 Freedom from fixed ideas opens our attention to a subtle but consistent source of guidance that seems to come from within. Think back on any major decision you’ve made, bad or good. Hold the memory of making the decision in your mind, paused like a frozen screen. Now, get very quiet and feel within yourself for a calm knowing that said either, “Yes! You go!” or “Um, no. Not so much, dear.” I used to think this kind of guidance was only available to the enlightened. But in working with thousands of clients, I’ve come to believe it’s always right there, nearer than near, whispering a calm truth. Find that voice. Follow it. You are guided.
– Martha Beck; Freedom from Fixed Ideas |
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May you be free from suffering and the causes of suffering! All my best,
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Mini Mindfulness Break for October 30, 2018
 Right Lying
If I’m torn between truth and falsehood, I have to ask myself if the choice I’m leaning toward would be self-serving or selfless, harsh or kind, harmful or harmless. Only then can I know what’s best to do. – Lin Jensen, “Right Lying” |
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May you be free from suffering and the causes of suffering! All my best,
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Mini Mindfulness Break for October 29, 2018
 Finding Balance Through Moderation
I would say that not doing too much is the important thing. We tend to try to overdo everything. Such conceptual actions just create more karma. Consider nondoing, nonaction, for a while, and leaving things as they are. – His Holiness the Twelfth Gyalwang Drukpa, “Awareness Itself “ |
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May you be free from suffering and the causes of suffering! All my best,
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Mini Mindfulness Break for October 28, 2018
 Working with Thoughts
It is helpful at the beginning of your meditation practice to free yourself from the idea that in order to meditate properly you must have no thoughts. Instead, establish a different relationship with your thoughts so that over time they can fade more effortlessly into the background. All meditators have thoughts arising during their practice–it’s what you do with them that matters. – Bob Sharples, “Do the Thoughts Ever Stop?” |
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May you be free from suffering and the causes of suffering! All my best,
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Mini Mindfulness Break for October 27, 2018
 “It is not necessary to throw away your tradition or family. Keep everything and introduce mindfulness, peace, joy into it. Your friends will see the value of mindfulness through you-not through what you say, but through your being.”
– Thich Nhat Hanh |
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May you be free from suffering and the causes of suffering! All my best,
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Mini Mindfulness Break for October 26, 2018
 The Mind Can, Should, and Must Be Fixed
From a Buddhist perspective, even if all material problems could be solved, suffering would remain. The world is unfixable, said Buddha. Happiness depends, ultimately, only on the mind; it is the mind that can, should, and must be fixed. – Linda Heuman, “Who’s Got Good News?” |
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May you be free from suffering and the causes of suffering! All my best,
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Mini Mindfulness Break for October 25, 2018
 The Intention Behind Honesty
Just as being truly compassionate doesn’t mean always being sweet and nice (sometimes it means being cold, harsh), being truly honest doesn’t mean speaking your thoughts and feelings as they arise. Other awarenesses and intention must be at work–and a recognition that the truth is not solid. – Susan Piver Browne, “Right Speech” |
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May you be free from suffering and the causes of suffering! All my best,
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Mini Mindfulness Break for October 24, 2018
 A Meaningful Life
A meaningful life must also answer the question, “What have I brought to the world?” If I can look at a day and see that virtue, happiness, truth, and living an altruistic life are prominent elements, I can say, “You know, I’m a happy camper.” Pursuing happiness does not depend on my checkbook, or the behavior of my spouse, or my job, or my salary. I can live a meaningful life even if I only have ten minutes left. – B. Alan Wallace, “What Is True Happiness?” |
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May you be free from suffering and the causes of suffering! All my best,
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Mini Mindfulness Break for October 23, 2018
 Only when we’re focused on the present moment – the one point where time intersects eternity – can we see our missions clearly.
– Martha Beck |
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May you be free from suffering and the causes of suffering! All my best,
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Mini Mindfulness Break for October 22, 2018
 Anyone who embraces the mender’s way of life must proceed through continual, infinite, breathtaking leaps of faith. Each time you face an unknown future with creativity rather than grasping at known quantities, you leap. Each time you dare to believe your art can sustain you financially, you leap. Each time you trust your tribe of menders, you leap. Each time you embrace a love that lays you bare in body, heart, or soul, you leap. And whenever you begin to disbelieve in yourself, your destiny, your ability to heal some part of the world, you must leap instead into the branches of magic.
– Martha Beck, Finding Your Way in a Wild New World |
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May you be free from suffering and the causes of suffering! All my best,
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