Mindful Wisdom 01

On possibility – possibility does not wait, it always already there for us. In the Spirit of generosity, I wanted to share with you this groundbreaking words of wisdom (wow) series from my inner battery to yours.

• There is a profound, vibrant, and wakeful Silence that is the ground of every one of our experiences. It is always here regardless of what we are doing, feeling, or thinking. Often, we first sense it in quieter moments when we sit in meditation. In time, it becomes consciously available in the middle of our busy, ordinary life. As we listen and attune, it comes from the background into the foreground of awareness. It feels foundational and primal. The emptier we are of our stories and scripts (and their related feelings and sensations), the more available this invisible yet palpable ground is that we anchor into. I sometimes think of this living Silence as “Ground Zero.” Though spacious, it is stable. Though empty of definition, it is full of life. Feeling this as an all-embracing love, we brim with gratitude. In every moment, we have an opportunity to knowingly return to this empty/full ground. Once touched, it is not forgotten. Ask yourself, “Once everything passes, what remains?” Then, knowingly be who you are.

Wishing you peace, healing and wholeness.

• “Real joy is what’s available to you right now.” – Phillip Mofitt

• “When you release expectations you are free to enjoy things for what they are instead of what you think they should be.” – Mandy Hale

• “The heart of skillful meditation is the ability to let go and begin again, over and over again. Even if you have to do that thousands of times during a session it does not matter. There is no distance to traverse in recollecting our attention, as soon as we realize we have been lost in discursive thought, or have lost touch with our chosen contemplation, right in that very moment we can begin again. Nothing has been ruined, and there is no such thing as failing. There is nowhere the attention can wander to, and no duration of distraction, from which we cannot completely let go, in a moment, and begin again…..Beginning again and again is the actual practice, not a problem to be overcome so that one day we can come to the “real” meditation.” – Sharon Salzberg

• “The attitude with which you undertake the practice of paying attention and being in the present moment is crucial. It is the soil in which you will cultivate your ability to calm your mind and to relax your body to concentrate and see more clearly.” – Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat-Zinn 

• “Mindfulness is also other-oriented, it involves social/environmental awareness. When we are mindful, we are often able to see and respond to others with greater sensitivity and understanding.”

• “Freedom is the ability to pause between stimulus and response and in the pause to choose.”

• “Meditation may be done in silence & stillness, by using voice & sound, or by engaging the body in movement. All forms emphasize the training of attention.” – Sharon Salzberg

• “Because the development of inner calm and energy happens completely within and isn’t dependent on another person or a particular situation, we begin to feel a resourcefulness and independence that is quite beautiful – and a huge relief.” – Sharon Salzberg 

• “Leave your front door and your back door open. Allow your thoughts to come and go. Just don’t serve them tea.” – Shunryu Suzuki

Credit goes to the University of Minnesota’s Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing.

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