Accepting What Life Brings

Last night I arrived just below treeline on Greenhorn Mountain just as the swiftly moving mists overtook me, turning the blue gloaming into a dark downpour. I made my way as swiftly as I could into the dark of the forest and began to pitch my tent. I was feeling that it was not going to go well, that pitching my tent in the rain was going to be a miserable situation. I feared that I and the inside of my tent and my sleeping bag would get wet before I could get the protective rain fly up. I had brief notions of a cold, wet, sleepless night atop a mountain.

I knew that the rain was going to pass through the mesh netting of its roof and so I would need to work swiftly and with single focus. I spread the tent out and covered it with the rain fly while I ran the poles through their sleeve tubes. This is not easy and the tent was getting wet, the material resisting against the progress of the poles a bit due to the new friction of it's wet weight and the weight of the wet rain fly on it.

The breeze moving this misty cloud through the forest was cold and my clothes were getting soaked. I had decided to forgo spending time on getting my rain gear out in lieu of getting my shelter up as quickly as possible. I could always change into dry clothes once inside.

Once the tent was up and I was inside changing out of my wet clothes, I realized that the intensity of setting up the tent in this swift manner had lent the moment a focus and a calm to the situation. I had not been worrying about the rain or the cold or how wet my clothes or the tents insides were getting, I had been completely focused on the mechanics of the process. I found that with this single pointed focus I had achieved a meditative state where all of these factors were known or acknowledged, but without all the complicated and fearful thoughts. In fact I felt a bit elated. The challenge of the rain had made the event almost a game for me. I laughed in the dark at the thought that I had been having a rather joyful time through the whole "ordeal."

Hours later, I heard the rain stop hitting the rain fly. I unzipped my tent door and scooted out into the vestibule of the rain fly and unzipped its door. The thick mist of that mountaintop cloud was still moving ghostlike through the forest. I got out to experience it. The air was fragrant with the smell of a rain drenched forest. The evergreen scent, the earthy smell of the ancient humus beneath my feet. I could smell mushrooms out there growing in the moisture of the dark.

The mist began to thin as the cloud was sweeping over the mountain now. It dragged the tail-end of it's ragged tendrils through the narrow alpine firs and as that floating wet blanket slipped across the treeless summit, the dark expanse of the night sky was revealed. At this elevation above any artificial lights of the towns below, the amount of stars one can see is stunning. I realized that the cloud moving across the sky had been like a theater curtain, as it swept over the mountain the revelation of the night sky had a very dramatic effect. It would have been a completely different experience had the sky remained clear at sunset and the dark slowly gathered and one by one the stars slowly became visible. I realized that my experience of all that cold rain and mist was essential to the joyous experience I was having in the present moment. For a moment, here was no real distinction between the discomfort of pitching my tent in the rain and the pleasure of looking out into the glorious stars of our galaxy. There was only joy and gratitude. All that had happened was the path to this deep felt and timeless moment of bliss.

I hadn't been dwelling on how I wished the situation had been different, I was too engaged, too focused for thoughts like that. Accepting life as it is, tensions disappear, discontent disappears; being able to accept life as it is, one starts feeling very joyful for no reason at all!

When I saw the night sky fully opened cup with those innumerable stars in the nearly liquid black of space and the misty cloud dissapearing over the treeless sumit of the mountain, I was overcome with it's beauty. I felt grateful.

With great gratitude I was thankful for the cloud and the rain and the mist. I was grateful that I was spending a night with no other lodging than a tent; otherwise I would be sleeping under an ordinary roof and I would have missed this blessing--these stars, and the whispering retreat of this misty cloud, and this silence of the mountain, the utter beauty of this mountaintop night.

It was a great lesson, a lesson in the value of a focused meditational state in challenging times. A lesson in remaining calm in adverse conditions. This direct experience of nature had powerfully demonstrated to me a lesson in accepting all that life brings, with gratitude.

Contemplating Change as the Flow of Life

A friend reminded me this morning about how we tend to try to grasp or clutch at things, and that we need to learn to recognize when we are doing this and instead, let go. Allow. Open the hand of thought and allow it to flow, to breath, instead of attempting to attaching our selves to it. Like water, one cannot attach things to the flow of life; it carries things, and we carry it, but one cannot affix anything to it.

In meditating on the Tao of life, one can see it much like water. Life wants to flow. Energy, love, abundance, emotions, thoughts, all flowing through us.



Trying to hold onto the flow of life is like grasping at water. One cannot grasp water, it must be cupped gently, held softly. To hold it even for a short time we must embody it. We are conduits of the flow of our lives, the self transforming, shifting shape as a vessel for it to flow through.

Breathe, relax.
Be serene, the eye of the storm.

Change is not easy, it is often uncomfortable when we fear we are loosing our grip, losing control. One must always be mindful of the flow, of change, that it is necessary for our lives to change so that we can grow and progress. We can take refuge in this, knowing that it is merely form shifting to accommodate energy. Form will shift for life is constantly transforming to facilitate the flow. Life is expanding, increasing in scope and experience. Life is a verb, it is a becoming. All life seeks a fullness of expression.



We can ease our grip and let go of the ideas we have of the past form. Instead we can choose to allow the new form to take shape. There is a peace that can be found within this change, this shift. While form shifts, there is always this center of inner stillness, this original peace which is there buried under the millions of thoughts we pile atop it each day. It is this place of peace we should inhabit, base all of our comings and goings from there.



Interacting with others from this place of inner stillness, it is easy to be kind and compassionate, understanding. For it seems that all of us have a storm of our own, and yet on closer examination it is the same storm, it is the storm of life, the ever changing and transforming nature of form.



The universe is constantly in flux, it is in constant motion. It is not stagnant, it is not stable, it is active and alive. It is life, and we are all in this together.
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All Photography courtesy of Paul Martin. For more information on Paul Martin, go to http://www.hermitinmyhead.blogspot.com
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In dwelling, be close to the land.
In meditation, go deep in the heart.
In dealing with others, be gentle and kind.
In speech, be true.
In ruling, be just.
In business, be competent.
In action, watch the timing.

~Tao Te Ching, Vs. 8

Mindfulness Meditation

Mindfulness Meditation

This meditation is a basic human technique. It is a non-religious, mindfulness oriented silent sitting meditation. There are two 20 minute sessions with a short break in between. Attention to the breath, the body and the mind is encouraged. This will bring about a realization of the mental activity, the swirl of thought forms in which we swim unconsciously throughout our usual day to day activities. You will begin to see how much unchecked and unconscious thoughts flavor our emotions and our moments.

Through a practice of silent sitting meditation one not only becomes aware of this semi-automatic and judgmental mental activity, but also one begins to cultivate an awareness which allows one to bring the attention back to the present moment, the here and now. This is a Be Here Now kind of thing. It is a cultivation of serenity, a creation of spaciousness in ones life, making room for healing, answers . . . peace. Through this practice we become aware of the difference between awareness and thought, between living life through the illusory lenses of the past or anxieties of the future and living consciously in the present moment.

It is a reconnecting with the self, the true self, the awareness behind the thought forms, that which resides in the stillness of the space behind and between. It is a way to get to know oneself and through this simple exercise of sitting and breathing and being mindful of the present moment and aware of the brains activity so much else can be reveled. We can see that instead of coming from this spacious and peaceful state in our daily activities, we are often much more in touch with some mental form of suffering which flavors our emotions and interactions with others. Often we are not truly in touch with the moment, with the loved one, with the task at hand . . . we aren't even in touch with our true selves. And so, taking up the practice of mindfulness meditation occasionally, weekly, daily can be a very good start to enriching ones life and enjoying the moment.

There are a few important aspects or techniques to remain mindful of:

1. The posture to sit erect, often cushions or firm pillows are used to raise the buttocks up and help tilt the body slightly forward which causes a natural tendency to straighten the spine. This opens up the hara, or diaphragm area which facilitates easier breathing. Lying down or sittingin a strait backed chair are also options, the attention will be on the body, the breath and the minds activity and presence, not whether or not you have a better lotus position than your neighbor.

2. When one realizes that one is falling asleep or lost in a chain of thoughts, gently bring ones awareness back to the present by focusing attention on the moment, the breath and the body. In this way we can open the hand of thought and let the thought we were attached to go and return to the present moment of peace, of sitting and breathing. This can be done by counting the breaths, or through simple attention to the breath, the way it feels, how it expands and fills the body.

This is an act of love. you are caring for yourself by taking up this practice. Letting go of the tensions of the day, in the body and in the mind. Relaxing. Deeply. Cultivating a practice to counter the years of poor habits of attaching to and identifying with involuntary thought forms which are often negative in nature, judgmental, fearful or anxious, all of which are detriments to our focus, manifestation of intentions and enjoyment of the beautiful moments and people in our lives.

Think Big

I am part of an open membership group known The Art of Living and was recently sent this posting with a section from the book “Think Big” By Dr Den Carson

I believe that it is very good advice about living. I know that we can all translate this into our own spiritual language to make it applicable wisdom to each of us


Think Big
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T alent: Our Creator has endowed all of us not just with the ability to sing, dance or throw a ball, but with intellectual talent. Start getting in touch with that part of you that is intellectual and develop that; and think of careers that will allow you to use that.

H onesty: If you lead a clean and honest life, you don't put skeletons in the closet. If you put skeletons in the closet, they definitely will come back just when you don't want to see them and ruin your life.

I nsight: It comes from people who have already gone where you're trying to go. Learn from their triumphs and their mistakes.

N ice: If you're nice to people, then once they get over the suspicion of why you're being nice, they will be nice to you.

K nowledge: It makes you into a more valuable person. The more knowledge you have, the more people need you. It's an interesting phenomenon, but when people need you, they pay you, so you'll be okay in life.

B ooks: They are the mechanism for obtaining knowledge, as opposed to television.

I n-Depth Learning: Learn for the sake of knowledge and understanding, rather than for the sake of impressing people or taking a test.

G od: Never get too big for Him.



Also:

A Second Chance
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To be happy, drop the words “if only” and substitute instead the words “next time”

- Stanley Blanton, M.D.-
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The Art Of Living Blog can be found at:
http://gurujiskripa.blogspot.com/

Deliberate Joyfulness in Times of Hardship

Many of us are going through hard times these days. The global economy is going through a period of balancing itself out which is difficult. We are experiencing this in common with our brothers and sisters around the world and it is a challenge to work together toward helping each other make it through.

I have been reflecting upon the virtues and qualities to bring into this new economic climate which could help sustain a positive outlook and an extension of good will towards my fellow man.

One thing i have found helpful is increasing the practice of joy in my life.

How does one deliberately increase the practice of joy in ones life. There are many ways. To count ones blessings or to meditate upon the abundance that we do have in our lives, many of which we take for granted every day. My family, my health, the warmth of the sun, the gift of the rain. A friend, someone to talk to and share these times with is a blessing indeed.

Often in trying times i have been caught in feelings of despair, feeling that life is just not worth the energy. Sometimes i find that i have fallen into bad habits of just moping and focusing on the down side of everything and spiraling into an unmotivated period of gloom. This has never been helpful to me, and has in fact been detrimental to me as well as negatively affecting those around me.

Making it an intention to set aside time each day to be deliberately joyful has been a help. To spend time with my children or even by myself doing things which are fun. Playing a game with the family always produces laughter and joy. Recalling good times or humorous situations and retelling the stories with friends or reminding them of the occasion can invite laughter and moments of joy.

Deciding to engage in an activity which is fun, taking a walk around the block or stopping by the park to walk for even five or ten minutes can add so much to ones day.

Deciding to do something is always better than deciding to not do anything. Call that friend, watch that old funny movie, play frisbee. What ever it is in your life that brings joy, the little things, the free things, these things will make the day seem so much brighter.

I have found that in trying to be more deliberately joyful, in taking time to appreciate all that i do have, makes the work i have to do more joyful.

I recently heard an interesting quote, "a crisis is a terrible thing to waste."

This may sound like a strange thing to say about difficult times, but there is a lot of truth in it. These things in our lives, these challenges, help us develop tools of wisdom to use in the future. The wisdom gained through challenges not only helps us, but also becomes a gift; they give us something to give back to the world.

It is good to be mindful that, as in all challenging times, we will come out on the other side with new perspective and a renewed sense of power and balance through the wisdom we gain. This can be a liberating understanding, for once we can see this and know this, then we can move on in our daily lives in a joyful manner.

Oh, and remember that sometimes smiling is a reaction we have to feeling good, and at other times, feeling good is a reaction we have to smiling.

The Wise Shape their Lives Quote

"As an irrigator guides water to his fields, as an archer aims an arrow, as a carpenter carves wood, the wise shape their lives."

~Buddha

Remember That Beautiful Photo of Earth?

First there was that one from the moon, "earthrise" it was called, then came the beautiful whole earth photo from the Hubble telescope, the first time we could see our beautiful gem as a whole planet lit up and floating in space.

The European Space Agency (ESA) just released this computer generated impression of the approximate 12,000 known pieces of space junk and objects now orbiting around our beautiful gem of a planet.

This is amazing, astounding . . . and sad. It's hard to imagine what we have done to things. Reminds me of that old commercial of the Native American on his horse looking at all the pollution and a tear running down his cheek that was on tv when i was a kid.

I always cried along with him, and i still do . . . mostly on the inside.

Check out the image at the below link
http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/02/12/1792539.aspx?GT1=43001

Snow Falling on Silence

Another snowy gray day. Even though it's winter, southern Colorado usually has blue skies, even if it's only twenty degrees out. But not today, today the skies are gray and what started as minute snow has grown larger and it's coming down more heavily.

A snowy day can be a real good day to take a moment for introspection. The naturally slow pace of the falling flakes can give the moment a noticeable calm.

Check the stress levels, how is the mind doing? What is it doing?
Does it's pace and content match the falling snow?

One day at a time, one thought at a time, one flake at a time.
And between each thought and between each flake, what is there?

Can you take a few moments to just sit or stand, watch the snow fall, and listen to the peaceful space between the flakes?

Snowfall can be a metaphor for our inner journey, the thought processes in our mental environment, which is, for most of the day, the inner dialogue we have with ourselves.

Marina Raye is a musician who draws from her inspiration from her deep love for the earth. She has a strong vision about the awakening of peace in every heart. In the notes for her album Snow Falling on Silence she references a small story by Kurt Kauter about the conversation between a sparrow and a wild dove.

In this story the sparrow asks the dove what the weight of a snowflake is. The dove's reply is "nothing more then nothing." The Sparrow then tells the dove that it had been counting the flakes of snow settling on a the twigs and needles of its branch. Everything was fine when flake number 3,744,952 settled on the branch, but when the next flake, flake 3,744,953 landed the branch broke.

The dove thought about this for awhile and then said, "Perhaps there is only one person's voice lacking for peace to come about in the world."

So this fable is a kind of twist on the old "straw that broke the camels back", or perhaps "the hundredth monkey". If we cultivate serenity and space in our moments, we can realize peace in our lives instead of each thing we react to being "the last straw." In this way we can be one more entity experienceing peace on the planet, adding to the ever growing number of people having the same realization in their lives.

Meditation

I have struggled to maintain a regular meditation practice for years. I have found that when i do meditate regularly, my stress levels go way down, my immunity goes way up and that i am generally in an even-keeled state of well being.

The form of meditation i use is mindfulness meditation which is simply sitting and paying attention to my posture, my breathing and my thoughts. I like the Zen master Dogens word for it shikantaza or "just sitting."

I would like to point out that "just sitting" is not as easy as it might sound.

Have you ever tried to just sit?

The first thing that will happen is that thoughts will start popping up. I don't mean that you will begin to think things, for if you pay attention you will notice that thoughts simply arise.

Like bubbles up from a stagnant pond.

In more ways than one.

No, you will find that when you sit and are mindful of what is going on in your land of thoughts you will find that often you are not really thinking your thoughts they are simply arising unbidden from the bio-machinery of your mind.

At this point of noticing, i acknowledge the thought, decide if its anything i should pay attention to (such as the smell of smoke in my home) or not (a moment in kindergarten i suddenly and without prompting recall) and then, since 99.99 per cent of the time it is an unimportant thought, i turn my attention back to my posture and my breathing. These strangely unbidden thoughts, like pop-up ads on the screen of an infected computer, are pesky and will pester the meditating person often.

I find that counting the breaths is a useful tool, it is a simple form of attention or focus which is not something one needs to attach himself to very deeply. Breathe in (one) and breathe out (two), breathe in (three) and breathe out (four).

It is simple.

There is no mystery here, no drama, nothing of interest to distract one from ones intention to just sit.

When a thought arises i simply return to my breathing count. Sometimes i realize i have been entertaining some long train of thought and i have no idea where i left off.

The train doesn't have to be very long for this to occur, so nipping it in the bud is wise advice.

As ones meditation practice matures it often becomes easier and easier to catch these thoughts sooner and sooner. However, as i said, i have struggled to maintain a healthy meditation practice and i have found this affects my ability to meditate when i do get around to attempting it again.

This reminds me of the saying "Zen mind, beginners mind." which implies that the mind is something we all have to deal with no matter how long we have been meditating. Meditation is not an activity with a goal in mind, there is no "end result" it is simply a practice. An ongoing practice, like our other practices of sleeping and eating.

One does not get good at eating and finally arrives at the point where we no longer need to engage in the practice of eating.

It's the same for sleeping.

I find that meditating cultivates a healthy sense of serenity in my life. A place from which i can respond to life in a level headed and peaceful manner instead of habitually reacting to events in my life as though they were the last straw, you know, the one that broke the camels back.