#592 MY Choice - moment by moment

     Is love flowing through? Is there clarity, peace, silence, timelessness, stillness, kindness, lightness? Is an effortless process at play?

     If not, how long do I allow estrangement from authenticity? My mind-body tells me, moment-by-moment, precisely what's happening - heaven or hell.

     Listen well. My quality of life is MY choice alone.

#589 Resting in Awareness

     When we decide to "just sit" in meditation, we can embody a quality of presence we already know from previous experiences. We can feel at ease, a peaceful clarity of mind, kindness with warmth radiating from our neck / chest area, inner silence, stillness, timelessness ... This is a state we can simply remember as having experienced - perhaps while being with a loved one - human or four-legged, while savoring a walk through nature, or some other activity that deeply engaged the totality of our being.
     Then, when the ego again becomes noisy with self-talk, we gently acknowledge the noise, allow it pass, and return to resting in awareness. This evolved quality of being is immediately available, instantly, effortlessly.

Placentia Bay, Newfoundland, 1974 by Sam Abell, National Geographic   http://photography.nationalgeographic.com

#580 "All Manner of Things SHALL be Well" ??

Old echoes may ache,
Doubts inherited can pummel,
Reflexive unskilled tendencies can simmer,
AND YET - "all manner of things ARE well" - NOW

For deep within & all about ...
Profound wisdom,
The vigilance of the most loving grandparent,

Immediately, effortlessly ever-present ...
Spacious clear AWARENESS -
Silent, still, timeless, loving, peaceful, joyful,
Embracing EVERYTHING.

     See also: http://www.johnlovas.com/2014/11/waking-up.html

Valerios Theofanidis, National Geographic   http://photography.nationalgeographic.com

#543 What is Meditation?

     “Meditation opens the mind to the greatest mystery that takes place daily and hourly; it widens the heart so that it may feel the eternity of time and infinity of space in every throb; it gives us a life within the world as if we were moving about in paradise; and all these spiritual deeds take place without any refuge into a doctrine, but by the simple and direct holding fast to the truth which dwells in our innermost beings.”                                   Suzuki Roshi

       from: wisdomandcompassion.us

"Pax et Bonum" - Peace and Goodness (be with you) - Franciscan motto, Assisi, Italy

#526 Monitoring My State of Being - Moment-by-Moment

     Awareness of what's going on around us & what's going on inside of us are important components, but nowhere near all of mindfulness. Another vital level of awareness is monitoring our state of being or, in computer jargon, our operating system.
     We've all experienced this unique combination kind / loving, open-hearted, peaceful, silent, still, timeless, hypoegoic / egoless: being with a person or animal we love, performing highly meaningful activity, being in a special place, listening to special music etc.
     We've all also experienced being "stressed-out": fear / anger / anxiety / depression, armored, noise, feeling rattled / shaken, time-poverty, egocentric. If we examine our lives very carefully, the vast majority of our time is spent - to some degree - in this mode.
     Whether we're in the rare open-hearted mode - or - the almost continuous armored mode, we tend to blame external factors entirely. Aside from trying to make the external environment more comfortable & pleasing, we assume we have no control over our quality of life.

     Mindfulness training allows us see clearly & experience directly how WE are ENTIRELY RESPONSIBLE for our own state of being - in which operating system WE CHOOSE to live ie we choose our quality of life independent of external factors.
     You CAN open your mind-heart up to an infinitely greater quality of life.

Puppy Love from: smchealth.org       &       Stressed-Out from: knowmybody.com

#466 Timelessness?

     Linear time may seem quite rational. Timelessness may be something you experience as equally if not more reasonable, in time. Yes, both time and timelessness.

Steve McCurry   http://stevemccurry.com/

#446 Gratitude, Service & Responsibility

     The great philosopher Huston Smith summarized a profound approach to life:

"Infinite gratitude towards all things past;
infinite service to all things present; 
infinite responsibility to all things future."

http://billmoyers.com/content/a-personal-philosophy-the-wisdom-of-faith-with-huston-smith/

     Can we acknowledge how this, and only this, total timeless engagement with life is right, natural, our only home?
     Can we recognize that anything less than such an openhearted mindful embrace of the whole is partial, incomplete, inadequate, and therefore - painfully unsatisfying?
     Can we then reduce suffering by settling for nothing less?
     Can we recognize how this is as plainly reasonable & practical as pulling a splinter out of our thumb?

     See: http://healthyhealers.blogspot.ca/2013/11/personal-deepening-universal-meaning.html

Kristiina Lehtonen - "A Message to Eternity"   http://www.kristiinalehtonen.fi