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Mind Resting Undisturbed

1/30/2015

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A central goal of my spiritual practice, it is this … for my mind to rest undisturbed.  For then I am at peace and thus am open to all that the present moment has to offer, grateful, compassionate, and experience happiness in each moment.  All else flows from this state.

And for my mind to rest undisturbed, I know I must be present, experience things directly, with dispassion, without labels, knowing that things are the way they are because it’s just the way it is.  I know that if my ego-mind, my feelings and perceptions, my learned experience are brought into play, then I am lost in a whirlpool of doubt and confusion, fear and anxiety, anger and negative, judgment. 

This has not been easy because my ego-habit energy is very strong and overwhelming.  However, I have found a way.  What I have found in the past few months is that when something comes up which might in the past have generated anger, if I just say “things are the way they are because it’s just the way it is,” I feel mentally and physically relaxed and I am indeed open to receiving all the present moment has to offer, be grateful, compassionate, and experience happiness in the moment.

The first time I experienced this was when I was returning from a trip to Mexico last June,  On the way down, I reacted to all the annoyances of traveling in my typical way … I got angry regarding what I considered either unprofessionalism or bad planning.  As a result, not only did I not enjoy the process, but it ruined the trip for my partner who was looking forward to it.  

Before departing on the trip back, I meditated on “things are the way they are because it’s just the way it is.“  And resolved to adopt this as my mantra on the trip back … which I did.  The result was that nothing that normally would have upset me, upset me.  I was calm, my mind was undisturbed, and I was able to be open to all the things the present moment had to offer … whether it was a beautiful sky, an interesting detail of architecture, the companionship of my friend, etc.  I thus experienced happiness in each moment and was grateful.

What a change.  On the drive back home from the airport, my friend said that it was like traveling with a different person.  He was relaxed and was able to enjoy the whole process.

That experience was very empowering for me.  Not only because I saw the practical impact that was in my control, but it was surprisingly easy to adopt a different perspective than was my want.  I just did it.  And so I have adopted that mantra towards everything that I experience in life.  

Personally, fear has always had a greater impact on my life than anger or negativity.  That emotion goes far more to the core of my learned experience.  So the question to myself was, would this mantra work as well with fear?  



I am happy report that my experience to date is, yes.  When I am aware of fear starting to rise, when I acknowledge it with compassion but say my mantra and return to the present and my true buddha nature, the fear subsides.  I know that fear is just a product of the mind and that in truth I have nothing to fear for regardless what life throws my way, I will always return to my true Buddha nature and experience peace, gratitude, compassion, acceptance, and happiness in each moment.

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Fear v Common Sense

1/22/2015

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Even though we know that fear is a product of our mind, when we try to fight fear or ignore it, our mind comes back to us with some version of, “I’m here to protect you.”    And we are so used to thinking that our fear does indeed protect us, despite the awareness of the suffering caused by our fear, that we desist in trying to walk away from it.

But does fear, in any way, protect us?  The answer is, no.  What protects us is our common sense.  When we encounter a situation that presents a real danger to us, our common sense will alert us and we will take appropriate action to remove ourselves from the danger.  Fear, on the other hand, by reducing us to a state of anxiety, actually weakens us.

Fear is an emotion.  And emotion is the opposite of rationality or common sense.  Fear may be based on some real event experienced years ago, but it is our emotional reaction to the event.  Most likely, even at the time, the event viewed rationally would not have caused us to label it as danger and thus avoid it.  But our emotions did.  

That is why when we feel fear arising, we need to take the following approach.  Acknowledge the fear, have compassion for it, but don’t engage it.  Instead return to the present, to your breath, knowing that things are the way they are because it’s just the way it is.  And knowing that if indeed there is some real danger, your common sense will let you know.

Postscript:  I have now from within realized that fear and all skandhas are just a product of the mind and so their power has all but disappeared.  See my post, "Proof of the Nature of Mind - Fear, Ego, and Buddha Mind,"
​

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Back to Basics

1/6/2015

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In conversation with a friend recently, I recalled a poem I had written at the end of a one-month Tricycle-sponsored at-home retreat I did in 2007.  Reading the poem to my friend, I was aware of how far I had regressed since the end of that retreat.  

During our conversation, I had said in response to a spiritual reading he shared that I’ve never really felt deeply at one with all beings.  Intellectually yes, but deeply no.  Then all of a sudden this poem came back to me with the realization that I did have a moment, or moments, once where I did truly feel deeply at one with all beings. 

Who am I?

I am the tree I see,
The flower that blooms,
The morning rain,
And the cold night air.

I am the bird in flight,
The wounded bear,
The howling wolf,
And the dog lying before the fire.

I am the laughing child,
The old lady begging,
The dope addict,
And the forgetful old man.

I am all things,
And I am nothing

How did I lose that feeling?  I had often thought, after the retreat, that it would be good to do a mini at-home retreat one week each month to stay in that special place I had found, but out of shear laziness I never implemented that plan.  I realize now though that I lost that feeling because my meditation practice had largely become a practice of finding answers to current issues by reciting mantras that focused me on the Buddha’s teaching.  This was the same type of meditation practice I had before the retreat … reminding me of the truth, rather than finding it fresh every day.  And that made it less real.  As my friend commented, I’ve been too much in my head,

And so, I returned to a basic meditation practice as I did during that at-home retreat (for a complete description of the retreat and my experience, see my book, The Self in No Self).  After several days, I could already feel a subtle difference within me, something was shifting, I was coming home, just as I did when I started the at-home retreat.  I was finding it fresh.

Then one morning, my ego-mind attacked me with a vengeance when I started meditating.  It found an opening, a weak spot, in something I said in a discussion the previous evening about having what I need, what’s important to me, right here, right now, each moment of every day, regardless of my circumstance.  

My mind used my fear of not having enough money, to being forced to live in a way I never have, to being poor, destitute to scoff at that thought.  It dug it’s claws into me and would not let go.  I tried repeatedly to return to my breathing and be present, but to no avail.  I found myself agreeing that it was silly if not stupid of me to think that I didn’t need a certain amount of money to be happy.  I was in the process of being carried away by fear.

I finally stopped this spiral by purposefully shifting to another part of my meditation practice.  Once I was refocused, I recalled several events from the  previous day.  It started off with my friend saying that we would spend the day being present, accepting that this is where we live now, this is our home, and not have any thoughts about the future or our move.  Instead of feeding the feeling that we needed to get away from here, we would be at peace and relaxed.  And it worked, of course.  

Later in the day, he verbalized what he had to be grateful for.  And not one word was mentioned that concerned material things.  It focused primarily on having someone to offer joy to, someone to love.

And then that evening before we went to bed, he read a page from Pima Chodron’s The Wisdom of No Escape.  That reading about being satisfied with who we are, and where we are, right at the moment, that we have everything we need within ourselves to live life joyously, brought such a feeling of peace over me.

After recalling these events, I found I had the strength to return to my breathing and just be present.  My ego mind with it’s fears subsided.  I was aware that all I needed to be happy was to offer others joy, be in the company of loved ones and friends, respect my mind, respect my body, be in touch with nature, and live within my means.  And that regardless what life would throw my way, I had faith that all would be well because I would always return to my true Buddha nature, be at peace, and find happiness in the moment.

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Ritual Burning of the Past

1/1/2015

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As you know from my posts, despite my years of disciplined practice, elements of my past and my ego-mind continue to plague me, not incessantly but sufficiently to cause me some suffering on a somewhat regular basis.  While the various tools I use … primarily not engaging such feelings when they arise and allowing them to subside by returning to my breath and being present, knowing that things are the way they are because it’s just the way it is …have been effective in protecting me, I still experience the occasional pull of these feelings.  And if I’m unaware, or until I become aware, I experience anxiety, suffering.

The other day I thought of an experience I had many years ago with a teacher who had me write things that were bothering me on pieces of paper which I then burned, the idea being to free myself from these thoughts.  I thought that ritual-like practice warranted another go in my present circumstances.

And so one morning after meditating I wrote the various feelings … fear, anger, anxiety, insecurity, etc. … that I feel, and also the perceptions … that something will hurt me or harm me or cause me unhappiness … that lie behind those feelings on slips of paper.  I kept it rather general, not describing things in detail.  For good measure, I included slips that just said, “the past,” and “consciousness-ego,:”  

The point was that I wanted to further free myself from all five skandhas, something that my awareness of their being empty of intrinsic existence had not completely accomplished.  Several key areas of insecurity have remained.

I then put them in a bowl and burned them to ashes, intoning as they burned that I was letting go my attachment to the past and all five skandhas.  

I then buried the ashes, intoning that treating myself with loving kindness, I was returning the ashes of the skandhas to the earth.

It may sound silly, but there was something profoundly peaceful about this symbolic act.  Letting go of primal elements of our character is a very difficult thing to accomplish.  It is one thing to say you are letting things go; it is quite another to actually do it, consistently.  This is perhaps a very gentle way of helping the process.  As always, time will tell.

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    1. The Goal Of Buddhism
    2. End Of Suffering Cheat Sheet
    3. 12 Steps On The Buddhist Path
    4. The Choice Is Yours
    5. You Have A Self But It's Not The Ego
    A Buddhist Trinity - Amended
    A Buddhist Trinity - Further Support
    A Buddhist Trinity - The Core Path To Peace And Happiness.
    A Carefree Day And Life
    Acceptance Courage And Wisdom
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    Acknowledgement Of The Cause Of Suffering Is Key
    Allow Nothing To Disturb Your Peace And Happiness
    An Open Letter To President-elect Trump And All Americans
    Antagonist Or Challenge?
    A Path To Compassion And Loving Kindness
    Approaching The Other Shore
    Are You Reading And Willing To Let Your Cravings Go?
    As A Buddhist How Do You Plan - Revisited Again - Relying On Your Buddha Nature
    As A Buddhist How Do You Think About The Future?
    As A Buddhist … Revisited Again - Do We Need To Know Where We’re Headed?
    As A Buddhist ... Revisited - Planning Without Thinking
    As A Buddhist … Revisited Yet Again - How Do You Implement Moving Forward Without Having A Destination Point?
    A Simpler Path To Experiencing Joy
    Attachment To Self
    Avatars - Their Usefulness
    Back To Basics
    Be A Light Unto Yourself And Others
    Be Aware When Reading - Yearn To Please Or To Offer Joy?
    Be Careful The Monk/Teacher You Choose
    Befriend Yourself
    Being Aware Of Abundance
    Being Good To Yourself
    Being - Not Being
    Being One With Your True Buddha Self
    Being Present Is Being Flexible
    Being Present Is The Key To Peace And Contentment
    Being Present - No What If’s Or Imagining The Future
    Being Present - Part 2
    Being Present Requires Faith
    Being There For Someone
    Belief In You Buddha Nature - The Beginning And The End
    Be One With Your Divine Essence
    Be Sustained By The Love Of Buddha Within You
    Be The Eye Of The Hurricane
    Beware Complacency
    Beyond Acceptance
    Beyond Awareness
    Beyond Dispassion - The Next Step
    Boredom
    Boundaries
    Buddha Mind - Child Mind
    Buddha Mind Free Of Thought
    Buddha Nature Gentle And Serene
    Buddhism And The Divine
    Burying Your Old Identity
    Can't Find Your Buddha Nature - Look In The Mirror
    Change Your Life By Changing The Direction Of Its Energy Flow
    Changing The Direction Of Your Energy Flow - II - Manifesting
    Changing Your Reactions
    Chicken Or Egg ?
    Co-existence Of Buddha Nature And Ego-Mind
    Compassion
    Control
    Craving "Survival" Condemns You To Suffering
    Crying - An Understanding
    Darkness Before Light
    Death And Life
    Death And Life - Part 2
    Death Heaven And Hell
    Deflating The Ego
    Dependence
    Desire - The Gerbil Trap
    Desperate For Love And Acknowledgment?
    Discipline - It’s Essential
    Dislike - An Insidious Obstruction
    Dispassion Does Not Mean Wtihout Feeling
    Dispassion - Enter The State Of By Becoming Aware Of The Emptiness Of Our Ego-mind
    Dispassion - Obstacles And Options To Achieve It
    Dispassion - Unlocking The Doors
    Don't Just Say No To Your Mind
    Don’t Waste A Moment
    Don’t Waste A Moment
    Do We Suffer Or Not? - The Choice Is Ours
    Do You Really Want To Be At Peace And Content
    Ego - Changing Your Relationship With It
    Embrace The Moment Not Merely Accept
    Emptiness - What Does It Mean?
    Emptying Myself Of Myself - The Divine's Will Not Mine
    Enter Your Buddha Mind
    Equanimity But Feel Someone’s Pain
    Everything That Disturbs Us Is A Product Of Suffering
    Everything You Need To Be Happy
    Evil - How Should A Buddhist Respond?
    Expectations? - Not If You Want To End Suffering
    Experiencing The Fullness Of The Present
    Facing My Insecurity
    Faith And Mind Not Separate
    Faith And Mind Not Separate - 2
    Faith And Reason
    Faith Even When You Are Dependent On Others
    Faith: The Essential Element Of Spiritual Practice
    Faith: What Is It And Why Is It Essential?
    Fear And Anxiety - There's More
    Fear Anxiety And Craving - Chicken Or Egg #2
    Fear Arises From Our Desire To Control
    Fearlessness
    Fear's Destructive Impact
    Fear V Common Sense
    Fear V Faith
    Feeling Lack - A Most Insidious Perception
    Feeling Off? - Adjust Your Attitude
    Finding Happiness In Each Moment
    Forgiveness - A Different Take
    Freedom From The Future
    Freedom From The Known
    Freedom - What Does It Mean?
    Freeing Yourself From Anger And Resentment
    Freeing Yourself From Attachments
    Freeing Yourself From Fear
    Freeing Yourself From Fear II
    Freeing Yourself From Suffering - The Prerequisite Step
    Free Of Thought - Important Clarification
    Frustration ... Our Canary In The Mine
    Get Over Yourself
    Getting To Know Your True Buddha Self
    Give Yourself A Choice
    Going Through Life With Blinders - The Obstruction Of Labels
    Good Guys Finish Last?
    Go Slow
    Grateful For Being Alive
    Guilt
    Guilt And The Defensive Beast
    Happenstance
    Happenstance - Part II - You Your Buddha Nature And The Universe
    Happiness Is Elusive
    Happiness - What You Need To Be Happy
    Happy New Year 2017?
    Have Directions Not Goals
    Have Faith In The Process
    Have You Heard Of Narcs - The Final Answer To Why I Was Frowning
    Healing Your Inner Child - Healing Your Wounded Heart
    Healing Your Inner Child - Update
    Hell Is Just Resistance To Life
    How I Failed Myself
    How The Ego-Mind Tries To Destroy Faith
    How To Desire Yet Not Crave?
    How To Find Faith?
    How To Find Your True Self Your Heart
    How To Free Yourself From The Control Of Your Ego-Mind
    How To Live In Our World
    How To Love Yourself
    How To Observe Through The Eyes Of Your True Buddha Self
    How To Offer Others Joy
    How To Protect Yourself Against Psychic Attack
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    How To Spiritually Respond To The Election?
    How To Start The Day
    How To Surrender Your Ego Or Turn Your Will And Your Life Over To The Care Of Your True Buddha Nature
    Humbling Myself
    Humility
    Humility: The Truth About "My" Good Accomplishments
    I Am Being Reborn
    I Am Therefore I Am
    If Nothing Offends All Internal Struggle Ceases
    If This Is Practical Buddhism Why The Pastoral Setting
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    Imagining In Meditation
    I’m Grateful To Be A Jubu
    Inner Happiness - Outer Happiness
    Innocence Or Ignorance?
    Insecurity - Nurture Not Nature
    Instead Of Forgiveness Show Compassion
    It Doesn’t Have To Be
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    It's A Sin -The Harm We Inflict On Ourselves
    It’s Just The Way It Is
    It’s Just The Way It Is And It’s All OK
    It’s No Crime To Think About Oneself!
    Joy - A Hopefully Final Take
    Joy - At Last Real Understanding
    Joy - Experience It Now
    Joyful Dispassion - Excited Non-attachment
    Joyful Dispassion - Update
    Joy/Happiness - A Choice We Make
    Joy - One More Take
    Joy - Yet Another Take
    Knowing Best?
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    Lack V Abundance
    Let Go - Let God
    Letting Go
    Letting Others Go Their Way
    Liberate Yourself From Thinking
    Likes And Dislikes - A Potential Trap Examined
    Listening - Why Is It So Difficult?
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    Love Yourself Unconditionally
    Make It Your Own - An Extension Of “The Heart’s Embrace”
    Making Lists - Objectifying Your Fears The Things That Push Your Buttons
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    Manifestation - DANGER DANGER!
    Manifesting
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    Meditation - Coming Home Releasing And Being At Peace
    Meditation - The Importance Of Daily Practice
    Memory - Don’t Trust It
    Mental Obstructions
    Mind Resting Undisturbed
    Mirror Mirror On The Wall - A Revelation
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    My Daily Task
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    My Life - A Being Dichotomized
    My Meditation Isn't Working!
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    Nature Of Mind Revealed - A Transformation
    Never Stop Going Deeper
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    Nirvana - It's Right Before Your Eyes
    No Expectations No Hope?
    No One’s Life Is Ordinary
    No Reason To Be Defensive
    No Self - Not!
    No Spiritual Force Can Protect You From Yourself Your Mind
    Not Engaging Your Thoughts
    Nothing To Prove
    Not Me - Peeling Off The Layers Of Our Ego-Mind
    Observe
    Offering Others Joy - From The Heart
    Offer Joy Experience Joy
    Offer Myself Joy!
    Oneness Does Not Mean Sameness
    Opening The Door To Being Present
    Our Over-sexed Culture And Lives
    Pain - A Cry For Help
    Paradise Lost
    Peace And Happiness Is Your Birthright
    Personal Boundaries As Part Of A Buddhist Life
    Preparing A Child For Life
    Pride Is A Function Of The Devil
    Problem - NOT!
    Proof Of The Nature Of Mind - Fear Ego And Buddha Mind
    Prosperity And Abundance
    Protecting Yourself From The Elements
    Psychiatry Needs To Incorporate Buddhist Teaching
    Putting Spirituality Into Practice 24/7
    Que Sera Sera - Whatever Will Be Will Be
    Real Clarity V The Delusion Of Clarity
    Reality Is Not What We Experience
    Receiving The Love Of Your Buddha Nature
    Reciting Affirmations
    Reclaiming The Narrative Of My Life - II
    Reclaiming The “Story” Of Your Life
    Reflecting On 75 Years
    Reincarnation - An Unorthodox Take
    Rejoice And Be Happy
    Rejoice And Be Happy - II
    Releasing All Desire
    Releasing All Desire - II
    Releasing Negative Energy
    Renouncing What You Have Always Depended On
    Replacing Weakness With Strength
    Reprogram Your Mind To End Your Suffering
    Returning Home - Returning To Your True Buddha Nature
    Right Attitude
    Ritual Burning Of The Past
    Safety Defined
    Saying Grace
    Saying “No” To Negative Thought
    Seeing The Light
    Seeing Through The Eyes Of Your True Buddha Self
    Seek And You Shall Find
    Seeking Guidance From Buddha Mind Not Ego Mind
    See Things Through Your Heart Not Your Mind
    See Yourslef And The World Through Different Eyes
    Self Re-examined
    Self-Responsibility During The Pandemic
    Sex - Misused And Abused - A Different Perspective
    Shall We Dance? - An Invitation To The Dance Of Death
    Shame
    Soul’s Yearning Distorted By The Ego-Mind
    Soul -True Self - And Ego-Mind
    Speaking The Truth
    Speaking To Your Buddha Nature/Divinity/Heart
    Speak The Truth But Beware
    Starving The Ego
    Step #10: Continued To Be Mindful Of The Arising Of Cravings And Desires And When They Arose Did Not Attach To Them And Allowed Them To Subside.
    Step #11: Sought Through Meditation To Constantly Improve Our Conscious Contact With Our True Buddha Nature
    Step #1: Admitted Our Cravings Cause Us Suffering And That We Are Powerless Over Them
    Step #2: Came To Believe That Our True Buddha Nature Could Restore Us To Peace And Created A Platform Of Serenity
    Step #3: Committed Ourselves To The Path By Practicing The Five Precepts And The Six Paramitas
    Step #4 Came To Believe That All Our Perceptions Are Learned - That They Are Just A Product Of Our Ego-mind - And That Our Ego-mind Is Not Our True Self - Instead We Knew That Our True Self Is Our Heart.
    Step #5: Were Ready And Willing And Made A Decision To Surrender Our Ego And Turn Our Will And Our Lives Over To The Care Of Our True Buddha Nature Opening Our Heart To Embrace All Aspects Of Our Being.
    Step #6: Came To Believe That We Have Everything We Need Within Ourselves To Be At Peace And Happy
    Step #7: Came To Be Free Of Our Cravings
    Step #8: Were Entirely Ready To Love Ourselves Unconditionally And Have Compassion For Ourselves And To Accept Ourselves And The World Around Us As Being The Way They Are Because It's Just The Way It Is.
    Step #9: Made A List Of Persons We Had Harmed And Made Amends To Them
    Stopping Self-Sabotage
    Strength Not Courage
    Suffering Is Universal - But Why?
    Survival - The Force That Controls Our Life
    Taking Pleasure In Each Passing Moment
    Taking Refuge In Yourself
    Taking Responsibility Is Not Blame
    Teaching Only Points The Way
    Test The Wisdom Of What You’re Doing Or Thinking Of Doing
    The 3-legged Stool Of Spirituality
    The Art Of Self-Nurturing
    The Challenge Of Staying Aware
    The Coexistence Of Ego And Buddha Nature
    The Devil Is Alive And Well
    The Distinction Between Pain And Suffering
    The Divine And Man
    The Ego As Saboteur
    The Emptiness Of Intrinsic Existence And Its Relevance To Global Warming
    The Felt Need For Acknowledgment
    The Five Precepts
    The Four Bodhisattva Vows
    The Fourfold Path To Freedom
    The Four Noble Truths
    The Freedom Of Focusing On Someone Or Something Outside Yourself
    The Heart/Mind Divide
    The Heart’s Embrace - More On Freeing Ourselves
    The Heart's Embrace - Updated
    The Hurt Of Rejection - Its Enduring Impact
    The Illusion Of Control
    The Imperative Of Self-Preservation
    The Lessons Of Siddhartha
    The Light Within You
    The Limits Of Rational Thought
    The Meaning And Power Of Selflessness
    The Middle Way - A Way Back From The Breach
    The Mind And The Wounded Inner Child
    The Mind And Your Inner Child - II
    The Mind Is Sneaky - Surrender It
    The Mind's Deep State
    The Mind - Suffering Connection
    The Miracle That Is You
    The Misleading Teaching Of No Self
    The Missing Noble Truth
    The Myanmar Situation
    The Mystery Of The Ego - An Answer
    The New Me - I Not I
    The Noble Eightfold Path
    The Original Trauma - Birth
    The Parable Of The Raft
    The Path As Tightrope
    The Path From Peace To Joy
    The Path Is Never-Ending
    The Power Of Affirmations - Use Carefully
    The Power Of Giving Voice To Thoughts
    The Present Beyond Us
    The Purpose Of Life
    The Purpose Of Meditation
    The Push/Pull Of Ego-Mind
    The Question Is Not Whether The Glass Is Half Empty Or Half Full
    There Are No Bad Persons
    There Is Nothing Wrong With You
    The Remnants Of The Ego
    The Serenity Prayer
    The Soul’s Yearning And How Best To Fulfill It
    The Stages Of Acceptance
    The Stages Of Man’s Spirit
    The Subconscious
    The Three Stages Of Embrace
    The Truth – Seeing It And Speaking It
    The Unaware Consumer
    The Wisdom Of Chickens
    The Wisdom Of Now
    This Is Not Me This Is Not My Self
    Thought Objects
    To Free Yourself From Cravings You Must Free Yourself Of Fear
    To Love Unconditionally = Loving-Kindness
    Tonglen - How To Approach Its Practice
    To Observe Free Of Mind - To Experience Joy
    To See Opportunity You Must Be Free Of Fear
    To Thine Own Self Be True
    Trauma
    Trauma Begets Trauma
    Trauma Denied No Longer
    Trauma - Healing It Is Critical
    Trauma - It’s Release
    Turning Your Will Over To Your True Buddha Nature
    Waking Up
    Walking Away From Modernity
    Walking On The Beach
    Walking The Path - It’s A Lot Of Work But It’s Well Worth It
    Wealth Poverty And Buddhism
    We Are All One
    We Are Not Meant To Suffer
    We Have Everything We Need To Be At Peace And Happy Inside Ourselves
    We Have Lost Our Sense Of Place
    We Make Our Own Mental Environment
    We Never Stop Healing
    What Activates The Ego-Mind?
    What Are We Celebrating On July 4th?
    What Blocks Me From Being Truly Present And Radiating My Inner Energy 24/7?
    What If The Present Is Bad?
    What Is Joy? What Is Happiness?
    What Is Life Without Emotion?
    What Is Most Important To You?
    What Is Your Task In Life?
    What Lies Behind Our Good Deeds?
    What Nourishes My Soul?
    What Price Peace And Happiness?
    What's In A Name?
    What's Real And What’s Not Real?
    What’s The Real Challenge - Life Or The Ego?
    What To Do When You Lose Faith?
    What Use Fame Power Fortune?
    What You Can’t Will And What You Can
    When A Heart’s Desire Is Commandeered By The Ego
    When Joy Is Not Joy
    When Love Is Not Love ...
    When Nothing Offends
    When Really Bad Things Happen
    When Smiling Toddlers Cry
    When The Mind Intervenes
    Who Am I?
    Who Are You?
    Who/What Is Your True Self?
    Why Diets Fail - A Buddhist Perspective
    Why Do We Crave?
    Why Is Being Grateful Such A Challenge?
    Why Is It So Hard To Be Free Of Your Ego?
    Why Is Mankind Trapped In A Box?
    Why Point The Compass Towards Tomorrow?
    Why We Take Offense
    Wisdom - What Is It?
    Wounded Our Ego-Mind Becomes The Devil
    Yes Virginia There Is A True Buddha Nature
    Yet Another Past Attachment
    You Are Not Alone
    You As Observer
    You Can Be In Control
    You Don't Need To Be Liked
    Your True Self And The Irrelevance Of The Min

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