We Live and Breathe in Abundance

We Live and Breathe in Abundance

One of the most difficult things for us to accept is that beneath all our dreams and disappointments, we live and breathe in abundance.
                                                     Mark Nepo: The Book of Awakening

More often than not we are disappointed with life. We do not get what we want and we get what we do not want. Unfortunately, we often concentrate on these dissatisfactions and forget to be grateful for simply being alive. Behind all our wanting and not wanting, it is a miracle that we are alive and breathing, day after day, year after year. 

On average we are breathing 12 to 16 times per minute, that makes over seven million three hundred thousand times in one year! If you like maths you can calculate the number of breaths over a lifetime of 80 years… 

This week, take the time to stop and just enjoy your breath. Go outside to a place where nobody disturbs you (a balcony, the back side of the house where you work or live), and express your gratefulness for the fact that you are alive by doing some easy breathing exercises. You will notice their calming and relaxing effect and you will feel even more alive afterwards. J

No Time to Rush

No Time to Rush

I have no time to rush

                      Tara Brach

It is a common mistake to believe that by rushing we get more done. Very often it is just the opposite. Surely I am not the only one who spilled out something or broke a beloved object when rushing around at home, and then had to do a lot of extra cleaning? Perhaps you, too, have left your house in a hurry, just to notice halfway down the road that you forget your wallet or the letter that urgently needed to be posted. Those are the moments when we realise that there is no use in rushing around heedlessly when we’re short of time, but instead collect our thoughts, breathe deeply and try to stay calm and focused.

Actually, there is rushing and rushing. You can either rush because you’re stressed out – that’s when all the mishaps happen to you – or you can move quickly, but still know exactly what you are doing, and why. Obviously it is the first category we need to work with. When stress gets its claws in us it’s crucial to catch ourselves and stop. Stand still for a short while, take a couple of deep breaths, and ask yourself:

Why am I rushing? Is it really necessary?
If yes: What is the most urgent thing to do?
When does it need to be ready and done?
How should I best use the time I have at my disposal?

Then we can continue doing what we have to do with full attention, not losing a moment because we rush around blindly. If we do our very best to accomplish our tasks in time and still don’t succeed, the world will certainly not collapse because of that.

Elegant Silence

AA wrote: Wenn der Mund nicht redet ist schon viel gewonnen! ;-)

BB wrote: Love it !!! sending you some silent afternoon tea thoughts....

Elegant Silence

Real silence is the cessation of talking – of both the mouth and the mind.

                                                 Thich Nhat Hanh: Shambala Sun, March 2010

Meditation is practiced for many reasons; for me one of the main ones is to silence my mind. I sometimes get very tired of its incessant babble! 

Within buddhism the mind is often referred to as a wild monkey, jumping from branch to branch, chatting along all the time.  Learning how to silence your mind is a good reason for trying out meditation ;-)

Then, of course, there is the “talk of the mouth”… We have gotten so used to letting our mouths talk incessantly, too. If no friends are around, we use our cell phones  -  staying silent somehow seems to be threatening. Obviously the modern credo is “I talk, therefore I am”.

All the idle chatter around you can sometimes get quite tiresome, and find it very refreshing to stay silent every now and then. This does not have to be anti-social, for me a real friend is somebody that you can stay silent with and still be comfortable. 

When promoting to talk less, I don't mean to be secretive or withhold information, and of course I acknowledge the social function of small talk. Unfortunately much of what we say is not only unnecessary, but even harmful. We all know the awful feeling when our tongue has slipped and we have said something unkind - and how much we regret that afterwards...

Practising elegant silence in the middle of all the talking around us can be a.real relief.

Attention is Love

AA wrote: Love the reflections in your posts!

Attention is Love

Our full attention is the deepest expression of love

                                                        Krishnamurthy

When we want to show people around us our love we do not always know how. We realise that it is not simply about buying presents or making nice declarations, but what then…? 

For me, the definition by Krishnamurthy says it all: it is about showing somebody your full attention, about being one hundred percent there for him or her. Showing full attention means that we are busy with no other thing, neither with our body nor in our mind. We turn our whole being towards somebody (or something) and it’s almost as if we forget ourselves...

By opening our hearts, souls and minds to the person in front of us we are completely there for him or her . We can understand his worries, feel her happiness. Our whole being become a caring presence, like a warm open embrace, and we can truly respond to the other person's needs. 

Every time you show somebody your undivided attention you show love - and sow love.