| NONSENSE |
| "I like nonsense - it wakes up the brain cells.
Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living. It's a
way of looking at life through the wrong end of a
telescope that enables you to laugh at all of life's
realities." Dr. Seuss. (PS. Go See Horton Hears a
Who. It was great!)
|
|
| NO MATTER WHAT |
| “Do you know what today means, in spiritual, numerical
terms? … Me neither. But I know this, your thoughts
become things every single day, no matter what the
occasion, no matter where the energy vortices lie, no
matter when the equinox starts, no matter what the
economy is doing, no matter who is in office, no
matter what you want, no matter when you want it, no
matter what, no matter what, no matter what. Any other
thinking just gives your power away.” www.tut.com |
|
| LISTEN TO THE OTHER WORLD… |
| We spend most of our time and energy in a kind of
horizontal thinking. We move along the surface of
things but there are times when we stop. We sit still.
We lose ourselves in a pile of leaves or its memory.
We listen and breezes from a whole other world begin
to whisper. - James Carroll
|
|
| A KIND WORD |
| One kind word can warm three winter months. - Japanese
proverb
|
|
| LIGHT YOUR SOUL, LIGHT THE WORLD |
| If there is light in the soul, there will be beauty in
the person. If there is beauty in the person, there
will be harmony in the house. If there is harmony in
the house, there will be order in the nation. If there
is order in the nation, there will be peace in the
world. Chinese Proverb
|
|
| CHANGE |
| “The great thing about change, Jillian, is that it absolutely, positively, always means things are going to get even better. Even when you don’t know how.” |
|
FIREFLIES by Evaleen Stein |
Look! Look down in the garden how
The firefly lights are flitting now!
A million tiny sparks I know
Flash through the pinks and golden-glow,
And I am very sure that all
Have come to light a fairy ball,
And if I could stay up I'd see
How gay the fairy folks can be! |
|
| HAPPINES … The Universe. Tut.com |
What if happiness didn't have anything to do with what you had, where you've been, or who you were, and arose entirely from what you chose to think about, yet nobody knew this? And that changing your thoughts, so that you could feel happier more often, would entirely change what you had, who you were, and where you're headed, yet nobody knew this either? Do you think if we told them they'd choose to think differently?
|
|
Thich Nhat Hang
|
| “Tenty-Four, Brand-New Hours… Every morning, when we wake up, we have twenty-four brand new hours to live. What a precious gift! We have the capacity to live in a way that these twenty-four hours will bring peace, joy and happiness to ourselves and others. Peace is present right here and now, in ourselves and in everything we do and see. The question is whether or not we are in touch with it. We don’t have to travel far away to enjoy the blue sky. We don’t have to leave our city or even our neighborhood to enjoy the eyes of a beautiful child. Even the air we breathe can be a source of joy. We are very good at preparing to live, but not very good at living. We know how to sacrifice ten years for a diploma, and we are willing to work very hard to get a job, a car, a house, and so on. But we have difficulty remembering that we are alive in the present moment, the only moment there for us to be alive. Every breath we take, every step we make, can be filled with peace, joy and serenity.” |
|
INSIDE THE BREATH – the Kabir Book translated by Robert Bly
|
“Are you looking for me? I am in the next seat.
My shoulder is against yours.
You will not find me in stupas, not in Indian shrine
rooms nor synagogues, nor in cathedrals:
Not in masses, nor kirtan, not in legs winding around
your own neck, nor in eating nothing but vegetables.
When you really look for me, you will see me
instantly... You will find me in the tiniest house of
time.
Kabir says: Student, tell me, what is God?
He is the breath inside of breath.” |
|
THANKSGIVING IROQUIS PRAYER
|
“We return thanks to our mother,
the earth, which sustains us.
We return thanks to the rivers and streams,
which supply us with water.
We return thanks to all the herbs,
which furnish medicines for the cure to our diseases.
We return thanks to the corn, and to her sisters,
the beans and squashes,
which give us life.
We return thanks to the bushes and the trees,
which provide us with fruit.
We return thanks to the wind,
which moving in the air, has banished diseases.
We return thanks to the moon and the stars,
which have given to us their light
when the sun was gone.
We return thanks to our grandfather Hé-No,
that he has protected his grandchildren
and has given to us his rain.
We return thanks to the sun,
that he has looked upon the earth
with a beneficent eye.
Lastly, we return thanks to the Great Spirit,
in whom is embodied all goodness,
and who directs all things
for the good of his children.” |
|
| THE CORE OF A PEACEFUL MIND -St. Francis de Sales |
| “Have patience with all things but first with yourself. Never confuse your mistakes with your value as a human being. You're a perfectly valuable, creative, worthwhile person simply because you exist.And no amount of triumphs or tribulations can ever change that. Unconditional self acceptance is the core of a peaceful mind.” |
|
| IT’S YOUR LIFETIME” - Dr. Wayne Dyer |
| “You become what you think about all day and those days become your lifetime ” |
|
| THINK IT IS SO P Cota-Robles |
| “What we think about, what we hold in our minds and put our attention and energy into, we actually draw into our lives.” |
|
| Robert Fulghum |
| “Think what a better world it would be if we all, the whole world, had cookies and milk about three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down on our blankets for a nap.” |
|
| Spanish Proverb |
| “How lovely it is to rest and then do nothing afterwards” |
|
| Worth Doing |
| “If a thing is worth doing, it's worth doing slowly or not at all.” |
|
| DON”T WORRY John A. Simone, Sr. |
"If you're in a bad situation, don't worry it'll change. If you're in a good situation, don't worry it'll change." |
|
| EXPERIENCE Erich Schiffmann |
“Go in there, be clear about what you don’t know, and let yourself be taught in the doing of it.” |
|
| FAITH Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. |
|
“Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” |
|
| MINI RETREAT |
“We all need sometime to ourselves. Just a few minutes a day to get reacquainted with the one who’s been there since the beginning.” |
|
| GET RUBBED Rumi |
| “If you are irritated by every rub, how can you be polished?” |
|
| Sharon
Salzberg |
| It doesn't
matter how long we may have been stuck in a sense of our limitations.
If we go into a darkened room and turn on the light, it doesn't matter
if the room has been dark for a day, a week, or ten thousand years
- we turn on the light and it is illuminated. Once we control our
capacity for love and happiness, the light has been turned on. |
|
| Lao-Tzu
(600 B.C.) |
| Water
is fluid, soft, and yielding. But water will wear away rock, which
is rigid and cannot yield. As a rule, whatever is fluid, soft, and
yielding will overcome whatever is rigid and hard. This is another
paradox: what is soft is strong |
|
| Thich
Nhat Hanh |
| Sometimes
your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can
be the source of your joy. |
|
| LOVING
IT - Mother Teresa |
| It is
not how much you do, but how much Love you put into the doing that
matters. |
|
| SHIFT
- Anne Cushman |
| Metta
practice
. helps us Shift our focus from getting love to creating
it, from improving our bodies to cherishing them, and from fixing
life to embracing it. |
|
| MOST
OF ALL, YOU - Buddha |
| You, yourself,
as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.
|
|
| ALIVE
- Chris Elms |
| You are
alive. I am alive. This IS the miracle. Quality of life is not some
vague phrase; it is the actual everyday happiness we get from slowing
down, coming into the present, and enjoying a child, a friend, a dog,
a walk, a tree. Enjoying Life! Yes!! Happiness is now, and only now.
This is a sacred choice we all have. Come home to the present of the
present. |
|
| TRANSFORMATION |
| Just when
the caterpillar thought it was the end of the world, it became a butterfly. |
|
| A
CLEAN FINISH - Emerson |
| "Finish
each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders
and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow
is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit
to be cumbered with your old nonsense." |
|
| GRATITIUDE
-Thich Nhat Hanh |
| "Keeping
your body healthy is an expression of gratitude to the whole cosmos
the trees, the clouds, everything." |
|
| MILLIONS
OF CHANCES - Dali Lama |
| "If I am
only happy for myself, many fewer chances for happiness. If I am happy
when good things happen to other people, billions more chances to
be happy!" |
|
| LIBERATION
FROM ENVEY |
| Edward Hays
in The Great Escape Manual writes It is important not only to
be grateful to others but also to be grateful for others. We need
to cultivate a gratitude for others' giftedness in the same way that
we appreciate a beautiful sunset or a smile from a loved one. Others
always seem to have been given gifts in life that we desire, and so
it's easy to be envious. Riding sidesaddle with envy is a dangerous
practice: I would be happy if I had what he or she possesses. By contrast,
giving thanks constantly and in all circumstances liberates us from
envy. |
|
| BE
KIND TO YOU - Pema Chodron |
| "What you
do for yourself any gesture of kindness, any gesture of gentleness,
any gesture of honesty and clear seeing toward yourself will
affect how you experience your world. In fact, it will transform
how you experience the world. What you do for yourself, you're
doing for others, and what you do for others you're doing for yourself." |
|
| BLESSINGS |
| "Hold constantly
as a deep, hallowed, intoned thought that desire to bless, for truly
then shall you become a peacemaker." |
|
| Swami
Sivananda |
| Put your
heart, mind, spirit and soul into even your smallest acts. This is
the secret of success. |
|
| Captain
Jean-Luc Picard |
| Time is
a companion that goes with us on a journey. It reminds us to cherish
each moment, because it will never come again. What we leave behind
is not as important. |
|
| Annie
Dillard |
| How we
spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. |
|
| DONT
BE SO RATIONAL
- Albert Einstein |
| "I never
came upon any of my discoveries through the process of rational thinking."
- |
|
| POSSESSED
- Robert Bolton |
| "A belief
is not merely an idea that the mind possesses; it is an idea that
possesses the mind." |
|
| BEYOND
LIMITS - Seth |
| "There
are no limitations to the self except those you believe in." |
|
| REJOICE
- Ziggy |
| "You can
complain because roses have thorns, or you can rejoice because thorns
have roses." |
|
| THANKFUL
- Buddha |
| "Let us
rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least
we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we
didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let
us all be thankful." |
|
| OUR
LIGHT - Marianne Williamson |
| Our deepest
fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are
powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our Darkness, that most
frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you NOT to be? You are a
child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is
nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people wont
feel insecure around you. We were born to manifest the glory of God
that is within us. It is not in just some of us; it is in everyone.
As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people
permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others. |
|
| QUALITY
- Chris Elms |
| "You are
alive. I am alive. This IS the miracle. Quality of life is not some
vague phrase; it is the actual everyday happiness we get from slowing
down, coming into the present, and enjoying a child, a friend, a rose,
a dog, a walk, a tree. ENJOYING LIFE. YES!! Happiness is now, and
only now. This is a sacred choice we all have. Come home to the present
of the present." |
|
| IMAGINATION
- Mark Twain |
| "I have
been through a lot of terrible things in my life. Some of which have
actually happened." |
|
| QUIET
- Hans Margolius |
| "Only in
quiet waters things mirror themselves undistorted. Only in a quiet
mind is adequate perception of the world." |
|
| CHOICES
- Annie Dillard |
| "How we
spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." |
|
| FLOWER
ALWAYS OPEN - Zen Proverb |
| "Everything
changes in this world. But flowers will open each spring, just as
usual" |
|
| BALANCED
ACTION |
| "Each choice
we make causes a ripple effect in our lives. When things happen to
us, it is the reaction we choose that can create the difference between
the sorrows of our past and the joy in our future." |
|
| SEQUENCING
- Oprah Winfrey |
| "I've learned
that you can't have everything and do everything at the same time."
|
|
| INSIDE
OUT - Jose Ortega Gasset |
| "Order
is not pressure which is imposed on society from without, but an equilibrium
which is set up from within." |
|
| WHAT
DO YOU WANT - Kathleen Winsor |
| "Most people
are so busy knocking themselves out trying to do everything they think
they should do, they never get around to do what they want to do."
|
|
| BREATH
- George Carlin |
| "Life is
not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take
our breath away." |
|
| RENEWAL
- From The Great Law of the Iriqouis Confederacy |
| "In our
every deliberation we must consider the impact of our decisions on
the next seven generations." |
|
| FORGIVENESS
- Mark Twain |
| "Forgiveness
is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heal that has crushed
it." |
|
| KEEP
YOUR FAITH - Roy R. Gilson |
Keep your faith
in all beautiful things;
in the sun when it is hidden,
in the Spring when it is gone. |
|
| REBIRTH
- Unknown |
| "Just when
the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly."
|
|
| HARMONY
- Mahatma Gandhi |
| "Happiness
is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony"
|
|
| WHAT
IS HAPPINESS? - Georg Feuerstein |
| "Everyone
is seeking to maximize happiness and minimize unhappiness. Therefore,
the pursuit of happiness was written into the American constitution
as a basic human right. However, the constitution does not offer a
clear explanation of what happiness is. Nor does it tell us how to
realize happiness
What, then, is happiness? First of all, we
must note that happiness is often confused with pleasure
The
particular sting of pleasure is that it is short-lived. Hence we often
hunt after a pleasurable repetition and in the process run the rise
of becoming addicted
However much the pleasure,
we always hunger for more. Happiness, on the other hand, is deep,
full and enduring. It is satisfying in itself. Therefore it gives
us peace and tranquility
The person who is happy does not look
for greater happiness. But pleasure always spurs us on the experience
greater pleasure. Happiness, however, sets us free." |
|
| PORTABLE
PARADISE
Paramahansa Yoganada |
| “By practice
of mediation, “The Master said, “you will find that you
are carrying with in your heart a portable paradise.” |
|
| HOW
RICH ARE YOU?
Nonpareil |
| "If someone
were to pay you ten cents for every kind word you ever spoke and collect
five cents for every unkind word, would you be rich or poor?"
|
|
| ASHTANGA
YOGA CLOSING CHANT |
| "May all
be well with mankind. May the leaders of the earth protect in every
way by keeping to the right path. May there be goodness for those
who know the earth to be sacred. May all the worlds be happy. May
the rains fall on time and may the earth yield its produce in abundance.
May this country be free from disturbances and may we be free from
fear." |
|
| COUNT
YOUR BLESSINGS Timothy Miller |
| "Gratitude
is the intention to count-your-blessings every day, every minute,
while avoiding, whenever possible, the belief that you need or deserve
different circumstances." |
|
| TRANSFOMATIVE
GRACE |
| Roshi John Daido
Loori has said that expressing gratitude is transformative, just as
transformative as expressing complaint. Imagine an experiment involving
two people. One spends ten minutes each morning and evening expressing
gratitude, while the other spends the same amount of time practicing
complaining. One subject is saying things like, "I hate my job.
I can't stand this apartment. Why can't I make enough money? My spouse
doesn't get along with me. That dog next door never stops barking
and I just can't stand this neighborhood." The other is saying
things like, "I'm grateful for the opportunity to work; there
are so many people these days who can't even find a job. I'm grateful
for my health. What a gorgeous day; I really like this fall breeze."
They do this experiment for a year. Guaranteed, at the end of that
year the person practicing complaining will have deeply reaffirmed
all his negative "stuff" rather than having let it go, while
the one practicing gratitude will be a very grateful person. |
|
| THANK
YOU Meister Eckhart |
| "If the
only prayer you say in your entire life is "Thank You,"
that will suffice." |
|
| STATE
OF MINDStephen Levine |
| "Gratitude
is the state of mind of thankfulness. As it is cultivated, we experience
an increase in our "sympathetic joy," our happiness at another's
happiness. Just as in the cultivation of compassion, we may feel the
pain of others, so we may begin to feel their joy as well." |
|
| A
PRAYER OF THANKS AND PRAISE unknown songwriter |
Blessed are
they who give without expecting even
thanks in return, for they shall be abundantly
rewarded.
Blessed are they who translate every good thing they
know into action, for ever higher truths shall be
revealed unto them.
Blessed are they who do God's will without asking to
see results, for great shall be their recompense.
Blessed are they who love and trust their fellow
beings, for they shall reach the good in people and
receive a loving response.
Blessed are they who have seen reality, for they know
that not the garment of clay but that which activates
the garment of clay is real and indestructible.
Blessed are they who see the change we call death as
liberation from the limitation of this earth-life, for
they shall rejoice with their loved ones who make the
glorious transition.
Blessed are they who after dedicating their lives and
thereby receiving a blessing, have the courage and
faith to surmount the difficulties of the path ahead,
for they shall receive a second blessing.
Blessed are they who advance toward the spiritual
path without the selfish motive of seeking inner
peace, for they shall find it.
Blessed are they who instead of trying to batter down
the gates of the kingdom of heaven approach them
humbly and lovingly and purified, for they shall pass
right through. |
|
| KNOWING
unknown songwriter |
| "I used
to know everything, I know nothing now" |
|
| LET
IT GO Dana Fould |
Let go of the
ways you thought life would unfold; the holding of plans or dreams
or expectations Let it all go. Save your strength to swim with
the tide.
The choice to fight what is here before you now will only result in
a struggle, fear, and desperate attempts to flee from the very energy
you long for.
Let go. Let it all go and flow with the grace that washes through
your days whether you receive it gently or with all your quills raised
to defend against invaders.
Take on faith: the mind may never find the explanations that it seeks,
but you will move forward nonetheless.
Let go and the waves crests will carry you to unknown shores,
beyond your wildest dreams or destinations.
Let it all go and find the place of rest and peace, and certain transformation. |
|
| COURAGEAnais
Nin |
| "Life
shrinks or expands in proportion to ones courage" |
|
| EYES
OF THE FUTURE from the book RED |
| "The eyes
of the future are looking back at us and they are praying for us to
see beyond our own time. They are kneeling with hands clasped that
we might act with restraint, that we might leave room for the life
that is destined to come. To protect what is wild is to protect what
is gentle. Perhaps the wilderness we fear is the pause between our
own heartbeats. The silent space that says we only live by grace.
Wilderness lives by the same grace. Wild mercy is in our hands."
|
|
| OPINIONS
unknown |
| "Those
who are full of their own opinions will be deaf to words of wisdom
from others. In a discussion between two persons, what often happens
is that each is intent on asserting his own views. As a result, apart
from hearing his own voice or views, he does not learn anything else."
|
|
| KNOW
YOU DON'T KNOWEric Hoffer |
| "In times
of change, learners inherit the Earth, while the learned find themselves
beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists." |
|
| INTUITIVE
MIND AS TEACHER |
| Albert Einstein
says "The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind
is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant
and has forgotten the gift" |
|
| NOTHING
TO HOLD ON TO Marilyn Ferguson |
| "It's not
so much that we're afraid of change or so in love with the old ways,
but it's the place in between that we fear
It's like being between
trapezes. Its' Linus when his blanket is in the dryer. There's nothing
to hold on to." |
|
| GO
IN AND IN - by Donna Fauds |
Go in and in.
Be the space between two cells,
the vast, resounding silence in which spirit dwells.
Be sugar dissolving on the tongue of life.
Dive in and in, as deep as you can dive.
Be infinite, ecstatic truth.
Be love conceived and born in union.
Be exactly what you seek, the Beloved,
singing Yes, tasting Yes, embracing Yes, until there is only essence;
the All of Everything expressing through you as you.
Go in and in. and turn away from nothing that you find. |
|
| KNOWING
Epictetus |
| It's impossible
for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows. |
|
| OPEN
TO THE UNEXPECTED Lizelle Reymond |
| "You must
learn to welcome consciously the most unexpected events of life, to
be entirely transparent in front of them, without any motive, either
right or wrong. At that moment avoid all judgment, for you do not
know what law is in operation" |
|
| THE
SKY |
| "The sky
will bow to your beauty if you do." (Don't know who said it.
A student passed it on in class.) |
|
| VALUE
OF EVERY MOMENT |
| To realize the
value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade. To realize the
value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby.
To realize the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.
To realize the value of ONE HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting to
meet. To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who missed
the train. To realize the value of ONE SECOND, ask a person who just
avoided an accident. To realize the value of ONE MILLISECOND, ask
the person who won a silver medal in the Olympics. |
|
| ATTITUDE
by Charles Swindoll |
| "Attitude,
to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the
past, then education, than money, than circumstances, than failures,
than successes, than what other people think, say, or do. It is more
important than appearances, giftedness or skill. It will make or break
a company.. A church.. A home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice
every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We
cannot change our past
we cannot change the fact that people
will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only
thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our
attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90%
how I react to it. And so it is with you
we are in charge of
our attitudes". |
|
| BEAUTY
Ghalib |
The world is
nothing more than Beauty's chance to show herself.
And what are we?
Nothing more than Beauty's chance to see herself
For if beauty were not seeking herself,
We would not exist. |
|
| PEACE
Mahatma Gandhi |
| "Peace
between countries must rest on the solid foundation of love between
individuals." |
|
| YOUR
PRACTICE, YOUR TEMPLE
Amrit Desai" |
| "You must
approach your yoga practice with reverence and gratitude and love.
Its very much like entering a temple. |
|
| HOW
DO THEY FEEL?
Author unknown |
| "People
will forget what you said, will forget what you did, but will never
forget how you made them feel." |
|
| CULTIVATE
LOVE EVERY DAY |
At the End of
the Day, Ask Yourself:
"Did my thoughts, actions and deeds contribute to the well being
of others?
Did I ask more from others than I needed?
Did resistance to change cause harm to others or myself?
Did my words express the truth from my heart?
Did the choices I made nourish myself?
Did I pause to give thanks for at least one gift in my life?
Did I take time to notice the omnipresence of a power beyond myself?
At the end of the day, am I at peace with myself? " |
|
| LETTING
GO OF THE THORN BUSH |
Long ago, a
wise yogi was walking down a road. From off in the distance, he heard
a terrible moaning and groaning. As he hurried to give aid, the cries
of pain grew stronger. He came upon a man hugging a huge thorn bush,
his face and arms scratched and bleeding. "Help me, help me,"
cried the man.
"My son," said the yogi, "I have a solution for you
... Let go of the thorn bush."
Slowly the man removed first one arm. Then the other. Finally, with
the wise man's suggestion, he was able to step back from the thorn
bush. The man smiled. "I feel great!" he told the yogi.
&quo |