At Least...

Hello everyone, it's been quite a while since I've written anything here, but I've decided to take it up again and see where it goes. Seeing as it's been so long, I think it would be best to treat this like running and just start slow.

"Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful." -The Buddha

I think that this one is pretty much self-explanatory, the best kind.

Smile, breathe, and go slowly.

Universal Interdependence

I've been trying to figure out exactly how to describe the concepts of "emptiness" and "interdependence", two ideas which are essential to the logic behind karma and therefore, universal compassion. At the center of these concepts is the emphasis on the fact that we, along with everything else, rather than having our own independent existence, exist as part of a whole and are bound together in reliance on one another. Well, I've decided not to try to remake the wheel this time and give you the explanation that helped me.

Thich Nhat Hanh is a Buddhist teacher renowned for his ability to take exceptionally complex concepts and put them into simple terms and examples. In this short explanation, titled "Interbeing", he explains the basis for these concepts, referring to them not as "emptiness"and "interdependence" but as "interbeing". Enjoy.

Interbeing

“If you are a poet, you will see clearly that there is a cloud floating in this sheet of paper. Without a cloud, there will be no rain; without rain, the trees cannot grow; and without trees, we cannot make paper. The cloud is essential for the paper to exist. If the cloud is not here, the sheet of paper cannot be here either. So we can say that the cloud and the paper inter-are. “Interbeing” is a word that is not in the dictionary yet, but if we combine the prefix “inter-“ with the verb “to be,” we have a new verb, inter-be.

If we look into this sheet of paper even more deeply, we can see the sunshine in it. Without sunshine, the forest cannot grow. In fact, nothing can grow without sunshine. And so, we know that the sunshine is also in this sheet of paper. The paper and the sunshine inter-are. And if we continue to look, we can see the logger who cut the tree and brought it to the mill to be transformed into paper. And we see wheat. We know the logger cannot exist without his daily bread, and therefore the wheat that became his bread is also in this sheet of paper. The logger’s father and mother are in it too. When we look in this way, we see that without all of these things, this sheet of paper cannot exist.

Looking even more deeply, we can see ourselves in this sheet of paper too. This is not difficult to see, because when we look at a sheet of paper, it is part of our perception. Your mind is in here and mine is also. So we can say that everything is in here with this sheet of paper. We cannot point out one thing that is not here – time, space, the earth, the rain, the minerals in the soil, the sunshine, the cloud, the river, the heat. Everything co-exists with this sheet of paper. That is why I think the word inter-be should be in the dictionary. “To be” is to inter-be. We cannot just be by ourselves alone. We have to inter-be with every other thing. This sheet of paper is, because everything else is.

Suppose we try to return one of the elements to its source. Suppose we return the sunshine to the sun. Do you think that this sheet of paper will be possible? No, without sunshine nothing can be. And if we return the logger to his mother, then we have no sheet of paper either. The fact is that this sheet of paper is made up lonely of “non-paper” elements. And if we return these non-paper elements to their sources, then there can be no paper at all. Without non-paper elements, like mind, logger, sunshine and so on, there will be no paper. As thin as this sheet of paper is, it contains everything in the universe in it.”


Smile, breathe, and go slowly.

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Smile, breathe, and go slowly.

Enjoy the Scenery

If you've lived for forty minutes, you know that a plan rarely goes off without a hitch, especially when it comes to the big plans. It's often quite difficult to adjust to changes and sometimes, you are even forced to scrap plans altogether. Then what?

When the world takes a turn we don't expect, we often get a little bummed out. "Why did this have to happen? Everything would have been perfect if it had just gone the way I wanted." All too often, I see people, rather than living in the present reality, living in the past non-reality, the point where the old adage "coulda, woulda, shoulda" comes in, or setting themselves up for hardship by basing their happiness on certain expectations of the future. Rather than enjoying the present moment, many decide that they're not happy now because their life could and should be some other way.

Live in the Present Moment

If you want to be truly happy, at any moment in time, stop and be mindful of the present moment. Look around you and see all that is wonderful in your life.

Does this mean that you shouldn't have plans or expectations? Absolutely not! Plans and expectations are there to point you in the right direction, to give you guidance as to where you want to go and how to get there. Developing yourself into a better, happier person is what life's all about. But as I've said before, don't focus so much on the destination and start to enjoy the journey.

If you want to be a healthier person, you should set a goal, for example, to develop a habit of going running five days a week by the end of this month. By the end of this month, if you only go three days a week, does that mean you are a failure? Does this mean that you haven't become a healthier person? Not at all! You've successfully developed a new habit of going 3 days a week, you have succeeded in becoming a healthier person. You should relish in the fact that you have developed and improved yourself. You pointed yourself in a certain direction and you progressed in that direction, and the fact that you didn't make it as far as you wanted doesn't mean you would've been better off not trying at all. See the positives in all situations and you will never have a failure, just a smaller step in the right direction.

If you end up on a road you didn't expect, enjoy the scenery :)

Smile, breathe, and go slowly.

Beginning Mindfulness Meditation

One of the key teachings of Buddhism is the concept of mindfulness. What is mindfulness? Mindfulness is the calm awareness of one's body functions, feelings, content of consciousness, or consciousness itself. It is the constant observation of ones thoughts and actions which allows one to evaluate them and make better choices. Such observations can often result in the realization that a particular thought is unnecessary or not sensible, alleviating worry and stress.

Here is a brief meditative technique that anyone can use to de-stress, cultivate clearer thinking, and in the end, become more mindful.

1. Sit down and cross your legs in front of you. Sit up straight and rest your hands in your lap. Close your eyes. Breathe normally.
2. Just sit and observe all the thoughts that are flowing around in your head. Just look at them. Observe how your brain transitions from one thought to the other without hesitation. Just observe the beauty of how your mind works.
3. Ask yourself how you're feeling at that moment and be honest with yourself. Are you irritated about something? Is there something that your longing for? What's on the forefront of your mind?
4. Now step back for a minute and ask yourself why you're feeling this way. What is it that make you angry? What is at the base of this anger? Is it that you wish something turned out differently? Is it that you're not satisfied with someone else's personality or actions? Examine what it truly at the root of the emotions that are taking over the way you think and controlling your actions. You may find that they're based in a selfish reason or a desire for something other than what you have been left with.
5. Take a deep breath and tell yourself that it will be alright. Take another deep breath and think about something you loved about the day you had. Think of something in your life that is bringing you joy.
6. Smile and open your eyes. Go and enjoy the world.

If you're emotions begin to get in the way of your happiness, close your eyes and see if this helps to make it better :)

Smile, breathe, and go slowly.

Giving Yourself More Free Time

"Those who fail to distinguish
The nonessential from the essential
And the essential from the nonessential
Will, in feeding the wrong thoughts,
Fail to attain the essential."
-the Buddha, Dhammapada

How often do you find yourself struggling to find time to do the things you actually want to do? I've had many days where I feel like I've been busy all day but haven't gotten anything done. Why is that? It's because every now and then, I forget to clear out the clutter from my life, not just from my physical possessions, but from my schedule. If you just follow a few simple steps, you can find some extra time for yourself that was hidden behind that pesky schedule clutter.

Do things like checking your email or your Facebook less often. If you check it once a day, or even once every other day, what will you be missing? When you send an email, how much time do you expect to pass before you get a response? A day, two days in some cases? Email is not the way that people send urgent information so don't check it as though you're going to miss dinner plans :) Imagine how much time you could gain by checking your email once a day rather than 5 times. Probably a good half hour at least.

Do less. It sounds simple but I believe that this is often the most overlooked step. When you say to yourself, "I need to do THIS and THIS and THIS", ask why for each one. It's a very simple but powerful question, Why? What would happen if I didn't? Often times you'll realize that your doing something because it's a habit, or because you THINK you need to not because you actually NEED to.

Decide at the beginning of your day which big thing you wish to accomplish for the day. A well-planned day should never have more than one or two life-altering tasks in it. Notice I said life-altering, not tasks that you perceive as life altering, because those should have been taken care of in step 2. The success of your day should hinge on the completion of this task. It should be the first thing that you wake up and do in the morning. Get it done quickly and enjoy your day while still feeling that sense of accomplishment.

Give yourself less time to get stuff done. The reason certain things take so long to do is because we believe that it takes that long. One of my favorite tools for getting stuff done quickly is this question, "What would I do if this were due in 2 hours? How about an 1 hour? How about 1/2 an hour?" This forces you to decide what is most important with the task at hand and not get bogged down with the details. Details are what make a 1/2 hour cleaning project turn into an all day event. Once you've decided what you WOULD do if you had a very limited amount of time, then DO IT in that amount of time. Why waste your day on a task that should only take 10 minutes? :)

Don't give yourself busywork. You've just cleaned up your schedule. Don't fill it in with little things that you feel like you have to do (see step 2). Quitting activity is a tough habit to break. Don't let your feeling that you SHOULD be doing something take away from time you could be doing something for fun. Read a book, watch a movie, learn something new, take up a hobby. The best way to keep yourself from straying from this system is to enjoy the time that you gain from it.

Smile, breathe, and go slowly.

Compassion: Where to Begin?

How does one go about becoming more compassionate? Where do we begin building such a significant habit that our goal is to change our outlook on life? I definitely couldn't remember all that goes into it, I mean, I have trouble remembering to take a vitamin everyday.

In reality, there aren't rules to remember or guidelines to follow to become "perfectly" loving to all beings. It doesn't even take a total overhaul of your belief system to push you in the right direction.

So how do you go about it? Slowly.

One small action at a time is all it takes to become more compassionate. Stop and focus on the moment you're in right now. When you meet someone, don't look at the overall picture of compassion, simply focus on your current interaction. Say to yourself, "How can I make my interaction with this person more beneficial, substantial and positive for our combined existence?" Will telling the person that you're furious with them and that they're a terrible friend improve your relationship?

All it takes is mindfulness.

Be mindful in your interactions. Examine what you're doing and ask if it's for the best.

Task for Today

If you'd like a more concrete way to practice, begin today by complimenting 5 people that you don't know very well. It can be based on a physical observation but the preference would be a compliment based on an aspect of their personality. Find something you truly admire about the person and let them know.

Repeat this task daily and you will be on your way.

Smile, breathe, and go slowly.