Wednesday, February 24, 2010

kiss my cheek

i rest my face, affectionately on the cold glass pane, as the suns rays kiss my cheek. my eyes stay closed but the radiance still shines through...coloring my inner eyelids a deep fire red. these moments in time are revered to me. when i am able to release and elevate, and absorb these divine graces....

Our days are filled, it seems. with things. we run from one thing to the next, sometimes. i run, without stopping. and by the time i lay my head down, i realize that i didn't allow myself to experience, to truly stop and experience my days track meet. the food i cram into my mouth...do i taste it? do i enjoy it? am i grateful for it....

the qualities of attention and awareness needed to be mindful of your day can be cultivated and developed. It is an inherent human capapity to be mindful, to one degree or another. the key, then is to refine this capacity and bring it to all aspects of life.

maybe it starts with a view, or skillful understanding of how unexamined behaviors and untrained minds can contribute directly to human suffering. your own suffering and the suffering of others.

meditation, daily. a time of quiet set aside during the day. to sit and breathe and let it be. theres no substitute for these times of consciousness discipline.
it allows ME to see my intentions for the day...and adjust accordingly...i can breed a peaceful disposition through a meditative state, relinquishing unneeded control and letting things fall as they may.



being grateful. really truly being grateful.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

waking up

Concerning the attainment of our dreams and the limitations we face due to our reality….

I want to connect this idea with another, similar idea. That, if we, as a human race, were to realize our full potential, and act upon that with a sound reverence and diligence, that we could achieve things beyond our wildest imagination. Then, I wholeheartedly believe that we can
uphold our dreams.

This is such a heavy topic, and the layers that embody ‘limitations and dreams’ go deep.

I think one step into beginning to realize that dreams are within reach is to jettison the idea of ‘limitations.’ ‘Limitations’ seem to be a mental construct that have been rooted into our cognitive lair for eons. The boundaries in which we must live and abide. We are taught that there are boundaries. The boundaries of our social status, of our checkbooks, of our physical capabilities, of our place in the workforce, its like an interlaced boundary sandwich that we are fed from the beginning.

So then, what if your dreams fall outside of these walls? Do we flock like sheep and follow the herd around menially, without harvesting our true potential?

I suppose it starts with a sort of mental breakthrough. I like to wrap myself up in the belief that if we follow our paths, the right path….a path that embodies truth in all different angles, that doors will open. And with this reverent diligence, a realization of our true capabilities, and a path lit by truth, your dreams will unfold naturally. And then comes in a term I love…’sagacity.’ Or, a mental discernment of the unfoldings of life, of things perfectly placed for you, opportunities, doors, people, and acting upon those serendipitous moments….relinquishing control but still driving…the elephant and the man…

Essentially, WAKING UP will lead us closer to our DREAMS.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

reflection paper

this is a reflection paper over the benefits of walking...invisible and quiet...on change.


Change: the process of becoming different. To make the form of something different from what it is or what it would be if left alone.
Thomas Merton has said that change can come quietly and invisible on the inside…..
When a person changes, they can change in any direction. They can change for someone else, for all the wrong reasons, and into something that doesn’t resemble who they are. To “change” in the right direction would mean to change from something that you are not, into your true nature or self…I would say. I think that ‘change’ is best expressed, for my particular understanding, as ‘beneficial personal transformation’. I think that is probably what Merton meant in the first place.
Lurking in the hustle of society, and its prospective norms, is an underlying AND voiced pressure to change and to fit in to mainstream. Mainstream encompasses so many different things, its impossible to be the perfect “societal fit.” The incessant noise from all angles…do this, be this, want this, own this, wear this….etc. etc. It is very loud and visible. Its our culture.
To go on a walk, where nothing can touch you…except for the reverberating clatter of the past, if you let it….to be still, quiet, and invisible to the judgemental eye…theres something beautiful about being away from mainstream, from judgement. It would allow a person, who is restricted by the minds false clatter, to let their guard down, to breathe, and to delight (possibly) in the small freedoms of walking in quiet solitude.
I do think that sagacity is needed to fully extract the benefits of quiet solitude, however.