Journal

4/9/19 4/9/19

Insights for April 2019

Awakening:“Power is self-knowledge followed by full acceptance.” Ascended Master Djehuty, via Tom Jacobs.

“Getting started on a spiritual path takes guts. We usually don’t know it in the beginning, but if we keep going on it—if we really want to know the truth of what it means to be human or if we are deeply finished with our suffering—we will learn that walking the path of freedom takes a humble courage.” Teah Strozer, Rain, Tricycle.

“The shape of each soul is different. There is a secret destiny for each person. When you endeavor to repeat what others have done or force yourself into a preset mold, you betray your individuality. We need to return to the solitude within, to find again the dream that lies at the hearth of the soul. We need to feel the dream with the wonder of a child approaching a threshold of discovery. When we rediscover our childlike nature, we enter into a world of gentle possibility. Consequently, we will find ourselves more frequently at that place, that place of ease, delight, and celebration. The false burdens fall away. We come into rhythm with ourselves. Our clay shape gradually learns to walk beautifully on this magnificent earth.” John O'Donohue

“KnowFeelHealOwnBe” Margaret Gervais

“When you are a person who touches fire most people won’t understand you.” Margaret Gervais

These six quotes are from Jack Kornfield, No Time Like the Present :

'With the freedom of imperfection comes forgiveness and compassion for yourself and others."

"In the midst of your own life, your spirit is free."

"You are just here to toil. Dream big and dance."We're here to deliver our gifts."

"'Don’t be afraid to fail' Krishnamurti said to his reluctant disciple, Vimala Thakar. Mistakes are necessary. They are the natural scientific method ... every time you make an experiment you learn more: quite literally you cannot learn less."

"Acting freely springs from stillness; it is strengthened by inner listening. Even so, your course of action might not be clear." Jack Kornfield, No Time Like the Present.

Astrology:

These four quotes are from Steven Forrest, The Book of Fire:

"The astrological symbols are quantum fields of possibility and probability. With consciousness, you can influence how these energies manifest - but there is one choice that is forbidden to you: you cannot choose to have the energy disappear and become irrelevant."

"There is an ancient technical term for how human consciousness might be potentially trained to influence the actual positions of the atoms and molecules in the world. The term is magic."

“Astrology always works, which means these symbols correlate reliably with the manifestation of archetypical fields of possibility.”

"Your Sun sign placement is your own antidepressant." Steven Forrest, The Book of Fire.

Meditation:

“When you meditate you elevate a problem from despair to a place of equanimity.” Margaret Gervais

“Seeing for yourself, from your own experience, what works and what doesn’t is what meditation is all about.” Jason Siff, “The Problem with Meditation Instructions” from Tricycle.“

Stories, of course, are made up of thoughts—those mental sound bites that intrude upon direct experience, and that we let go of in meditation. The more we learn to let go of thoughts, the more we gain the ability to drop our negative stories.” Sean Murphy, “Get Out Of Your Head” via Tricycle Community, Daily Dharma.

Healing:

“Trauma can be healed. The soul is resilient and wants healing.” Margaret Gervais

“Eventually your trauma information becomes old information, and you are more free.” Margaret Gervais

2/5/18 2/5/18

Insights for January 2018

Awakening:"By releasing something, we will draw new energy into our core." Dana Gerhardt, http://mooncircles.com

" Clouds are just temporary; eventually the wind will come along and blow them away." Khenchen Thrangu, On What is Most Important, tricycle, Fall 2015.

"Taking joy in the day, even in the simpler fact of the effort we have made, is important. It gives us something positive to carry into the next day, and helps us harness motivation in the service of our intentions. Joy plays a crucial role in our motivation, especially in sustaining motivation over a prolonged period of time." Thupten Junpa Langri, PhD, Today Will Be a Day of Love and Joy, pg. 57, Lion's roar, January 2017

“Enlightenment is a state of consciousness in which the ego disappears.” Dana Gerhardt, “Gods”, The Mountain Astrologer, Dec. 2016/Jan. 2017, pg. 19.

"This is the great invitation - to live with a trusting heart. This is our freedom. The greatest Zen masters say, "Enlightenment is fulfilled by the trusting heart.""Learn to trust your body. Begin by mindfully and lovingly feeling what is going on in your body. Sense the state of your body today, its signals and needs. Listen carefully to what your body has to say to you. What healing does it want? What care? What wisdom does it have to offer you? Your body has been waiting for your attention. Trust it. Even if you have been out of touch for a long time, you can regain confidence step-by-step by trusting your bodily experience.” Jack Kornfield, No Time Like the Present.

"The person you thought you were five years ago, one year ago, even yesterday, is not quite the same person you are today, potentially in some profound ways. To the extent that this is shaking up your consciousness and that of the people around you, you simply must develop confidence in yourself." Eric Francis, www.planetwaves.net

“Love yourself enough to say no to what isn’t right for you. Case closed. Final sale. No returns.” Chani Nicholas

"Renewal is happening.

Take quiet time to listen to your heart, to meditate and to rest amidst the great turnings.

Feel the renewal of spring that can be born in you.Align yourself with goodness.Let yourself blossom like a lotus or whatever unique flower you are,shining in the world, offering tiny seeds of love amidst it all." Blessings to you in 2018, Jack Kornfield

Meditation:

"With the senses no longer struggling to reach pleasing forms and no longer regarding unpleasing forms as repulsive, the mind is able to see more clearly what is actually arising and falling away." Andrew Olendzki, "The Ties that Unbind."

Astrology:

“The year begins as Saturn in Capricorn barrels through the most object-dense portion of one of our galactic arms. He passes by a stream of binary, x-ray eclipsing pulsars, including the pulsar that spins the fastest. Take a moment to tune to the constancy and consistency of the pulsations. Look inside. Dive deep, then deeper, consider all sides of any issue at hand, then find the flow and groove onward. In the flow, with the pulsating messages heard, work can occur faster and more effortlessly than previously imaginable.” Philip Sedgwick, http://www.philipsedgwick.com/.

“Bottom line: as with all eclipse periods, the more you can focus on where you want to take your life, and do the things you love and want to cultivate, the better you’ll orient yourself for the next few months. The idea is to set new patterns for yourself — in my experience, even new patterns of attitude or mindset count, especially if you reinforce it with tangible action.” Eric Francis, www.planetwaves.net.

Aging:

"When I feel wise and gracious, I see that aging is just natural. It's what bodies do in the last chapters of incarnation. And then I go through periods of denial, ignoring or struggling against the stream of life. I don’t want to discount the value of healthy living to stay alive and fit, but the decline is real and inevitable."You can choose to resist or be gracious [about aging], If you age without trust, you will contract and suffer, already turning toward death. Your heart will not be free to love and enjoy each day, to dance with life..." Jack Kornfield, No Time Like the Present

11/8/17 11/8/17

Insights from October 2017

Awakening:

"When we recognize the spaciousness that is our universe, around us and within us, the door of freedom opens. Worries and conflict fall into perspective, emotions are held with ease and we act amid troubles of the world with peace and dignity."

"Whether it's physical or emotional pain, anything you give space to can be transformed

"Love and spacious awareness are your true nature. They comingle. The sage Nisargadatta frames it this way: "Wisdom says I am nothing. Love says I am everything." Consciousness knows each experience; love connects it all. For a time you can get caught up in fear and separation. We all do. And then loving awareness remembers. Oh, this too, is a place to love."

"It is this simple: your whole life is a curriculum of love."

"During hard times, trust demands a shift from the small self, the body of fear, to a connection with that which is vast, sacred, holy. It is a trust in the greatness of the human spirit."

"We can't step into the same river twice." Old Buddhist wisdom on impermanence. Each moment is born and dies. Moment to moment.

"Yes, things are uncertain, but wisdom brings us to love, perspective, and the ability to trust. Wisdom invites us to live, with a trusting heart."

"The best forms of healing, therapy, and meditation are all about learning to trust."

"Feel yourself being held by a living universe." Jack Kornfield, No Time Like the Present

"In your life, something must die so that something new can be born. One trick is to take it on faith that something is being born even though you can’t yet see it. Recognize that whatever is dying needs to get out of the way. You can take comfort in that perspective now – or you can take comfort in it later." Steven Forrest, forrestastrology.com.

" 'We should not think of our past as definitely settled, for we are not a stone or a tree,' wrote poet Czeslaw Milosz. 'My past changes every minute according to the meaning given it now, in this moment.'

So, yes, you have the power to re-vision and reinterpret your past. Keep the following question in mind as you go about your work: "How can I recreate my history so as to make my willpower stronger, my love of life more intense, and my future more interesting?" Rob Brezsny, *PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA*, Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter, November 8, 2017

Healing:

“The secret to healing lies in exploring our wounds in order to discover what is really there.” Frank Ostaseski, “The Five Initiations”.

Grief:

"I am not the only person with aging parents. It is part of the human journey. ... With a spacious heart, we can remember the bigger picture. Even when illness strikes, a parent is dying, or any other form of loss is upon us, we can recognize that it's part of life's seasons." Jack Kornfield, "No Time Like the Present," pg.10.

“In my end is the beginning” T.S. Eliot"Human incarnation is mysterious because it ends. Death will come to you and wipe the slate, no matter who you are, no matter how small or great your accomplishments." Jack Kornfield, No Time Like the Present

Resources:I have a list of recommended books on my web site at http://theinsightcenter.net/resources/. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

7/31/17 7/31/17

Insights from June and July 2017

Awakening:

"Do the work to become the source of self love that you need."

"You can't harm the soul; it's outside of time."

"How do we become the source of love ourselves? Your soul allows rejected-ness and pain - guaranteed - to help you find self love." Tom Jacobs, podcast,

"The consciousness behind your human life is your soul, and your soul comes to Earth again and again in order to learn what i's like to be human. Families are agreed upon by souls before incarnation so that all members get the chance to learn how to be human. It's an incubator for your soul's growth while human, as it knows you need to be trained how to be a person. It knows you'll be helpless and clueless and birth and you'll need help to survive as well as models of how to be human.” Tom Jacobs, tdjacobs.com.

"Growth is uncomfortable because you've never been here before - you've never been this version of you. So give yourself a little grace and breathe through it." @spiritsoul, Instagram

"Your body ages, your awareness/your soul, does not."

"We are part of an enormous life force; and its ageless and timeless."

Our capacity to awaken is endless."

"Who you are was born into your body; it is not your body." Jack Kornfield

"The stories we tell of our past are written on water." Jack Kornfield, "no Time Like the Present", pg. 102

"It is because we're afflicted by the thorn of craving and attachment that we act unskillfully." Andrew Olendzki

"What would happen if you looked straight at your fear and said, 'Hello, what are you here to teach me?'"

"Life throws you curve balls, be brave."

"I am not then, I am now."

"You can reconstruct the present in the past and you can reconstruct the future in the present." Margaret Gervais

"Not one of us is here by mistake. Not one of us is out of place. Not one of us is unwanted by life. This world is deeply incomplete without each of us in it. Incomplete without each of our individual imprints on it. Our specific touch." Chani Nicholas, http://chaninicholas.com/

"We are not the small self our worries believe us to be. We are life renewing itself again and again. Trust knows that nothing real can be lost. ...Be the One Who Knows (the original nature of mind, the silent witness, spacious consciousness, according to Ajahn Chah) the witness to it all. This is how trust grows." Jack Kornfield, "No Time Like The Present", pg. 11 and 41.

"Wise trust is not naive." pg. 44.

"Hardship and loss are the graduate school of trust. They teach us survival and freedom that is unshakable. There is a force born in us from a thousand generations of ancestors, survivors who have offered us life. Now it's our turn." pg. 44.

"The heart can trust in the timeless spirit behind the magnificent dance." Jack Kornfield, "No Time Like the Present", pg. 46.

Astrology:

The August 21, Solar Eclipse

As everyone probably knows, a total Solar Eclipse occurs on August 21, 2017 (11:30:41 PST) . On this day, the Moon will pass between the Sun and the Earth, in a direct lineup, blocking the light of the sun from reaching the Earth, thus the Sun is eclipsed. It will be completely visible from a pathway crossing the United States, and if you are in the center of the pathway (path of totality) you will be in the center of the Moon's shadow hitting the earth. The sky will become very dark, just like nighttime. If you are outside of the pathway, you will see a partial solar eclipse, where the moon covers part of the sun.

You don't have to see the total solar eclipseto be impacted by the phenomenon (energetic shift) of the eclipse. Many are feeling the intensity of the energy already, as these kinds of shifts start before the actual alignment and build toward the day and time of the event. Others will feel more of a shift during that week, or during that day of the eclipse. As the energy is now moving toward the eclipse, we can benefit from being aware and prepared. Also be aware that the energetic impact of the eclipse will last months after the actual event.

What's the energetic shift? The Sun is our life force personal (ego) energy, it is how we shine, and the Sun will be blocked (eclipsed) by the Moon, which is our emotional security energy. In other words, our ego will be blocked by our emotions. The light of the sun, which sustains us will be blocked. It's a deep and intense time for realizing what works for you and what doesn't. What has been hiding? What do you want to continue to shine in your life and what will you allow to fade away? These are deep issues to be aware of, contemplate, let go and reset. Sit in meditation. Take time out to be quiet and reflect. Write. Draw. Paint. Read. Be in nature. Yell out loud. Dance. Do what feels good to you and allow yourself to transform.

What does emotional (moon) energy and life source (Sun) alignment look like for you? What doesn't fit into this alignment? What will be eclipse for you? And what will be aligned?

This is a powerful time to recalibrate. The solar eclipse is happening in the sign of Leo, which is a very bold, brave, highly charged regal force of energy. Be aware. Be open. Be contemplative. Seize your power. Seize the power of solar and emotional shift and alignment and create from this place. Create what will evolve for you out of this manifestation for change. Have a vision of your six months and twelve months following Aug 21and hold that in a sacred space for yourself.

Grief

"The Five Invitations"

Don't wait
Welcome everything. Push away nothing.
Bring your whole self to the experience.
Find a place of rest in the middle of things.
Cultivate "Don't know" mind." Frank Ostaseski, "Starting With the Fruit", Heart Wisdom Podcast. May 18, 2017.

"Don't just stand there with your hair turning grey, soon enough the seas will sink your little island.So while there is still the illusion of time, set out for some other shore.No sense packing a bag, you won't be able to lift it into your boat.Give away all of your collections, take only new seeds and an old stick.Send out some prayers on the wind before you sail. Don't be afraid, someone knows you are coming.An extra fish has been salted."Sono. Frank Ostaseski, "Starting With the Fruit", Heart Wisdom Podcast., May 18, 2017.'

"Mother's dying almost stunned my spirit....She slipped from our fingers like a flake gathered by the wind, and is now part of the drift called 'the infinite..'" Emily Dickinson, from brainpickings.org

"Whether it's physical or emotional pain, anything you give space to can be transformed." Jack Kornfield, "No Time Like the Present," pg. 17

5/15/17 5/15/17

Insights from March and April 2017

Awakening:"You get to be at home with change. You get to be at home with uncertainty. You get to be at home with not knowing how it all comes out. And you make a plan knowing full well that it may be totally irrelevant a moment later, and you're at peace with that." Ram Dass"The more you let go the higher you rise." Yasmin Mogahed, #inayahquotes

"What we choose, creates. Have courage to say yes and courage to say no."

"Our level of embodiment matters a lot."

"The need to say yes always comes with the need to say no."

"Edit what you vibrate."

"The courage to say 'no thanks.' to the little stuff builds courage to say 'Yes.' to the bigger things."

"Exercise a muscle in your subconscious."

"Can I expand through this relationship?"

"Every choice is in alignment of not. Alignment builds, dis-alignment leaks."

"Look where you are leaking energy and plug it."

Tom Jacobs, Astrologer, http://www.tdjacobs.com/ Tom Jacobs has an excellent grounding meditation available on his website that you can listen to for free.

Astrology:"The more I watch astrology work the more I firmly believe that Saturn absolutely rules good strong results. He rewards hard work. He rewards discipline, dedication and drive. All these attributes neatly apply and become exceedingly useful when working “plan your life,” “grab that goal” mise en place activities." Philip Sedgwick, http://www.philipsedgwick.com/

Grief:

A Meditation on Grief“When after heavy rain the storm clouds disperse, is it not that they’ve wept themselves clear to the end?”~Ghalib

"Grief is one of the heart’s natural responses to loss. When we grieve we allow ourselves to feel the truth of our pain, the measure of betrayal or tragedy in our life. By our willingness to mourn, we slowly acknowledge, integrate, and accept the truth of our losses. Sometimes the best way to let go is to grieve.It takes courage to grieve, to honor the pain we carry. We can grieve in tears or in meditative silence, in prayer or in song. In touching the pain of recent and long-held griefs, we come face to face with our genuine human vulnerability, with helplessness and hopelessness. These are the storm clouds of the heart.Most traditional societies offer ritual and communal support to help people move through grief and loss. We need to respect our tears. Without a wise way to grieve, we can only soldier on, armored and unfeeling, but our hearts cannot learn and grow from the sorrows of the past.To meditate on grief, let yourself sit, alone or with a comforting friend. Take the time to create an atmosphere of support. When you are ready, begin by sensing your breath. Feel your breathing in the area of your chest. This can help you become present to what is within you. Take one hand and hold is gently on your heart as if you were holding a vulnerable human being. You are.As you continue to breathe, bring to mind the loss or pain you are grieving. Let the story, the images, the feelings comes naturally. Hold them gently. Take your time. Let the feelings come layer by layer, a little at a time.Keep breathing softly, compassionately. Let whatever feelings are there, pain and tears, anger and love, fear and sorrow, come as they will. Touch them gently. Let them unravel out of your body and mind. Make space for any images that arise. Allow the whole story. Breathe and hold it all with tenderness and compassion. Kindness for it all, for you and for others.The grief we carry is part of the grief of the world. Hold it gently. Let it be honored. You do not have to keep it in anymore. You can let it go into the heart of compassion; you can weep.Releasing the grief we carry is a long, tear-filled process. Yet it follows the natural intelligence of the body and heart. Trust it, trust the unfolding. Along with meditation, some of your grief will want to be written, to be cried out, to be sung, to be danced. Let the timeless wisdom within you carry you through grief to an open heart." Jack Kornfield, The meditation is taken from the book, The Art of Forgiveness, Lovingkindness, and Peace.

"Being alive means engaging in a continual process of transformation. Nothing in the natural world stays the same. Everything shows signs of being in relationship with its environment. Trees cannot deny the effects of a forest fire. Rocks do not try to hide the smoothness that results from the relentless pounding of waves upon them. Icebergs do not feign being untouched by the rising temperatures of our planet.Yet we humans try to defend ourselves against the inevitable changes. Aging. Loss. Grief. We spend so much of our resources chasing some external solution to our internal discomfort. We have such difficulty sitting with the feelings that, if felt all the way through, could renew us. Release us. Transform us.Our transformation depends on our ability to sit with and accept the feelings that arrive with the truth. Not our version of how we wish life would be and not the version of reality that we need to be true in order to justify how we are living. Just the honest truth. How it lands with us in this moment. What it means for our life. Right here, right now.”

"Nothing about our lives or about this world will ever change without our willingness to be relentlessly honest. Especially about our past. Especially about our present. Especially when accepting the truth means that it’s time to let something go." Chani Nicholas, http://chaninicholas.com/

3/10/17 3/10/17

Insights for February 2017

Awakening:"the only way you can keep you heart open is by living simultaneously on more than one plane of consciousness. When I was in India, there was a time in Bangladesh when things were just falling apart, and I wanted to take my VW and use it as an ambulance. My guru didn’t tell me to or not to, but he saw how agitated I was, and he said, “Ram Dass, don’t you see it’s all perfect?” and I said, “Perfect?!” – I was outraged because people were dying and suffering. My self-righteousness was outraged. How could it be perfect if people were being violated, and there is injustice? Yet he would cry over the suffering, and he would do things to alleviate suffering, so I began to try to embrace the paradox of the planes of consciousness, in which there are inconsistencies. It involves the evolution of the individual soul through all kinds of learning experiences that involve suffering and death, but if you are looking at it through the eyes of your separateness, through your individual rational mind, it becomes a trap where you cannot see that it is all simultaneously perfect and it stinks." Ram Dass

"I won't walk the path of the false hero." Margaret Gervais 2.7.17

“You are the universe expressing itself as a human for a little while.” Eckhart Tolle

"I have sovereignty over my reactions." Ann Ortelee

"Reality has cracked apart. Enter the crack and fly." Kathy Biehl.

"It is as it isI am as I am and now is my time." Kathy Biehl

"If you are dancing in front of someone and your feet are bleeding and they aren't ever noticing you, it's time to leave the room." Kathy Biehl.

"With maturity, one learns to be at peace instead of just keeping it around you." Dana Gerhardt

"Turn away from the polarized political confusion.

Quiet your mind, listen to your heart, follow the Dharma.

Embody compassion for all.

Stand up for your highest values.

Speak out for tolerance.

Turn toward that which is important.

Now is the time to reflect, to care, to act wisely and to protect one another and all that matters.

May you do so and bring your blessings to this earth." Jack Kornfield

"Accepting the weather is a beautiful practice of tolerance and impermanence." Margaret Gervais 2.23.17

2/5/17 2/5/17

Insights for November/December 2016 and January 2017

Awakening:"There's an unbroken wisdom tradition inside you. That's one way to understand your intuition." Dana Gerhart, 'Why Naked?’ The Mountain Astrologer, Oct/Nov 2016, p. 10.

"How do we know if we are attached to something? Because it creates tension in your mind. Sending love to all beings. May we all learn that when we let go we can be more present and loving."

"Letting go doesn't mean forgetting,it just means we stop carrying theenergy of the past into the present."Yung Pueblo beautifully describes letting go and healing.

"Healing begins with acceptance and culminates with letting go.

They taught us that we can't change the past, but in a very intimate, profound, and beautiful way we can. When a great misery occurs it remains with us for as long as we hold on to it, attachments become attachments because of the energy we use to keep what happened or the image of what we want to happen locked away within our mind and body - this is the cause of tension in our being. When we hold on to these attachments they travel with us as a burden, from the past, to our present, and into our future. They can even travel forward in our lineage long after we are gone.

The miracle of healing ourselves is so powerful, because in the movement of accepting and letting go, we relinquish the energy of burden not only in our present, but in our past and future as well. Imagine the timeline of your life, now imagine the burdens that you carry as an extra line layered on top of your normal timeline. As we let go of our miseries, this extra layer becomes thinner and thinner. Yes, it may not change what happened, but the extra energy we carried because of these occurrences will no longer weigh down the timeline of our life. What happened happened, but now these moments are no longer attachments of pain and sorrow, now they are lessons we learn from, lessons that bring us into a present of greater freedom, happiness, and wisdom.

Letting go is not an easy process, it requires a practice that produces results and a commitment to continue delving inward so we can release deeper and deeper attachments. We all heal differently, but know that there is something out there for you. Be bold, courageous, find a practice that suits you and meets you where you are. Healing will come to those who seek it. Sending love to all beings. May we all reap the benefits of letting go. May we all be happy and peaceful."

"the goal the universe has for you is freedom." yung pueblo (follow him on Facebook and Instagram.)

"Truth is one of the vehicles for deepening spiritual awareness through another human being, and if there is a license for that in the relationship, in any relationship – with guru, with friend, with lover, with whatever it is – it is an absolutely optimum way of coming into a liquid spiritual relationship with another person. But it’s very, very delicate because people feel very vulnerable. They have parts of their mind that are cut off, that the idea that’s been socialized is, “If I show this part of me, I would not be acceptable.” And the ability to risk that, finally you learn how to have your truth available." Ram Dass

"To learn to trust - start with 'I don't know.'" Adam Gainsburg, January 2017, astrologyhub.com.

"Empower your own truth (your internal truth is connected to your heart and your soul) and that'll weaken their truth."

"Make space for essential self and you'll feel your creative source; your unique mission for the shift."

I love this, from Monique Leurink: "What is your truth? What do you hold inside? How much percentage do you live this truth? Please increase this percentage."

"I rule my life using my creative force."

"Don't stay focused on what doesn't work. Focus on what works and it will expand."

"The more you take power in the more power you will have." Monique Leurink, January, 2017, astrologyhub.com

"I'm done limiting how I show up in the world. I’m done hiding. I’m going to take the blessing of being sensitive and let go of the curse. I’m not interested in avoiding negativity. I want to help heal it. The weight of the world is not on my shoulders, but bringing a peaceful world out of my heart is. There are two ways I handle the negativity of others. One believes that even though I feel it, I don't have to allow it close to me. Being sensitive doesn’t mean I don't have a choice as to what I take into my heart. I absolutely have a choice. Once empowered by this, I no longer feel vulnerable. I don't have to avoid the news or negative people. I can stand in my light and trust myself. The other way..." Search elephantjournal.com for "Protecting my Sensitive Self: How to Cope with Anxiety about the world." to read the rest of the article. elephantjournal on Instagram.

"What raises consciousness? Sustained intention." Margaret Gervais 11.15.16 Portland

"When you get a cellular calling, respond." Isabeau Corbridge, 12.25.16, Portland.

"If you tell a mountain that it should be an eagle, surely that mountain will spend its days wishing it could fly, instead of being proud of its incredible strength." Topher Kearby, spiritualrevolutionary, Instagram.

"feel everything, because you're healing. and because you are allowed to experience all of your emotions at once or in waves. feelings give you permission to start the process of making your way back home. why get lost in hiding from yourself?" spiritsoul, Instagram.

Astrology for 2017:

"Be radiant like your sun [sign] and combine it with your truth:

Aries - boldness

Taurus- down to earth

Gemini - wit

Cancer - tenderness

Leo - strength

Virgo - attentiveness

Libra - justice

Scorpio - depth

Sagittarius - fiery depth

Capricorn - class

Aquarius - freedom

Pisces - mysticism" Monique Leurink, January 2017, Astrology Hub.

Meditation:

"Much of the time our mind is thick, with thoughts and emotions and cognitive content, but when focused on the breath or on some other object it narrows, gets sharper and more precise, and is increasingly capable of becoming aware of just that thin sliver of experience presenting itself in the present moment." Andrew Olendzki, "Giving Pain the Slip."

"When do we know if we are attached to something? Because it creates tension in your mind. Sending love to all beings. May we all learn that when we let go we can be more present and loving." yung pueblo.

Current Affairs:

A Trump Presidency Need Not Be the End TimesPosted on November 9, 2016 by Bhikkhu Bodhi |Ven. Bhikkhu BodhiIt was with feelings of shock and dismay that early this morning I woke up to learn that Donald Trump had been elected president of the United States. Although, as a monk, I do not endorse political candidates or align myself with political parties, I feel that as a human being inhabiting this fragile planet, I have an obligation to stand up for policies that promote economic and social justice, respect for the innate dignity of all human beings, and preservation of the earth’s delicate biosphere. By the same token, I must oppose policies detrimental to these ideals. I see politics, not merely as a naked contest for power and domination, but as a stage where great ethical contests are being waged, contests that determine the destiny—for good or for ill—of everyone in this country and on this planet.Trump’s presidential campaign challenged each of the ethical ideals I cherish, and if he acts upon his campaign pledges, his policies may entail misery for people in the United States and all across the world. His campaign repeatedly demeaned people because of their ethnicity, religion, and national origins. He threatened to deny women their reproductive rights and access to critical healthcare. He said he would cut taxes on the rich, curtail essential social services for working families, and deport millions of undocumented immigrants. He proposed to deal with crime by imposing “law and order,” a code expression affirming the harsh American system of mass incarceration, particularly of black males. Most alarmingly, he said he would promote an energy boom in fossil fuels—just at a time when we desperately need to be launching a renewable energy revolution. If he actually acts on his words, carbon emissions will soar, climate change will spin out of control, and water and air will become terribly polluted. Huge swaths of the planet will be rendered barren, decimating ever more species and bringing disaster and death to hundreds of millions of people.In the face of Trump’s victory, we are likely to feel dejected and demoralized, but this is exactly what we must resist. Yes, we should feel saddened. Yes, we should feel worried—very worried. We should feel moral outrage at what his victory portends. But we should not feel despondent and resign ourselves to a passive acquiescence in our fate. We have to preserve hope. We have to arouse courage to withstand the tides of hatred, bigotry, and resentment that may be unleashed by a Trump administration. We need to resist the growing tide of fascism, in whatever guise it may appear, and to root out the lies and disinformation that nourish it. No matter how ominous the coming years may be, we must remain determined to preserve our democracy from being undermined from within and transformed into an autocratic plutocracy—government by the rich and privileged.In my view, the struggle that lies ahead requires that those devoted to a progressive vision of American society transcend the particular interests of the groups with which they are personally aligned and form alliances to create a broad-based progressive movement rooted in a recognition of our shared values. Whether one’s calling be with Black Lives Matter, with the living wage campaign, with women’s reproductive rights, with gender rights, with environmental and climate issues, with contemplative spirituality, or any other, we must come together under a common banner, recognizing that it is only by standing together in a unified front that we can prevail against the regressive forces that will be trying to destroy our noblest ideals and greatest democratic achievements.While Trump’s victory probably stemmed largely from the support he gathered from white working class people whose jobs had been exported overseas through free trade agreements, it is far from certain that the policies he adopts will actually benefit these people. If he fails to meet their expectations, it is possible that white working class people, whether in the Rust Belt or the South, will come to see that their interests, too, align with those of other members of the “underclass.” This could result in the emergence of a stronger united front, one that brings together minorities and white working people in a common demand for a new moral economy, a social and economic order that works for everyone and enables everyone to flourish.For the present, however, we have to be prepared to face dark times. To prevail against the darkness, we must hold fast to our cherished ideals of truth, love, compassion, and justice. We must also maintain the faith that, while ignorance and hatred may at times be dominant, through concerted action patiently pursued we can finally usher in an era of justice, love, and human unity.The above essay represents the personal opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent the view of Buddhist Global Relief as an organization. This entry was posted in News item, Politics & food justice, Social justice and tagged Bhikkhu Bodhi, Engaged Buddhism, Global warming, Poverty in America, Social justice.

"Now is the Time to Stand Up", Jack Kornfield, https://jackkornfield.com/now-is-the-time-to-stand-up/"Collective wellbeing arises when we govern by wisdom and loving-kindness instead of fear. “Human beings should refrain from causing harm to one another and not allow their actions to be based on hatred and greed,” said the Buddha, in words that speak directly to modern times. 'They should refrain from killing, from stealing. They should refrain from occupations that bring suffering, from weapons trade, from any actions that bring the enslavement of others.' Through these words, he was not proclaiming a religious code. He was providing a social psychology for the happiness of individuals and the collective." Jack Kornfield, "The Wise Heart.""For each of us, you’ve got to be very quiet to hear your unique dharma, your unique way of expression.Somebody comes along and their major thing in life is to regain the rights of indigenous peoples.Someone else comes along and their major thing is to awaken people to environmental degradation.Someone else comes along and their major thing is to clean up the incredible oppression of women.It isn’t a question of which thing is worse, or which is more worthwhile. Each person has to hear what is their part in the whole process of how their compassion expresses itself.I am doing this gig. This is my part. It’s no better than your part, it’s just my part. I’m not under some illusion that I have a different part and I honor everybody else’s part, I just have to constantly keep listening to hear what my part is anew." Ram Dass 1.8.17

"At the worst extreme, good intentions can be mixed with profound delusion. Stalin and Mao Tse-tung each claimed good intentions, trying to purge the exploitation of the past, and to enhance the power of the masses. Under their deluded intentions, millions were starved or murdered. To be wise, we have to examine our intention to ensure that it is free from delusion. The ends do not justify the means. If our actions will bring harm to others, even in the service of some “good,” most likely they are deluded. If our actions do not come from a kind heart, from loving courage and compassion, they are deluded. If they are based on “us” and “them,” they stem from delusion. Only to the extent that we act from the wisdom of no separation, understanding how we are woven together, will our intention bring benefit." Jack Kornfield, http://ow.ly/HrRd306rlgF" `

11/2/16 11/2/16

Insights for October 2016

Awakening:

"If you spend 30 seconds in the luminous experience of why you were born to live, it will change your life forever."

"When you are serious about deepening, circumstances will arrive to challenge you."

"When the light starts to shine within you, more is exposed."

"How afraid are you of your own internal depth?

""Find your 'thread of continuity' from what you are deeply meant to do to how you are living."

"Don't rush a solution - stay with the problem and digest the issue and solutions will manifest."

"Reality is the constant self expression of who you are."

"When you are serious about deepening, circumstances will arrive that will challenge you." Mark Jones, 'The Destiny Line" workshop, 10.8.16, Portland.

"You don't have to overthink being in alignment with your destiny." Margaret Gervais

"It's a little more like the image of a caterpillar - enclosing itself in a cocoon in order to go through the metamorphosis to emerge as a butterfly. The caterpillar doesn't say: "Well now. I'm going to climb into this cocoon and come out a butterfly." It's just an inevitable process. It's inevitable. It's just happening. It's GOT to happen that way.We're talking about a metamorphosis; we're talking about going from a caterpillar to butterfly. We're talking about how to become a butterfly. I mean, the caterpillar isn't walking around saying, "Man I'll soon be a butterfly, because as long as he's busy being a caterpillar he can't be a butterfly. It's only when caterpillarness is done that one starts to be a butterfly and that again is part of this paradox - you cannot rip away caterpillarness." Ram Dass

"To be free means to open your heart and your being to the fullness of who you are, because only when you are resting in the place of unity can you truly honor and appreciate others and the incredible diversity of the universe." Ram Dass

"You can reconstruct your future in your present." Margaret Gervais 10.31.16

"The challenge of total transformation - individual - personal and collective - social - is confronting us, if our eyes are open, our minds clear, and our ego allows us to reach beyond its fears and its insecure boundaries. When we are able to accept such a challenge, everything changes." From Humanistic to Transpersonal Astrology, Dan Rudhyar, 1975.

"From the same inexhaustible source all seeds grow and develop, all cells realize their function - There is a structural law, a cosmic principle by which perceptible forms are sustained and which governs the process of transformation in all things. This can be realized only because the center principle manifests itself through man in the same ways as it does through a flower or a star; in it we may discover our cosmic commonality - our cosmic community ... At the core each man is the center of his own compass and experiences...""We are defined not only by our place on the physical level, but by our position in consciousness, and these are an interdependent whole..." Mandala, Jose and Miriam Arguelles, 1972, p.12-13.

"the secret is believing in yourself so deeply that no matter the obstacle, you will be able to create a bridge from your deepest aspiration to a future that you always knew was your destiny" yung pueblo

"I kept running away from my darkness until I understood that in it I would find my freedom" yung pueblo

"if you ignore it, you cannot heal it" yung pueblo

"the people with the power to move and act through unconditional love will be the healers and heroes of our planet." yung pueblo

"it is not over until you are free" yung pueblo

Fear:

"Future fear is only based on actual past fear re-enacting." Mark Jones, 'The Destiny Line" workshop, 10.8.16, Portland.

Grief:

"Before I could release the weight of my sadness and pain, I first had to honor its existence." Yung Pueblo

"By pushing away the painful aspect of an experience, Freud observed, his friends were isolating themselves from their own capacity to love. ...love and grieving, like separation and connection, are co-constitutive. Opening oneself to one emotion deepens the experience of the other. The heart can open in sadness as much as it does in joy." Going to Pieces Without Falling Apart, Mark Epstein, M.D., p. 64.

Relationships:

"I think in relationships, you create an environment with your own work on yourself, which you offer to another human being to use to grow in the way they need to grow. You keep working – you become the soil – moist and soft and receptive so the person can grow the way they need to grow, because how do you know how they should grow?" Ram Dass

"...love — at its truest and most potent, love invariably does change us, deconditioning our painful pathologies and elevating us toward our highest human potential."

"In the most nourishing kind of love, the communion of togetherness coexists with an integrity of individuality, the two aspects always in dynamic and fluid dialogue."Brain Pickings, http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=13eb080d8a315477042e0d5b1&id=b5039e55b6&e=82cf85030d

Healing:

"Healing yourself is the development of your personal feeling of freedom and happiness." Yung Pueblo

"Nothing softens the wounds of your ancestors like the sweetness of your existence." undocumedia on instagram

"It doesn't matter that you can't remember past lives, you are still existentially responsible for it."

"Bring the truth of your history to the present."

"Don't give up what's most precious to your deeper self to function as a conditioned self." Mark Jones, 'The Destiny Line" workshop, 10.8.16, Portland.

"if you ignore it, you cannot heal it" yung pueblo

"before we can heal and let go, what ails us deeply must first come to the surface" yung pueblo

Astrology:

Where is Uranus in your birth chart, email me back and I will tell/remind you!

"Uranus represents energetic soul memory."

"Uranus is the critical astrological significance of trauma."Mark Jones, 'The Destiny Line" workshop, 10.8.16, Portland.

"Pluto starts to make soul memories into a narrative." Mark Jones, 'The Destiny Line" workshop, 10.8.16, Portland.

"Every birth-chart is the mandala of an individual life. It is the blue-print of the process of individuation for this particular individual. To follow it understandingly is to follow 'the conscious way," the way of collective wholeness, that is, the way of the active fulfillment of the wholeness of being that is Self (as Jung understands this term.) The Astrology of Personality, Dane Rudhyar, 1936, p.113.

For those of you curious about the BBC story that tends to resurface now and then that says there are actually 13 signs of the zodiac and your sign is off, this is the best description I have seen in a long time that explains how astrology uses the signs of the zodiac - not the actual exact degrees of the stars forming the constellations in the sky.

"What we use is really the earth's Aura, It is a sphere or ovoid, the poles of which coincide with the poles of the Ecliptic and its middle or equatorial plane is the Ecliptic. ... This sphere is divided into twelve parts like the sections of an orange, and it is these sections which constitute the "signs" of the zodiac. We are, however, chiefly concerned with its equatorial plane, for it is this which we measure in signs or degrees, and which determines the zodiacal position of a planet. ... The "aura" does not turn round each day with the rotation of the earth on its axis, but the Earth spins round within it, like the wheel on a gyroscope." Casting the Horoscope, Alan Leo, p. 229-230.

10/5/16 10/5/16

Insights for August/September 2016

Awakening:"...the human adventure is a wandering through the vale of the world for the sake of making soul. Our life is psychological, and the purpose of life is to make psyche of it, to find connections between life and soul." James Hillman "Re-Visioning Psychology, pg. xv

"But what if life is the perfect expression of our own soul nature meeting the field of everything, meeting the free space in which divinity has allowed us to express ourselves? Essentially, we meet our own karma out there in the world. We meet the products of our own life and energy." Mark Jones, The Mountain Astrologer, Aug./Sept. 2016, page 45

"... human beings do not earn free will except through self-discovery, and they do not attempt self-discovery until things become so painful that they have no other choice." Liz Greene, "Saturn, A New Look at and Old Devil" pg. 11

Grief:"Within the silence that follows the final breath of a dying person is the certainty that something is occurring. In the no moving movement of air in the room one senses a deep, deep loneliness and at the same time the connectedness of everything." Robert Chodo Campbell, "Death is not an Emergency," Tricycle, fall 2016

Astrology:

Where is Saturn in your chart and what sign is it? Email me and I will tell you!

"Saturn symbolizes a psychic process as well as a quality or kind of experience. He is not merely a representative of pain, restrictions and discipline; he is also a symbol of the psychic process, natural to all human beings, by which an individual may utilize the experiences of pain, restriction, and discipline as a means for greater consciousness and fulfillment. Psychology has demonstrated that there is within the individual psyche a motive or impulsion toward wholeness and completeness." Liz Greene, "Saturn: A New Look at and Old Devil"

8/15/16 8/15/16

Insights for July 2016

Awakening:"From the soul’s point of view, you come to appreciate that each one of us is living out his or her own karma. We interact together, and those interactions are the grist for each other’s mill of awakening. From a personality point of view, you develop judgment, but from the soul’s point of view, you develop appreciation. This shift from judging to appreciating — to appreciating yourself and what your karmic predicament is, and who other beings are with their own karma — brings everything into a simple loving awareness. To be free means to open your heart and your being to the fullness of who you are, because only when you are resting in the place of unity can you truly honor and appreciate others and the incredible diversity of the universe." Ram Dass

"Struggling souls catch light from other souls who are fully lit and willing to show it. If you would help to calm the tumult, this is one of the strongest things you can do." Clarissa Pinkola Estes, American poet, post-trauma specialist and Jungian psychoanalyst, author of Women Who Run With the Wolves. Thank you to Carol Ferris for sharing this with me.

“As she swam in the ocean of wisdom, the distance that she once saw between her and the stars in the sky began to vanish, all that once separate no longer felt far away. Gently, the “I” that caused so much trouble began to evaporate. As she embraced the oneness of life, it dawned on her that the entirety of the universe rested completely in her heart.” Yung Pueblo, Swimming Freely

“There is a larger frame to the painting than the one that bounds our life’s events.” Ram Dass

Grief:

“The young psyche is absorbed in itself and its point of view, until something happens to destroy that innocence – we fall in love and the person leaves us, or someone in our family dies, or there is a crushing disappointment, like not getting into the college we had our heart set on because we didn’t’ make the grade. Whatever it is, something breaks the heart, and when the heart is broken, the wound begins in the psyche, the wound that will act like the grain of sand in the oyster. Dealing with that wound over years, with awareness and hard work, will produce the pearl of inner essence that cannot be taken away, because it’s indestructible. But to build an inner indestructible essence, we must first be destroyed in our more naïve form. “ James Hillman

Trauma:

“The focus of the trauma healing work [for highly sensitive beings], then, is two-fold: warmth and empathy for the original experience and empathy for the child who received a negative, rather than a caring response.” Sarah Peyton

Astrology:

"’Eris is the Greek goddess of discord and strife,’ Astronomer Mike Brown, a member of the discovery team, said via NASA. "She stirs up jealousy and envy to cause fighting and anger among men." Eris is currently conjunct (right next to) Uranus - the planet that is electrifying and impulsive and causes quick dramatic change. They are both square (causing conflict) with Pluto - the planet of power and transformation, all for the next four years. Make sense? Powerful changes+immediate impulsive changes+discord and strife. What to do? Do what you can. Don't ignore the trauma happening around the world, and possibly around you, be aware and see what it is in you that needs to and can change. Then go with the flow of deep strong powerful transformation and be part of the power of good.” Margaret Gervais

7/7/16 7/7/16

Insights for June 2016

Honeysuckle. SP16. Portland. Margaret Gervais

Awakening:“Acting with compassion is not doing good because we think we ought to. It is being drawn to action by heart-felt passion. It is giving ourselves into what we are doing, being present in the moment – no matter how difficult, sad or even boring it feels, no matter how much it demands. It is acting from our deepest understanding of what life is, listening intently for the skillful means in each situation, and not compromising the truth. It is selfless way, in a spirit of mutual respect.” Ram Dass

“Pleasure cannot fill the heart

Hate cannot keep the body safe

Anger cannot set you free

Only love can fill the voids

Only love can create peace

Only love can liberate” yung pueblo

"Some monks spend their lives in caves in the Himalayas ceaselessly radiating compassion for the world. Others run orphanages for children whose parents have died of AIDS. Which is the right way? The spiritual path does not present us with a prescribed, pat formula for everyone to follow. It is not a matter of imitation. We cannot be Mother Teresa or Gandhi or the Buddha. We have to be ourselves. We must discover and connect with our unique expression of the truth. We must learn to listen to and trust ourselves." Jack Kornfield, This excerpt is taken from the book, “Bringing Home the Dharma: Awakening Right Where You Are“. See his blog posting at https://jackkornfield.com/spiritual-life-takes-courage/

“They asked her,‘What does loving yourself mean?’She answered,“It means to uncover and release whatever keeps you from true happiness. To love, honor and accept every single part of you, especially observe yourself with the utmost honesty and without judgment. Loving yourself means striving to reach new heights of self-understanding so as to cultivate the wisdom that inner peace requires.” yung pueblo, self love

“The mountains that you are carrying, you were only supposed to climb.” Najwa Zebian

"Artists of any stripe who really do their work are engaged all the time." Eric Francis. Astrologer, Planet Waves.

" I did not hear until I was forty that everyone gets to have their own emotional acre, and do with it as they choose, as they are guided, to spend the days of this one short precious life with which we have been gifted." Anne Lamott

Astrology:

This will be impacting us through the summer of 2016."Grand Square in Mutable Signs. Remember life in the High School years, when the bell would ring several times a day and you would have 5 to 10 minutes to gather your things, get to your locker, and then onto the next class with a completely new set of people and circumstances? This went on several times a day, 5 days a week. You had to develop a knack for removing resistances to change and just get on with the next activity and group of people, or it would get overwhelming. Such is the start of our summer season with a grand square in mutable signs and the feeling of getting pulled in many directions at the same time. The same technique as in High School of removing resistances between activities is still the best advice. Otherwise you enter into hurry, hurry, rush, rush, mode, trying to get to everything. Better to stay focused on the topic at hand and when the symbolic bell rings, remove resistance and shift into the next activity.You have to drop into another level of your being to stay centered in such crazy making times, accepting the as-is-ness of life, including the never-ending ups and downs. Drop into your heart and orchestrate all of the changes going on in your life from there. Thinking you will be able to get to your peaceful heart once all of the challenges of everyday life get settled just won’t happen; better to get into your centered heart first to deal with the never ending material of life." David Pond, David Pond’s Astrological Newsletter, Summer Solstice 2016: From Contentious Times to Cooperation, Davidpond.com

6/3/16 6/3/16

Insights for April and May 2016

Awakening:

"Are you running around taking care of everyone around you and worrying about other people at the expense of your own well being? When the Buddha was asked, “How can you be taking a nap when so many people need your help?” he gently answered, “I won’t be able to help anyone if I don’t get my nap.”

It is very important (and far from selfish) to take good care of yourself as well as others. People keep telling me how busy they are, sleep-deprived and terribly malnourished because they direct all of their energy toward others. Don’t get me wrong, it’s our calling to be there for one another, but when you make a list of all the people you care about, make sure you include yourself on that list as well!

Cook for yourself the way you would prepare a meal for someone you care about, and insist that you get at least seven hours of sleep every night because you know it’s important. Don’t put yourself on the back burner or at the bottom of your priority list. The world needs you to be healthy!” With much love from your brother on the road, Timber Hawkeye

"Are you running from something? Are you running to something? What are you running from and to? Make a list, revisit and edit the list and gain insights as you go. When you identify these and start to let them go you will be more free and at peace." Margaret Gervais

~ “Don't WORRY. Things may seem to be all over the place, or pieces may seem to be not falling the way you think they should be, or things may seem to be going awry, but your message here is TO TRUST. The universe knows what is happening. AND WHY. So don't second-guess everything. Just wait and you'll see why this is happening. Do not be in fear. All of this is going ok. It's the way it's supposed to be. And you will come out better than you were before it happening. It's a choice. See this as a failure or something going awry, or see it as a blessing. It's here to teach you, heal you, HELP you, or to take your suffering or tension away. Just go with it and rejoice in the learning. This definitely is happening for a reason. Get out of the way and be more trusting.” ~ Higher Connection - Raising Our Vibration, Yesterday (April 4) at 8:11am.

“Your anger and your inspiration are all inside you. They are just being who they are. Your reaction is your reaction. It is showing you your attachments and aversions.” Ram Dass

“She had faced many challenges in her life, obstacles she had overcome, walls she had broken through, and to her benefit she had grown much from these experiences. But as she began to examine herself deeply, she noticed that the struggles she had faced were never really outside of her, bit deep within herself, it was her own fear that she was overcoming and her own lack of faith in herself that stood as her challenge. Even when the difficulties of life seemed almost insurmountable, she had learned to gather her forces, shake off her doubt, face the fear that attempted to overtake her mind, and place herself in the power of her strong determination.” Yung Pueblo, “Strong Determination.”

“If it doesn’t open, it’s not your door.” Spiritsoul, Instagram.

Meditation:

“Trying to find a Buddha or enlightenment is like trying to grab space. Space has a name but no form. It’s not something you can pick up or put down. And your certainly can’t grab it.” Jushi Cary Warner, “The Snaggletoothed Barbarian

“Learning to transform obstacles into objects of meditation provides a much needed bridge between the stillness of the concentrated mind and the movement of real life.” Mark Epstein, “Stopping the Wind.”

As always, great insights form Jack Kornfield: Reclaiming our lost sense of self: https://jackkornfield.com/reclaiming-lost-sense-self/

Simple and straightforward instructions for the practice of Vipassana Meditation. http://www.lionsroar.com/how-to-practice-vipassana-insigh…/…#

“A sense of defamiliarization is a recurring feature of spiritual life, and it can come to us in many ways 1 in art, travel, in practice. However it comes, it offers an opportunity for openness and intimacy, both, if one can allow oneself to fall into them.” Henry Shukman, “Far from Home.”

“If you put yourself out there, there will always be someone who would prefer that you put yourself back.” Waylon H. Lewis, via Elephantjournal on Instagram.

Grief:

"Each of us passes in and out of this state [grace] many times in our life. This is a universal human experience. As we fall out of grace it looks and feels to us as if we are failing. Indeed we call it "failure"; a part of us dies. But this is the process by which we make space for the birth of something new, something more true to ourselves." "Falling out of Grace, Meditation on Loss, Healing and Wisdom" Sobonfu E. Somé. Thank you to Suzanne Bigelow for exposing me to this work.

"Letting go and moving through life from one change to another brings the maturing of our spiritual being. In the end we discover that to love and let go can be the same thing. Both ways do not seek to possess. Both allow us to touch each moment of this changing life and allow us to be there fully for whatever arises next." Jack Kornfield https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/15483153c1bce07e

Relationships:

This is a good article with insights on how to make relationships work: http://www.elephantjournal.com/…/a-new-love-changing-our-o…/ What do you think?

Parenting:

Being aware of these five attributes is important for parenting, to help raise emotionally intelligent children! Five attributes of emotional intelligence:

Self awareness
Self regulation
Motivation
Empathy
Social Skills. http://www.elephantjournal.com/…/5-attributes-of-emotional…/

(And of course it helps to be an emotionally intelligent person yourself; as children learn by observing their role models.)

Healing:

"True maturation on the spiritual path requires that we discover the depth of our wounds. As Achaan Chah put it, 'If you haven’t cried a number of times, your meditation hasn’t really begun.'" Jack Kornfield

In dealing with trauma, and working to heal trauma, we need to discover its roots. This is really important work about inheritance of family trauma. https://www.scienceandnonduality.com/an-excerpt-from-it-di…/

4/9/16 4/9/16

Insights for March 2016

Awakening:

“When it is time to put the various spiritual teachings aside, you will know it. Quite suddenly what once inspired you will repel you and you will be drawn more and more into silence. When this time comes you may be confused and wonder what happened to your enthusiasm, but rest assured that nothing has gone wrong, it is simply time to give your attention to silence. You may in fact go back and forth several times between being immersed in a teaching and then drawn to silence. Each phase has its own value and time. I would suggest to always have some time being spent in silence as part of your spiritual life. Otherwise you may start to use spiritual teaching to avoid silence. But for now follow your inspiration and attend to the inner stillness as well.” ~ Adyashanti, Experiencing No-Self Study Course ~ 2013

"We try to do everything, but then we’re not really focusing on anything. We’re not going to make any of our little fantasies come true if we pursue all of them at the same time. Decide: What is the one thing you want to pursue right now? Can you focus on that for at least a month? If not, maybe it’s not that important to you." —Leo Babauta in Tricycle's new meditation e-book

"If you are stuck, maybe you need a teacher. If you need a teacher, ask for a teacher, and be aware of a new teacher as he or she shows up. Maybe you need a new book. If you need a new book, as for a new book, and be aware of the new book as it shows up. Maybe you need a spiritual comrade. If you need a spiritual comrade, ask for a spiritual comrade, and be aware of the new comrade when they show up. Know. Ask. Receive." Margaret Gervais 2.9.16 PDX

“To change our world, the collective fear of humanity must decrease and our love must increase. To do this we must each have the courage to journey inward, and release the tension and pain in our mind that fuels our delusions and harm causing emotions.” Yung Pueblo, 21st century

“If you go out in the woods and look at trees, some trees are gnarled and some are straight. Some are flowering and some are barren, you just look with appreciation at the differences. You neither judge nor react. You don’t necessarily hate that tree and love that tree. But the minute you get around people, it’s all different. So I would suggest you treat people like trees.” Ram Dass“You are not broken, you are breaking through.” Alex Myles

Meditation:

The “it is what it is” meditation: "Sometimes it will be really hard to meditate because you will be dealing with a really hard emotion or situation in your life. These are some of the best times to meditate because a meditation session during a difficult time builds stronger “meditation muscles”. In meditating through a challenging time, it’s harder to sit, and harder to be in practice, but if you stick with it for your session, day after day, you will build more meditation muscles (mindfulness), clear and process what is challenging and with insight receive messages on your next steps to transformation.At these challenging times I practice “it is what it is meditation.” As the emotion or mental chatter about the situation shows up, I allow it to rise and I greet it with “it is what it is”. Normally I don’t advocate for mental responses, just breath. But when it’s really challenging it’s harder to accept, see and let go of what arises. Fear and anxiety are good examples. When fear or anxiety arises, our instinct is to push it back and not want it to arise. So if fear or anxiety arise and we greet it with, “it is what it is,” “it is what it is,” “it is what it is,” it helps us to allow it to arise, not push it down or label it as “bad”, process it, let it go, and allow insights to arise, all helping us transform.After all, everything arises for a reason. Our job as a meditator, is to allow it to arise, look at it, see if, don’t label is as good or bad, to let it go, sit in mindfulness and see what other insights arise." Margaret Gervais, 2.4.16, pdx

"Grief:More really great insights from Jack Kornfield: https://www.jackkornfield.com/healing-heart/

3/3/16 3/3/16

Insights for February 2016

Awakening:“Waiting is a necessary ingredient to the recipe of success. While you wait know that the waiting will end and the needed nourishment will come. Impatience shows weakness and a lack of belief. Fate is at hand. Have now the inner strength to roll with fate and bide your time. This action allows all elements to align in perfect order.Waiting with grace and dignity is not something that has been part of our learning process. One of the most difficult aspects of the human condition is waiting. When we conceive a project or enter a relationship we get a glimpse of our desired outcome. Much time is spent making plans and doing the footwork to bring about success. Then, for no obvious reason, the movement toward our goal is stopped or put on hold. This brings frustration and angst. It is precisely at that moment that you will benefit from understanding and thus make a relationship with the concept of waiting. In business be confident of success and be open to change. If you are in a worrisome relationship, be patient it will improve by growing or changing. If you are not in a relationship know that it will come in its own time as you, in your crouching post of ouch cat like waiting, follow your heart to letting go so change will seem like a holiday.The elements to embrace while waiting Dignity Integrity Compassion and Kindness Xu advises us to eat, drink, and be merry during the time of waiting. Waiting is not time wasted. Make it a ceremonial time, a time to look inward. Quiet the inner analytical voice of doubt and laugh at negative thoughts and change inner voices of doubt and fear to words of love and correctness. This makes way for the change, the nourishment, to arrive.” www.theichingweekly.com

“Half of the practice of spiritual inquiry is to take you to silence instantly. When you inquire, ‘Who am I?’ if you are honest, you’ll notice that it takes you right back to silence instantly. The brain doesn’t have the answer, so all of a sudden there is silence. The question is meant to take you to that state of silence that is not manufactured, where thinking or searching for the right emotional experience fails.” ~ Adyashanti"

When fascination with the me dissolves, when it simply no longer holds center stage in your awareness, then all that remains in the absence of the me is revealed." ~ Adyashanti

"The benefit now comes by achieving stillness and setting all distractions aside and focus on opening to the distillation of your truth." Bobby Klein,www.theichingweekly.com

"The true sense of equanimity is not that the emotions go way, but that when we meet any emotion, we find that we have the capability to be with it - without being afraid of running away, or without letting it force us to do foolish things." Guy Armstrong, "21st Century Buddhists in Conversation", page 76.

"The karmic results of thought arising and of punching somebody in the nose are different. The resulting stress and the resulting disturbance [karma] are much greater if you act it out [act out your thoughts of anger]. It's very important for us to notice there's no way we can act without experiencing a result [karma]. When we become very clear about that, it helps temper our actions." Zenkei Blanche Hartman, "21st Century Buddhists in Conversation", page 76.

"First rule: listen to your inner voice. Second rule: be honest with yourself. The predicament is that you listen to your inner voice, and it leads you to a path, and then you outgrow it. And you don’t want to admit that you’ve outgrown it, because you’ve made a big investment in it. But you must be willing to let go, to stand as naked as a newborn child, again and again and again." Ram Daas

"When you question, 'Why the hell is this happening to me?’ sit with it as long as it takes, as if the process is compost. Turn it over and over and add some water. Sit with it and eventually the chaos transforms to rich soil and sprouts of new growth start to form - and there is your answer." Margaret Gervais

Meditation:

“In meditation, you are not trying to make anything happen. You are creating a ground of availability for meditation to occur. Check right now if there is any old programming or idea that reinforces that meditation is a kind of doing or striving. Let them go.” Adyashanti

“The art of meditation is when you do get lost in thoughts or feelings and you bring yourself back to your breath. You come back without judgment or commentary. You simply return. The more simple the better.” Adyashanti

Happiness: altruism, inner strength, inner freedom and resilience. All accrued through meditation practice. "I think happiness is basically just a cluster of the fundamental human qualities. Altruism is one of the key ones, and also inner strength, inner freedom, resilience. This kind of happiness is a way of being, and the more you experience it, the more it deepens. You can cultivate it."

We have the potential to cultivate focused attention, emotional balance, altruism and compassion. The great discovery of neuroplasticity is that through exposure to novel experiences and training, you can change. That's what practicing meditation does." Matthieu Ricard, " Put Your Compassion Into Action," Lions Roar, March 2016, pg. 60.

"Sitting in quiet and stillness and just being in a state of openness gives you a clear opportunity to watch what happens internally when you stop judging your experiences, when you stop judging your mind for being busy, or you stop judging yourself for having a particular feeling. You don't try to get rid of the feeling. You don't try to get rid of the mind. You just let go of your judgment. You let go of trying to control the moment. For a while, you surrender into what is." Adyashanti

Healing:"

Imagine for a moment, the cells in your body are able to react and respond to your emotional choices; they do so by communicating with each other; love invites communication and awareness, fear/anger repels dialogue creating confusion and distortion, often causing damage and or separation on a cellular level. I invite you to focus upon what brings you joy in your life, let your whole body drink in that peace. Do so for 10 minutes every evening before bed for seven days. Your cellular body will thank you by producing the outcome of wellbeing and empowerment from within. The sky's the limit when you invite love back in.not to mention your own body's ability to repair itself!" Cynthia Slon https://cynthiaslonblog.wordpress.com/2016/02/04/love-invitesfear-repels/

Relationships:“Your days pass like rainbows, like a flash of lightning, like a star at dawn. Your life is short. How can you quarrel?” ~Buddha

2/5/16 2/5/16

Insights for January 2016

Awakening:

“Perfectionism is our most compulsive way of keeping ourselves small, a kind of psychoemotional contortionism that gives the illusion of reaching for greatness while constricting us into increasingly suffocating smallness.” Ursula K. Le Guin, “Dogs, Cats, and Dancers: Thoughts about Beauty,” in "The Wave in the Mind: Talks and Essays on the Writer, the Reader, and the Imagination"

"True maturation on the spiritual path requires that we discover the depth of our wounds." Jack Kornfield

"What is your perception of truth? We all see truth and know truth through our own lens, heart and soul." Margaret Gervais

"Psychology takes the approach of fixing an emotional problem in order to make the person functional again. That may be the goal of a society or a culture, but that is not necessarily the goal of a wisdom tradition. Anybody who has been in any tradition of depth has noticed that people who have what look like psychological emotions might be taking a positive stop toward disassembling their old way of being, so that a new, greater possibility can come through. If you're always fussing at and fixing your mind, you don't get that journey.There's also a kind of voluptuousness about what's given b the psyche, which at some level is what's given us by the universe. We can take the ride and see what discovery is happening. Not a thrill ride, but more of a quest. The problem is not the emotion; the problem is being at war with the emotion or acting out the emotion." John Tarrant, "21st Century Buddhists in Conversation", page 41.

“The second lesson of karma is that just as you’re the primary architect of your own happiness and suffering, other people are the primary architect of theirs. If you really want them to be happy, you don’t just treat them nicely. You also want to them learn how to create the causes for happiness.” Thanissaro Bhikkhu, “Head & Heart Together”

“If you treat your mind like a trash can, don’t be surprised when you reach for a thought and all you get is garbage.” Zero Dean

Meditation:

"When concentration is strong enough, we slip below the waves of ordinary senses to a deep, silent realm. Here consciousness is filled with stillness, rapture, happiness and a steady awareness. Entering states of absorption, we feel like a scuba diver going from the wind-blown surface of the ocean to the silent depths below. Absorption states are discrete worlds of inner experience, each more silent and refined that the one before it. They are characterized by unwavering steadiness, purity, radiance and happiness." Jack Kornfield"As we progress along the path of meditation, the key point becomes developing a stillness in which we find freedom from the disturbing elements of emotions." Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, "21st Century Buddhists in Conversation", page 5.

Healing:

On HEALING, and Seeds from our Ancestors: "If we're aware of the habit energies in us, we can transform not only ourselves but also our ancestors who planted the seeds.Whatever kind of action we take, if we look deeply into it, we'll be able to recognize the seed of that action. That seed may come from our ancestors. Whatever action we take, our ancestors are taking it at the same time with us. So father, grandfather, and great-grandfather are doing it with you; mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother are doing it with you. Our ancestors are there in every cell of our body. There are seeds that are planted during your lifetime, but there are also seeds that were planted before you manifested as this body.Sometimes we act without intention, but that is also action. ‘Habit energy’ is pushing us; it pushes us to do things without our being aware. Sometimes we do something without knowing we are doing it. Even when we don't want to do something, we still do it. Sometimes we say, 'I didn't want to do it, but it's stronger than me, it pushed me.' So that is a seed, a habit energy, that may have come from many generations in the past.We have inherited a lot. With mindfulness, we can become aware of the habit energy that has been passed down to us. We might see that our parents or grandparents were also very weak in ways similar to us. We can be aware without judgment that our negative habits come from those ancestral roots. We can smile at our shortcomings, at our habit energy. With awareness, we have a choice; we can act another way. We can end the cycle of suffering right now." Thich Nhat Hanh, "Reconciliation", Parallax Press

"...it’s possible for information to be inherited biologically through our DNA. More specifically, their research shows that behavior can be affected by events in previous generations which have been passed on through a form of genetic memory." http://www.collective-evolution.com/2015/11/12/researchers-discover-that-memories-can-be-passed-down-through-changes-in-our-dna/What can we do with a sudden strong upsurge of emotion? "One of the first things to do is notice the "add-ons." There's the rising of the emotion, which is its own state, but on top of that we add a future. Or we add a reaction, like shame or exaggeration. Or perhaps we add comparison, by holding ourselves up to an ideal we're not attaining. So probably the first thing to do is to release some of those add-ons, so we can come back to the original experience. Then we can maybe let ourselves be with the basic emotion in as mindful a way as possible. That will open up a little space, and in that space, we can see option." Sharon Salzberg, "21st Century Buddhists in Conversation", page 48.

1/6/16 1/6/16

Insights for December 2015

Awakening:

“If you push away anything, anything at all, you are not free.” Ram Dass

“The point is to relax and rest in the reality of the present.” Jack Kornfield.

"Finding a teacher is like falling in love: you can't make it happen but you'll know when it does. Whether you call it serendipity, auspiciousness or karma, trust it will happen when the moment is right." Shambhala Sun, January 2016, page 35.

"It is only through thousands upon thousands of births, awakening a little each time, that you become what you are." Ram Dass

Healing:

"If we're aware of the habit energies in us, we can transform not only ourselves but also our ancestors who planted the seeds.""Whatever kind of action we take, if we look deeply into it, we'll be able to recognize the seed of that action. That seed may come from our ancestors. Whatever action we take, our ancestors are taking it at the same time with us. So father, grandfather, and great-grandfather are doing it with you; mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother are doing it with you. Our ancestors are there in every cell of our body. There are seeds that are planted during your lifetime, but there are also seeds that were planted before you manifested as this body."

"Sometimes we act without intention, but that is also action. "Habit energy" is pushing us; it pushes us to do things without our being aware. Sometimes we do something without knowing we are doing it. Even when we don't want to do something, we still do it. Sometimes we say, 'I didn't want to do it, but it's stronger than me, it pushed me.' So that is a seed, a habit energy, that may have come from many generations in the past."We have inherited a lot. With mindfulness, we can become aware of the habit energy that has been passed down to us. We might see that our parents or grandparents were also very weak in ways similar to us. We can be aware without judgment that our negative habits come from those ancestral roots. We can smile at our shortcomings, at our habit energy. With awareness, we have a choice; we can act another way. We can end the cycle of suffering right now." Thich Nhat Hanh, "Reconciliation", Parallax PressTop of Form

Meditation:"There are endless reasons not to meditate, most of them legit. But if you do it anyway, says Karen Maesen Miller, something changes." Shambhala Sun, January 2016, page 27.[As attained and accrued during meditation] "The energy of mindfulness will heal the wounded child in us." Thich Nhat Hanh, "Reconciliation", Parallax Press

Relationships:"Try it in small ways. Don’t pick the most challenging relationship you have. Take responsibility for yourself, listen from a loving clarity, choose to value being loving and understanding rather than being loved and understood. Say what is true for you and allow others to say what is true for them. This is what it means to remain loving but also remain true, honest, and real." Adyashanti, The Way of Liberating Insight

Strong Emotions: "During a storm of emotion, leave the head and heart, which are like the top of the tree, and come back to the trunk."“A strong emotion is like a storm. If you look at a tree in a storm, the top of the tree seems fragile, like it might break at any moment. You are afraid the storm might uproot the tree. But if you turn your attention to the trunk of the tree, you realize that its roots are deeply anchored in the ground, and you see that the tree will be able to hold.You too are a tree. During a storm of emotion, you should not stay at the level of the head or the heart, which are like the top of the tree. You have to leave the heart, the eye of the storm, and come back to the trunk of the tree. Your trunk is one centimeter below your navel. Focus there, paying attention only to the movement of your abdomen, and continue to breathe. Then you will survive the storm of strong emotion.You should not wait for emotion to appear before you begin practicing. Otherwise you will be carried away by the storm. You should train now, while the emotion is not here. So sit or lie down and practice mindfulness of the breath, using the movement of your abdomen as the object of your attention. I am positive that if you do this exercise for twenty days, ten minutes per day, then you will know how to practice whenever a strong emotion comes up. After ten or twenty minutes, the emotion will go away, and you will be saved from the storm.” Thich Nhat Hanh, “You are Here,” Shambhala.

12/8/15 12/8/15

Insights for November 2015

Awakening:

“Don’t listen to those who stir you up. Don’t listen to others who put you to sleep. Respect them all. Thank them all. Then remember, there is a bird singing only you can hear.” Jack Kornfield“This one moment — Now — is the only thing you can never escape from, the one constant factor in your life. No matter what happens, no matter how much your life changes, one thing is certain: it’s always Now.” Eckhart Tolle

“Nobody is making you feel what you’re feeling. Nobody has the power to make you feel something negative emotionally. Your reactions are caused by how you interpret any situation. This is so important because it means that you ultimately become your own resource of emotional freedom and truth.” Adyashanti, The Way of Liberating Insight

“Inside you are a thousand generations of your ancestors, who learned how to survive difficulties. Do not be afraid, you too will find your way: Jack Kornfield“Actions conditioned by greed, hatred, and delusion bring a heavy burden of suffering. On the other hand, actions conditioned by generosity, lovingkindness, and wisdom lead to a light and happy sense of well-being. Simple as that. Vaddhaka Linn, “Does Self-Help Help?”

“The ‘positive’ already contains within itself the yet manifested ‘negative.” Eckhart Tolle

"Feeling good is not the point - it's being connected so that the highs and lows don't matter. You spend less time at the mercy of all those heavy negative thoughts." - Krishna Das

"What is common to all forms is not another form. What is common to all forms, is choiceless awareness, it is pure love, it is flow and harmony with the universe. It is the absence of clinging. How does it all come together? If you follow all of the forms to the appex, you are pushed beyond form and into the moment. The passing show of forms, being created and existing then disappearing into formlessness." Ram Dass

“Our mind is a treasure. But it ‘s very absorbent, so we must also be very discriminating in what we hear, read, and see. And in the spiritual like, our fence is our ethics. If we know we are living ethically to the best of our ability, the mind will become peaceful. We will attract the same kinds of people we really are. If we have a mind full of defilements, we will attract that to us. Therefore we have to purify our mental state, because whatever is within we will project out. You bring people toward you by your work and by karma. You have to be ready, when someone of a higher level is in front of you, to meet them. You do this by connecting to your source. Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, Tricycle, Winter 2009“Purity of view is a gateway to greater insight and even deeper levels of happiness. The momentum of mindfulness becomes so strong that the perception of phenomenon arising and passing away becomes crystal clear. Concentration and awareness are effortless. The mind becomes luminous. We experience precise, clear insight into the nature of things. It is our first taste of coming home. We have rapture and gratitude.” Joseph Goldstein, Tricycle F’05 posted 11.15

“Sometimes bearing witness is one of the hardest things we do.” Margaret Gervais, The Insight Center

“Part of being alive is sharing the humanity of pain.” Margaret Gervais, The Insight Center

“Sometime bravery needs to show up for you to take your next steps.” Margaret Gervais, The Insight Center

“If you’re really mad at someone, are they pushing your button? If not, would you mind? So what is the button, and how can you let it go?” Margaret Gervais The Insight Center

“We all have drama, the point is to do your drama well.” Alan Watts.

“How can you be your narrative, when your narrative is constantly changing?” Margaret Gervais, The Insight Center

Meditation:

I'm not a fan of meditation apps. I'm a fan of turning your phone off, leaving it in another room, and meditating. ‪#‎phonefreemeditation Margaret Gervais, The Insight Center

“Life a sandcastle, all is temporary. Build it, tend it, enjoy it. And when the time comes let it go.” Jack Kornfield

“If I can’t stop thinking, maybe I can just let my thoughts go by without getting all caught up in them. Feel the breeze on your face or your neck? See how it’s going by? You’re not all hung up with it. You don’t have to see where each breeze goes. You don’t have to look quickly to see if it hit those trees over there. It’s breezes, and they’re just going by. Make your thoughts like those breezes, those little breezes…just going by." Ram Dass

"It is an unfolding process; thoughts with thinker, sensory without body, experience without self." Noah Levine

"Liberated mind is the mind that does not cling to anything." Joseph Goldstein

“The middle path is living a life at a ‘5’ and not a ‘1’ or a ‘10’.” Margaret Gervais, The Insight Center

“It is important to remember, on the path to awakening, that there is gravity. You will progress along the path, and then you will fall and or crash and burn. At these points, maintain your practice, let the fall cycle out and you will rise again onto the path.” Margaret Gervais, The Insight Center

Grief:

An animated short film by Alan Watts, on death: https://www.brainpickings.org/2012/10/31/alan-watts-on-death/

11/4/15 11/4/15

Insights for October 2015

Awakening:

"Be at peace with imperfection." Margaret Gervais

"Never doubt that the universe has a wicked sense of humor. It is to keep you on your toes and make sure you have the ability to laugh at yourself, the self you often take so bloody seriously." Bobby Klein, l Ching Weekly for October, www.theichingweekly.com

"Any human being who does not wish to be part of the masses need only stop making things easy for himself. Let him follow his conscience, which calls out to him: "Be yourself! All that you are now doing, thinking, desiring, all that is not you."Every young soul hears this call by day and by night and shudders with excitement at the premonition of that degree of happiness which eternities have prepared for those who will give thought to their true liberation. There is no way to help any soul attain this happiness, however, so long as it remains shackled with the chains of opinion and fear. And how hopeless and meaningless life can become without such a liberation! There is no drearier, sorrier creature in nature than the man who has evaded his own genius and who squints now towards the right, now towards the left, now backwards, now in any direction whatever." Schopenhauer as Educator: Nietzsche's Third Untimely Meditation Paperback – November 25, 2014, by Friedrich Nietzsche."What if you took the drama out of your story?"

#‎middlepath Margaret Gervais, The Insight Center, October 2015.

"Remove the drama from your story. Drama fuels anxiety and is not helpful. Every time drama arises, notice it, and let it go. Do this over and over and over to retrain your mind. Choose a calm rational response instead. Remind yourself to choose a calm rational response and your mind will be retrained toward calm rational responses. If you need help knowing what a calm rational response is, recruit a calm rational friend/person into your life to mirror this response for you. This will not make you a person without passion. Passion will still arise, it can and will arise without drama and you will response in a rational manner in order to take action and calmly manage your life." Margaret Gervais, The Insight Center, October 2015.

"Ask yourself why you are participating in their drama." Margaret Gervais, The Insight Center, October 2015.

"That peace is not something we get by becoming anything. Instead it happens by letting go, by allowing things to cease. That's why we talk so much about cessation when I'm feeling grumpy, I remember the teaching: "That’s going to change. Don't make it a problem." So I allow myself to be grumpy, which isn't an indulgence in being grumpy or about laying the mood onto the other monks, but nor is it a denial of that grumpiness. It's just recognizing that that which has a nature to arise has a nature to cease; I can awaken to that, and then it does cease. As I realize that more and more, it becomes a path of courage and confidence. There is the confidence to allow these things to be there, to make them fully conscious - to allow fear, anger or whatever else to be fully present." Ajahn VIradhammo, "Don’t Turn Away", page 82.

"Clouds are just temporary; eventually the wind will come along and blow them away." 'On What is Most Important', Khenchen Thrangu on the liberatory verses of the Tibetan Yogi Padampg Sangye, Tricycle, Fall 2015, pg 41.

"Great aims are those aims that all beings share in. So what are they? There are three: 1. To learn about oneself. 2. To resolve the matter of life and death. 3. To save others." Koitsu Yokoyama, 'An Intelligent Life: Buddhist Psychology of Self-Transformation'. Tricycle Fall 2015.

Meditation:

"When the mind gets small, problems get big. When the mind gets big, problems get small." Andrew Holecek, via Spirit Rock Meditation Center."

“Meditation helps us relinquish old painful habits, it challenges our assumptions about whether or not we deserve happiness. It also ignites a very potent energy in us. With a strong foundation in how we practice meditation, we can begin to live in a way that enables us to respect ourselves, to be calm rather than anxious, and to offer caring attention to others instead of being held back by notions of separation." Sharon Salzberg.

“It is important to emphasize, in discussing the art of meditation (and the practice as you continue it becomes an art, with many subtle nuances), that you shouldn’t start out with some idea of gaining. This is the deepest paradox in all of meditation: we want to get somewhere—we wouldn’t have taken up the practice if we didn’t—but the way to get there is just to be fully here. The way to get from point A to point B is really to be at A. When we follow the breathing in the hope of becoming something better, we are compromising our connection to the present, which is all we ever have. If your breathing is shallow, your mind and body restless, let them be that way, for as long as they need to. Just watch them.The first law of Buddhism is that everything is constantly changing. No one is saying that the breathing should be some particular way all the time. If you find yourself disappointed with your meditation, there’s a good chance that some idea of gaining is present. See that, and let it go. However your practice seems to you, cherish it just the way it is. You may think that you want it to change, but that act of acceptance is in itself a major change.One place where ideas of gaining typically come in, where people get obsessive about the practice, is in the task of staying with the breathing. We take a simple instruction and create a drama of success and failure around it: we’re succeeding when we’re with the breath, failing when we’re not. Actually, the whole process is meditation: being with the breathing, drifting away, seeing that we’ve drifted away, gently coming back. It is extremely important to come back without blame, without judgment, without a feeling of failure. If you have to come back a thousand times in a five-minute period of sitting, just do it. It’s not a problem unless you make it into one.”LARRY ROSENBERG, TRICYCLE BUDDHIST REVIEW

"We practice meditation to stay with this state of mental calm, for a while. And with practice, it is possible to experience inner peace and contentment just by calming the mind. Strong concentration is absolutely necessary for liberating insight. ‘Without a firm basis in concentration,’ Ajaan Fuang often said, ‘insight is just concepts.’ To see clearly the connections between stress [dukkha] and its causes, the mind has to be very steady and still. And to stay still, it requires the strong sense of well-being that only strong concentration can provide." Thanissaro Bhikkhu, "Seeing for Yourself”.

"When we question ego-mind directly, it is exposed for what it is: the absence of everything we believe it to be. We can actually see through this seemingly solid ego-mind, or self. But what are we left with then? We are left with an open, intelligent awareness, unfettered by a self to cherish or protect. This is the primordial wisdom mind of all beings. Relaxing into this discovery is true meditation—and true meditation brings ultimate realization and freedom from suffering." Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche, "Searching for Self" (Tricycle, Summer 2007).

"You don’t need to be an “excellent meditator” to start with. All you need to do is have your heart and mind make the following agreement: “Let’s rest. There’s no reason right now to wander around following thoughts or worrying. Let’s be relaxed and open.” There’s not even any need to shut down your thoughts. Just be there with them, but not overly concerned or engaged.Let there be total openness, and just relax within that." The Relaxed Mind by Dza Kilung Rinpoche http://www.shambhala.com/the-relaxed-mind.html.

10/7/15 10/7/15

Insights for September 2015

Awakening:

“If you want to be controlled by your mind, try to control your mind.”

“...we are taught to follow this other authority in us – don’t do this and the expense of trusting yourself.”

"When are you in harmony with your reality?”

“If you want to transcend body and mind, do it in mediation.”

“When you get really worked up its your body telling you its not working. Illusion doesn’t feel good.”

“The more conscious you get the more you can’t get away with illusion.”

“The grace periods are shorter and shorter for the illusions.”

“The more conscious you get the more sensitive you become.”

“It’s a non-conceptual way to align yourself.”

"Very few things survive the 5 second rule. Does it exist if for 5 seconds you don’t think about it?”

“95% of stuff in our mind does not exist if we do not think about it. It's all an abstraction in your mind and it just disappears.”

“This is why some people have a hard time being quiet – they are afraid to not be in their thoughts.” Adyashanti, Portland Intensive, 3.21.15

"[T]he ego has to be first accepted as though it is a reality in order to be dealt with before it can be transcended. At the higher levels, the ego is seen to be an illusion, without any innate reality."Dr. David Hawkins, I: Reality and Subjectivity“Receiving is a powerful – and intimate – practice, for we are actually inviting another person into ourselves. Rather than focusing on our own practice, or on our own virtue, we can focus on providing an opportunity for someone else to develop generosity…That moment itself is unsullied. For that reason it is said that generosity is the discipline that produces peace.” Judith Lied, The Power of Receiving.

“Each thing is actually the fundamental reality, and each thing has infinite worth. Each particular being has unimaginable worth and beauty, because that’s how the totality is showing up.” Adyashanti

Astrology:"

..all of us have access to far memory, that we can remember everything and anything, and that Uranus points to that process..." Mark Jones, "The Soul Speaks", page 174.

Meditation:

“Remember to follow the basics for each meditation. Each step matters to bring you inward, start relaxing and to awaken consciousness:

1. sit straight, eyes and mouth closed,

2. take one deep breath and let it out,

3. take three deep breaths and let it out,

4. scan your body to bring your awareness internally, and release any tension,

5. separate 10% of your consciousness as the watcher,

6. bring your attention to your breath, the inhale and exhale,

7. when thoughts arise, let them drift away like clouds, no judgment,

8. no mantra, no counting,

9. return repeatedly to the breath. These steps create a ritual/habit and are reminders to you each meditation to slow down and be mindful.” Margaret Gervais

I love what Ram Dass, Love Serve Remember write about the witness, or the watcher, in meditation. Beautiful. "The witness is your leverage in the game. The witness me isn’t trying to change any of the other me’s. It’s not an evaluator or a judge; it’s not the superego. It doesn’t care about anything. It just observes. “Hmmm, there she or he is doing that again.” That witness place inside you is your centering device, your rudder.The witness is part of your soul. It’s witnessing your incarnation, this lifetime, from the heart-mind. It’s the beginning of discrimination between your soul and your ego, your real Self and your self in the incarnation. Once you begin to live in this witness place, you begin to shift your identification from the roles and thought forms. As you witness yourself, the process becomes more like watching a movie than being the central character in one." Ram DassHow meditation can help with anxiety: http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/chopra/article/How-meditation-can-help-anxiety-6499435.php

Grief:

Death Is a Part of Living Until you realize the fundamental fact that reality is really in the moment, you’re thinking about long-term goals—'when I do this' and 'when I become that'—so you think, I don’t want to die, because then I won’t be able to do all these things. But if you’re living in the present, death becomes a part of living.—Jason Lewis, "An Interview with Jason Lewis"

9/4/15 9/4/15

Insights for August 2015

Awakening:"...the painful aspects of life, the really hard times, have been my main teachers." Pema Chödrön, "What is the Most Important Thing?" Shambhala Sun, September 2015.

"Carefree is being simple from the inside out."

"There is no need to create something by meditating, no need to achieve something - simply to be very clear, relaxed and bright."

"If you are carefree and open from within, you can fit in anywhere." Tsoknyi RInpoche "Happy and Carefree", Shambhala Sun, July 2015.

"We are all incredibly imperfect." Margaret Gervais, Elk Lake, August 2015

"Although the suffering of loss is triggered by a specific event, the painful emotions of attachment have actually arisen from multiple sources over time, and there may be more of it below the surface than was first expected.Thus, each loss actually represents all loss, for the experience is of loss itself and not just the specific event that brought it to the surface."

"A helpful source of strength during the process out of painful emotions is to identify with all of humanity and realize that suffering is universal to the phenomenon of being human and the evolution of the ego." Dr. David Hawkins, "Transcending the Levels of Consciousness

“When you rest in quietness and your image of yourself fades, and your image of the world fades, and your ideas of others fade, what’s left? A brightness, a radiant emptiness that is simply what you are.”

“The truest and most mature response would be simply to stop, be still, rest, and be taken. It is only the seeker that has absolutely no interest in stopping, but you are not the seeker.”

“To be lost in not knowing is a wonderful place to be. When you’re lost in not knowing, you come to know, but not in the way that you knew before. You come to know as a moment-to-moment experience of being. That’s your knowing. And you know that that is who you really are. You are that ever-unfolding mystery beyond the mind.” Adyashanti

Astrology:

"...the great majority of humanity is carrying at least some form of post-traumatic stress disorder originating solely from their participation in our collective history."

"A stressful aspect in the natal chart [astrology] involving the planet Uranus, and planet in the 11th house or Aquarius reveals a potential trauma signature. This can point to an unhealed event from a prior life held as a wound in the higher mind, expressing as a form of PTSD in the current life."

"...[Mars] symbolizes our individual need for the freedom to perpetually self-discover through the instinctual immediacy of our own experience. Mars symbolizes aggression in service of self: the right to defend our freedom to express our will."

"To be born is to die to our previous state."

"...a commitment to revealing and acknowledging our deepest truth in ongoing soul work, regardless of it's impact on the personal life, is what enable increasing harmony to emerge between our personal desires (Mars) and the intentions of the soul (Pluto)."

"Significant aspects between Mars and Pluto [in one's astrological birth chart] can indicate that current life is one in which soul work will be emphasized. Pluto (will of the soul) is impacting (aspecting) the personal will (Mars) in order to bring about transformation." Mark Jones, "The Soul Speaks".

Relationships:

“After awhile, you come to appreciate that what you can offer another human being is to work on yourself to be a statement of what it is you have found in the way you live your life, and one of the things you have found or will find is the ability to appreciate what is, as it is, in equanimity and compassion and love that isn’t conditional; that is, you don’t love a person more because they are happier the way you think they should be. What you cultivate in yourself is the garden in which they can grow, and you offer your consciousness and the spaciousness to hear it.” Ram Dass