Stop thinking and talking about it and there is nothing you will not be able to know.

I’ve been rereading Julie Cameron’s “The Artist’s Way” and came across this Zen paradigm in the margins.  After reading it once, I stopped to think about what it meant.  When I see two negatives in a sentence, it always gives me pause.

Stop thinking and talking about it and there is nothing you will not be able to know.

When I encounter a statement I wish to ponder, I like to reword it, pull it apart and think about it more.

Stop thinking and talking about it.  That alone is something to ponder.  How often do we think about writing a book, getting a new job, making new friends, taking a cooking class - anything that requires action.  Yet we think about it and think about it until we decide it takes too much effort or we drop the idea and start thinking about doing something else – again, thinking but not acting on the thought.  We spend so much time in our heads and get nothing accomplished.

The same could be said about talking about something.  We talk to our friends when something is bothering us. We talk about our dreams, our worries, our desires, our complaints, but if we don’t take any action to change the situation, we are caught in an endless cycle of wishes and negative talk.

The second part of this Zen paradigm, there is nothing you will not be able to know.  Reworded, it says you will know.  Stop thinking and talking about it, and you will know.

What do we know?   We know the answers. 

The answers to what?  To whatever we are dreaming about and worrying about.

If we are in touch with who we truly are, we can bring the question or discussion to our heart.  Our heart knows the answer.  But in order to hear the answer, we must be still.  We must find a place of solitude and silence.

Try it now. Find a quiet space.  Sit comfortably on the floor or a chair. Take several deep breaths and let the air out slowly.  Become relaxed.  Pose the question to your heart .  Sit for several minutes or as long as it takes.  In the silence, an answer will come.

In the process of meditating, we become intuitive.  We know the answers to difficult questions.  Each of us has the capability to move from inaction to action by being silent.  Try it out.  You’ll be surprised at the answers you receive from your heart.

Posted: September 4th, 2008 under Stained Glass, meditation, mindfulness, present moment.
Comments: 1

I like today’s teabag wisdom.  It says so much in so few words.  What is truth anyway?  Is it the absence of lies?  Truth is certainly talked about in all religions.  I remember growing up and hearing my mother tell me to always speak the truth.  But sometimes speaking the truth can hurt someone, so then what do you do?  The wise thing might be not to say anything, yet we sometimes cover up the truth with a white lie.  We tell ourselves that that’s okay, because we aren’t hurting anyone, but are we deceiving ourselves?  Do our non-truths come back to haunt us?

I think the truth goes beyond speech.  When we deny the truth, we accumulate negativity.  One little lie turns into bigger lies.  We begin to delude ourselves.  We come to the point that we can’t tell the difference between truth and non-truth.  Negative emotions of fear and anger surface and we don’t know where they came from.

So how do we get past the lies we tell ourselves and come back to the truth?  I certainly don’t have all the answers.  But I know that when negative thoughts arise, they come from fear.  We end up playing the “what if” game with ourselves.  We conjure up the worst possible scenario and that fear stops us in our tracks. 

One thing we must constantly remind ourselves is that “what if” isn’t the truth.  The truth is not our fear of what might happen in the future.  The truth is not holding on to anger from some past hurt.  The truth is this moment.  The truth is not lying to yourself or lying to others.  The truth is peace.  And peace is everything. 

Posted: August 25th, 2008 under meditation, mindfulness, present moment.
Comments: 3

Keep Up.

Two little words with a whole lot of meaning.  You’ve heard people say them all your life.  Your parents would say “Keep up with your homework.”  Teachers would say “Keep up with the class.”  Your boss pokes his head into your cubicle and says “Keep up, we are on deadline.”

In this fast paced world, we are always trying to keep up.  We are stressed out from working sixteen hour days, driving the kids to school, cleaning the house, cooking the meals.  There never seems to be enough time to keep up.

Did you ever think that in order to keep up, you may need to slow down?  A radical concept?  Maybe.  But let’s look at the concept on a deeper level.  Instead of looking outward, let’s take a look inward.

Are we taking care of ourselves?  Are we keeping up our own health by exercising, eating healthy foods, finding quiet time (even it’s its just 10 minutes) each and every day to be alone and meditate?  Do we find the time to bring joy into our lives?  Do we connect with family and friends and go on little adventures, even if it’s simply relaxing over a cup of tea?

For many years, I used to be my own task master.  My day timer was scheduled from morning to night with tasks that I needed to do for others, neglecting the most important person – me.

Sometimes, I think God finally says enough and has to do something dramatic to wake us up.  We are put on this earth to be of service to others, but did you ever stop to think that being your true self is the key?  Each of us is unique and that uniqueness is what we bring to others.  But if we spend all our time doing things for others, neglecting ourselves, we lose sight of who we are.  Only by being quiet and taking time for ourselves and taking care of ourselves do we connect to our true nature.  By keeping up with ourselves, we can be more open to give to others in a meaningful way.

One thing I’ve come to notice is that when I take care of myself first, I find the peace and serenity to do more for others than I did in the past.  It’s a paradox, I know.  Yet it’s true.  So if you find yourself stress out, running from one event to the next, why not try keeping up with a little self-care.  You may find you’ll be happier for it.

Have a happy day

Posted: August 20th, 2008 under exercise, healthy eating, mindfulness, present moment.
Comments: 3

How many times have you heard someone say “Pay Attention”?

I can remember my teacher from first grade saying that all the time.  In school, we were asked to pay attention so that we could learn.  At home, our parents would tell us to pay attention when they were giving us instructions on cleaning the house or cooking a meal.  But I don’t remember anyone telling me to pay attention to life.

We go through each day doing things, time passes.  We eat, we talk to people, we go to work, we exercise, we play video games, we email and text message, we watch TV.  Yet I wonder as we go through our day, how much of the time are we paying attention?

What does it mean to pay attention when we eat?  How many meals do we gobble down while engaged in another activity?  Eating breakfast and watching the morning news or checking email.  Eating lunch with co-workers, catching up on what everyone is working on or talking about the drama in our lives.  No one’s ever really taught us to pay attention to our meals. 

Have you ever engaged in a Mindful Eating Meditation?  It’s fairly simply.  Take a piece of fruit or a handful of nuts.  Engage all your senses in the process.  Let’s say you have a strawberry in front of you.  Pick up the strawberry.  Feel the texture between your fingers, the softness of the leaves on top, the fuzziness of the fruit.  Rub the fruit along your lips.  Smell the strawberry.  Sense the sweetness.  Lick the strawberry to get a glimmer of taste.  Take a small bite of the fruit.  Feel the juice drip into your mouth.  Chew the piece of fruit thoroughly before taking another bite.  Listen to the sound coming from your mouth as you eat.  Maybe you release a sigh of enjoyment.  Eating one strawberry in this manner may take you several minutes, but you will discover that you’ve never eaten a more flavorful strawberry in your life.  By paying attention to your food, you enjoy it more.

The same concept hold true for everything else we do in life.  If you are talking with people, listen intently to what the other person has to say without thinking of what your response is going to be.  Don’t cut off someone in mid-sentence.  If you are working, concentrate on your work and let go of your thoughts about what happened yesterday or what you’re going to do this evening.  If you are responding to email, text messaging, watching TV or playing, no matter what you are engaged in, do with the utmost attention. 

By paying attention, we live in the present moment and enjoy our lives more fully.

So when you find your mind wandering, gently remind yourself to pay attention.  You’ll have a happier day.

Namaste´.

Posted: August 19th, 2008 under Stained Glass, meditation, mindfulness, present moment.
Comments: none

Did you ever wake up slowly from a pleasant dream, remembering all the details and wishing it would never end?  That was how I began the morning.  Parts of the dream, still vivid in my mind.  I was out in nature, a beautiful park that seemed familiar to me, but now in my waking state I can’t pinpoint the location.

The long green meadow grass sway in the mild breeze.  Wildflowers open to the early morning light.  Deep blue sky with wisps of clouds float overhead.  Gravel paths meander through the valley and along the river into a forest of oaks and pines.  It’s just past dawn.  Stillness.  Quiet.  Peaceful.

I hear the crunch of tiny pebbles beneath approaching feet.  Along the path, my yoga teachers  walk toward me. Silent. I open the door to my cabin and inhale the crisp clean air.  Donned in sandals, shorts and t-shirt, I join them on their silent journey.

I notice the reds, tans, and grays of boulders tumbled into the valley.  Their scars a reminder of the elements of nature.  I hear a distant stream, trickling over river rock.  I stoop to examine the delicate periwinkle petals of a flower tinier than the nail on my pinky finger.  The petals velvety smooth.

We stop in a clearing, sit on the ground, close our eyes and listen.  Birds sing. Leaves rustle.  Squirrels scamper.  The river flows. 

I can feel my heart beat and my life force flow freely throughout my body.  It feels so good to be alive.

My eyes open to the ceiling fan overhead, the sun streaming on my face through the bedroom window.  I smile, welcoming the new day.

Have a great day everyone.

Posted: August 14th, 2008 under meditation, mindfulness, present moment.
Comments: 2

Here’s a little teabag wisdom to get your day going.

“Mental happiness is total relaxation.”

Now, this is good.  What does it mean to be mentally happy?  No worries.  No arguments or judgments about yourself or others.  No anxiety about the past or the future.  No negative emotions.  But instead of defining mental happiness in terms of what it is not, let’s define it in a positive way.

Mental happiness is waking up from a good night’s sleep.  It’s gazing at a sleeping newborn.  It’s sitting alone by the ocean listening to the waves roll in.  It’s enjoying the magnificence of a sunrise or sunset.  It’s smelling the clean air surrounded by pine trees in the mountains.  It’s taking a few minutes out of each day to be silent and marvel at the wonders of the universe.  It’s being grateful for everything you have in your life.

I’m sure the list is endless and different for everyone.  What does mental happiness mean to you?

Posted: August 3rd, 2008 under Stained Glass, meditation, mindfulness, present moment.
Comments: 4

Over the past several months I’ve talked about being mindful and present to each moment of our lives.  It’s so easy to forget.  To fall back on old habits.  To blame others for all the bad things that happen in our lives.

This past week, I’ve gotten past the “why me” stage of my broken ankle and have once again focused on being present.  While I wouldn’t recommend that anyone break an arm, a foot, or a leg, using crutches has forced me to be mindful of every movement of my body. 

Walking up and down steps has been especially challenging.  Going up, I need to place my right foot on the step, raise my body until I’m balanced, place the crutches on the step then repeat the process.  Going down, I do the opposite, place the crutches on the step below, lower my injured leg, step down with my right.  Even after doing this several days, I still have to stay focused.  If not, I’m tumbling down a flight of stairs.

Fixing meals is also a challenge.  In my small kitchen, I hobble to the refrigerator, take out a yogurt and fresh fruit, hobble to the counter, moving the fruit toward the sink to rinse, hobble to the drawer for a knife, hobble back.  After filling my bowl, the next challenge is to carry it to the table while using both hands on the crutches.  With a little stretching, I manage to make it to the table in one piece.  The alternate, I suppose, is eating standing up in the kitchen, but it’s not as comfortable.

I’ve been very fortunate this past week to have my husband home.  He’s made the meals, carried my pillows up and down the stairs, drove me to the doctor’s office and to visit my mother.  I’m so grateful.  Today he went back to work.  So I’m alone, fending for myself.

I realized that breaking my ankle did more for me than slow me down.  It made me appreciate the miracle of my body.  How many times to we take our bodies for granted?  We constantly use our hands and our feet, our arms, legs, neck, and torso.  We see, hear, touch, taste and smell without a second thought.  Only when something is taken away do we really stop and realize the miracle that we are.

So if you life seems out of control, try this experiment.  Take an ace bandage, wrap it around your ankle and walk on crutches for week.  You’ll get frustrated, angry, annoyed.  You’ll want to rip the bandage off and say to heck with this.  But don’t.  Keep the bandage on, keep using the crutches until you can feel happy that you still have one good foot, two good arms and hands.  You can see and hear, touch, taste and smell.  You can love and be loved.  Then go ahead and put the crutches away.

Posted: July 28th, 2008 under Uncategorized, mindfulness, present moment.
Comments: 1

I must be drinking a lot of tea lately, or maybe blogging a little less, because my teabag tags are accumulating.  Some sayings are just too good to throw away, so grab your cup of tea, stretch out your legs, and contemplate the following:

“Youth would be an ideal state if it came a little later in life.” Herbert Henry Asquith (1852-1928)

Ah. So true.  I bet Herbert wrote this quote around the time he turned 50.  It seems that once you hit that age, your kids are grown, you still have your health, you’ve saved up some money to enjoy life a bit more, and you have lots of good memories to ponder.  It also seems to be the time that we are more accepting of life, not striving as much.  What do you think?

“Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself.”  Chinese Proverb

Again – another truism.  Although some students and parents might argue that it’s the job of teachers to teach, it’s really the job of students of open their minds to learn.  In life you must take care of yourself.  That includes learning all you can to be the best you can be.

And the final wisdom of the day – one that is so simple, yet sometimes so hard to accept.

“Let things come to you.”  author unknown

There is one word that sums this quote.  Patience.  We all need more patience in life.  With patience, all things are possible.  So open your heart, pursue your dreams, by patient, and let things come to you.

Have a great day!

Posted: July 9th, 2008 under mindfulness, present moment.
Comments: 2

You’ve heard me talk about tea bag wisdom in the past, but this time I’m taking the wisdom a step further.  Not only are those little sayings on my tea bags good for the soul, now here’s an article that talks about how good green tea is for the heart

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20080705/hl_time/doesgreenteahelptheheart

But not to feel like you are short-changed, here are a few words of wisdom to think about when drinking your next cup of green tea.

“All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsion, habit, reason, passion, and desire.”  Aristotle

So what do your actions say about you?  Do you take chances or focus on a goal and work toward it?  Do you surround yourself in nature or get caught up with everyday stresses?  Are you compulsive or do you honor your body and work diligently to accomplish your goals?  Are your habits good or bad for you? Do you listen to others before reacting?  Where is your passion?  What do you desire?  Hmm.  That’s a lot to think about.

Let me make this short and end with a Chinese Proverb: “When the heart is at ease, the body is healthy.” 

Drink up everyone.  Here’s to your health.

Posted: July 8th, 2008 under healthy eating, heart disease, mindfulness, present moment.
Comments: 1

Floating down the Merced River, I’m overcome with a sense of peace.  The cold, clear river flows quiet and smooth.  Trout swim past.  The depth of the water changes with each stroke of the paddle. Sometimes I see the sandy bottom or smooth river rock in shades of brown, tan and beige.  Sometimes the river is shallow other times it is deep.  The silence and serenity fill me.

As I move along, I pass a lone boulder deposited from some long ago flood.  The sudden change in depth causes a ripple in the otherwise glass-like surface.  Branches and fallen trees lay on their sides, a reminder of the forces of nature.  Bird nests abound among the bushes and trees lining the river.  I blue jay swoops overhead.

In Yosemite Valley, I am surrounded by mighty granite cliffs, tall pines and cottonwoods shedding their seeds in a summer snow.  White wildflowers open to the glistening sun.  An occasional bridge and the sight of children frolicking near a sandbar remind me that I share this beautiful National Park with millions who come to visit each year.  I smile, happy to be among them.

As I exit the river, I leave nothing behind and take precious memories to last a lifetime.

What is your favorite National Park memory?

Posted: July 1st, 2008 under mindfulness, present moment.
Comments: 2