conscious wellbeing for ourselves & our world

November 2009 Blog Posts (79)

Zen Tea Meditation

Meditation is all about being aware and conscious in our actions. Any action performed with awareness becomes meditative. Drinking tea can be an altogether different experience if we drink it consciously and with awareness. When we drink tea with awareness then it becomes a meditative experience and is as good as a meditation.

Zen people often have elaborate tea ceremonies where they drink tea with lot of reverence and awareness. In these… Continue

Added by Sarah Sunny on November 30, 2009 at 7:00pm — No Comments

Just Say "Thank You" - from Dr. W.W. Dyer

Just Say “Thank you!” , by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

Recently, a Canadian friend told me about taking his kids to a concert put on by a big name, hugely successful rock band. My friend was delighted with the heartfelt gratitude the musicians expressed to their fans, thanking them for making possible a life of creative joy and opportunity. The fans were wildly grateful, too, for the enjoyment the band provided.

Most of the people… Continue

Added by Marianne on November 30, 2009 at 1:13pm — 1 Comment

Words of Wisdom -from Maya

Words of Wisdom from Maya Angelou

I recently received a well-circulated email with these wonderful words from Maya Angelou's appearance on Oprah, who asked her about growing older.

She said it was 'exciting...'Regarding body changes, she said there were many, occurring every day.....like her breasts. They seem to be in a race to see which will reach her waist, first.

Maya Angelou also shared these lessons, which… Continue

Added by Sarah Sunny on November 30, 2009 at 9:41am — 1 Comment

A Buddhist Poem - "Kiss The Earth"

Kiss The Earth

Walk and touch peace every moment.

Walk and touch happiness every moment.

Each step brings a fresh breeze.

Each step makes a flower bloom.

Kiss the Earth with your feet.

Bring the Earth your love and happiness.

The Earth will be safe

when we feel safe in ourselves.

- Thich Nhat Hanh…

Continue

Added by Marianne on November 30, 2009 at 6:10am — 1 Comment

That Which Never Dies

The grieving mother and the mustard seeds

Remember, each moment, what you are accumulating--is it going to be taken away by death? Then it is not worth bothering about. If it is not going to be taken away by death, then even life can be sacrificed for it--because one day or another life is going to disappear. Before life disappears, use the opportunity to find that which never dies.

A woman's husband died.… Continue

Added by Marianne on November 30, 2009 at 5:59am — 1 Comment

Dreams Coming True

“Your heart’s desires are manifesting into reality. …(You are asked) to hold fast to your faith and expect positive outcomes.” ~Doreen Virtue.

My dreams are coming true. The life I have visualized is becoming a reality. I must keep faith, as I see glimpses of my “beautiful life”. I must release any fears I have. To have fear that my life will not materialize may sabotage my success.

I deserve this “beautiful”… Continue

Added by Time 4 Fun on November 30, 2009 at 2:37am — 3 Comments

A Prisoner's Story

Forced to Sit, by Scott Darnell

A prisoner's story of finding compassion on the inside.

After thirteen days inside a cell, all I wanted to do when I got outside was look up at the blue sky. It would have been nice to enjoy a passing cloud, a bird in flight, or the wind rustling through the trees on a distant hill. But I was one of more than a hundred inmates—for us, looking up was forbidden.

We had our hands cuffed behind our backs, and for every… Continue

Added by Marianne on November 29, 2009 at 10:23am — No Comments

The Origins Of Tea - A Lovely Story

Bodhidharma's eyelids and the origins of tea

Awareness comes through sensitivity. You have to be more sensitive whatsoever you do, so that even a trivial thing like tea... Can you find anything more trivial than tea? Can you find anything more ordinary than tea? No, you cannot--and Zen monks and masters have raised this most ordinary thing into the most extraordinary. They have bridged "this" and "that"... as if tea and God… Continue

Added by Marianne on November 29, 2009 at 6:47am — 2 Comments

A Buddhist Poem - "The Path"

The Path

Best of the paths is the eightfold,

best of the truths the four;

best of the virtues is freedom from attachment;

best of the people is the one who sees.

This is the path;

there is no other that leads to the purifying of insight.

Follow this path, and Mara will be confused.

If you follow this path, you will end your suffering.

This path was preached by me

when I became… Continue

Added by Marianne on November 29, 2009 at 6:39am — 1 Comment

Venus & Uranus Sings Different Tunes

<> Venus & Uranus Sings Different Tunes <>

Venus and Uranus are at it again, Now Venus wants a commitment. Uranus is out in left field not listing to any thing or wanting anything to be permant at this time.

This can pertain to Love Life or the Boss and You. It can be Kids and the Parents.

IF YOU FIND YOUR SELF IN THE VENUS POSITION, and you see that you can't reach them. Maybe you're not speaking their language, or maybe they're not listening.… Continue

Added by Nancy Anderson on November 28, 2009 at 8:29pm — 3 Comments

Prayer For All Sentient Beings

Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury,pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console;

to be understood as to… Continue

Added by Marianne on November 28, 2009 at 5:13pm — 3 Comments

34 Great Reasons to be a Man

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34 GREAT REASONS TO BE A MAN

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1 .Phone Conversations are over in 30 seconds flat.

2. You know stuff about tanks.

3. A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase.

4. You can open all your own jars.

5. Dry cleaners and hair… Continue

Added by Sarah Sunny on November 28, 2009 at 5:07pm — 4 Comments

* Many Ghost in a Marriage*

Poets turn themselves inside out looking for raw material, like a pauper turning out his pockets hoping for a penny. And so often what spills out is one of the ghosts of lovers long gone. We are so Mobil, we garner many loves along the way, and love once given can't really be taken back. It can't even be turned to hate, though hate or anger may take its place.

Love is always love--the raw truth. It may warm us for a lifetime or surprise us--come and go like wind before snow and leave… Continue

Added by Nancy Anderson on November 28, 2009 at 12:20pm — No Comments

A Chinese Poem - "Alone In Her Beauty"

Alone in her Beauty

Who is lovelier than she?

Yet she lives alone in an empty valley.

She tells me she came from a good family

Which is humbled now into the dust.

...When trouble arose in the Kuan district,

Her brothers and close kin were killed.

What use were their high offices,

Not even shielding their own lives? --

The world has but scorn for adversity;

Hope goes… Continue

Added by Marianne on November 28, 2009 at 6:22am — 1 Comment

<>NEWS FROM THE PLANET VENUS<>

Resist the urge to shop until you drop. While newspapers and media advertising may want you to scramble around from store to store, the cosmos would prefer a different life expression.

<>Creative, artistic pursuits are on center stage as the Moon in Aries forms a flowing trine to the Sun in Sagittarius (5:32AM PST).

This burst of energy in fire signs can give you plenty of zing to keep you moving upward and onward in almost any field of endeavor. However, romantic… Continue

Added by Nancy Anderson on November 27, 2009 at 2:30pm — 2 Comments

Mindfulness and the Holidays

With the holiday season officially in "pressing" mode, I have started to practice mindfullness as a remedy for becoming more conscious and peaceful throughout the holiday season. Being mindful with our emotions is a regular practice for those on the warrior's path. And I have plenty to work with myself! I see this holiday period also as an opportunity, and in that ironic way, I am actually looking forward to my pratice this year. Yes I have already… Continue

Added by Alexa on November 27, 2009 at 2:00pm — 4 Comments

Redefining Health - Throw Away Your Scale!

This is from DailyOm:

Redefining Health,Throw Away Your Scale

Health is not a numerical concept and cannot be defined using statistics. Human beings, however, tend to want to quantify well-being into easily understandable figures. We feel compelled to ascribe numbers to every aspect of wellness, from the qualities of our food to our fitness levels to the physical space we occupy. As a consequence of social pressures, we turn our attention away from health and focus… Continue

Added by Marianne on November 27, 2009 at 7:13am — No Comments

A Buddhist Poem - "Endless Ages"

Endless Ages

Through endless ages, the mind has never changed

It has not lived or died, come or gone, gained or lost.

It isn’t pure or tainted, good or bad, past or future.

true or false, male or female. It isn’t reserved for

monks or lay people, elders to youths, masters or

idiots, the enlightened or unenlightened.

It isn’t bound by cause and effect and doesn’t

struggle… Continue

Added by Marianne on November 27, 2009 at 6:16am — 1 Comment

A Chinese Poem - by Wang Wei

Autumn Evening in a Mountain Retreat

After the rain,

the empty mountain

at dusk

is full of autumn air.

A bright moon

shines between the pines;

The clear spring water

glides over the rocks.

Bamboo leaves rustling —

the washer-girls bound home.

Water lilies swaying —

a fisher-boat goes down.

Never mind that

spring plants are no longer green.

I am here to stay

my noble friends!…

Continue

Added by Marianne on November 26, 2009 at 6:32am — 1 Comment

Finding Unqualified Happiness

This is from DailyOM:

Finding Unqualified Happiness.........If Only

Since most of our experiences are rooted in cause and effect, we naturally want to justify our contentment. We envision grand circumstances, stating that if only we could achieve this goal or obtain that possession, we would finally be in a position to attain happiness. As a result, satisfaction is always just out of reach and the very notion of grabbing… Continue

Added by Marianne on November 26, 2009 at 6:17am — 1 Comment