via Midia Ninja // FB

 

Via FB

 

Mother Earth alive in me: a guided meditation by Sister Dang Nghiem

Two from Be Here Now Network

  Set and Setting – Ep. 10 – Music, Laughter, and Altered States w/ Laraaji
April 14, 2022 Madison Margolin sits down with Laraaji for a discussion on music, laughter, and altered states. They discuss the beauty of being in the flow...

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Mindrolling – Raghu Markus – Ep. 435 – Science & Spirituality
April 14, 2022 In this special anthology episode of the Mindrolling podcast, Raghu explores the brimming intersection of science and spirituality with an assortment of wise and...

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Via White Crane Institute. // Margot Adler

1946 - 

MARGOT ADLER,journalist, born (d: 2014); American author, journalist, lecturer, Wiccan priestess, radio journalist and correspondent for National Public Radio (NPR) Adler was born in Little Rock, Arkansas and grew up mostly in New York City. Her grandfather, Alfred Adler, is considered the father of individual psychology.

Adler wrote Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America Today, considered a watershed in American Neopagan circles. The book provided the first comprehensive look at the nature-based religions in the US, and became what was for many the first point of contact with the larger subculture. She was a speaker at the 1986 WinterStar Symposium, from which the Association for Consiousness Exploration produced her lecture tape From Witch to Witch-Doctor: Healers, Therapists and Shamans and the panel discussion The Magickal Movement: Present and Future (with Isaac Bonewits, Selena Fox, and Robert Anton Wilson). 

Her second book, Heretic's Heart: A Journey Through Spirit and Revolution, was published by Beacon Press in 1997. Adler was a Wiccan priestess of the Gardnerian Wicca tradition and a Unitarian Universalist.

|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8| Gay Wisdom for Daily Living from White Crane Institute "With the increasing commodification of gay news, views, and culture by powerful corporate interests, having a strong independent voice in our community is all the more important. White Crane is one of the last brave standouts in this bland new world... a triumph over the looming mediocrity of the mainstream Gay world." - Mark Thompson Exploring Gay Wisdom & Culture since 1989! www.whitecraneinstitute.org |8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|

Via Lion's Roar // Celebrating Thich Nhat Hanh

 

A Cloud Never Dies

Andrea Miller on what Thich Nhat Hanh taught her, his inspiring and courageous life, and how — through us — his wisdom will continue.

In January, I got the email from a colleague: “Thich Nhat Hanh has died.” On January 23, the casket ceremony was livestreamed with thousands of people from all over the world watching from their homes. I watched too, of course. At Tu Hieu, monastics were gathered, saffron shoulder to shoulder. As the crowds’ singing swelled and broke, a procession of monks carried Thay’s body from his hut to the Full Moon Meditation Hall. There he was lovingly placed in his coffin. Then the coffin was shut tight and festooned with chrysanthemums, his favorite flower. I had been right, back in 2013. I never would see Thay again in the same form—and now none of us will. But we will see Thay again. Even as the casket ceremony was unfolding, we were seeing him.

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Effort: Maintaining Arisen Healthy States

 

RIGHT EFFORT Maintaining Arisen Healthy States

Whatever a person frequently thinks about and ponders, that will become the inclination of their mind. If one frequently thinks about and ponders healthy states, one has abandoned unhealthy states to cultivate the healthy state, and then one’s mind inclines to healthy states. (MN 19) Here a person rouses the will, makes an effort, stirs up energy, exerts the mind, and strives to maintain arisen healthy mental states. One maintains the arisen tranquility and concentration awakening factors. (MN 141)

Reflection

Healthy and positive mental states arise all the time. The idea is to learn how to notice them, recognize their value, and make some effort to sustain them when they arise. This means developing habits that will reinforce qualities like kindness, generosity, compassion, and truthfulness. Slowing down, becoming peaceful, and allowing the mind to unify through focusing is particularly valuable.

Daily Practice

The two factors of awakening, tranquility and concentration, are considered together here because of their natural affinity with each other. Finding time to slow down, stop doing things, and simply allow the mind to become peaceful and focused is a healthy thing to do. It is not that settling the mind takes effort, but it takes effort to disengage from normal business to give the mind time to focus naturally. Once you do it, you'll see that it’s worth it.

Tomorrow: Establishing Mindfulness of Mental Objects and the Fourth Jhāna
One week from today: Restraining Unarisen Unhealthy States

Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media
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Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

Via Daily Dharma: Reevaluating “Success”

 Effort is more important than so-called success because effort is a real thing. What we call “success” is just the manifestation of our mind’s ability to categorize things. This is “success.” That is “failure.” Who says? You says. That’s all. Reality is what it is, beyond all concepts of success and failure.

Brad Warner, “Think Not Thinking”

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