To ascertain our own disease proneness, we can look at the following questions:
Do I worry about my health, holding fear thoughts in mind about what might happen to me?
Do I get a secret feeling of fear, excitement, and danger when I hear about a new disease that is currently being reported and in vogue?
Do I spend time on constant checkups, reading about diseases, getting frightened by TV stories about them?
Am I interested in hearing about the diseases of famous people? Continue reading
“Silence is a source of great strength.” ~Lao Tzu
For over two years I spent one out of every four weeks in silence. At the time I was living at a Zen Monastery and every month we would have a week-long silent retreat.
During this retreat we sat meditation in silence, ate in silence, worked in silence, and only communicated through hand gestures and written notes.
At first living like this was hard, but over time I learned to grow to appreciate silence. By the time I left I learned that silence was my friend and teacher.
What did silence teach me?
I used to think I needed to watch TV every night. But at monastery I went without and discovered I didn’t need it.
Silence taught me to be happy with less. Pick something that’s weighing you down and let it go. Your life will thank you.
When you can only talk by writing a note, you only say what’s important. Before the monastery I talked a lot but said little.
Silence taught me that a few simple words well spoken have more power than hours of chatter. Think of one simple thing you can say that would help someone feel better and say it.
Being able to speak makes life easy, but when I couldn’t talk I learned how much I relied on others.
Silence taught me to appreciate the value of relating to others. The next time you see your friends or family, try to really listen. Deep listening expresses deep appreciation.
Several times at my first retreat I thought my phone was vibrating. But then I would remember I didn’t have my phone. It showed me how my phone divided my attention.
Silence taught me how important it is to let go of distractions. The next time you are with someone you care about, try turning off your phone and putting it away. It will make paying attention easier.
I once sat a retreat next door to a construction project. What amazed me was how easily my thoughts drowned out the noise. I realized if my thoughts were this loud, I’d better make them as wise as possible.
Silence taught me the importance of shaping my thinking. Take time each day to notice your thoughts and let go of thoughts that don’t serve you.
(Contributed by Mr. Balasunder)
http://tinybuddha.com/blog/20-ways-sitting-silence-can-completely-transform-your-life
“Highlights:
1. The way out of conflict is not to try to eliminate the negative but instead to choose and adopt the positive. To view that one’s mission in life is to understand rather than to judge automatically resolves moral dilemmas.
Meaning is defined by context which determines motive. It is the motive that establishes spiritual value.
2. Opinions are dangerous to their owners because they are emotionally charged triggers for the dissent, strife, argument, and positionality.
3. Attitude: The primary quality is one of attitude in that one looks at life not as a place to acquire gain, but as an opportunity for learning, which abounds even the smallest of life’s details. Continue reading
As freewill beings and cocreators with God, we had minds with which to build, but we built thought forms and desire patterns which deviated from the Law of One. Over time these separate projections imprisoned our own consciousness. Finally, we came to a point at which we were lost; we lost awareness of our oneness with God and we lost our ability to move back to Him in consciousness. Continue reading
When you have a problem, what happens? You think it out, you wallow in it, you fuss over it, you get wildly excited about it; and the more you analyze it, dig into it, polish it, worry about it, the less you understand it. But the moment you put it away from you, you understand it—the whole thing is suddenly very clear. Continue reading
“To hold our tongues when everyone is gossiping, to smile without hostility at people and institutions, to compensate for the shortage of love in the world with more love in small, private matters; to be more faithful in our work, to show greater patience, to forgo the cheap revenge obtainable from mockery and criticism: all these are things we can do.”
—Hermann Hesse
There are four independent brain circuits that influence our lasting well-being, Davidson explained.
The first is “our ability to maintain positive states.” It makes sense that the ability to maintain positive states or positive emotions would directly impact one’s ability to experience happiness. These two great spiritual leaders were saying that the fastest way to this state is to start with love and compassion. Continue reading
What has caused the present conditions, not alone at home but abroad? It is that realization that was asked some thousands of years ago, “Where is thy brother? His blood cries to me from the ground!” and the other portion of the world has answered, is answering, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The world, as a world—that makes for the disruption, for the discontent—has lost its ideal. Continue reading
ONE TUSK 