TGS Meditations: 091220

Aang from Avatar: The Last Airbender
This is a scene from when Aang was opening up his chakras
You can watch this marvelous full of wisdom series on Netflix


~*~

“I'm simply saying that there is a way to be sane. I'm saying that you can get rid of all this insanity created by the past in you. Just by being a simple witness of your thought processes.

It is simply sitting silently, witnessing the thoughts, passing before you. Just witnessing, not interfering not even judging, because the moment you judge you have lost the pure witness. The moment you say “this is good, this is bad,” you have already jumped onto the thought process.

It takes a little time to create a gap between the witness and the mind. Once the gap is there, you are in for a great surprise, that you are not the mind, that you are the witness, a watcher.

And this process of watching is the very alchemy of real religion. Because as you become more and more deeply rooted in witnessing, thoughts start disappearing. You are, but the mind is utterly empty.

That’s the moment of enlightenment. That is the moment that you become for the first time an unconditioned, sane, really free human being.”  

~Osho

Meditations: Quotes from Julia (Jay) Woodman

Quotes from

Julia (Jay) Woodman

“Mindfulness and Meditation help focus on the moment while at the same time knowing we cannot capture that moment, we are in a flow of moments we let flow. We can watch moments in detail without being attached to them. Non-attachment to past and future stems from this practice. Worry about past or future is wasted energy, however we can observe the past and learn from it without agonizing over it & trust ourselves to handle the future better. We can celebrate the opportunity to grow as we gain understanding from observation and experience. We can watch ourselves and avoid being caught up in over-reactions. "I am loved, right now, in this moment, I love, and am part of love itself. I am aware of myself at every level - the mental slowing gracefully to sense the spiritual within and all around, and the physical being still, or moving. I tune in to the flow of life in my body and the flow of life everywhere. I circulate love with each breath - from without to within and from within to all around.” 

~*~

“We have the greatest power through love that can be known. It overcomes everything with its fierce and steady truth, if you can continue to stand in it.

You can call love to you, directly from the original stream of consciousness, anytime you feel weak or fearful, and you will be given strength and courage.

You can call love to you, directly from the original stream of consciousness, anytime you feel sad or alone, and you will feel embraced and comforted.

Call love to you if you feel vulnerable. Feel its purity come to you from the universe and flow round you like a miraculous mother cradling its innocent child.

Breathe love in. Say to yourself as you breathe deeply “I love. I am loved.” Say it over and over as you breathe it into yourself and out to the universe, until you really feel and believe that you ARE LOVE.

Feel love pour into your lungs as you breathe. Feel it circulate round your body to fill every organ, every limb, and every cell. Vibrate with its radiance, and share it.” 

~*~

“Love is stronger than both fear and hope - if you can love the natural beauty around you, the amazing gifts and skills we have, the fact that you are alive to experience life, each moment that you have, and love yourself and those around you just as they are, then there is no need to be owned by fear, or even hope, you just live the best you can, being the truth of that love that you are being, representing the stream of consciousness experiencing itself, always knowing that you will someday return to it again, and flow as part of it infinitely on.” 

~*~

All quotes from Julia (Jay) Woodman

Quotes from "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" by Richard Bach

Quotes from

JONATHAN LIVINGSTON SEAGULL

by Richard Bach

(A book I HIGHLY Recommend)

“Most gulls don’t bother to learn more than the simplest facts of flight—how to get from shore to food and back again. For most gulls, it is not flying that matters, but eating. For this gull, though, it was not eating that mattered, but flight. More than anything else, Jonathan Livingston Seagull loved to fly. This kind of thinking, he found, is not the way to make one’s self popular with other birds. Even his parents were dismayed as Jonathan spent whole days alone, making hundreds of low-level glides, experimenting. ” 

~*~

“Instead of our drab slogging forth and back to the fishing boats, there's reason to live! We can lift ourselves out of ignorance, we can find ourselves as creatures of excellence and intelligence and skill. We can learn to be free! we can learn to fly!” 

~*~

“Jonathan Seagull discovered that boredom and fear and anger are the reasons that a gull's life is so short, and with those gone from his thought, he lived a long fine life indeed.” 

~*~

“Why, Jon, why?” his mother asked. “Why is it so hard to be like the rest of the flock, Jon? Why can’t you leave low flying to the pelicans, the albatross? Why don’t you eat? Son, you’re bone and feathers!” 

“I don’t mind being bone and feathers, mom. I just want to know what I can do in the air and what I can’t, that’s all. I just want to know.” 

“See here, Jonathan,” said his father, not unkindly. “Winter isn’t far away. Boats will be few, and the surface fish will be swimming deep. If you must study, then study food, and how to get it. This flying business is all very well, but you can’t eat a glide, you know. Don’t you forget that the reason you fly is to eat.” 

~*~

“Life is the unknown and the unknowable, except that we are put into this world to eat, to stay alive as long as we possibly can.” 

~*~

“Who is more responsible than a gull who finds and follows a meaning, a higher purpose for life? For a thousand years we have scrabbled after fish heads, but now we have a reason to live — to learn, to discover, to be free!” 

~*~

“Why is it,” Jonathan puzzled, “that the hardest thing in the world is to convince a bird that he is free, and that he can prove it for himself if he’d just spend a little time practicing? Why should that be so hard?” 

~*~

“The forces of rulers and ritual slowly, 

slowly will kill our freedom 

to live as we choose.”

~*~

“You have the freedom to be yourself, your true self, here and now, and nothing can stand in your way. It is the Law of the Great Gull, the Law that Is.” 

~*~

“His one sorrow was not solitude, it was that other gulls refused to believe the glory of flight that awaited them; they refused to open their eyes and see.” 

~*~

“I don’t understand how you manage to love a mob of birds that has just tried to kill you.” “Oh, Fletch, you don’t love that! You don’t love hatred and evil, of course. You have to practice and see the real gull, the good in every one of them, and to help them see it in themselves. That’s what I mean by love. It’s fun, when you get the knack of it.” 

~*~

“He spoke of very simple things- that it is right for a gull to fly, that freedom is the very nature of his being, that whatever stands against that freedom must be set aside, be it ritual or superstition or limitation in any form. 

"Set aside," came a voice from the multitude, "even if it be the Law of the Flock?"

"The only true law is that which leads to freedom," Jonathan said. "There is no other.” 

~*~

"You have to practice 

and see the real gull, 

the good in every one of them, 

and to help them see it in themselves. 

That’s what I mean by love."

~*~

Meditations: Dare Greatly!

Yosemite National Park

~*~

Dare Greatly!

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” 

~President Theodore Roosevelt

Meditations: 052819

~*~

"Hold fast to dreams

For if dreams die

Life is a broken-winged bird

That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams

For when dreams go

Life is a barren field

Frozen with snow."

~Langston Hughes

~*~

“A bird is safe in its nest - 

but that is not what its wings are made for.” 

~Amit Ray

~*~

"Without love 

we all like birds with broken wings."

~Mitch Albom

~*~

"Broken wings 

fit more easily in standard-size boxes."

~Mikhail Turovsky

~*~

caged birds 

die

having never known the sky,

the infinity of heaven's space,

nor felt the sun upon their face;

having never lived a dream,

they fade gently down the stream.

caged birds

die.

will you 

and i?

~Me : )AOM (2001)

~*~

Meditations: Friendship

artwork by James R. Eads

~*~

“Let us be grateful 

to the people who make us happy; 

they are the charming gardeners 

who make our souls blossom.” 

~Marcel Proust

~*~

“Friendship is unnecessary, 

like philosophy, like art.... 

It has no survival value; 

rather it is one of those things 

which give value to survival.” 

~C.S. Lewis

~*~

“The glory of friendship 

is not the outstretched hand, 

not the kindly smile, 

nor the joy of companionship; 

it is the spiritual inspiration 

that comes to one when you discover 

that someone else believes in you 

and is willing to trust you with a friendship.” 

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

~*~

“When I say it's you I like, I'm talking about that part of you that knows that life is far more than anything you can ever see or hear or touch. That deep part of you that allows you to stand for those things without which humankind cannot survive. Love that conquers hate, peace that rises triumphant over war, and justice that proves more powerful than greed.” 

~Fred Rogers

Meditations: 052119

Three Tahitian Women, 1896, Paul Gauguin

~*~

“You have brains in your head. 

You have feet in your shoes. 

You can steer yourself 

any direction you choose. 

You're on your own. 

And you know what you know. 

And YOU are the one 

who'll decide where to go...” 

~Dr. Seuss

(Oh, The Places You'll Go!)

~*~

“Life isn't about 

finding yourself. 

Life is about 

creating yourself.” 

~George Bernard Shaw

~*~

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” 

~Marianne Williamson

Meditations: "The Learn’d Astronomer" by Walt Whitman

When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer

BY Walt Whitman

"When I heard the learn’d astronomer, 

When the proofs, the figures, 

were ranged in columns before me, 

When I was shown the charts and diagrams, 

to add, divide, and measure them, 

When I sitting heard the astronomer 

where he lectured with 

much applause in the lecture-room, 

How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick, 

Till rising and gliding out 

I wander’d off by myself, 

In the mystical moist night-air, 

and from time to time, 

Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars."

~*~

I love this poem by Uncle Walt. 

It reminds me of the story of a father

teaching his son how to ride a bicycle.

The father first had his son 

memorize all the parts of a bike,

then made him draw pictures of the bike,

and  then made him write articles about the bike.
Strangely enough, the kid still couldn't ride a bike.

Or 
that time on the TV show, Friends

The way Phoebe taught Joey the guitar

By NOT touching it

:  )

We can memorize, quantify, and diagram Nature all we want

Scientifically study it up and down to the smallest detail

But to truly understand the nature of Nature

We must "wander off" and experience it for ourselves

What Uncle Walt calls a mystical, intuitive experience

His poem is a great statement
Illustrating the different between Knowledge and Wisdom

A good lesson for living, as well.

Thanks, Uncle Walt!

Meditations: 051919

The Sluggard or aka Athlete-Awakening from Sleep

by Lord Frederick Leighton

~*~

Planting Seeds of Compassion

"The mind is like a fertile field. If we contaminate it with the poisons of ignorance, desire, anger, jealousy, and pride, we will inevitably produce poisonous crops. Acting carelessly or harmfully toward others, or working for our own benefit at the expense of others, will only create limitation and suffering. Medicinal seeds—wholesome, virtuous acts of kindness, love, and compassion—will produce the fruits of peace and benefit. Actions that are both positive and negative will produce a mixture of happiness and sadness. This is the principle of karma. Karma originates in the mind. Our thoughts give rise to words and actions, and these have consequences. We cannot plant poisonous seeds and expect edible or medicinal fruit. When we begin to see the negative results of our self-centeredness, we understand why we must carefully choose which seeds to plant. Our future is in our own hands."

~Lama Shenpen Drolma, 

Change of Heart: The Bodhisattva Peace Training of Chagdud Tulku)

~*~

"22: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23: gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

~Galatians 5:22-23

Meditations: 051819

by Lilla Cabot Perry

Thanks to our Friend, David, for sending us this beautiful art

~*~

"There is a kindness that dwells deep down in things; it presides everywhere, often in the places we least expect. The world can be harsh and negative, but if we remain generous and patient, kindness inevitably reveals itself. Something deep in the human soul seems to depend on the presence of kindness; something instinctive in us expects it, and once we sense it we are able to trust and open ourselves."

~John O'Donohue

~*~

"There are scores of people waiting for someone just like us to come along; people who will appreciate our compassion, our encouragement, who will need our unique talents. Someone who will live a happier life merely because we took the time to share what we had to give."

~Leo Buscaglia

Closing Spirit Ad

this ad brought to you by Peace

Peace and Love be with You, my Friend.

((((HUGS))))

Meditations: Metta Sutra

Our Friend, David, sent me a set of quotes

That he found most beneficial in his life.

Here's one of from his collection

~*~

from the 

Metta Sutra

“This is what should be done

By one who is skilled in goodness,

And who knows the path of peace:

Let them be able and upright,

Straightforward and gentle in speech.

Humble and not conceited,

Contented and easily satisfied.

Unburdened with duties and frugal in their ways.

Peaceful and calm, and wise and skillful,

Not proud and demanding in nature.

Let them not do the slightest thing

That the wise would later reprove.

Wishing: In gladness and in safety,

May all beings be at ease.

Whatever living beings there may be;

Whether they are weak or strong, omitting none,

The great or the mighty, medium, short or small,

The seen and the unseen,

Those living near and far away,

Those born and to-be-born,

May all beings be at ease!

Let none deceive another,

Or despise any being in any state.

Let none through anger or ill-will

Wish harm upon another.

Even as a mother protects with her life

Her child, her only child,

So with a boundless heart

Should one cherish all living beings:

Radiating kindness over the entire world

Spreading upwards to the skies,

And downwards to the depths;

Outwards and unbounded,

Freed from hatred and ill-will.

Whether standing or walking, seated or lying down

Free from drowsiness,

One should sustain this recollection.

This is said to be the sublime abiding.

By not holding to fixed views,

The pure-hearted one, having clarity of vision,

Being freed from all sense desires,

Is not born again into this world.”

MUSIC: "Baba Nam Kevalam" performed by Soja

Baba Nam Kevalam

“Everything is an expression of love”

The best known and most widespread meaning of Baba nam kevalam is “everything is an expression of love.”

Baba Nam Kevalam is a Sanskrit mantra. Baba means "beloved," nam means "name" and kevalam means "only." Therefore, the mantra may be translated as "only the name of the beloved." The Baba Nam Kevalam mantra can also take on a meaning that love is everywhere and is the essence of everything.

“The beauty and simplicity of Baba nam kevalam is that “Baba” isn’t the name of an entity — it’s the name of a relationship. Baba is a Sanskrit word meaning “nearest” and “dearest” to us. It is a term of endearment, akin to “darling” or “sweetheart.” This term is not the formal name of your dearest, it is a term that is used to express the relationship you have with your dearest. The same goes for “Baba.” Baba, being the name of the relationship we have with the divine - a relationship that constantly changes with time — minute to minute and moment to moment.” (Source)

My Thoughts:

As I continued to listen to this music, I began to pray. Instead of thinking and singing the words "Baba Nam Kevalam", I began to think and sing the words, "Father God I praise you".  I believe in making things our own so you may want to make it special in your own way. 

NOTE: This video is of the full album. I especially wanted to share the first track with you. I think it runs about eight minutes. It is very beautiful. The rest of the album is very good, too. 

NOTE: This type of song is a Kiirtan. "A Kiirtan is a very different kind of music.  Based on ancient chants, it has the ability to quiet the mind if listened to with intention.  Everyone experiences kirtan differently, and it doesn’t have to be a religious experience.  You can think of it as a sing-along." (Source)

"Baba Nam Kevalam"

by 

Soja

from the Colours of the Mind album

YouTube Direct Link: https://youtu.be/ZHMs9f1PdQw

Meditations on Mindfulness: 042619

Yosemite Valley - Yosemite National Park

~*~

"When we carefully observe our thoughts, we discover that they are not in our control—we swim in an uninvited constant stream of memories, plans, expectations, judgments, regrets. Often the root of these movements of mind is dissatisfaction. We seem to want both endless excitement and perfect peace. But instead of being served by our thinking, we are driven by it in unconscious and unexamined ways. While thoughts can be enormously useful and creative, often they dominate our experience with attachments to our likes and dislikes, with views that divide the world into higher and lower, self and other. Our thoughts repeatedly tell stories about our successes and failures, plan our security, habitually remind us of who and what we think we are. Through mindfulness, we can come to know and let go of the patterns of unhelpful worry and obsession; we can clarify our confusion and release destructive views and opinions. We can reflect on what we most value."

~Jack Kornfield

What is a Bodhisattva?

Compassion by John Pitre

~*~

What is a Bodhisattva?

"A Bodhisattva is an ordinary person who takes up a course in his or her life that moves in the direction of Buddha. You and I, actually, anyone who directs their attention, their life, to practicing the way of life of a Buddha is a Bodhisattva....

The life that flows through each of us and through everything around us is actually all connected. To say that, of course, means that who I really am cannot be separated from all the things that surround me. Or, to put it another way, all sentient beings have their existence and live within my life. So needless to say, that includes even the fate of all mankind—that, too, lies within me. Therefore, just how mankind might truly live out its life becomes what I aim at as my direction. This aiming or living while moving in a certain direction is what is meant by vow.

In other words, it is the motivation for living that is different for a Bodhisattva. Ordinary people live thinking only about their own personal, narrow circumstances connected with their desires. In contrast to that, a Bodhisattva, though undeniably still an ordinary human being like everyone else, lives by vow. Because of that, the significance of his or her life is not the same. For us as Bodhisattvas, all aspects of life, including the fate of humanity itself, live within us. It is with this in mind that we work to discover and manifest the most vital and alive posture that we can take in living out our life."

~Kosho Uchiyama

(from the article What is a Bodhisattvas)

My thoughts:

I think the ideas in the article above can apply to all of us who want and work for decent living conditions for all living beings. Whether you call us Bodhisattvas, Spiritualists, Religious or just a Band of Do Gooders, we must realize that the world NEEDS us. We all must awaken to the awareness that we are all connected and that our actions in this world have an effect on all of us as a whole. 

The more people who take up the mission to add more good in the world by helping others, the more power the good will have in overcoming the bad. There will always be suffering as it is part of the human condition, but there is suffering that is caused by the systems invented by humankind and that suffering can and must be eliminated so that all living beings can Live happier, healthier, fuller Lives. 

~*~

As I read the quote below, I replace the word Bodhisattvas with Do Gooders  - people who make it their their mission to improve the lives of all living beings by helping others, thus adding more good in the world.

-----

"What the world needs more than anything is Bodhisattvas, active servants of peace, “clothed,” as Longchenpa said, “in the armor of perseverance,” dedicated to their Bodhisattva vision and to the spreading of wisdom into all reaches of our experience. We need Bodhisattva lawyers, Bodhisattva artists and politicians, Bodhisattva doctors and economists, Bodhisattva teachers and scientists, Bodhisattva technicians and engineers, Bodhisattvas everywhere, working consciously as channels of compassion and wisdom at every level and in every situation of society; working to transform their minds and actions and those of others, working tirelessly in the certain knowledge of the support of the Buddhas and enlightened beings for the preservation of our world and for a more merciful future."

-----

My Thoughts:

Whoever you are. Whatever you do. Wherever you live. Just whatever! Let's add more good to the world by helping those around us. Do something good for others today and tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow! 

Meditations on Joy

~*~

“I want a life that sizzles and pops and makes me laugh out loud. And I don't want to get to the end, or to tomorrow, even, and realize that my life is a collection of meetings and pop cans and errands and receipts and dirty dishes. I want to eat cold tangerines and sing out loud in the car with the windows open and wear pink shoes and stay up all night laughing and paint my walls the exact color of the sky right now. I want to sleep hard on clean white sheets and throw parties and eat ripe tomatoes and read books so good they make me jump up and down, and I want my everyday to make God belly laugh, glad that he gave life to someone who loves the gift.”

~Shauna Niequist 

(Cold Tangerines: Celebrating the Extraordinary Nature of Everyday Life)

~*~

“It’s important that what thoughts you are feeding into your mind because your thoughts create your belief and experiences. You have positive thoughts and you have negative ones too. Nurture your mind with positive thoughts: kindness, empathy, compassion, peace, love, joy, humility, generosity, etc. The more you feed your mind with positive thoughts, the more you can attract great things into your life.”

~Roy T. Bennett

(The Light in the Heart)

~*~

“Our lives are mere flashes of light in an infinitely empty universe. In 12 years of education the most important lesson I have learned is that what we see as “normal” living is truly a travesty of our potential. In a society so governed by superficiality, appearances, and petty economics, dreams are more real than anything - anything in the “real world”. Refuse normalcy. Beauty is everywhere, love is endless, and joy bleeds from our everyday existence. Embrace it. I love all of you, all my friends, family, and community. I am ceaselessly grateful from the bottom of my heart for everyone. The only thing I can ask of you is to stay free of materialism. Remember that every day contains a universe of potential; exhaust it. Live and love so immensely that when death comes there is nothing left for him to take. Wealth is love, music, sports, learning, family and freedom. Above all, stay gold.”

~Dominic Owen Mallary

~*~

“I don't think of all the misery, 

but of the beauty that still remains.”

~Anne Frank

(The Diary of a Young Girl)

~*~

Meditations: "On Clothing" from 'The Prophet' by Kahlil Gibran

Iris Bachman Photography

~*~

Your clothes conceal much of your beauty, 

yet they hide not the unbeautiful.

And though you seek in garments the freedom of privacy 

you may find in them a harness and a chain.

Would that you could meet the sun and the wind 

with more of your skin and less of your raiment,

For the breath of life is in the sunlight 

and the hand of life is in the wind.

Some of you say, 

"It is the north wind who has woven the clothes to wear."

But shame was his loom, 

and the softening of the sinews was his thread.

And when his work was done he laughed in the forest.

Forget not that modesty is for a shield 

against the eye of the unclean.

And when the unclean shall be no more, 

what were modesty but a fetter and a fouling of the mind?

And forget not that the earth delights 

to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.

Kahlil Gibran 

'On Clothes' from The Prophet (link)