Philosophy 04 (Jan 25 - Dec 26)

[winston]

Always in Awareness

Whatever the circumstance, bodily movement or stillness, feeling well or distressed, with good concentration or scattered attention, everything can be brought back to awareness.

- Kittisaro, “Tangled in Thought”

[winston]

For the Sake of Devotion

We don’t practice devotion to get something in return.

We practice it for its own sake as a complete offering of our heart.

- Oren Jay Sofer, “Everyday Devotion”

[winston]

Thoughts Make up Attachments

Attachment and the pain of attachment are ultimately made up of thoughts — when we stop focusing on thoughts and start focusing on perceptions, sensations and emotions, the thoughts subside.

- David Edwards, “Burning Among Stars in the Night”

[winston]

Moments of Caring Connection

Throughout our lives, we’ve had many moments of simple caring connection.

We may not have been taught to notice them so vividly but they’re actually moments of revelation.

- John Makransky, “Tapping into Our Basic Goodness”

[winston]

Reprogram Yourself

The brain doesn’t know the difference between what it experiences and what it imagines, so when you visualize it and have a conversation with someone in your mind, you’re actually reprogramming yourself.

- George Mumford, “Self-Talk”

[winston]

Continuous Mind

If we believe that mind is continuous, our love for others becomes continuous.

If we recognize this continuity, we do not trust temporary, tangible circumstances or take them too seriously.

- Thinley Norbu, “Continuous Mind”

[winston]

Turn to Freedom

When we turn away from the difficult, when we close down from the difficult, we close down from freedom.

Every experience of pain, every experience of craving, every experience of fear and confusion, is a gate to freedom.

- Devin Ashwood, “Craving, Compulsions, Habits and Freedom”

[winston]

We Are Not Separate

Though feelings of isolation can compound our suffering and sense of being overwhelmed or inadequate, the bedrock truth is that we are not separate.

The separation we feel in our daily lives is artificial, a construct of our minds.

- Phap Xa and Phap Luu, “Connecting with the Root of Our Being”

[winston]

Look at Our Own Minds

We don’t need a psychic to tell us what our future experience will be — we need only look at our own minds.

If we have a good heart and helpful intentions toward others, we will continually find happiness.

- Chagdud Tulku, “Putting Down the Arrow”

[winston]

Connecting with the Universal

From a non-dual perspective, our heart is the nexus that connects the personal with the universal.

It is the hub that connects our personal “child-consciousness” with the universal “mother-consciousness.”

- Radhule Weininger, “The Cave of the Heart”