Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation / Words of Wisdom - April 12, 2020 💌

"Over the years we develop strong habits of perceiving the universe, and we come to be very secure within these habits. We selectively perceive our environment in ways that reinforce them. This collection of habits is what we call ego. But meditation breaks the ego down. As we begin to see through it we can become confused as to what reality is. What once seemed absolute now begins to seem relative.
When this happens, some people get confused; others fear they may be going insane. The best strategy for dealing with this disorientation is to note it and let it be. The path to freedom is through detachment from your old habits of ego.
Slowly you will arrive at a new and more profound integration of your experience in a more evolved structure of the universe. That is, you will flow beyond the boundaries of your ego until ultimately you merge into the universe. Until then you must break through old structures, develop broader structures, breakthrough those, and develop still broader structures."

- Ram Dass -

via Daily Dharma: Wise Mind, Not Blank Mind

The purpose of Zen is not to become people who don’t think, but to think only what we need to; not to be lost in unnecessary thoughts, but to see what is most necessary right now.

—Shodo Harada Roshi, “Finding Our Essence of Mind”

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Via Daily Dharma: The Power You Hold

Buddhism is a demanding moral practice; it turns over to each person the power to decide what is right to do in any given moment.

—Sallie Tisdale, “A Life in Her Hands”

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Via Ram Dass / A Breath Exercise for Suffering and Joy

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A Breath Exercise for Suffering and Joy

Posted August 20, 2019

In the 11th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna shows Arjuna all the forms of the Universe, turning back into the pure form from which they were manifested.

The forms of the Universe: Breathe them in. Take in the baby’s crying, the sound of traffic, it’s all energy, it’s all shakti in form. As you draw it into your being, let the forms go, let your concepts about it all go, turn it back into pure shakti. Sit straight, draw it all into your chest.

All of your thoughts now, your memories, think of the political world, a breath for that.

See all the candidates, all of the international intrigue, all of the genuine seeking for peace, a breath for that.

See it all; the play, the dance, the forms, the mother, the mother at play, all aspects of the mother. Draw it back into its pure form within you, Mother shakti. Draw it into your heart.

Think of all the things that fill you with love and tenderness, a child’s smile, a flower, the smell of Spring, feeling love for another human being or from another human being, seeing peace exist between two people, moments of gratification.

As they come to mind, notice them, allow them, see them as forms, draw them in upon your breath. You are forming a relationship with the Mother, for these are all aspects, the beautiful aspects of the Mother. These are Durga, Lakshmi, Mary, Rachel, all the beautiful aspects.

Now bring to mind all the heavy aspects of the Universe: violence, suffering, physical pain, incredible loneliness, paranoia, people out of control on drugs, tensions between generations, races, religions, man’s ecological shortsightedness, our greed, lust, our anger.

Draw it all in on the breath. These are the other faces of the Mother. This is Kali Ma; the Mother whose tongue hangs out dripping with blood, who wears a circlet of skulls around her neck, who is ugly beyond belief.

If you’re going to have a love affair with the mother, you can’t just have the beautiful aspects, you’ve got to take it all.

Are you strong enough and quiet enough to give space to all the faces of the Mother, to all the forms? Hey Ma, you’re really ugly, oh Ma, I love you so much. Can you love the Universe that much?

Can you find a place in yourself where you don’t judge God? Where you look upon it all and see it’s perfection, including its horror?

– Ram Dass

Make the jump here to read the orginal and more

Via Daily Dharma: Living a Life of Compassion

Compassion is one of the principal things that make our lives meaningful.

—H. H. the Dalai Lama, “Consider Yourself a Tourist”

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Via FB: What if???

What if??? ❤️❤️❤️
If they cancel the rest of the school year, students would miss 2.5 months of education. Many people are concerned about students falling behind because of this. Yes, they may fall behind when it comes to classroom education...
But what if...❤️❤️❤️

What if instead of falling “behind", this group of kids are ADVANCED because of this? Hear me out...❤️❤️❤️
What if they have more empathy, they enjoy family connection, they can be more creative and entertain themselves, they love to read, they love to express themselves in writing. ❤️❤️❤️
What if they enjoy the simple things, like their own backyard and sitting near a window in the quiet. ❤️❤️❤️
What if they notice the birds and the dates the different flowers emerge, and the calming renewal of a gentle rain shower? ❤️❤️❤️
What if this generation are the ones to learn to cook, organize their space, do their laundry, and keep a well run home? ❤️❤️❤️
What if they learn to stretch a dollar and to live with less? ❤️❤️❤️
What if they learn to plan shopping trips and meals at home. ❤️❤️❤️
What if they learn the value of eating together as a family and finding the good to share in the small delights of the everyday? ❤️❤️❤️
What if they are the ones to place great value on our teachers and educational professionals, librarians, public servants and the previously invisible essential support workers like truck drivers, grocers, cashiers, custodians, logistics, and health care workers and their supporting staff, just to name a few of the millions taking care of us right now while we are sheltered in place? ❤️❤️❤️
What if among these children, a great leader emerges who had the benefit of a slower pace and a simpler life to truly learn what really matters in this life?❤️❤️
What if they are AHEAD? ❤️❤️❤️❤️
(Copied and pasted from a friend but too good not to share! ❤️)

Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation / Words of Wisdom - April 8, 2020 💌

"Compassion in action is paradoxical and mysterious. It is absolute yet continually changing. It accepts that everything is happening exactly as it should, and it works with a full-hearted commitment to change. It sets goals but knows that the process is all there is. It is joyful in the midst of suffering and hopeful in the face of overwhelming odds. It is simple in a world of complexity and confusion. It is done for other, but it nurtures the self. It shields in order to be strong. It intends to eliminate suffering, knowing that suffering is limitless. It is action arising from emptiness..." 

- Ram Dass -

Via Tricycle: Enjoy this April Fools' satire on the Buddha’s virtual sermon

Archaeologists in India’s Bihar State this week unearthed what they believe to be a Buddhist sutra from the 1st century CE, which depicts the Buddha telecommuting to deliver a sermon to his followers. In the scripture, the Buddha’s attendant Ananda recounts a time when his teacher was traveling in a distant land but still wished to address the sangha. While much of the text has been damaged, researchers say that it appears to describe the Buddha miraculously projecting his image and voice onto a screen at a monastic hall, where disciples had gathered to hear his message.

Unfortunately, as the following excerpt demonstrates, the Buddha encountered some technical difficulties:

Thus have I (mostly) heard,
[…]
A monk asked the Buddha, “Lord, you have taught us to value both solitude and community. How are we to understand this?”
And the Buddha responded: “When one’s [inaudible] is [inaudible] or [inaudible], then it is paramount that [inaudible].”
At which point the Blessed One’s image on the screen did freeze, and the student asked, “Lord Buddha, are you still there?”
And the Buddha replied, “and so that is what—what’s that? Can you hear me now?”
And the monk said that he could.
The Blessed One then announced that he was moving to another room to see if there was better reception.
Seated once more, he continued: “The true nature of reality is—”
Alas, mid-word, the Buddha’s message did abruptly cease, and the screen went blank. The monks hurried to investigate the cause, puzzling over whether or not the issue was on their side, until, suddenly, they were startled by a chirp-like ring.
The Buddha’s image then reappeared.
“How does it look now?” the Blessed One asked.
And although the Buddha’s lips did not sync with the sound of his voice, the monk said, “It’s astounding, lord.”
The Blessed One said, “All things are subject (all things) to arising (are subject to) and passing (arising and) away—do you hear (away) that echo? (Do you hear that echo?)”
The monk answered, “Yes, Lord.”
And the Blessed One said, “Oh, great, now [inaudible] frozen (frozen)!”
The monk waved his hand to see if the Buddha could see him.
The Blessed One’s image did then disappear, before once again returning with greater clarity than before. The Buddha asked, “How about now?”
The monk answered, “Perfect, lord. I can see and hear you clearly now.”
[…]

The text cuts off at this point. Researchers continue to use fragments of the remaining text to reconstruct the rest of the sutra. But progress has been slow as they, too, have had to communicate via video conferencing, during which they keep talking over each other, simultaneously saying, “Sorry, you go,” and observing a brief silence, before all speaking at the same time again.

Make the jump here to read the original and more

Via Daily Dharma: Breathe with Your Whole Body

To better understand how to breathe with the conscious participation of the whole body, nothing is more helpful than to recognize that, in a deeply relaxed body, the force of breath can cause the entire body to remain in a state of subtle, constant, fluid motion.

—Will Johnson, "Breath Moves Body"

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Via Daily Dharma: Creating a Balanced and Accepting Mind

Equanimity is not insensitivity, indifference, or apathy. It is simply nonpreferential. Under its influence, one does not push aside the things one dislikes or grasp at the things one prefers. The mind rests in an an attitude of balance and acceptance of things as they are.

—Sayadaw U Pandita, "A Perfect Balance"

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Via Daily Dharma: Reveal Your True Self

Usually, it takes a few—or a number of—meditation sessions sitting with the agitated mind before the true self appears. But with each session the fog lifts a bit more.

—Joan Duncan Oliver, "The Sound of Silence"

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Via Daily Dharma: Coming to Rest, Stability, and Peace

When we meditate, and when we contemplate qualities such as love and compassion, we dissolve emotional states and allow our mind to come to rest, stability, and peace.

—Dawa Tarchin Phillips, “The Three Principles of Awakening”

Via LGBT INCLUSIVE / AND THEY LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER

By Wallace Ingalls. Mouse freedom. Life is equal through & through for mice. 

Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation / Words of Wisdom - April 5, 2020 💌

 

"The root of fear is a feeling of separateness within oneself. Once that the feeling of separation exists, then you process everything from either inside or outside of that model.

The transformative process of spiritual work is reawakening to the innocence of going behind that model of separation that cuts you off, which made you a tiny little fragile somebody. A lot of the power comes from a freeing of our own fragility.

When you look at social structures, you see how much is based upon the feeling of fragility within the human condition. Based on fear.

You say, 'I’m afraid of that person,' but you mean you are afraid of being socially shamed by that person. When you are socially shamed, it hurts, but then here we still are. You’re afraid of violence, and then if violence happens, sure, it’s scary and painful and then behind it, here we are.

I think that fear often feeds upon itself and we’re most afraid of the fear, which then gives it greater power… But ultimately we are afraid because we feel vulnerable."

 

- Ram Dass -

Via [Podcast] Tami Simon speaks with Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh

Thich Nhat Hanh: Meditation Is for Everyone

Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, teacher, poet, peace activist, and the author of over 100 books and numerous Sounds True learning programs, including The Art of Mindful Living and Living Without Stress or Fear. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon speaks with Hanh about the core of Buddhist practice: discovering liberation through present-moment mindfulness. Hanh relates some of his experiences as a young monk in Vietnam, including his involvement in the "engaged Buddhism" movement. Finally, Tami and Hanh discuss why meditation is available no matter where you are or what condition you are in. (46 minutes)

https://soundstrue-ha.s3.amazonaws.com/subscriptions/media/PD06206W_Thich-Nhat-Hanh.mp3

#Planetarium Ascension Timeline/End of Coronavirus Meditation April 4th/5th 2020 – English promotional video

Guided audio in English: https://youtu.be/qPQcDyQ46lw It is time to take action again! It is time to take the destiny of our world in our own hands! We all agree that the process of planetary liberation is taking too long, and the current timeline is not going in the best direction. Here is our chance to collectively shift the timeline back into our optimal timeline for planetary liberation. Therefore we are using the opportunity of the massive astrological configuration of Jupiter Pluto conjunction on April 4th/5th to create a portal through which we will unify our consciousness and trigger the process that will solidify the optimal Ascension timeline for the planet. We will be doing this meditation at 10:45 pm EDT on April 4th in New York. This equals 9:45 pm CDT in Chicago, 8:45 pm MDT in Denver and 7:45 pm PDT in Los Angeles. Europe and Asia will already have April 5th at the moment of the activation, which will be 3:45 am BST in London, 4:45 am CEST in Paris, 4:45 am EET in Cairo, 10:45 am CST in Taipei and Beijing, 11:45 am JST in Tokyo and 12:45 pm AEST in Sydney. You can check the time of the meditation for your time zone here: https://www.timeanddate.com/worldcloc... Instructions (suggested time for our meditation is 20 minutes): 1. Use your own technique to bring you to a relaxed state of consciousness. 2. State your intent to use this meditation as a tool to shift the planet into the most optimal timeline and as a tool to completely remove the coronavirus. 3. Visualize a pillar of brilliant white Light emanating from the Cosmic Central Sun, then being distributed to Central Suns of all galaxies in this universe. Then visualize this light entering through the Galactic Central Sun, then going through our Galaxy, then entering our Solar System and going through all beings of Light inside our Solar System and then through all beings on planet Earth and also through your body to the center of the Earth. 4. Visualize this Light transmuting all remaining coronavirus on Earth, disinfecting all infected areas on the planet, healing all patients, removing all fear associated with this epidemic and restoring stability. 5. Visualize the course of events on planet Earth shifting into the most positive timeline possible, shifting away from all epidemics, away from all wars, away from all global domination. Visualize white, pink, blue and golden Light healing all inequalities, erasing all poverty and bringing abundance to all humanity. Visualize a new grand cosmic cycle of the Age of Aquarius beginning, bringing pure Light, Love and Happiness to all beings on Earth. Victory of the Light! Updates about the Ascension Timeline Meditation: http://2012portal.blogspot.com Credits: Music: Prologue & Birth – by Audiomachine (Epica) Homecoming – Two Steps From Hell (Illusions) Videos: Background Video Effects ~ BLUE Nebula Space Travel Nebula background A Space Journey (HD) Deep Field The impossible Magnitude of our Universe A Sunrise from the Edge of Space The most stunning timelapsese of sunrises and sunsets areound Sydney, Australia Alive Canada 4K Transient – 4K UHD Higher Ground FLOWERS CAN DANCE!!! Amazing nature Beautiful blooming flower time lapse video Planet Earth II Official Extended Trailer – BBC Earth Amazing Landscapes Sky Planet Earth Nature Timelapse Best Drone shots 2019 Crystalapse Frozen in Time (Iceland) Landscapes Volume 4K Earth from Space [ISS Time-lapse in 4K] Free City Videos With Music For Video Editing Free Drone Stock Footage, Free Stock Videos of Forest, Mountains, Clouds, City, Los Angeles A Shutterstock Journey in Stock Video Footage Crowd of people walking on city street sidewalk This Is a Generic Brand Video, by Dissolve The Perfect Life - A meditation flash mob in Mexico City The Sitting Project - Meditation Flash Mob in Times Square NYC Rise Lantern Festival Japan in 8K - Gamagori Fireworks Competition- 愛知県花火競技大会in蒲郡 A Breathtaking View of Jupiter's Clouds from the Juno Spacecraft What did NASA's New Horizons discover around Pluto Aquarius Constellation Zodiac - Free motion graphics Crab Supernova Explosion [1080p] TIMELAPSE OF THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE The Scale of the Visible Universe Do we live in a multiverse? The Economist What's Beyond (360° video) 4K Hubble The Final Frontier - Official Final Film #Planetarium Cut

Category

Via Daily Dharma: Seeing the Interconnectedness of All Beings

To see into the interconnectedness of all living things is to see how all living things are part of a unified field that contains all, and at the same time to see that this entire field is embodied by each being.

—Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi, “The Need of the Hour”

Via Daily Dharma: What Silence Offers

Silence offers us the unique opportunity to meet our incessant internal noise, the constant stream of mental and emotional activity that generally goes unnoticed or unexamined.

—Beth Roth, “Family Dharma: The Fragility of Silence”

Weekly Resources for Resilience from Ram Dass & Be Here Now Podcast Network

Audio Teaching: Ram Dass Shares the Antidote to Fear (3:37)
How can we balance fear with equanimity? Ram Dass shares the antidote to fear, and the ways that we can allow our own humanity in order to extricate ourselves from the web of thought forms that create our own suffering.
Listen Here

 

 

 

 

Weekly Practice: Rain Meditation with Tara Brach (8:48) 
“In the moments that you really trust the purity of your heart, you really trust the wisdom and awareness that’s living through you, there’s no other, there’s nothing outside you, you are that field of awareness. Trust frees us.” – Tara Brach
Practice Here

 

 

Featured Podcast: The Road Home with Ethan Nichtern – Ep. 36 – Practicing In The World As It Is (37:57)
How can we continue practicing in the midst of this world in the grasp of a global pandemic?
On this episode of The Road Home, Ethan offers some thoughts on working with anxiety and fear, and how we can continue practicing in the world as it is during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ethan explores how we can look at our quarantine experiences as a kind of retreat on managing our relationships. He talks about how hard it can be to meditate at a time like this, and offers some tips for those who are not comfortable with a sitting meditation practice right now.
LISTEN HERE

 

 

Featured Podcast: Trudy Goodman Kornfield on the BHNN Guest Podcast – Ep. 55 – Working With the Mind (39:03)
How can we work with the neverending flow of thoughts, emotions, and sensations as they arise in the mind?
Trudy Goodman Kornfield shares a meditation and words of wisdom around cultivating the ability to work with the thinking mind.
Trudy looks at how we can work with overwhelming thoughts and emotions. She speaks to what the Buddha’s teachings on the three universal truths can teach us about working with the mind without getting swept up in what arises.
Listen Here