Now About Meditation

Anger, annoyance, and impatience deplete your energy in a few moments. While through wise patient effort our resources are better deployed and this strengthens us in the long run. So we need to practice cooling emotional fires and learn how to soothe and alleviate fierce emotional disruptions in lives. This by holding whatever arises let it be good, bad or neutral in equanimity and the light of compassion.

Meditation helps us discover our natural freedom by exposing us to the lucidity of simple awareness .  When this happens our meditation practice dissolves into a practice of no practice (which is not the same thing as abandoning practice) where no one is doing or not doing anything, and natural freedom is no longer yearned for, but effortlessly arises within oneself.

Having the ability to extend compassion towards oneself and others ... is the basis of an authentic and openhearted life .

Loving-kindness is one of the most meritorious action because its nature is joy and because it always brings about happiness and well-being . 

Meditation is one key to understand how we behave and do what we do in any given situation. It shows us that we have to get dirty with our emotions to be able to see through them and understand them. Why? Because meditation increases our awareness which in turn allows us to feel, live, and taste our emotions more fully and completely. This can give us a lot of insight into why we do the things we do and why other people do the things they do. Where out of this insight, compassion and understanding are born.

All experience arises in the present, do their dance, and then disappear. Experiences come into being only tentatively, for a little time in a certain form; then that form ends and a new form replaces it moment by moment.

One of the primary duty of a trustworthy friend is to point out to us our errors — for only when we are able to see our errors can we correct them; and only when we take action to correct them will we be benefiting from our friend’s compassion and sincerity in pointing them out.

S.T.O.P is an acronym for a short mindfulness which stands for Stop, Take a breath, Observe, Proceed. Its an exercise that can be used when you feel stressed, overwhelmed or when you notice that your mind is just all over the place as a means to ground you back in focusing on what you were doing.

Life is like a forest with many winding paths; You never know which one you are on until the time has passed . So stop a little longer, and see what you have been through; Breathe in every moment, and know the sweet joy of you.

At the end of the day, it does not matter who is the strongest, smartest, prettiest, or richest.   Truly the only thing that matters is whether you are happy or not inside yourself.   As you can spend your life trying to acquire strength, knowledge and wealth but still feel empty inside.   Always count your blessings and appreciate what you got.   Embrace the simplicity of life just as it is.

Religious traditions have to potential to anchor individuals in the meaningful collective life because they can provide a framework that links the individual's spiritual aspirations to whole communities.  Communities extending deep into the past, far into the future, and outward into the extended present. 

There are times that we might feel cut off from the world around us.  Still, no matter how despairing or cut off we can feel at any given time in our lives, we are not actually severed from the essential flow of life or from one another . If we get quiet for a while and pay careful attention, this is what we realize.

Stop what you and notice the rhythm of your breathing. Is it fast or slow? Is your breathing shallow or deep? Are you would in your threat, drive or soothing system? Just notice by being mindful of your breathing. Sit down and get into a dignified posture with you back straight. Gently see if you can deepen your in-breath, slowly breathing in and slowly breathing out, slowing down your breath. How does that feel?