April 2018 Newsletter

Hello Everyone!

I am SO ready for spring! Cold rain has given way to sunshine and warmth. Everything is rising from a deep sleep. It’s like awakening to the best life has to offer, like daffodils blooming, deep blue skies, and children playing in the yard.

Everyone wants to do (and be! their best: lose weight, take up yoga, meditate, plant a garden, or possibly start a new relationship. Something in the crisp Spring air makes the sap run again, excites our spirit and gets our juices flowing – and our creativity begins to bloom.

So get going! Write that book you have been thinking about; volunteer at the nearby health center;
surround yourself with people and activities that promote life and good feelings. Go to parties – or give one! – celebrating life. Get into the idea of being a better, happier, healthier YOU.

In meditation we awaken the unconscious parts of ourselves that have been asleep for so long. We are able to see the world with new eyes; we feel the sacred in all things; we learn to fill our hearts with magical moments. These gifts are your birthright! Life is indeed a precious thing, so relish the moments offered to you!

Freedom from the past comes from being in the present; freedom from the uncertainty of the future is living fully in the present. Life unfolds moment by moment; celebrate the awe and wonder of its unfolding.

You have a choice, you know; you can remain in a “victim” consciousness, or you can master and create genuine, conscious living of what you most truly want. A committed meditation practice will take you there:
1) Set aside the time to sit comfortably on your cushion each day.
2) Be patient with yourself – no expectations.
3) Watch as another cycle of life unfolds before you with greater clarity, wisdom, and openness, bringing change, growth, and acceptance into your life’s journey.
Be Well,
Daniel

Thought for the Day

“The everyday practice is simply to develop a complete acceptance and openness to all situations and emotions and to all people, experiencing everything totally without mental reservations and blockages, so that one never withdraws or centralizes onto oneself,”
Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

We must die to each moment and allow life to express itself through us. Our
lives may not turn out the way in which the ego has imagined, but when we
surrender to the truth of what is, we will find freedom beyond measure, as
surely as the river finds its way to the sea.
~Matthew Flickstein, Swallowing the River Ganges

“We are visitors on this planet. We are here for ninety, a hundred years at
the very most. During that period we must try to do something good, something
useful with our lives. Try to be at peace with yourself and help others share
that peace. If you contribute to other people’s happiness, you will find the
true goal, the true meaning of life.”
~ The Dalai Lama of Tibet

Lite Thought

“Don’t wait for a tragedy to start appreciating the little things in life. We shouldn’t have to be chased by tigers or leaping off a cliff to savor the sweetness of a single strawberry. Stop and smell the honeysuckle. Or at least for goodness sake stop and watch a rainstorm the next time you see one. Count your blessings. Appreciate what you have instead of complaining about what you don’t have. If spiritual growth is what you seek, don’t ask for more strawberries, ask for more tigers. The threat of tigers, the leap off the cliff, are what gives the strawberries its savor. They cannot be avoided, and the strawberry can’t be enjoyed without them. No tigers, no sweetness. In falling we somehow gain what it means most. In falling we are given back our lives even when we lose.” ~ Philip Simmons