bethikins-b

[bethikins-b]

I LOVE this “Morning Meditation”

As I wake up this morning, I smile. 😊

I smile because I have another brand new day ahead of me, and I am grateful for it.  I’m grateful that the sun rose and another new day is taking place, and I’m grateful that I’m still here on this planet to experience it. 😊

I vow to live fully in the present moment today, coming back again and again to being present, and I vow to look on all beings with eyes of love, patience and compassion. ❤️

May I be peaceful today, light and happy in body, mind and spirit.  And may all other beings be peaceful today, light and happy in body, mind and spirit.

May I be free from suffering and safe from all kinds of harm.  May all beings be free from suffering and safe from all kinds of harm.

May I be free from anger, worry, and other negative states of mind, like judgement of myself and/or others, criticism of myself and/or others, sadness and depression.  May all beings be free from anger, worry, and other negative states of mind.

May I know how to look at myself with understanding, compassion and love.  May all beings know how to look at themselves with understanding, compassion and love. ❤️

May I not be caught in a state of indifference, or trapped in either of the extremes of clinging/attachment to things I love or think I need, or aversion to things I hate or think I can’t tolerate.  May all beings not be caught in a state of indifference, or trapped in either of the extremes of attachment or aversion.

May I be able to recognize, nurture, and grow the seeds of joy and happiness that are always within me.  May all beings be able to recognize, nurture, and grow the seeds of joy and happiness that are always within each of us. 😊

  ~ Adapted and modified from the Plum Village Tradition as taught by Brother Phap Huu.

#meditation #spirituality #zen #buddhism #morning #love #peace #joy #happiness

[bethikins-b]

Meditation on the Body

This is a meditation suggested by Sister Jina (also known as Sister Dieu Ngheim) from Thich Nhat Hanh’s Plum Village in France.  The meditation serves 2 purposes: 1) it’s a way to help you get present and out of your head, and 2) it cultivates self-acceptance, which I think most of us struggle with.

~

Start by asking yourself, “How’s my body doing?”  Then go mentally through your body, part by part, from head to toe, and silently say things like, “I’m noticing my eyes, my mouth, nose and my ears, and I thank them for being here.  I thank my hands - I thank all my body parts.  I thank my heart, lungs and digestive tract, which all function beautifully.  I thank them for being here.”

And when there is a part somewhere that hurts, feels uncomfortable, or is trying to tell you something, take your attention specifically to that part of the body and silently say to it, “It’s OK that you’re here.  You can be here too, and I love you too.”  Sister Jina says that this practice, done regularly, can help your body feel well and loved.  There are so many parts of our bodies that work so hard for us, and we don’t usually take the time to thank them.  Each body part is just doing its job.  The heart keeps on beating all the time, the blood keeps flowing, and all sorts of other things are constantly happening in here.

Paying attention with gratitude this way can generate positive energy, because you are focusing on all the body parts that work well and feel good, which takes your attention away from anything that doesn’t feel good, but then you also choose to send acceptance and love to the troublesome places, which can be healing to your mind and your body.

Source:  “The Way Out Is In” podcast

#meditation #spirituality #buddhism #zen

[bethikins-b]

Affirmations for Good Health

Sometimes I like using affirmations during my meditation time, and these are good health-related affirmations from Bob Baker.  Most of them have been tweaked and expanded a little by me, because I like to tweak and expand 😀

✨ Every cell in my body is vibrating with life-giving energy.  I can feel the vibrations, and they feel like the energy of joy.

✨ My body is a temple of perfect health and complete healing.

✨ I give myself permission to heal completely.

✨ I am perfectly healthy in mind, body and spirit.

✨ I am so very grateful for the miraculous healing that is taking place in my body right this minute.

✨ My body knows what it needs to be well, and I choose to pay attention to what it is telling me.

✨ I am calling forth the energy of perfect health, and I can feel that happy energy flowing throughout my body.

✨ Perfect health and complete healing are being activated in me right now.  I can feel it happening.

✨ Now is the time to be perfectly healthy.

✨ Now is the time to be completely healed.

✨ Every cell in my body is tingling with positivity.  I can feel it happening, and it feels great and is making me smile.

✨ I command healing energy to flow through me.  I have that power.

✨ I lovingly command my body to be healthy.

✨ I lovingly command my body to be whole.

✨ I lovingly command my body to restore itself to perfect health.

✨ My body is a miraculous health-making machine.

✨ My body is in complete harmony with the whole Universe.  That’s because the whole Universe is right here inside my body.

✨ My body is in complete harmony with itself. This means that my physical, manifested form is in complete harmony with my divine inner being, that part of me which is joyful, wise, and is always connected to my Source.

✨ I trust my precious body to heal itself completely.

✨ I love my adorable little body with all my heart.  It deserves my love and attention.

✨ I am perfect, whole and complete, right now, just as I am.

#health #affirmations #meditation #spirituality #healing #law of attraction #loa #cancer #migraines

[bethikins-b]

Thich Nhat Hanh on Death

Death comes with his impressive scythe and says, “You should be afraid of me.” I look up and ask, “Why should I be afraid of you?” “Because I will make you dead. I will make you nonexistent.” “How can you make me nonexistent?”

Death does not answer. He swings his impressive scythe.

I say, “I come and I go. Then I come again. And I go again. I always come back. You can neither make me exist nor nonexist.”

“How do you know that you will come again?” Death asks.

"I know because I have done that countless times,” I say. “How do I know that you are telling the truth? Who can be the witness?” Death frowns.

I touch the Earth and say, “Earth is the witness. She is my mother.”

Suddenly, Death hears the music. Suddenly, Death hears the birds singing from all directions. Suddenly, Death sees the trees blossoming. Earth makes herself apparent to Death and smiles lovingly to him. Death melts in the loving gaze of Earth.

O my beloved, touch Earth every time you get scared. Touch her deeply, and your sorrow will melt away. Touch her deeply, and you will touch the Deathless.

#Thich Nhat Hanh #death #meditation #spirituality #zen #buddhism

[bethikins-b]

Suffering is not all there is.

The ocean of suffering is immense, but if you turn around, you can see the land.

The seed of suffering in you may be strong, but don’t wait until you have no more suffering before allowing yourself to be happy.  When one tree in the garden is sick, you have to care for it.  But don’t overlook all the healthy trees.

Even while you have pain in your heart, you can enjoy the many wonders of life.

To suffer is not enough.  Please don’t be imprisoned by your suffering.

  ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

#spirituality #meditation #buddhism #zen #thich nhat hanh #suffering #happiness

[bethikins-b]

INTENTION OF THE DAY.

#bell hooks

[bethikins-b]

My Year of No Shopping

This is an essay by Ann Patchett that could be a wonderful perspective-changer if you’re newly interested in reducing, downsizing, and minimizing, or if you’d like to be less consumeristic and let go of so many material possessions:

~

The idea began in February 2009 over lunch with my friend Elissa, someone I like but rarely see. She walked into the restaurant wearing a fitted black coat with a high collar.

“Wow,” I said admiringly. “Some coat.”

She stroked the sleeve. “Yeah. I bought it at the end of my no-shopping year. I still feel a little bad about it.”

Elissa told me the story: After traveling for much of the previous year, she had decided she had enough stuff, or too much stuff. She made a pledge that for 12 months she wouldn’t buy shoes, clothes, purses or jewelry.

I was impressed by her discipline, but she shrugged it off. “It wasn’t hard.”

I did some small-scale experiments of my own, giving up shopping for Lent for a few years. I was always surprised by how much better it made me feel. But it wasn’t until last New Year’s Day that I decided to follow my friend’s example.

At the end of 2016, our country had swung in the direction of gold leaf, an ecstatic celebration of unfeeling billionaire-dom that kept me up at night. I couldn’t settle down to read or write, and in my anxiety I found myself mindlessly scrolling through two particular shopping websites, numbing my fears with pictures of shoes, clothes, purses and jewelry. I was trying to distract myself, but the distraction left me feeling worse, the way a late night in a bar smoking Winstons and drinking gin leaves you feeling worse. The unspoken question of shopping is “What do I need?” What I needed was less.

My plan had been to give up what Elissa gave up — things to wear — but a week into my no-shopping year, I bought a portable speaker. When I got it home I felt ridiculous. Shouldn’t “no shopping” include electronics?

I came up with my own arbitrary set of rules for the year. I wanted a plan that was serious but not so draconian that I would bail out in February, so while I couldn’t buy clothing or speakers, I could buy anything in the grocery store, including flowers. I could buy shampoo and printer cartridges and batteries but only after I’d run out of what I had. I could buy plane tickets and eat out in restaurants. I could buy books because I write books and I co-own a bookstore and books are my business. Could I have made it a full year without buying books? Absolutely. I could have used the library or read the books that were already in my house, but I didn’t; I bought books.

Gifts were the tough one for me. I’m a gift-giver, and I could see how gift shopping could become an easy loophole. I decided to give books as gifts, but I didn’t always keep to it. My editor married in 2017, and I wasn’t about to give him a book as a wedding present. Still, the frantic shopping for others needed to come to a halt. The idea that our affection and esteem must manifest itself in yet another sweater is reductive. Elissa said she gave people time, a certificate to watch their kids or clean their house. “That,” she told me, “turned out to be the hardest thing. Time is so valuable.”

I was raised Catholic and spent 12 years in a Catholic girls school. In the same way a child who grows up going to the symphony is more likely to enjoy classical music, and a child raised in a bilingual household is probably going to speak two languages, many children raised Catholic have a talent for self-denial. Even now my sister and I plan for Lent the way other people plan family vacations: What will we let go of? What good can we add?

My first few months of no shopping were full of gleeful discoveries. I ran out of lip balm early on and before making a decision about whether lip balm constituted a need, I looked in my desk drawers and coat pockets. I found five lip balms. Once I started digging around under the bathroom sink I realized I could probably run this experiment for three more years before using up all the lotion, soap and dental floss. It turns out I hadn’t thrown away the hair products and face creams I’d bought over the years and didn’t like; I’d just tossed them all under the sink.  I’m using them now, and they’re fine.

In March I wished I had a Fitbit, the new one that looked like a bracelet and didn’t need to be connected to a smartphone. For four days I really wanted a Fitbit. And then — poof! — I didn’t want one. I remember my parents trying to teach me this lesson when I was a child: If you want something, wait awhile. Chances are the feeling will pass.

The trick of no shopping isn’t just that you don’t buy things. You don’t shop. That means no trawling the sale section of the J. Crew website in idle moments. It means the catalogs go into the recycle bin unopened on the theory that if I don’t see it, I don’t want it. Halfway through the year I could go to a store with my mother and sister if they asked me. I could tell them if the dress they were trying on looked good without wishing I could try it on myself.

Not shopping saves an astonishing amount of time. In October, I interviewed Tom Hanks about his collection of short stories in front of 1,700 people in a Washington theater. Previously, I would have believed that such an occasion demanded a new dress and lost two days of my life looking for one. In fact, Tom Hanks had never seen any of my dresses, nor had the people in the audience. I went to my closet, picked out something weather appropriate and stuck it in my suitcase. Done.

I did a favor for a friend over the summer and she bought me a pair of tennis shoes. Her simple act of kindness thrilled me. Once I stopped looking for things to buy, I became tremendously grateful for the things I received. Had I been shopping this summer I would have told my friend, “You shouldn’t have,” and I would have meant it.

It doesn’t take so long for a craving to subside, be it for Winstons or gin or cupcakes. Once I got the hang of giving shopping up, it wasn’t much of a trick. The trickier part was living with the startling abundance that had become glaringly obvious when I stopped trying to get more. Once I could see what I already had, and what actually mattered, I was left with a feeling that was somewhere between sickened and humbled. When did I amass so many things, and did someone else need them?

If you stop thinking about what you might want, it’s a whole lot easier to see what other people don’t have. There’s a reason that just about every religion regards material belongings as an impediment to peace. This is why Siddhartha had to leave his palace to become the Buddha. This is why Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor.” It’s why my friend Sister Nena, an 85-year-old Catholic nun, took a vow of poverty when she entered the convent at 18.

Sister Nena was my reading teacher when I was in the first grade, and in the years since, she has taught me considerably more. When I ask her if there’s anything she needs me to get for her, she shakes her head. “It’s all just stuff,” she says, meaning all of the things that aren’t God. If you’re in the market for genuine inspiration on this front, I urge you to read “Barking to the Choir: The Power of Radical Kinship,” by Gregory Boyle, a book that shows what the platitudes of faith look like when they’re put into action.

The things we buy and buy and buy are like a thick coat of Vaseline smeared on glass: We can see some shapes out there, light and dark, but in our constant craving for what we may still want, we miss life’s details. It’s not as if I kept a ledger and took the money I didn’t spend on perfume and gave that money to the poor, but I came to a better understanding of money as something we earn and spend and save for the things we want and need. Once I was able to get past the want and be honest about the need, it was easier to give more of my money to people who could really use it.

For the record, I still have more than plenty. I know there is a vast difference between not buying things and not being able to buy things. Not shopping for a year hardly makes me one with the poor, but it has put me on the path of figuring out what I can do to help. I understand that buying things is the backbone of the economy and job growth. I appreciate all the people who shop in the bookstore. But taking some time off from consumerism isn’t going to make the financial markets collapse. If you’re looking for a New Year’s resolution, I have to tell you: This one’s great.

#spirituality #meditation #gratitude #new year's resolution #minimalism

[bethikins-b]

La gratitud te ayuda a enamorarte de la vida que ya tienes.

This teaching has really helped me over the years.

Esta enseñanza realmente me ha ayudado a lo largo de los años.

#spirituality #espiritualidad #español #espanol #meditation #meditación #gratitude #gratitud #joy #alegría

[bethikins-b]

Managing Negative Energies

There are many ways to calm a negative energy without suppressing it or fighting it.

You recognize it, you smile to it, and you invite something nicer to come up and replace it;

You read some inspiring words, you listen to a piece of beautiful music, you go somewhere in nature, or you do some walking meditation.

  ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

Examples of negative energies:  anger, frustration, grief, sadness, fear, jealousy, anxiety, depression, and (my personal favorite) resistance to what I can’t control (e.g., circumstances, past events, things other people say and do).

#meditation #spirituality #thich nhat hanh #zen #buddhism #wisdom #anger #frustration #grief #sadness #fear #jealousy #anxiety #depression #control

[bethikins-b]

The whole cosmos came together to create you, and you carry the whole cosmos inside you.  That is why accepting yourself and loving yourself is an expression of gratitude 💗

Adapted from Thich Nhat Hanh

Todo el cosmos se unió para crearte y tú llevas todo el cosmos dentro de ti. Por eso aceptarte y amarte a ti mismo es una expresión de gratitud.

#spirituality #espiritualidad #love #amor #gratitude #gratitud #zen #budismo #buddhism #thich nhat hanh #meditation #meditación

[bethikins-b]

This is a beautiful story.  I’ve been struggling lately with a world that seems to be too much for me, just too out of control and filled with negative thinking.  I have tried for years to be kind, and to be a tiny, positive force of energy in my little sphere of influence, although lately my efforts seem laughably inadequate.  But I also remember the Dalai Lama telling us that kindness is everything; it’s the only religion any of us really needs.  And I heard this story today while listening to a Jack Kornfield podcast.  Maybe you or I are that one snowflake, that one voice, the source of that one act or word of kindness that’s needed to keep the balance on the positive side.  Please, let’s not lose heart.  Let’s not give up.  Persevere in kindness and love, knowing that you are not alone in your mission.  What you do doesn’t have to be huge; the story teaches us that it’s when many of us do the little things that the outcome changes. ♥️

“Tell me the weight of a snowflake,” a sparrow asked a wild dove.

“Nothing more than nothing,” was the answer.

“In that case I must tell a marvelous story,” the sparrow said. “I sat on a branch of a fir tree, close to its trunk, when it began to snow, not heavily, not a giant blizzard, no, just like in a dream, without any violence. Since I didn’t have anything better to do, I counted the snowflakes settling on the twigs and needles of my branch. Their number was exactly 3,741,952. When the next snowflake dropped onto the branch - nothing more than nothing, as you say - the branch broke off.”

Having said that, the sparrow flew away. The dove thought about the story for a while and finally said to herself:

“Perhaps there is only one voice lacking for peace to come in our world.”

#spirituality #meditation #dalai lama #Jack Kornfield #peace #love #snowflake #photography #kindness #depression

[bethikins-b]

Ojalá yo pudiera mostrarte, cuando estés solo o en la oscuridad, la asombrosa luz de tu propio ser.

the astonishing light of your own being.

#hafiz #poetry #poesía #meditation #meditación #espanol #español #spirituality #espiritualidad #loneliness #soledad

[bethikins-b]

Joy.

We create most of our suffering, so it naturally follows that we should be able to create more joy.  The key to doing so is our own perspective and the thoughts, feelings and actions that come as a result of that perspective.  It is true that humility; acceptance of what we cannot change or control; forgiveness; gratitude; compassion and generosity are all also vital to any lasting happiness, but we have to begin with some fundamental quality of the mind that will allow us to turn more easily and frequently to, for example, compassionate and generous responses to life.

A healthy perspective really is the foundation of joy and happiness, because the way we see the world is the way we experience the world.  Being mindful of and changing the way we see the world in turn changes the way we feel, which, in turn, changes the way we act.  And in a very real way, the way we act changes the world itself, at least in our own sphere of influence.  This is how with your mind you create your own reality.

  ~ adapted from The Book of Joy ✨

******************************************************************************************

Alegría.  Creamos la mayor parte de nuestro sufrimiento, por lo que naturalmente se sigue que deberíamos poder crear más alegría. La clave para hacerlo es nuestra propia perspectiva y los pensamientos, sentimientos y acciones que surgen como resultado de esa perspectiva. Es cierto que la humildad; aceptación de lo que no podemos cambiar o controlar; perdón; gratitud; compasión y generosidad son también vitales para cualquier felicidad duradera, pero tenemos que comenzar con alguna cualidad fundamental de la mente que nos permitirá volvernos más fácil y frecuentemente a, por ejemplo, respuestas compasivas y generosas a la vida.

Una perspectiva saludable es realmente la base de la alegría y la felicidad, porque la forma en que vemos el mundo es la forma en que experimentamos el mundo. Ser conscientes y cambiar la manera en que vemos el mundo a su vez cambia la manera en que nos sentimos, lo que, a su vez, cambia la forma en que actuamos. Y de una manera muy real, la forma en que actuamos cambia el mundo mismo, al menos en nuestra propia esfera de influencia. Así es como con tu mente creas tu propia realidad.

#alegría #joy #dalai lama #desmond tutu #spirituality #espiritualidad #meditation #meditación #español #espanol #law of attraction #ley de la atracción

[bethikins-b]

Las respuestas que buscas fuera de ti mismo pueden muy bien encontrarse dentro de la inteligencia infinita dentro de ti. Adelanta; ¡Expresa al mundo de qué estás hecho! Destella, brilla, ilumina el camino y brilla intensamente como se supone que debes hacer.

The answers that you seek outside of yourself may very well be found within the infinite intelligence inside you. Go ahead; express to the world what you are made of! Sparkle, glow, light the way, and brightly shine as you are meant to do.

#espanol #español #meditation #meditación #spirituality #espiritualidad #photography #fotografía #wisdom #sabiduría

[bethikins-b]

In light of the recent U.S. presidential election and its ongoing aftermath, I thought reposting this might be a good idea.

How to be more spiritually mature and increase world peace at the same time.

If you’re born into a culture in which everybody has a similar worldview, you don’t have an opportunity to develop genuine belief based on personal experience because your convictions are not subject to scrutiny.  Your beliefs aren’t really based on experience or reflection.  They are just beliefs (and not necessarily true ones) that you’ve never questioned, and as a result, you’re likely to be very attached to your conviction that they are true.  It’s easy to see how this type of belief is common among those who live in societies where people don’t have much of a chance to engage with those who think and believe differently.

In 2019, though, most of us don’t have this excuse for being so attached to our beliefs.  There are plenty of people around us who think and believe differently, and we should be reaching out and learning from them.

If you don’t talk to people who hold different views, you will not know what they believe, and you won’t even know what you believe. Having conversations with people who hold beliefs different from yours affords you the opportunity to reflect — and only then can you evaluate whether your beliefs really hold true.

Your beliefs can relate to religion, immigration, spirituality, abortion, gun control, or politics in general, among other things. The seemingly impossible issue du jour is irrelevant. What is relevant: To justify your confidence you must sincerely and peacefully engage people who have solid arguments against your position.

Over the last few years, Americans seem to have convinced themselves that not speaking to people who hold different moral and political beliefs makes us better people — even on college campuses, where intellectual sparring has historically been part of the curricula. However, it does not make us better people.  It does make us more attached to our beliefs, less likely to question and revise them, and more likely to convince ourselves that others should believe exactly as we do.  Sadly, this seems to have become the norm in the U.S.

Just like what happens in isolated societies, over time, failure to have conversations across divides cultivates a belief myopia that strengthens our views and deepens our divisions.  This is bad for us as individuals, and it’s bad for society as a whole.

But for a minute let’s forget about healing political divides, overcoming polarization, or the dangers of mischaracterizing people who hold different beliefs. Reaching out and speaking with someone who has different ideas is beneficial, not for utopian social reasons, but for your own good.  This kind of engagement creates an opportunity to reflect upon what you believe and why you believe it. If other greater social goods happen to occur as a byproduct — new, surprising friendships, increased interpersonal understanding, and changed minds on both sides — that’s great.  But you have to begin with yourself in order to change the world.  World peaces begins with you.

Having conversations across divides isn’t particularly complicated.

1.  Figure out why someone believes what they believe.  If at all possible, do this in person, not over the internet. The best way to do it is simply to ask politely, “Why do you believe that?” and then listen. Just listen.  Don’t tell them why they’re wrong.  Don’t “parallel talk” and explain what you believe. Figure out their reasons for their belief by asking respectful questions. Then later ask yourself if their conclusions are justified by the rationale they provided.

2.  Call out extremists on your side. Identify the authoritarians and fundamentalists who claim to represent your views. Speak bluntly about how they take things too far. This is a way to build trust and signal that you’re not an extremist. (If you can’t figure out how your side goes too far, that may be a sign that you are part of the problem and need to moderate your beliefs.)

3.  Let people be wrong. It’s OK if someone doesn’t believe what you believe. Stop being so attached to your beliefs that you think people are evil if they think differently than you. Far more often than not, their beliefs don’t present an existential threat to you — they’re just one person — and you’ll be just fine.  Your own beliefs and opinions have probably changed about some things over the years, which can serve as a reminder to hold on to them loosely and allow others to think differently.  Don’t even bother to push back or point out holes in their arguments. Do nothing other than listen, learn and let them be wrong, if you still think they’re wrong. Then conclude by thanking them for the conversation. (As a good rule of thumb, the more strongly you disagree with someone’s position, the more important it is to thank them for the discussion and end on a friendly, positive note.)

In our highly polarized environment, talking to those who hold different beliefs isn’t easy, but it is easier than you think. Fewer people talking across divides creates a hunger for honest, sincere conversation. But what there should really be is a hunger for truth. And the best way to achieve that is to continuously subject your beliefs to scrutiny.  Keep staying open to questioning what you think and believe, and you will get more and more comfortable with allowing others to think and believe differently.  You will become more spiritually mature and make the world a better place. 

Adapted from Peter Boghossian and James Lindsay

#spirituality #meditation #peace #world peace #conversation #truth #belief #political polarization #election 2020

[bethikins-b]

A purposeful, meaningful life. (I LOVE THIS)

As soon as I wake up, I remember Buddha’s teaching:  the importance of kindness and compassion, wishing something good for others, or at least to reduce their suffering.  Then I remember that everything is interrelated, the teaching of interdependence.  So then I set my intention for the day:  that this day should be meaningful.  Meaningful means, if possible, to serve and help others.  If not possible, then at least not to harm others.  That’s a meaningful day.

  ~ The Dalai Lama, in The Book of Joy

Una vida significativa y con propósito. (ME ENCANTA ESTO). Tan pronto como me despierto, recuerdo las enseñanzas de Buda: la importancia de la bondad y la compasión, desear algo bueno para los demás, o al menos reducir su sufrimiento. Entonces recuerdo que todo está interrelacionado, la enseñanza de la interdependencia. Entonces establezco mi intención para el día: que este día sea significativo. La palabra "significativo" significa, si es posible, servir y ayudar a los demás. Si no es posible, al menos no lastimar a los demás. Ese es un día significativo.

#Dalai Lama #meditación #meditation #spirituality #espiritualidad #buddhism #budismo #propósito #purpose #life purpose #propósito de vida #vida significativa #meaningful life #joy #alegría #espanol #español

[bethikins-b]

Intention of the Day.

When the Dalai Lama greets you, he takes your hand and then rubs it tenderly, as a grandparent might.  He looks into your eyes, feels deeply what you are feeling, and touches his forehead to yours.  Whatever feeling, elation or anguish, is in your heart and reflected on your face, it is mirrored in his.  But then when he meets the next person, those emotions are gone and he is wholly available for the next encounter and the next moment.  Perhaps that is what it means to be fully present, available for each moment and each person we encounter, untethered by the ruminating memories of the past, and not lured by the anticipatory worry about the future.

  ~ Douglas Carlton Abrams in The Book of Joy

Intención del día:  Cuando el Dalai Lama te saluda, toma tu mano y luego la frota tiernamente, como lo haría un abuelo. Él te mira a los ojos, siente profundamente lo que estás sintiendo y toca la frente con la tuya. Cualquier sentimiento, júbilo o angustia, está en tu corazón y se refleja en tu rostro, se refleja en el de él. Pero luego, cuando conoce a la siguiente persona, esas emociones desaparecen y él está completamente disponible para el próximo encuentro y el siguiente momento. Quizás eso es lo que significa estar completamente presente, disponible para cada momento y cada persona con la que encontramos, sin ataduras por los recuerdos rumiantes del pasado, y no atraído por la preocupación anticipatoria por el futuro.

#love #amor #Dalai Lama #meditación #meditation #spirituality #espiritualidad #buddhism #budismo #espanol #español