Reading: Flow of Life

“Your work really begins when you release struggle. To let go of struggle initiates a change of vibration within you. This change puts you in touch with the flow of Life Itself, which is essentially what you are.  To cultivate your awareness of this flow is your real work. When you’re in touch with the flowContinue reading “Reading: Flow of Life”

Reading: Samaya

“We don’t experience the world fully unless we are willing to give everything away. Samaya means not holding anything back, not preparing our escape route, not looking for alternatives, not thinking that there is ample time to do things later.” – Pema Chodron From Pema Chodron’s When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times

Reading: Hard Lessons

This suffering BS is real. “Life is difficult, the Buddha said, for everyone. Suffering, he taught, is the demand that experience be different from what it is. Of course we do what we can to address pain. Sometimes illnesses are cured. Sometimes relationships are mended. Sometimes losses are recouped. Sometimes, though, nothing can be done. The Buddha’sContinue reading “Reading: Hard Lessons”

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: Favorite from Charles Dickens

This year, weather-wise this was not relatable until this week in Boston. “It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.” – Charles Dickens, Great Expectations   Notice what triggers you to attach or fight.  Always aContinue reading “Reading: Favorite from Charles Dickens”

Reading: Mind your business: Love thy neighbor

“Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody’s business. What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy if anything can.” -Thomas Merton HappyContinue reading “Reading: Mind your business: Love thy neighbor”

Reading from Class: Peaceful in the Face of Chaos

“The peace that we’re looking for is not peace that crumbles as soon as there is difficulty or chaos. Whether we’re seeking inner peace or global peace or a combination of the two, the way to experience it is to build on the foundation of unconditional openness to all that arises. Peace isn’t an experienceContinue reading “Reading from Class: Peaceful in the Face of Chaos”

Reading from Class: Discipline by Ajahn Sumedho

“To practice we must start exactly where we are. Of course, we can always imagine perfect conditions, how it should be ideally, how everyone else should behave. But it’s not our task to create an ideal. It’s our task to see how it is and to learn from the world as it is. For theContinue reading “Reading from Class: Discipline by Ajahn Sumedho”

Reading from Class: “Pain as Teacher”

“Pain is your best friend. It is infinitely more honest with you than pleasure. Despite what you might think, the painful experiences you have had benefit you far more than the pleasurable ones, even though most of us spend our lives trying to duck and hide from them.  But when you can center yourself andContinue reading “Reading from Class: “Pain as Teacher””

Reading From Class: Openness

“The openness to Life Itself that we cultivate frees us from a great deal of conditioning and many inherent and inherited assumptions…Life is not about answers.  It IS about learning to live in the middle of complete uncertainty, and doing so gracefully.” – Swami Chetanananda     Shared from Yoga Gems.