Via Daily Dharma: Facing the Dark Sides

It is only when one identifies totally with mumyo, the heart of darkness, that the walls of the proud ego-self are shattered and the true light of wisdom can shine through in one’s actions.

—Reverend Patti Nakai, “Confronting the Heart of Darkness”

Via Ram Dass

Ultimately you live simultaneously in all of the planes of consciousness all the time, so that in a way, it’s like a vertical cut up – you look at somebody, they’re there; they’re not there.

There’s an interesting series of stages in Karma Yoga, the yoga of living daily life as an exercise in becoming pungent, where you develop a witness – a place in yourself that watches your whole melodrama, your dance. It doesn’t judge you, it doesn’t try to change you, it’s not trying to become enlightened, it’s just watching the whole thing.

- Ram Dass -

Via Daily Dharma: Freedom from Who We Think We Are

What gets in the way of this movement toward our authentic self, more than anything, is our insistence on identifying with the small self—preserving our narrow world of being special, of needing to look and feel a particular way.

—Ezra Bayda, “No One Special To Be”

Via Impact: A Zen Master's Advice On Coping With Trump

“Trump’s grand and vulgar self-absorption is inviting all of us to examine our own selfishness. His ignorance calls us to attend to our own blind spots. The fears that he stokes and the isolation he promotes goad us to be braver, more generous.” 

- Thich Nhat Hanh

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Via Daily Dharma: Don't Bully Yourself

It never works to bully the body, or the heart, into poses it’s not ready to enter.

—Anne Cushman, “The Yoga of Creativity”

Via Daily Dharma: Making Our Own Contribution to World Peace

I came to the realization that fighting against the system, at least in my mind, wasn’t working. Somehow I had to recognize that I was a part of the system and the system was a part of me. In the end, I got great satisfaction out of knowing that my little peace might be making a contribution to world peace.

—Ed Winchester, from Tracy Cochran's “The Pentagon Meditation Club”

Via Ram Dass

When we first understand there’s a journey, a path, we tend to get somewhat hysterical. We want to sell it to everybody, change everybody, and whichever path we buy first, we try to convert everybody to it. The zeal is based on our lack of faith, 'cause we’re not sure of what we’re doing, so we figure if we convince everybody else...

But we’re all kind of moving into a new space, we’re sort of finished with the first wild hysteria, and we’re settling down into humdrum process of living out our incarnation as consciously as we know how to do. If in the course it turns out this is your last round to get enlightened, fine. If not, that’s the way it is. Nothing you can do about it.

You can’t bulldoze anybody to beat the system – you are the system. The desire to beat the system is part of it.

- Ram Dass -

Via Daily Dharma: When Things Don't Bring Us Happiness Inbox x

We keep assuming that because things aren’t bringing us happiness, they’re the wrong things, rather than recognizing that the pursuit itself is futile—that regardless of what we achieve in the pursuit of stuff, it’s never going to bring about an enduring state of happiness.

—Daniel Gilbert, “The Pleasure Paradox”

Via Daily Dharma: Taking Care of What Is Not Broken

The most comfortable and wisest people are those who watch their health when they are healthy; guard their country when it is untroubled; and cultivate their fields well when weeds are nonexistent or scarce.

—Venerable Chwasan, “The Grace in This World”

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Via Daily Dharma: Challenging Your Ego

When you challenge ego-mind, be firm but gentle, penetrating but never aggressive. Just say to your ego-mind, “Show me your face!” When no mind shows up saying, “Here I am,” ego-mind will begin to lose its hold on you and your struggles will lighten up.

—Dzigar Kongtrul, “Searching for Self”

Those who dance...

Via Daily Dharma: Embracing Difference

Diversity strengthens us. Diversity is not something to be tolerated—it is to be celebrated. We should welcome it with curiosity, delight, and joy. This is what fear fears.

—Gyalwang Drukpa, “How to Combat Fear”

Via Daily Dharma: We're All in the Same Boat

We’re all in the same boat. I don’t know how to save the world, yet I must save the world. I don’t know how to save myself, yet I must save myself. I don’t know where my soul resides, yet I must discover my soul because I live within it.

—Josh Fox, “What Makes Humanity Worth Saving”

Via Ram Dass

When you look at another person, what do you see? Body? That’s desire. What do you see? Personality? …That’s attachment.

Beyond body, beyond personality, way back in here, way back behind all the things you think you are, here we are. That’s the being you serve.

- Ram Dass -

Via Daily Dharam / Confidence in Our Basic Nature

Letting go of incessantly measuring and comparing ourselves to others leads to spontaneous acts of courage and compassion. It’s like learning a dance step well enough that we no longer need to keep looking down at our feet.

—Gaylon Ferguson, “Natural Bravery”

Via Daily Dharma / Suffering Makes Way for Joy

Our suffering is not our enemy. It is only through a relationship with my pain, my sadness, that I can truly know and touch the opposite—my pleasure, my joy, and my happiness.

—Claude AnShin Thomas, “Conceptions of Happiness”

Via Daily Dharma / The Best Spiritual Teacher

The best spiritual teacher is to challenge your weaknesses.

—Atisha, “Your Best”

Via Daily Dharma / Telling New Stories

To see stories as the problem is to blame the victim. Instead of getting rid of stories one can liberate them: storying more flexibly, according to the situation.

—David Loy, as quoted in Daisy Hernández' “A Second Arrow Story”