“At some point, we need to stop identifying with our weaknesses and shift our allegiance to our basic goodness. It’s highly beneficial to understand that our limitations are not absolute and monolithic, but relative and removable. The wisdom of buddha nature is available to us at any time.” — Pema Chödrön
Author Archives: Vito Politano
Playlist: Savasana by Ólafur Arnalds
Savasana Song from the last few weeks: Ólafur Arnalds – Þú Ert Jörðin
Reading: more from Pema’s WTFA:HADT
“There is nobody on the planet, neither those whom we see as the oppressed nor those whom we see as the oppressor, who doesn’t have what it takes to wake up. We all need support and encouragement to be aware of what we think, what we say, and what we do. Notice your opinions. IfContinue reading “Reading: more from Pema’s WTFA:HADT”
Reading: Find Peace…Now
“Welcome the present moment as if you had invited it. It is all we ever have so you might as well work with it rather than struggling against it. We might as well make it our friend and teacher rather than our enemy” – Pema Chödrön
Reading: Fear is Good
Thanks to my good friend Andrea, I have been reading this relatable and inspiring book The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield. I’m just a third through and have found the following passage useful in explaining the fears I have around teaching. Within a few days ofContinue reading “Reading: Fear is Good”
Reading: Being Tested by Pema Chödron
“We think that the point is to pass the test or overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It’s just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all ofContinue reading “Reading: Being Tested by Pema Chödron”
Reading from Class: School of Life by Pema Chödrön
“Life is a good teacher and a good friend. Things are always in transition, if we could only realize it. Nothing ever sums itself up in the way that we like to dream about. The off-center, in-between state is an ideal situation, a situation in which we don’t get caught and we can open ourContinue reading “Reading from Class: School of Life by Pema Chödrön”
Reading: Improving with Age/Practice
“While I continually try to improve my practice, I do my best and am contented with what I am able to attain. Even as the body ages and is able to do less, there are subtleties that reveal themselves , which would be invisible to younger or more athletic bodies. You have to create loveContinue reading “Reading: Improving with Age/Practice”
Reading: Salzberg on Self-efficacy (Bandura)
“’People’s beliefs about their abilities have a profound effect on those abilities….Ability is not a fixed property…there is huge variability in it; people who have a sense of self-efficacy bounce back from failures; they approach things in terms of how to handle them rather than worrying about what can go wrong.’ Albert Bandura…..If ability isContinue reading “Reading: Salzberg on Self-efficacy (Bandura)”
Reading from Louis L’Amour and a “Danger v. Comfort Zone” tangent
“Up to a point, man’s life is shaped by environment, heredity, & movements and changes in the world about him; then there comes a time when it lies within his grasp to shape the clay of his life into the sort of thing he wishes to be . . . Everyone has within his/her powerContinue reading “Reading from Louis L’Amour and a “Danger v. Comfort Zone” tangent”