ‘on fire’ – the mind, the ears, the eyes, the tongue, the mouth, etc. This burning appears as greed, desire, anger, hostility, hatred, jealousy, negativity and more.
Understanding this, the Buddha said it’s vitally important for people to cool down the fire. That’s done by self-investigation, a deep awareness which comes from asking ourselves ‘what is causing me to feel this way right now?’ This simple inner glance will be enough to lower the heat. - Victor M. Parachin The Universe always strikes at your weakest point because that’s what most needs strengthening. - Chris Prentiss
If you assume that your death is still years away, how do you make sure that, when it’s your funeral, there will be mourners? - Margaret Meloni
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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
January 2023
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