Insights for November 2015
Ice Image by Margaret Gervais
Awakening:
“Don’t listen to those who stir you up. Don’t listen to others who put you to sleep. Respect them all. Thank them all. Then remember, there is a bird singing only you can hear.” Jack Kornfield“This one moment — Now — is the only thing you can never escape from, the one constant factor in your life. No matter what happens, no matter how much your life changes, one thing is certain: it’s always Now.” Eckhart Tolle
“Nobody is making you feel what you’re feeling. Nobody has the power to make you feel something negative emotionally. Your reactions are caused by how you interpret any situation. This is so important because it means that you ultimately become your own resource of emotional freedom and truth.” Adyashanti, The Way of Liberating Insight
“Inside you are a thousand generations of your ancestors, who learned how to survive difficulties. Do not be afraid, you too will find your way: Jack Kornfield“Actions conditioned by greed, hatred, and delusion bring a heavy burden of suffering. On the other hand, actions conditioned by generosity, lovingkindness, and wisdom lead to a light and happy sense of well-being. Simple as that. Vaddhaka Linn, “Does Self-Help Help?”
“The ‘positive’ already contains within itself the yet manifested ‘negative.” Eckhart Tolle
"Feeling good is not the point - it's being connected so that the highs and lows don't matter. You spend less time at the mercy of all those heavy negative thoughts." - Krishna Das
"What is common to all forms is not another form. What is common to all forms, is choiceless awareness, it is pure love, it is flow and harmony with the universe. It is the absence of clinging. How does it all come together? If you follow all of the forms to the appex, you are pushed beyond form and into the moment. The passing show of forms, being created and existing then disappearing into formlessness." Ram Dass
“Our mind is a treasure. But it ‘s very absorbent, so we must also be very discriminating in what we hear, read, and see. And in the spiritual like, our fence is our ethics. If we know we are living ethically to the best of our ability, the mind will become peaceful. We will attract the same kinds of people we really are. If we have a mind full of defilements, we will attract that to us. Therefore we have to purify our mental state, because whatever is within we will project out. You bring people toward you by your work and by karma. You have to be ready, when someone of a higher level is in front of you, to meet them. You do this by connecting to your source. Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, Tricycle, Winter 2009“Purity of view is a gateway to greater insight and even deeper levels of happiness. The momentum of mindfulness becomes so strong that the perception of phenomenon arising and passing away becomes crystal clear. Concentration and awareness are effortless. The mind becomes luminous. We experience precise, clear insight into the nature of things. It is our first taste of coming home. We have rapture and gratitude.” Joseph Goldstein, Tricycle F’05 posted 11.15
“Sometimes bearing witness is one of the hardest things we do.” Margaret Gervais, The Insight Center
“Part of being alive is sharing the humanity of pain.” Margaret Gervais, The Insight Center
“Sometime bravery needs to show up for you to take your next steps.” Margaret Gervais, The Insight Center
“If you’re really mad at someone, are they pushing your button? If not, would you mind? So what is the button, and how can you let it go?” Margaret Gervais The Insight Center
“We all have drama, the point is to do your drama well.” Alan Watts.
“How can you be your narrative, when your narrative is constantly changing?” Margaret Gervais, The Insight Center
Meditation:
I'm not a fan of meditation apps. I'm a fan of turning your phone off, leaving it in another room, and meditating. #phonefreemeditation Margaret Gervais, The Insight Center
“Life a sandcastle, all is temporary. Build it, tend it, enjoy it. And when the time comes let it go.” Jack Kornfield
“If I can’t stop thinking, maybe I can just let my thoughts go by without getting all caught up in them. Feel the breeze on your face or your neck? See how it’s going by? You’re not all hung up with it. You don’t have to see where each breeze goes. You don’t have to look quickly to see if it hit those trees over there. It’s breezes, and they’re just going by. Make your thoughts like those breezes, those little breezes…just going by." Ram Dass
"It is an unfolding process; thoughts with thinker, sensory without body, experience without self." Noah Levine
"Liberated mind is the mind that does not cling to anything." Joseph Goldstein
“The middle path is living a life at a ‘5’ and not a ‘1’ or a ‘10’.” Margaret Gervais, The Insight Center
“It is important to remember, on the path to awakening, that there is gravity. You will progress along the path, and then you will fall and or crash and burn. At these points, maintain your practice, let the fall cycle out and you will rise again onto the path.” Margaret Gervais, The Insight Center
Grief:
An animated short film by Alan Watts, on death: https://www.brainpickings.org/2012/10/31/alan-watts-on-death/