April 2015 Newsletter

Hello Everyone,
It seems that during the winter months with grey skies , too much rain, snow people can get quiet depressed about a lot of things, no sunshine, cabin fever, a loss love one, divorce, and with all those feelings we tend to retreat into a place that feels safe somehow, only to be playing out those stories over and over in our minds about what we cannot live up to certain expectations. We literally have a loss of heart. Our very nature is to be open, curious, sensitive and be connected to the world around us.

Having a meditation practice helps you to understand that everything around us is changing (impermanence) and we begin to have a greater acceptance to what is in our life. As meditators we learn to observe the ceaseless arising and passing away of our thoughts and emotional states. Much like the season’s that come and go.
We become aware when we are shutting down to life rather than opening up.

“Trungpa Rinpoche once asked a group of students, “What do you do when you get
squeezed? What do you do when things are unbearable?” We all sat there,
wondering what to say. Then he called on us one by one. We were so scared
that we answered genuinely. Almost all of us said something to the effect
that we just completely fell apart, forgot about meditation practice all together, and
became totally habitual in our reactions. Needless to say, after that we
noticed very clearly what we did when we felt attacked, betrayed, or
confused, when we found situations unbearable or unacceptable. We began to
really notice what we did. Did we close down, or did we open up? Did we feel
resentful and bitter, or did we soften? Did we become wiser or more stupid?
As a result of our pain, did we know more about what it is to be human, or
did we know less? Were we more critical of our world or more generous? Were
we penetrated by the arrows, or did we turn them into flowers?” ~ Pema Chodron, When All Things Fall Apart

Spring is around the corner, try doing something new this year, plant a vegetable or flower garden that you can
find solice and refuge in when things get difficult. The earth can take all you give, even your worries. It knows how to transform everything into something nurturing.
Be Well
Daniel

“Thoughts for the Day”

Despair is often the first step on the path of awakening and the experience of transformation in their lives until they go through the experiences of emptiness, delusion and despair.” ~Father Bede Griffiths

“To travel with the awakened makes the journey long and hard and is as painful a traveling with an enemy. But the company of the wise is as pleasant as meeting with friends. Follow the wise, the intelligent, and the awakened. Follow them as the moon follows the path of the stars.” Dhammapada

“Lite Thoughts”

Life is not about how fast you run, or how high you climb, but how well we bounce.

If a book about failures doesn’t sell, is it a success?

Fishing is like romance, the next best thing to experiencing it is talking about it.

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