Tag Archives: Now

Articles, Quotes - 2010

What You Really Want…

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What you really want is something that you can’t think about. Now think about that. – Howard Vernon

our endless goals

Ok the quote is confusing, and that’s on purpose. We’re often so lost in our thoughts, about plans, things to do, goals to achieve, this, that and the other, that our minds are never at a rest…

true satisfaction

If we can’t be satisfied, now, with all we have and all we are, then our thirst will never be quenched. How can our minds rest? How can we begin to find peace today? By learning to quiet our minds. One simple way is to get out of our minds, literally, and put our attention on our body. Putting our attention on our breathing works real well, try it! Learn about Stillness here.

Daily Affirmation: Today I AM my breath.

Recommendation: True Meditation by Adyashanti

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Quotes - 2010, Stillness

This Moment

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Realize deeply that the present moment is all you ever have. – Eckhart Tolle

this is it

Now, the present moment is all there is. This doesn’t mean that we live in the current moment forever, it just means that whenever we aren’t planning for the future or reminiscing about pleasant past memories, we ought to notice what goes on … in the present moment.

deepen the experience

There are at least two ways to deepen the experience of the ‘Now’ moment.

  • Through meditation or better still via Stillness. There can be a difference between the two. Stillness is just being still and observing whatever’s going on. It’s the essence of Zen Buddhism.
  • Through a mechanism that reminds us to focus our full attention on what goes on around us and even inside us. Are we irritated because we have a headache or are tired? Attention on the breath, are we breathing deeply or in a shallow way? What are we seeing? The depth of the blue in the sky, the shape of one particular cloud or the direction in which the clouds are sailing. The aromas wafting by or the sound of a child nearby. Using all our senses, we live fully, in the holiness and beauty of the present moment.

Daily Affirmation: Today I AM with me.

Recommendation: The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual EnlightenmentKindle Wireless Reading Device (6" Display, Global Wireless, Latest Generation)

Quotes - 2010, Stillness

Impatient?

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Grave danger you are in. Impatient you are. – Master Yoda

impatient, we are

Continuing the Star Wars theme! Impatient we are, just about everything in our lives. Isn’t that true? I want my iPhone, I want that toy, I want you to …, I want that …, right now!! This is a tendency we all struggle with.

time for everything, there is

There is indeed a time for everything. In fact this reminds me of another quote:

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished – Lao-Tzu

Read this one at Butchart Gardens in Victoria, BC if I remember correctly. The quote speaks for itself. Enjoy slowing down, breathing easy, and deep, inhale life, notice things just as they are, enjoy life.

Daily Affirmation: Today I move at nature’s pace.

Recommendation: Arriving at Your Own Door: 108 Lessons in Mindfulness by Jon Kabat-zinn

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Articles, Quotes - 2010, Stillness

The Zen Mind

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In the beginners mind there are many possibilities, but in the experts there are few. – Zen Master Shunryu Suzuki

the beginner’s mind

Such a mind is childlike. Not childish, but one that sees things anew, doesn’t discount anything, has few regrets and worries not about the future. It lives fully in each moment.

possibilities

Unencumbered such a mind is free to be creative and truly resourceful. This mind seeks possibilities, expresses emotions, resents not and exudes joy. What kind of mind do you have? Or does your mind have you?

Daily Affirmation: Today I AM here, I AM now.

Recommendation: Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind (Shambhala Library) by Shunryu Suzuki

Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind (Shambhala Library) Kindle Wireless Reading Device, Free 3G, 6" Display, White, 3G Works Globally - Latest Generation

Quotes - 2010

The Art Of Seeing

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Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others. – Jonathan Swift

vision

What’s your vision

  • For yourself?
  • For your family?
  • For your country?
  • For the world?

Covey says that we ought to start with the ‘end in mind’. If we start with a vision, there’s a greater likelihood that we can get there.

art of seeing

Only we can provide our unique interpretation to life, only we can see as we do. But it doesn’t work if we’re lost in our thoughts, or if we’re always in our mind and not truly conscious of what’s going on in the present moment.

Become present, then start noticing. You’ll be amazed at how much more is seen. Listening too is like seeing. Deep listening requires conscious effort and yields clues that otherwise go unnoticed.

Daily Affirmation: Today I see and I hear.

Recommendation: Always Looking Up by Michael J. Fox

Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable OptimistKindle Wireless Reading Device, Free 3G, 6" Display, White, 3G Works Globally - Latest Generation

Articles

Be & Do!

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I tell our runners to divide the race into thirds. Run the first part with your head, the middle part with your personality, and the last part with your heart. – Mike Fanelli

the BeDo continuum

All of life follows what I call the The BeDo Continuum! Here’s a schematic from my article:

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What I should say is that all of life, that’s being lived in a fulfilling way is likely following The BeDo Continuum! The being aspects often come first. They come from reflection and inspiration.

human ‘beings’

Whenever you catch yourself. ‘Catch yourself’? What does that mean? I mean whenever you become reflective and aware of your own being and thinking, become further aware of whether you’re in a doing mode or a being mode. We mostly operate in the doing mode, so ‘catch yourself’, step back, examine what you’re doing and to what end. Start the virtuous BeDo Continuum! Remember we’re human ‘beings’ not human doings!

Daily Affirmation: Today I be first then do.

Recommendation: The Art of Being by Erich Fromm

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Quotes - 2010, Stillness

Daily Awakening

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If every day is an awakening, you will never grow old. You will just keep growing. – Gail Sheehy

daily routine?

How about an awakening a day (AWAD)? Now, that really depends on what we want to get out of each day. If we go through a day with the same mindset, each time, then we sink into a routine-ized morose of a day which can often be boring and certainly not scintillating!

a new set of eyes

Instead what we need is a new pair of eyes! Eyes that see each day as it truly is, totally unique and never repeatable. Kind of like us. Each moment is brand new, it’s the canvas we can draw on. The challenge is to not forget this beauty and opportunity that is ours to grab, each moment, of each day!

Daily Affirmation: Today I see, without assumptions that cloud my vision.

Recommendation: The awakening of Intelligence by Jiddu Krishnamurti

Awakening of Intelligence, TheKindle Wireless Reading Device (6" Display, Global Wireless, Latest Generation)