#338 Mindfulness - Whole-heartedly Doing the Right Thing in Real Time

     Mindfulness practice "is about working on how we can do what we are already doing so that we do it more whole-heartedly, bringing our self fresh to each moment.
     This is not easy, because many of the moments of our lives are painful. We have only a little control over what life brings to us; often we can’t get what we want and we can’t avoid what we don’t want. This is the beginning of both psychotherapy and spiritual practice, since it leads us to the question of how we deal with what is in front of us."

        Rosenbaum R. Zen and the heart of psychotherapy. Brunner/Mazel, Philadelphia, 1998. http://www.zenqigong.com/Psych/

Johnny Rockets - Seattle WA - May 2013

#66 Openings

     “The more we open ourselves, the more our energy and effort in practice flow. We become a channel or conduit for energy. This energy is the power of expansion and opening, not an energy of struggle. It is a power of the heart. If we are willing to bring a wholehearted effort to every aspect of our practice, the very effort itself brings more energy as we touch this great capacity within us.”           J Goldstein & J Kornfield

      “I just went through a series of heart attacks, and the greatest gift that’s come out of that for me is a deeper appreciation of vulnerability, which is usually seen as weakness. But I’m experiencing it as a kind of porousness, of feeling less defended, less armored. If we can impart to younger people the gift of that vulnerability, it may help them to embrace aging.”                                       Frank Ostaseski

Photo: RuthC   www.dpreview.com