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No One Special to Be | August 11, 2014

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When we bring awareness to our cherished self-images, such as our need to be special, they begin to lose their power over us. No longer puffing ourselves up or trying to stand out means we’re coming closer to living like a white bird in the snow. That is, we no longer feel the inner compulsion to see ourselves or be seen in a particular way—there is no ulterior agenda. 

 

- Ezra Bayda, “No One Special to Be” 

 

Flower of the Day: 08/11/14

“Just like sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch, self-observation is a sense that we have, but it is stunted. It is necessary to work towards developing this sense by observing everything that passes through the mind without judging, classifying or labeling. You must renew yourself at every instance: make yourself completely present every moment. In this way, your consciousness will slowly expand.”

Sri Prem Baba

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Sitting with Anger | August 10, 2014

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Like a forest fire, anger tends to burn up its own support. If we jump down into the middle of such a fire, we will have little chance of putting it out, but if we create a clearing around the edges, the fire can burn itself out. This is the role of meditation: creating a clearing around the margins of anger.

 

- Mark Epstein, “I’ve Been Meditating for Ten Years, and I’m Still Angry. What’s the Matter with Me?”

 

Flower of the Day: 08/10/14

“I have encouraged you to face life's challenges as opportunities for growth. Regardless of the challenge, there is always something to learn. The more a negative situation repeats itself, the greater is the lesson that it has to offer, and the greater is your inability to deal with what must be learned.”

 

Sri Prem Baba

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Return to Nirvana | August 9, 2014 Nirvana is a reaching-point, a goal. But nirvana is also the home to which we are returning. We use the words 'original state of mind' to denote both our home and our destination. - Sokei-an, “Return to Your Original State”

Flower of the Day: 08/09/14

“Love can be more deadly than death itself. Pure love is a great threat because it is born from the truth, and the truth represents the end of deceit.” Sri Prem Baba

Matt Alber - House on Fire - Live

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Challenge How We Cling | August 8, 2014

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When Buddhism says, 'It's an illusion, it's empty,' I think back to when Ignatius said, 'Your self—that's your problem. You have to conquer self, kill the self.' It's that tradition, both in Christianity and in Buddhism, in which we are challenged to let go of what is so comfortable and what we cling to as who we are, if we're going to open ourselves to reality and truth.

 

-Jerry Brown, “Politics and Prayer”

 

Flower of the Day: 08/08/14

“A lot of light is arriving on this planet, but our bodies are not yet fully attuned to these new frequencies of light. So it is possible that you may enter situations that are a result of this dissonance, but that still serve to move the energy that is stuck in your system. When this happens, be careful not to frighten yourself because that opens a hole that you can be swallowed by. In this case, you enter a spiritual emergency, which some may call an existential crisis, madness, or panic.”

 

Sri Prem Baba

Flower of the Day: 08/07/14

“Surrender is only possible if there is trust, and trust is a blossoming. One can remain cowering at the edge of the abyss of love for months, years, or many lives, too afraid to jump. One may be hearing love’s call asking one to jump, but it’s not possible to determine when one will be ready for this to happen.”

Sri Prem Baba

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The Long Road to Sitting Still | August 7, 2014

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The Buddha, perhaps, taking the Middle Way and always reminding us that even our destination is unfixed and perhaps illusory, is every walker’s special friend. Those who journey with him know that they may not come to knowledge so much as a deepened sense of their own ignorance.

 

- Pico Iyer, “The Long Road to Sitting Still”

 

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The Natural Order of Things | August 6, 2014

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While we live, we are able to live. When it's time to die, we are able to die. This is the natural order of things, and to the extent that we align ourselves with this, we experience peace even in the midst of distress.  

 

- Meikyo Robert Rosenbaum, "Breathless"

 

The Secret of our Century - Baha'u'llah

Flower of the Day: 08/06/14

“The main aspect of the spiritual journey is creating union. Every river flows towards the ocean, and the ocean never refuses a river. But, for the river to approach the ocean, it must have the strength to overcome all of the challenges along the journey. This strength is gained through the union of various rivers, because one river alone easily disappears.”

 

Sri Prem Baba

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