liveonearth | Entries tagged with joy

"Times are difficult globally;
awakening is no longer a luxury or an ideal.
It’s becoming critical.
We don’t need to add more depression,
more discouragement,
or more anger to what’s already here.
It’s becoming essential that we learn
how to relate sanely with difficult times.
The earth seems to be beseeching us
to connect with joy
and discover our innermost essence.
This is the best way
that we can benefit others."
~ Pema Chodron

Crossposts: http://liveonearth.livejournal.com/1426082.html

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!

Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice
meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.

Be grateful for whatever comes
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

~ Rumi

Come, come, whoever you are.

Wonderer, worshipper, lover of leaving.

It doesn't matter.

Ours is not a caravan of despair.

Come, even if you have broken your vow

a thousand times

Come, yet again, come, come.

-Jalaluddin Rumi

There is a great deal of difference
between loss, change, and transformation.
A loss is a step backward;
a change is an opportunity;
transformation is a step forward.
The common denominator in these three realities
is the fact that one must
give up something.
It is possible for both loss and change to lead to transformation,
but it is not possible for transformation to occur unless
something is lost and something is changed.
–Anthony Padovano

Don't ask what the world needs.
Ask yourself what makes you come alive
and then go do that.
Because what the world needs
is people who have come alive.
--Howard Thurman, civil rights leader

Having a relaxed mind is very useful in meditation. Relaxation is the foundation of deep concentration. When the mind is relaxed, it becomes more calm and stable. These qualities in turn strengthen relaxation, thus forming a virtuous cycle. Paradoxically, deep concentration is built on relaxation.

A similar mechanism works in the practice of mindfulness. I found lightness to be highly conducive to mindfulness. Lightness gives rise to ease of mind. When the mind is at ease, it becomes more open, perceptive, and nonjudgmental. These qualities deepen mindfulness, which in turn strengthens lightness and ease, thus forming a virtuous cycle of deepening mindfulness.

--Chade-Meng Tan in Search Inside Yourself; The Unexpected Path to Achieving Success, Happiness (and World Peace), (a 2012 book on meditation by an emotionally intelligent Google engineer), page 69.

If you're really listening,
if you're awake to the poignant beauty of the world,
your heart breaks regularly.
In fact, your heart is made to break;
its purpose is to burst open again and again
so that it can hold evermore wonders.
--Andrew Harvey

Of course my favorite river is always whichever one I'm on. Or was just on. Or am about to go on. Today was my third time down the Lower Wind in Washington, and it is quickly working its way into the list of all time favorites. It's not especially hard. Mostly class III with some IVish low volume rocky stuff, one hard class IV (V-?) called the Flume, and then the series of four drops at the end that most call class IV. The four large drops are 1) vertical 10 footer with an autoboof on the left 2) vertical 20 footer that I like to boof right 3) long bony slide, stupid, dangerous, but kinda fun, 4) the final 10 footer that is a clean (boof right) part of the otherwise rock-infested weir.

This is the autoboof at the first of the final series of falls.

( The level was )

What survivors do...dissociate from the body and withdraw into the head.

Cut off from the body, one doesn't feel vulnerable. By identifying the self with the ego, one also gains the illusion of power. Since the will is the instrument of the ego, one truly believes "where there's a will, there's a way" or "one can do whatever one wills." This is true as long as the body has the energy to support the ego's directive. But all the willpower in the world is no help to a person who lacks the energy to implement the will. Healthy individuals do not operate in terms of willpower except in an emergency. Normal actions are motivated by feelings rather than by the will. One doesn't need willpower to do what one wants to do. There is no need to use the will when one has a strong desire. Desire itself is an energetic charge which activates an impulse leading to actions that are free and generally fulfilling. An impulse is a flowing force from the core of the body to the surface, where it motivates the musculature for action. The will, on the other hand, is a driving force that stems from the ego--the head--to act counter to the body's natural impulses. Thus, when one is afraid, the natural impulse is to run away from the threatening situation. However this may not always be the best action. One cannot always escape a danger by running. Confronting the threat may be the wiser course, but this is difficult to do when one is frightened and there is an impulse to run. In such situations mobilizing the will to counter the fear is a positive action.
--Alexander Lowen, MD, in Joy; The Surrender to the Body and to Life, page 81-82.

I would like to think that there is time for me in this life for one adult love, one conscious love, one blessed with great joy, and more truth than words. I've heard tales of such loves. My loves have been young ones. I am ready for the love of my life.

Current Music: Glory in the Meeting House, Dana and Susan Robertson, Asheville Music Sampler V1

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
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4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17
18	19	20	21	22	23	24
25	26	27	28	29	30	31

INTERESTING TIMES

are better than no times at all.

Entries tagged with joy

QotD: How to Help

Rumi: Guest House

Rumi for today

QotD: Loss, Change, and Transformation

QotD: What the World Needs

QotD: Relaxation-->Concentration-->Mindfulness

QotD: Your Breaking Heart

New Favorite River: The Lower Wind

QotD: Dissociation

One Great Love

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May 2025

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