Worst Enemy / Best Friend

Our  own worst enemy cannot harm us as much as our unwise thoughts.
No one can help us as much as our own compassionate thoughts.
~ Jack Kornfield, Buddha’s Little Instruction Book

Thank you for all the well wishes, offers, chants and prayers.  I am feeling much better, just a bit fatigued now.  Many Blessings,  John

“To do” list

After 8 days of a fever and various other side effects, my body and mind are returning to normal (whatever the hell that is).
I am thankful.
I am smiling.
Now to get back to my “to do” list.  (I borrowed this one from Jack Kornfield)

Things to do today:
Exhale
Inhale
Exhale
Ahhhhhhhhh

Multitasking is Overrated and Over Valued

About once a year, when I am not paying attention and my mind is a million miles away, I make a quick movement  as I bend down to pick something up and “Aargh”,  I strain my lower back.

About once every 3 months or so I’ll be in a hurry to work out and get my reps over with – not  paying attention to the movement of the weights in my hand, nor the movement of my muscles, nor the movement of my joints and “Snap” I sprain a muscle.

Every so often I will not sit and breathe, practice my Qigong and rush off into my day and I will come home with a tightness between my shoulder blades (it’s where my body holds stress)

It was one of those weeks this past week.

3 quotes from Buddha’s Little Instruction Book by Jack Kornfield helped to  realign my thoughts so I could realign body (or is it vice versa? ? ?)

Our body is precious. It is our vehicle for awakening. Treat it with care. (pg 48)

When you walk, just walk. When you eat, just eat. (pg 65)

Stay centered.  Do not overstretch. Extend from your center, return to your center. (pg 69)

have you hugged a flying monkey today?

To open your heart like a Buddha,  we must embrace the ten thousand joys and the ten thousand sorrows.

~ Jack Kornfield, Buddha’s Little Instruction Book

(there is no picking and choosing  . . .)

Rubbermaid or Tupperware?

Have you ever witnessed a toddler fall?
Often you’ll notice that they do not cry until they look around and find their mother.  It is only when they see their mother (or guardian) that they go running into safe arms and let out their cry.  Why?
An evolved parent is a a sturdy and safe container for the child’s unpleasant emotions.

As we evolve in our practice, we too become better containers for the unpleasant things that arise.

To parent oneself can mean facing and confronting the disowned self and embracing it.

I came across this quote by Jack Kornfield from “Buddha’s Little Instruction Book” that made me think about this developmental process:

Even our anger can be held in a heart of kindness

I die every night and I live every day

I am not a Buddhist, despite most of these blogs.  The teachings of Buddhism however, have a significant psychological and philosophical influence in my life for which I am most grateful – it is a most auspicious teacher and has been since childhood (In my Christian upbringing I was always attracted to the book of “Job”; he was my favorite old testament character along with “Joseph” and the most meditative Buddhist in Judaism, while Joseph was the most mindful). I posted below 2 excerpts from this weeks Tricycle’s Daily Dharma and a quote from Jack Kornfield’s “Buddha’s Little Instruction Book”.  For me the are about the paradox of embracing in order to “let go” (the latter of which is a theme in my recent blogs).  I hope they offer you as much insight as they have me:

Rebirth
We are in actual fact reborn every moment with new thoughts and feelings, and we bring with us the karma that we made in the past moments. If we were angry a moment ago, we are not going to feel good immediately. If we were loving a moment ago, we would be feeling fine now. Thus we live moment to moment with the results of our karma.

Every morning, particularly, can be seen as a rebirth. The day is young, we are full of energy and have a whole day ahead of us. Every moment we get older and are tired enough in the evening to fall asleep and die a small death. All we can do then is toss and turn in bed, and our whole mind is dreamy and foggy. Everyday can be regarded as a whole lifespan, since we can only live one day at a time; the past is gone and the future may or may not come; only this rebirth, this day, this moment, is important.

–Ayya Khema, When the Iron Eagle Flies

The mirror of death

According to the wisdom of Buddha, we can actually use our lives to prepare for death. We do not have to wait for the painful death of someone close to us or the shock of terminal illness to force us into looking at our lives. Nor are we condemned to go out empty-handed at death to meet the unknown. We can begin, here and now, to find meaning in our lives. We can make of every moment an opportunity to change and to prepare–wholeheartedly, precisely, and with peace of mind–for death and eternity. In the Buddhist approach, life and death are seen as one whole, where death is the beginning of another chapter of life. Death is a mirror in which the entire meaning of life is reflected.

–Sogyal Rinpoche, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying

Each Morning we are born again.
What we do today is what matters most
–Jack Kornfield