Simply This

2012-02-08T07:40:00.000-08:00

"The best way to navigate through life is to give up all of our controls."

~Gerald G. Jampolsky, author of Love Is Letting Go of Fear

* * *

Nature notes: American Wigeon / Reid Park, Tucson, AZ / Jan. 22, 2012

2012-01-16T08:22:00.000-08:00

“Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a constant attitude.”

~Martin Luther King, Jr.

Morning Light

2012-01-06T13:44:00.000-08:00

How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains!
~John Muir

Wonder

2012-01-03T04:31:00.000-08:00

Western Bluebird

He who wonders discovers that this in itself is wonder.

~M. C. Escher

Now

2012-01-02T06:44:00.000-08:00

Aloe in the garden

Be Surprised Every moment is a surprise.

Everything that happens is a surprise.
Every experience is fresh.

Events are not your ideas about them.
Meet the world without expectations.

Enjoy being surprised!

This you will learn sitting quietly.

~from Buddha in Blue Jeans: An Extremely Short Zen Guide to Sitting Quietly by Tai Sheridan

Time to Relax

2011-12-22T04:43:00.000-08:00

“The time to relax is when you don't have time for it.”

~Sydney J. Harris

Quote

2011-12-19T08:24:00.000-08:00

Always remember that you are absolutely unique.

Just like everyone else.

~Margaret Mead

observation

2011-12-12T09:08:00.000-08:00

"Most people are more comfortable with old problems

than with new solutions."

~Charles Brower

Happy

2011-12-01T07:19:00.001-08:00

"Look at the trees, look at the birds, look at the clouds, look at the stars... and if you have eyes you will be able to see that the whole existence is joyful. Everything is simply happy. Trees are happy for no reason; they are not going to become prime ministers or presidents and they are not going to become rich and they will never have any bank balance. Look at the flowers - for no reason. It is simply unbelievable how happy flowers are." ~Osho

Joy

2011-11-21T11:08:00.001-08:00

"Joy is what happens to us when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are." ~Marianne Williamson

bird

2011-11-15T04:45:00.001-08:00

"I'd rather learn from one bird how to sing
than teach ten thousand stars how not to dance"

~e. e. cummings

Reflected Cairns

2011-11-05T08:24:00.000-07:00

On a walk the other morning, I noticed these little stacks of rocks in the creek. I don't know who built them or why, but I thought they looked nice. Have a wonderful weekend. :)

Linking to James' Weekend Reflections

Hearts on Flowers

2011-10-27T09:40:00.000-07:00

Can you see a cute spider where two petals meet to form a heart?

How about a tiny heart shadow on a petal that twisted into a heart?

I didn't see these hearts right away, but it seems they are everywhere --

hearts and hearts within hearts. Have a lovely day. :)

Visit Clytie's Random Hearts to see more "found" hearts or to share yours:

Guest Heart Thursday

Nature

2011-09-17T09:36:00.000-07:00

Nature does not hurry,
yet everything is accomplished.
~Lao Tzu

Jazz for Cows

2011-09-12T08:58:00.000-07:00

Just for fun, sharing a video found on YouTube. Enjoy! :)

Hummingbird

2011-08-23T06:50:00.000-07:00

in the rain...

catching raindrops

cooling off

Refreshed!

I hope you enjoy your day, too! :)

Just Birds

2011-07-27T10:43:00.000-07:00

Loving What Is

2011-07-25T11:22:00.000-07:00

Welcome anything that comes to you,

but do not long for anything else.

~Andre Gide

Clouds and Shadows

2011-07-22T10:02:00.000-07:00

“Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.”

~Philip K. Dick

Stories

2011-07-08T05:18:00.000-07:00

You get older, and you realize there are no answers,

just stories. And how we love them.

~Garrison Keillor

Snapshots from the desert

2011-06-07T09:22:00.000-07:00

Always

2011-05-31T07:30:00.000-07:00

I exist as I am, that is enough.

~Walt Whitman

(May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892)

Be as you are

2011-05-19T13:44:00.000-07:00

"There is no greater mystery than this,

that we keep seeking reality

though in fact we are reality."

~Ramana Maharshi

Zen Proverb

2011-05-16T15:54:00.000-07:00

Nothing is exactly as it seems, nor is it otherwise. ~Alan Watts

Watching

2011-04-14T07:29:00.000-07:00

"You can observe a lot by watching." ~Yogi Berra

Sunshine

2011-04-08T07:40:00.000-07:00

"A day without sunshine is like, you know, night." ~Steve Martin

Good Morning!

2011-03-30T07:12:00.000-07:00

Please have a nice day. :)

Duck

2011-03-25T07:24:00.000-07:00

"The child is in me still and sometimes not so still."
~Fred Rogers (The World According to Mister Rogers)

Enjoy more pictures from around the world at Weekend Reflections, a fun photo meme.

First days of spring

2011-03-23T08:16:00.000-07:00

First days of spring the sky is bright blue, the sun huge and warm. Everything is turning green...Time is forgotten, the hours fly. People passing by point at me and laugh: “Why are you acting like such a fool?” I nod my head and don’t answer. I could say something, but why? Do you want to know what’s in my heart? From the beginning of time: just this! just this! ~Ryokan Taigu

Springing Greenly

2011-03-22T07:13:00.000-07:00

"I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes." ~e.e. cummings

Wherever You Go...

2011-03-17T07:47:00.000-07:00

"Wherever you go,

there you are."

~this saying is attributed to Buddha and Confucius and is

also the title of a book on mindfulness by Jon Kabot-Zinn

Random Heart in the Desert

2011-03-10T11:37:00.000-08:00

Just walking in the desert...

I stumble upon a random heart for Clytie's Guest Heart Thursday:

The plant's skeleton makes a heart where the cactus isn't!

This brings to mind "the uses of not" from Ursula K. Le Guin's

translation of Lao Tzu's, Tao Te Ching:

Thirty spokes
meet in the hub.
Where the wheel isn't
is where it's useful.

Hollowed out,
clay makes a pot.
Where the pot's not
is where it's useful.

Cut doors and windows
to make a room.
where the room isn't,
there's room for you.

So the profit in what is
is in the use of what isn't.

You

2011-03-02T10:34:00.000-08:00

"Today you are You, that is truer than true.

There is no one alive who is Youer than You."

~Dr. Seuss (March 2, 1904 – September 24, 1991)

2011-02-17T11:44:00.000-08:00

There is nothing you can see that is not a flower;
there is nothing you can think that is not the moon.
~Basho

Shining Light

2011-02-17T08:22:00.000-08:00

Words of wisdom from Peace Pilgrim:

"In all the people I meet... I see that divine spark. And that's what I concentrate on. All people look beautiful to me; they look like shining lights to me. I always have the feeling of being thankful for these beautiful people who walk the earth with me."

"There is a spark of good in everybody, no matter how deeply it may be buried. It is the real you. When I say 'you' what am I really thinking of? Am I thinking of the clay garment, the body? No, that's not the real you. Am I thinking of the self-centered nature? No, that's not the real you. The real you is that divine spark..."

"Humanity has only scratched the surface of its real potential.”

“Unnecessary possessions are unnecessary burdens. If you have them, you have to take care of them! There is great freedom in simplicity of living. It is those who have enough but not too much who are the happiest.”

"When you find peace within yourself, you become the kind of person who can live at peace with others.”

"Live the present. Do the things you know need to be done. Do all the good you can each day. The future will unfold."

From Wikipedia: Peace Pilgrim (1908 – 1981) was an American pacifist, vegetarian, and peace activist. She walked across the United States for 28 years expressing her ideas about peace. Peace Pilgrim's only possessions were the clothes on her back and the few items she carried in the pockets of her blue tunic which read "Peace Pilgrim" on the front and "25,000 Miles on foot for peace" on the back. She had no organizational backing, carried no money, and would not even ask for food or shelter. When she began her pilgrimage she had taken a vow to "remain a wanderer until mankind has learned the way of peace, walking until given shelter and fasting until given food."

"Wouldn’t it be better to uplift each other, than to destroy each other? That’s the simple question that Peace Pilgrim asked, by virtue of the way she lived." ~ from Reflections on Peace Pilgrim’s Life by John Robbins, author of Diet for A New America

2011-02-03T05:58:00.000-08:00

“The heart of things is at peace.”

~Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

I can't stop...

2011-02-01T10:41:00.000-08:00

I can't stop

pointing to the beauty.
Every moment and place says,

"Put this design in your carpet!"

~Rumi

Deep Looking

2011-01-24T17:09:00.000-08:00

"You who are journalists, writers, citizens, you have the right and duty to say to those you have elected that they must practice mindfulness, calm and deep listening, and loving speech. This is a universal thing, taught by all religions. In Buddhism, we call this samatha -- stopping, concentration, calm. When calm is there we are able to practice deep looking." ~from True Love by Thich Nhat Hanh

Rose

2011-01-18T18:23:00.000-08:00

It's the rose's unfolding...that creates the desire to see--

In every color and circumstance, may the eyes be open for what comes.

~Ghalib (1797-1869)

Sentience

2011-01-18T10:28:00.000-08:00

excerpts from writings by Wei Wu Wei...

Returning Sentience to Its Source

Cease listening to what is being heard,

Listen to what is hearing instead!

Then listening will become what is hearing,

And hearing will be what is heard.

Cease looking at what is being seen,

Look at what is seeing instead!

Then looking will become what is seeing,

And seeing will be what is seen.

Cease seeking the sought of the seeker,

Seek what is seeking instead!

Then seeking will become what is searching,

And searching will be what is sought.

Cease cognising what is objective,

Turn sentience back on itself!

Cognising will become what is cognising,

And perceiving will be the perceived.

Leave sound unheard,

And "hearing" hear instead,

For hearing lives,

But sound, as such, is dead.

-from Posthumous Pieces by Wei Wu Wei

Cease looking at objects as events apart from ourselves.

Know them at their source...which is our perceiving of them.

~ from Open Secret by Wei Wu Wei

Healing Together

2011-01-13T10:44:00.000-08:00

Bits and pieces from President Obama's speech at the Together We Thrive tribute in Tucson last evening:

"Let us use this occasion to expand our moral imaginations, to listen to each other more carefully, to sharpen our instincts for empathy and remind ourselves of all the ways our hopes and dreams are bound together."

"It’s important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not in a way that wounds."

"We have to examine all the facts behind this tragedy...and be willing to challenge old assumptions."

"I believe that for all our imperfections, we are full of decency and goodness, and that the forces that divide us are not as strong as those that unite us."

"We may ask ourselves if we’ve shown enough kindness and generosity and compassion to the people in our lives."

"What matters is not wealth, or status, or power or fame, but how well we have loved."

Bird Haiku

2010-12-27T08:39:00.000-08:00

bird song

the wordless poems

of early morning

~Jane Reichhold

What you see...

2010-12-22T07:22:00.000-08:00

"What you see and hear depends a good deal on where you are standing."
~C.S. Lewis

That too is it!

2010-12-18T09:41:00.000-08:00

If you want to know silence, take great interest in the noise!

~Arnaud Desjardins

from Eyes Wide Open by Mariana Caplan

When all thoughts are exhausted...

2010-12-14T07:18:00.000-08:00

When I am done thinking, I wander in the woods

gathering handfuls of flowers. ~Ryokan

The bunny and flowers pictures were taken while visiting Western Massachusetts in July 2010.

Reality Check

2010-12-12T07:30:00.000-08:00

"All there is, is Reality,

and any illusion, any appearance, any shadow,

cannot but be a reflection of that very Reality.

Illusion cannot have an independent existence."

~from Peace and Harmony in Daily Living by Ramesh Balsekar

Beyond opposites...

2010-12-09T07:16:00.000-08:00

Beyond the pairs of opposites

of which the world consists,

other, new insights begin.

~Hermann Hesse

What is meant by nonduality, Mahatmi?

It means that light and shade, long and short, black and white, can only be experienced in relation to each other; light is not independent of shade, nor black of white. There are no opposites, only relationships. --from The Lankavatara Sutra

Jesus said to them, 'When you make the two one, and when you make the inside like the outside and the outside like the inside...then will you enter the Kingdom. ~from The Gospel of Thomas

In a nondual state there are no opposites. There is neither an awareness of being passive nor an awareness of being active; awareness without content comes near. In a nondual state there is no contradiction or paradox; common language fails in its ability to describe events from a nondual perspective. The sense of "I am the doer" is permanently absent as is the sense of "I am not the doer"; what comes near is "things being done" as there is no "feeling" of I and there is no experiencer. ~Jan Barendrecht

The Yin and Yang symbol illustrates that all apparent

opposites are complementary parts of a non-dual whole.

Free will?

2010-12-08T09:42:00.000-08:00

Do you believe in free will?
"Of course, I have no choice."

~Isaac Bashevis Singer

The question of free will can be a fascinating topic. This Wikipedia page for free will presents many different views on the subject. Lots of food for thought if you enjoy that sort of thing. :D

Goodbye, Hello

2010-12-07T10:51:00.000-08:00

To be interested in the changing seasons

is a happier state of mind

than to be hopelessly in love with spring.

~George Santayana

Never Mind

2010-12-07T07:49:00.000-08:00

"Do you want to know my secret?…
My secret is that I don't mind what happens."
~J. Krishnamurti

I love quotations. So far most of the entries on this blog feature quotes, especially ones that point to nondual awareness like the one above. Some of the posts talk about there being "no problem," about "not cherishing opinions," or "being at peace with what is." Many readers who follow world news or politics could easily conclude that quotes such as these are outdated, insensitive, or downright crazy. It does seem like a paradox for everything to be "perfect as it is" while there is so much pain and suffering going on in the world. I don't mind if readers think I'm nuts, but I would prefer that they not feel I don't care about the suffering of others. I do care.

-------------------------------------------

Because I like the way he puts things, the remainder of this post will be excepts from the book Never Mind by Wayne Liquorman. The following passages address how one can be in acceptance with "what is" while still having preferences.

Life is the movement between polaric opposites...when the Third Zen Patriarch said, "The Great Way is not difficult for those who hold no preferences" he was talking about the involvement in the movement. In fact the same translator of the little Hsin Hsin Ming book did a retranslation some thirty years later and in his new translation he changed the line from "The Great Way is not difficult for those who have no preferences" to "The Great Way is not difficult for those not attached to preferences." Huge difference, you see.

What this Advaita teaching points to -points to- is that life and death happen; health and sickness happen. They come, they go, as part of this miraculous movement of the universe...In the acceptance of the underlying reality that it's all part of a perfect functioning, your resistance to what is happening eases and the suffering attendant to what is happening lessens. You still have all the same issues. You still have to deal with the problems in your life. However, without this feeling that what is happening is a flaw in the Universe, there is more strength, there is more energy, there are more internal resources to deal with whatever life brings. Sometimes what life brings is not pleasant. In fact, sometimes it is terrible, but what we call "suffering" is a result of the belief that what is happening should not be happening.

The acceptance that I'm talking about is not approval. It doesn't mean you are required to like what is happening or refrain from doing something to change it...We can have a preference for one condition over the other, but when one over the other is deemed to be the only thing that should exist, then suffering is inevitable.

What is mind? No Matter!
What is matter? Never mind!
~Bertrand Russell (quoting his grandmother)

Blooming

2010-12-05T16:15:00.000-08:00

"The mind can go in a thousand directions, but on this beautiful path, I walk in peace. With each step, the wind blows. With each step, a flower blooms." ~Thich Nhat Hahn

Crow on a bare branch

2010-11-26T20:28:00.000-08:00

Kare eda ni
Karasu no tomari keri,
Aki no kure.

A branch shorn of leaves,
A crow perching on it--
This autumnal eve.

~haiku by Basho from Zen and Japanese Culture, D.T. Suzuki

Freedom

2010-11-26T10:50:00.000-08:00

The freedom you look for is where you look from. - Jac O'Keeffe

When I cease to own [physical or emotional pain], I liberate myself from its bondage and see it simply as it is ~Tony Parsons

He who binds to himself a joy

Does the wingèd life destroy;

But he who kisses the joy as it flies

Lives in eternity's sunrise.

~ William Blake

Wondering

2010-11-24T05:13:00.000-08:00

"When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last,

"what's the first thing you say to yourself?"

"What's for breakfast?" said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet?"

"I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet.

Pooh nodded thoughtfully. "It's the same thing," he said.
— A.A. Milne

Peace

2010-11-20T19:47:00.000-08:00

"Is there a difference between happiness and inner peace? Yes. Happiness depends on conditions being perceived as positive; inner peace does not." ~Eckhart Tolle

"Without peace of mind, life is just a shadow of its possibilities." ~Jean Borysenko

"Cultivate peace of mind which does not separate one's self from one's surroundings. When that is done successfully, then everything else follows naturally." ~Robert M. Prisig

"People say 'I want peace.' If you remove I (ego), and your want (desire), you are left with peace." ~Sathya Sai Baba

“For peace of mind, resign as general manager of the universe.” ~Larry Eisenberg

Reflection

2010-11-19T10:42:00.000-08:00

image credit*

The wild geese do not intend to cast their reflection:

The water has no mind to receive their image.

~Chuang Tzu

Another quote by Chuang Tzu appears on a Simply This post called "Butterfly Dream."

*This is not my photo. Gratitude to Alanna@VanIsle of British Columbia, Canada for kindly making this image available at the Creative Commons at Flickr.

Cuckoo haiku

2010-11-18T07:09:00.000-08:00

cuckoo! cuckoo!

meditating on that theme

day dawned

-Chiyo-ni

~from Jane Reichhold's

AhaPoetry.com

Another version of the above haiku:

While I was musing on my theme,

Repeating "cuckoo," day has dawned.

hototogisu

hototogisu tote

akeni keri

~by kaga no chiyo (1703-1775)*

*As a young girl, she asked a well-known poet for lessons in Hokku. He assigned her the most common, yet most difficult subject, hototogisu, and then rudely went into the next room to sleep. At dawn, she handed him this "perfect" verse. The master was humbled by a child. ~from The Classic Tradition of Haiku: An Anthology by Faubion Bowers

The sunrise photo is from October 24th 2010, looking towards the Rincon Mountains, east of Tucson, Arizona. The bird appeared in front of the pinkish cloud the moment the picture was snapped. Linking to Skywatch Friday a fun photo meme for enjoying skies from around the world.

Rose Hedge

2010-11-17T05:30:00.000-08:00

across a rose fence--

a cat lover

a cat hater

~Kazuo Sato

How far can we see across the rose-hedge fence, beyond our own personal likes and dislikes, feelings for or against? Can we be more like the rose hedge: neutral as nature, open to views from both sides of the fence and beyond? This microcosmic haiku exposes the truth of the world situation and yet it somehow nudges us to imagine, as in the classic John Lennon song, "Imagine"...and go beyond it. ~commentary adapted from haiku mind by Patricia Donegan

The pink flowery hedge was found in Chicopee, Massachusetts in July.

Beyond the wind...

2010-11-15T12:52:00.000-08:00

The quieter you become, the more you can hear. ~Baba Ram Dass

rock squirrel
charmed by woodland stories
whispered by the wind

Beyond the wind,
listen to the bamboo.
~Shibayama Zenkei

"Beyond the wind" generally refers to the realm beyond the illusory, material world, while listening to the bamboo is a reference to the fact that some species of bamboo grow so quickly that if one listens carefully, you can actually hear them growing. ~Enso: Zen Circles of Enlightenment by Audrey Yoshiko Seo

Fallen leaves under the water

2010-11-12T05:56:00.000-08:00

Mizu soko no
Iwa ni ochitsuku
Kono ha kana.

Under the water,
On the rock resting,
The fallen leaves.

This is by Joso (1661 - 1704), one of the chief disciples of Basho. Superficially and ordinarily, most of us are liable to think nothing of the fallen leaves of autumn finding their final resting place on the rocks in the stream. The poet does not venture to think of anything beyond. He just sees them there and gives no intimation as to what he has in his mind. It is this very silence of the poet that makes the verse all the more eloquent. ~from Zen and Japanese Culture by D.T. Suzuki

What do we know?

2010-11-11T11:12:00.000-08:00

Fifteen quotes examining the nature of reality and how knowledge is acquired:

"Because of conceptualization, our sense-experiences inform us with an incorrect picture of the world. When we see a mountain, we do not see it in its suchness, but we attach to it all kinds of ideas, sometimes purely intellectual, but frequently charged with emotionality. When these envelop the mountain, it is transformed into something monstrous...Instead of living in a world presented to the Primary Nature in its nakedness, we live in an artificial, "cultured" one. The pity is that we are not conscious of the fact." ~from Zen and Japanese Culture by D.T. Suzuki

"We do not see things as they are, we see things as we are." ~The Talmud

"The map is not the territory." ~Alfred Korzybski

"There are no facts, only interpretations." ~Friedrich Nietzsche

"We can all see how other people's BS (belief system or bullshit :p) makes them blind and "stupid" at times, but we find it very hard to notice how our own BS is doing the same to us. This is what anthropologists call 'acculturalization.' Following Gurdjieff, I prefer to call it hypnosis... Every politician knows how to induce hypnosis, and very damned few people on the whole planet know how to de-hypnotize themselves. The world is not governed by facts or logic. It is governed by BS (belief systems)." ~Robert Anton Wilson

"Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd." ~Voltaire

"Your beliefs can be like fences that surround you. You must first see them or you will not even realize that you are not free, simply because you will not see beyond the fences. They will represent the boundaries of your experience." ~from The Nature of Personal Reality by Jane Roberts

"Reality leaves a lot to the imagination." ~John Lennon

"In religion and politics, people's beliefs and convictions are in almost every case gotten at second hand, and without examination." ~Mark Twain

"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one." ~Albert Einstein

"A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices." ~William James

"When you question your stressful thoughts, you come to see that everything that has been troubling you is just a misunderstanding. You realize that what you believe isn't necessarily so. This is the beginning of freedom. The Work always leaves you a kinder, clearer, happier human being." ~from Question Your Thinking, Change The World by Byron Katie

"Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world." ~Arthur Schopenhauer

"The empiricist... thinks he believes only what he sees, but he is much better at believing than at seeing." -George Santayana

"We accept the reality of the world with which we're presented, it's as simple as that." ~The Truman Show

Hang Drum

2010-11-10T09:52:00.000-08:00

This video was made in the highlands of Scotland. The song "Inner Voice"...

The Hang Drum is not actually a drum, but rather an idiophone, similar to a steelpan, but the sound is more mellow. The Hang was developed ten years ago in Switzerland by PanArt.

From Wikipedia: There are many ways to produce sound out of a Hang that do not involve what many consider 'drumming'. The Hang-Makers and many veteran players instead regard the Hang as a complex holistic entity more likened to a "sound sculpture" than a typical drum.

Nazuna

2010-11-09T14:55:00.000-08:00

Nazuna's English name is Shepherd's Purse.

image by autan

Yoku mireba
Nazuna hana saku,
Kakine kana.

When closely inspected,
The nazuna is flowering
By the hedge.

Basho's attention was first awakened by something white by the roadside. Wondering, he approached, and carefully examined it, and discovered that it was the flowering nazuna, ordinarily unnoticed by most passers-by. The discovery must have called up a variety of feelings, on which he is not at all explicit in his seventeen syllables. He leaves the pleasure of discovery and appreciation to the readers.

~from Zen and Japanese Culture by D.T. Suzuki

The Sound of Autumn

2010-11-06T10:53:00.000-07:00

Autumn is come!
Though not visible
So clearly to the eyes,
One knows it by the sound
Of the wind as it blows.

~poem from Zen and Japanese Culture by D.T. Suzuki

Autumn takes its sweet time coming to the Sonoran Desert. These pictures were taken yesterday by the creek. With leaves gently rustling in the breeze, it felt like autumn, even though there was just a whisper of golden color on the trees.

Washing the dishes

2010-11-05T04:27:00.000-07:00

Washing the dishes
is like bathing a baby Buddha.
The profane is the sacred.
Everyday mind is Buddha's mind.

~Thich Nhat Hanh

To my mind, the idea that doing the dishes is unpleasant can occur only when you are not doing them. Once you are standing in front of the sink with your sleeves rolled up and your hands in warm water, it really is not so bad. I enjoy taking my time with each dish, being fully aware of the dish, the water, and each movement of my hands. I know that if I hurry in order to go and have a cup of tea, the time will be unpleasant and not worth living. That would be a pity, for each minute, each second of life is a miracle. The dishes themselves and the fact that I am here washing them are miracles! Each bowl I wash, each poem I compose, each time I invite a bell to sound is a miracle, each has exactly the same value. One day, while washing a bowl, I felt that my movements were as sacred and respectful as bathing a newborn Buddha. If he were to read this, that newborn Buddha would certainly be happy for me, and not at all insulted at being compared with a bowl. ~Thich Nhat Hanh

When things fall apart...

2010-11-04T07:39:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, we visited the little town of Oracle, Arizona for a running event. While taking nature photos, I noticed this old dilapidated home and was touched by the beauty of its decomposition. The writings of Pema Chödrön came to mind as well as a quote by Cezanne, "Everything we see falls apart, vanishes, doesn't it?"

"Things falling apart is a kind of testing and also a kind of healing. 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 of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy." ~Pema Chödrön

"Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know." ~Pema Chödrön, When Things Fall Apart

Quiet moments at the park...

2010-10-31T16:57:00.000-07:00

Part 2 Interview Robert Wolfe - Living Nonduality

2010-10-30T13:34:00.000-07:00

Greetings! I'm pleased to present the second part of my Interview with Robert Wolfe, author of Living Nonduality.

Diane: From Part 1 of our interview, where you describe nonduality:

"For millennia, teachers of nonduality -- in enlightenment traditions such as Buddhism, Taoism, Vedanta -- have assured us that it is possible to transcend the limitation of dualistic awareness, and thereby live in an awareness of dualities absence, which turns out to be: harmony, contentment and equanimity."

My questions for you today have to do with equanimity, as Buddha and others suggest to forsake preference and not wish life to be any different than it is.

1. How can one be moved to do things (make changes) while being at peace with the way things are?

2. How is it possible to feel compassion or concern for others yet be detached from suffering?

I suspect the answer to these questions about equanimity has to do with the relative "everyday world" not being separate from the absolute. But, I'm not very good at explaining these things. The terminology of nonduality is an apparent stumbling block for me as far as communicating It (while living It seems effortless). It is seen that there is no "I" as "a separate me" and nonduality is not a "thing". Talking about This is something I wish to improve on, yet the perceived limitation is accepted. Part of "me" says this could be a conflict (desiring to change while accepting what is) yet it also seems that there is no problem or division. As you say in your book, it's "That doing what it does" or "This too is It".

Robert: Thank you for the inquiry! In regard to you first statement, the teachers are telling us that it is possible to live in this state of awareness (which is characterized by my concluding sentence in the earlier paragraph about "how life is different"): "whose existence is it, but that of the Ultimate?"

We have all read, or heard, "you are not the doer." Involved in the transformative aspect of self-realization is the firm adoption of this insight. If, as you have stated, "there is no I as a separate me," then what is the source of any of the activities of the human organism?

If the body is a phenomenon that owes origination to an ultimate reality, a fundamental Being, then likewise the brain. If this brain is the seat of a "mind" and this mind is aware of thoughts, what is the source of origination? If these thoughts precede actions, what ultimately is responsible for the actions? And would this not apply to both "good thoughts" and "bad thoughts," hence "good" (or positive) actions and "bad" (or negative) actions?

So, when one is "moved to do things (make changes)" it is -- as you said -- "That doing what it does," whatever it is that is being done. And when one is not moved to do things, make changes, it is That doing what it does, just the same.

When this awareness is, as I said, firmly adopted, one relinquishes concern for whatever is being done or not being done: the recognition is that, "I am not the doer." (Or, put another way: I am the doer; but who am I? I am That.)

This is "being at peace with the way things are." This is where "harmony" and the "contentment" come in: we no longer critique "our" thoughts, speech or actions. There are no longer the dualistic standards being applied: "am I in equilibrium?" To use your words, "forsake preferences, and not wish for life [or activity] to be any different than it is." As a Zen Roshi said, "Sun-faced Buddha. Moon-faced Buddha."

Regarding your other point, I think you can see that what has been said above can have some relevance here too. But more specifically: when the "I" dissipates, the "personal" suffering of that goes with it. So, one is no longer attached to one's "own" suffering, as an idea-about-things (or concepts).

But while one recognizes that she has "ended" her own sense of suffering, she has not lost cognizance of the perceived suffering of others around her. Knowing now that such suffering can be transcended, she is apt to feel (even more) "compassion or concern for others," and -- with her own self-concern dissipated -- open to attempting to be of assistance in what ways she (now) can.

So, while one is "detached" from one's own suffering, it is meanwhile recognized that others may not be similarly detached.
=======

Dear Readers, I encourage you to visit Robert Wolfe's website, livingnonduality.org. Click on "ebook" to sample his Living Nonduality book and "Recordings" to watch video interviews.

Gratitude to Robert Wolfe and to his publisher, Michael Lommel of Karina Library for making this interview possible.

Pondering Pascal

2010-10-27T19:15:00.000-07:00

"Nature is an infinite sphere of which the center is everywhere and the circumference nowhere."

“The least movement is of importance to all nature. The entire ocean is affected by a pebble.”

"Man is equally incapable of seeing the nothingness from which he emerges and the infinity in which he is engulfed."

"Contradiction is not a sign of falsity, nor the lack of contradiction a sign of truth."

"I have made this letter longer than usual, because I lack the time to make it short."

~Blaise Pascal

"Skilfully Curled"

2010-10-27T13:48:00.000-07:00

From: The Nonduality Blog

Jerry Katz's report on the

Science and Nonduality Conference 2010

Here are excerpts from Rupert Spira's talk at the SAND 2010:

All we know is experience. Check that that is true for you. Have you ever known, do you know, or could you know anything other than experience? And whatever it is that knows experience intimately, utterly, pervades all experience equally. No part of experience is further from or closer to myself, whatever my self is, than any other part. In fact we don't really know experience, we just know experiencing. And if we stay close to experiencing, we never find a separate self, object, other, or entity. We just find the pure intimacy of experiencing. There is no inside of experiencing, there is no outside of experiencing. ... All experience takes place now. Check that for yourself. Can you move just a second away from now? ... The past and the future are never experiences, they are concepts. That is, time is never an experience. Now is not a moment in time but is truly timeless or eternal. Experience takes place here. ... Try to move just one millimeter away from here. ... All experience is here. We never experience distance or space. ... This locationless dimension which has no finite qualities (is) called here. ... It is known by all of us. It is what we refer to when we speak of love. Love is absolute intimacy, immediacy, innocense of experience. It is not just the condition of our relationship with one or two special friends. It is the name we give to the fundamental condition of all experience. ... The moon is only ever the sight of the moon. The sight of the moon is made only of seeing, as seeing takes place here, not there. The American poet e.e. cummings tried to describe this in this poem:

love is a place
& through this place of
love move
(with brightness of peace)
all places

yes is a world
& in this world of
yes live
(skilfully curled)
all worlds

So how is it that this absolute intimacy of experience, the lack of any distance, otherness, separation, or objectness of experience, which is the fundamental quality of all experience, how is it that it sometimes seems to be missing? … How does thought veil love? …
…
The separate entity never finds love; it dissolves, or dies, in love. This is in fact the only thing the separate entity ever truly seeks: it’s own death or disappearance. When the mind re-emerges again after this timeless experience of love about which it knows nothing, it recreates again the separate self in here and the separate other out there. And as we all know, before long the experience of love seems to be lost again, so again we go out in search of an object or an other that will deliver the experience of love.

Rupert Spira's website here.
Subscribe to Jerry Katz Nonduality Highlights by email here.

No Problem

2010-10-25T07:48:00.000-07:00

"If I asked you, ‘What is wrong with right now, without thinking about it?’, what would you say? You have to pause for a moment and realise that if there is no thought there, there is nothing wrong." ~'Sailor' Bob Adamson

The Observer

2010-10-23T07:37:00.000-07:00

The observer is the observed.

~J. Krishnamurti, Freedom from the Known

Not two

2010-10-18T12:56:00.000-07:00

Man's general way of thinking of the totality, i.e. his general world view, is crucial for overall order of the human mind itself. If he thinks of the totality as constituted of independent fragments, then that is how his mind will tend to operate, but if he can include everything coherently and harmoniously in an overall whole that is undivided, unbroken and without border (for every border is a division or break) then his mind will tend to move in a similar way, and from this will flow an orderly action within the whole. ~David Bohm, Wholeness and the Implicate Order

Always New

2010-10-16T07:00:00.000-07:00

Torrey Pines State Beach, San Diego, California

"And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we began and to know the place for the first time." ~T.S. Eliot

Interview with Robert Wolfe - Living Nonduality

2010-10-15T09:53:00.000-07:00

First of all, I would like to thank Robert Wolfe very much for this interview. I cannot express how much I have enjoyed reading his book, Living Nonduality. I would like to invite those who are interested, to visit Robert's website where his entire 444 page book is available to read for free as an ebook. Click here to visit Robert Wolfe's Living Nonduality website.

For quite some time, I have been fascinated by the subject of Nonduality. I'm not an author myself but I take delight in sharing nondual quotes, poems and other writings on my Simply This blog along with my nature photographs.

Interview with Robert Wolfe, author of Living Nonduality

Diane AZ: To begin, Robert, please tell me how you define nonduality.

Robert Wolfe: We have been conditioned to duality from the earliest days of our life, so in that sense we all know what duality is, don't we? Its most elemental proposition is that "I" exist, and all else in the universe is "not I". While making practical distinctions, such as day and night, hot and cold, north and south, etc., our conditioned awareness also expresses itself as a judgmental spectrum with negative at one pole and positive at the other. And it ingrains a habitual mindset, a thought pattern, based inevitably on this kind of division, and the desire, fear, and actions that arise from it. In other words, our dualistic viewpoint -- which we take for granted -- is at the root of our divisiveness, dissatisfaction, and conflicting values; in short, of our unhappiness.

For millennia, teachers of nonduality -- in enlightenment traditions such as Buddhism, Taoism, Vedanta -- have assured us that it is possible to transcend the limitation of dualistic awareness, and thereby live in an awareness of dualities absence, which turns out to be: harmony, contentment and equanimity. Non-dual, of course, means "not two"; so, nonduality is the condition of Oneness as a living experience; the transcendence of our dualistically perceived unhappiness.

Diane: Who or what was instrumental to your shift in perspective?

Robert: Ramana Maharshi is the nondual teacher most often referred to in Living Nonduality. There are also two short biographical sketches available online: The Absolute Enigma (the opening chapter of Living Nonduality) and Awakening to Living in the Moment. [see right sidebar]

Diane: How is life different from a nondual perspective and why do you share this?

Robert: The shift in perspective, which nondual awareness represents, is occasioned by the dissolution of the (separative) self-image -- the idea of who we think we are. When our typical self-centeredness dissipates, in this circumstance, we become even more acutely aware of the perceived "suffering" of others around us. Knowing now that such suffering is not necessary (the basic principle of Buddha's teaching), one will notice a natural instinct to want to share one's own discovery with anyone who has an interest in hearing about it. After all, what did any of the great sages do after their enlightenment: they were available 24/7 to be of assistance to anyone they could who genuinely sought inner peace. An interviewer once asked Krishnamurti, Why do you do what you do? And his answer basically was "compassion". With self-realization, one's values change; and, as a consequence, one's behavior changes. How would I characterize that change in general: a flowing through the organism of a creative, and benevolent, force that expresses itself in a generalized (rather than a person-alized) love. Ramana Maharshi said this: "A Self-realized being can not help benefiting the world. His [or her] very existence is the highest good." Whose "existence" is it but that of the Ultimate?

Diane: What are you working on now?

Robert: I write most days on nonduality and meet people in person who are inquiring into it. The next book to be published will be The Gospel of Thomas: The Enlightenment Teachings of Jesus. Karina Library has a preview website here: www.enlightenedjesus.com. People can also sign up there for release news. I'm also working on a new manuscript on the Hsin Hsin Ming, an ancient Zen poem on nonduality. No book in English that I can find has really explicated it yet for the modern reader. That should be published in 2011.

Diane: Interesting! I am so grateful for your response and will be sending you some follow up questions shortly. Update: Click here for Part Two of this interview.

Dear Readers, I invite you to read a short sweet sample monograph from Robert's book on my Desert Colors blog. Click here to read Yea, Listen to the Mockingbird!

Happiness

2010-10-08T13:00:00.000-07:00

A reflection in the window of the main library at the University of Arizona, for participation in Weekend Reflections, a fun photography meme hosted by James:

The sculpture that is being reflected is Girl with Doves by David Wynne 1970.

"Happiness is itself a kind of gratitude."

~Joseph Wood Krutch

Random Heart in a Cactus Garden

2010-10-07T11:28:00.000-07:00

These pictures were taken at the Joseph Wood Krutch Cactus Garden at the University of Arizona early Sunday morning. In one of these snapshots is a Random Heart hiding in plain sight.

Cleistocactus

Boojum tree

Gila Woodpecker

House Finch

Saguaro Cactus

Verdin

If I keep a green bough in my heart, then the singing bird will come.

~Chinese proverb

The Random Heart I noticed is the heart opening in the Saguaro Cactus.

Random Hearts are fun because they usually show up when we aren't searching for them. :-) See more Random Hearts at Clytie's Guest Heart Thursday.

On Nature

2010-10-01T07:18:00.000-07:00

"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe."
~John Muir

“One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.” ~William Shakespeare

"Everything in nature contains all the power of nature. Everything is made of one hidden stuff." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Wisdom of Einstein

2010-09-30T05:18:00.000-07:00

"A human being is a part of a whole, called by us the Universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest... a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty." ~Albert Einstein

Noticing

2010-09-29T06:30:00.000-07:00

From Love's Quiet Revolution by Scott Kiloby:

Notice that you are living in a radiant mystery called life. And then notice that the words "radiant," "mystery," and "life" do not even come close to truly describing the brilliance and ordinariness of it. Notice that they are just thoughts pointing to an actuality all around you, and within you. Notice that you are not separate from that actuality.

Notice that life is a symphony of sights, sounds, smells, sensations, thoughts, feelings, states, and experiences. Notice that the beautiful music of this symphony can only be fully realized when there is no self pretending to be the conductor.

Notice how beautiful and big, and yet how empty, the space around you is when you go outside. It never ends. It embraces you.

Notice that this space is who you are. It is within you. It is you. ~ Scott Kiloby

Mysterious

2010-09-28T05:56:00.000-07:00

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. ~Albert Einstein

Is that so?

2010-09-27T16:14:00.000-07:00

The Zen master Hakuin was praised by his neighbors as one living a pure life.

A beautiful Japanese girl whose parents owned a food store lived near him. Suddenly, without any warning, her parents discovered she was with child.

This made her parents very angry. She would not confess who the man was, but after much harassment at last named Hakuin.

In great anger the parents went to the master. "Is that so?" was all he would say.

After the child was born it was brought to Hakuin. By this time he had lost his reputation, which did not trouble him, but he took very good care of the child. He obtained milk from his neighbors and everything else the little one needed.

A year later the girl-mother could stand it no longer. She told her parents the truth - that the real father of the child was a young man who worked in the fishmarket.

The mother and father of the girl at once went to Hakuin to ask his forgiveness, to apologize at length, and to get the child back again.

Hakuin was willing. In yielding the child, all he said was: "Is that so?"

Out beyond ideas...

2010-09-24T07:54:00.000-07:00

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field. I'll meet you there.

When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language, even the phrase each other
doesn't make any sense.

~Rumi

Skywatching at Dawn

2010-09-23T11:20:00.000-07:00

"You must understand the whole of life, not just one little part of it. That is why you must read, that is why you must look at the skies, that is why you must sing and dance, and write poems, and suffer, and understand, for all that is life." ~J.Krishnamurti

To see skies from around the world, visit Skywatch Friday.

On Living

2010-09-21T05:22:00.000-07:00

"Living is no laughing matter:
you must live with great seriousness
like a squirrel, for example-
I mean without looking for something beyond and above living,
I mean living must be your whole occupation."

~Nazim Hikmet

Always

2010-09-10T06:09:00.000-07:00

"The mere sense of living is joy enough."

~Emily Dickinson

Not knowing

2010-08-24T16:42:00.000-07:00

The flower invites the butterfly with no-mind;
The butterfly visits the flower with no-mind.
The flower opens, the butterfly comes;
The butterfly comes, the flower opens.
I don't know others,
Others don't know me.
By not-knowing we follow nature's course.

~from Dewdrops on a Lotus Leaf: Zen poems of Ryokan,

translated by John Stevens

As It Is

2010-08-19T08:52:00.000-07:00

"Notice everything. Appreciate everything, including the ordinary.

That's how to click in with joyfulness or cheerfulness."

~ from Start Where You Are by Pema Chödrön

Now

2010-08-19T08:24:00.000-07:00

"This very moment is the perfect teacher,

and, lucky for us, it's with us wherever we are. "

~from When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chödrön

Fear

2010-08-19T08:17:00.000-07:00

"Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth"
~from When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chödrön

Thinking

2010-08-10T08:53:00.000-07:00

"There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."

~William Shakespeare

Nature

2010-08-03T09:59:00.000-07:00

To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.

~ from Auguries of Innocence by William Blake

Keeping it Simple

2010-07-30T19:32:00.000-07:00

Zen is not some kind of excitement,

but merely concentration

on our usual everyday routine.

~Shunryu Suzuki

Roshi

2010-07-04T06:57:00.000-07:00

"I have lived with several Zen masters -- all of them cats." ~Eckhart Tolle

Being Here Now

2010-06-30T05:38:00.000-07:00

"Be yourself. Life is precious as it is.

All the elements for your happiness are already here.

There is no need to run, strive, search or struggle.

Just Be."

~Thich Nhat Hanh

This Is It

2010-06-27T18:29:00.000-07:00

"The ultimate truth is so simple;

it is nothing more than being

in one's natural, original state."

~Ramana Maharshi

The Mountain

2010-06-24T19:37:00.000-07:00

The birds have vanished into the sky,

and now the last cloud drains away.

We sit together, the mountain and I

until only the mountain remains.

~Li Po

Just a thought...

2010-06-23T07:35:00.000-07:00

Awake. Be the witness of your thoughts.

You are what observes, not what you observe.

~Buddha

Looking into the Nature of Experience

2010-06-21T15:18:00.000-07:00

"Many of our ideas and beliefs about ourselves and the world are so deeply ingrained that we are unaware that they are beliefs and take them, without question, for the absolute truth." ~from The Transparency of Things by Rupert Spira

Reflections of Stillness

2010-06-18T06:39:00.000-07:00

"When you allow yourself to return to your true nature, you're not wanting any particular thing to happen in the stillness." ~Adyashanti, Emptiness Dancing

This post is for "Weekend Reflections," a fun and fascinating photography meme hosted by James at Newtown Area Photo. Click here to see other Weekend Reflections or to share your own.