4.1.24

Thought

So what is the reason why Tao is inexpressible and yet at the same time the basis for a philosophy? The reason is that we cannot have any system of thought — whether it be philosophical, or logical, or mathematical, or physical — which defines its own basis. This is an extremely important principle to understand. In other words, I can pick up a paint brush with my right hand, but I can’t pick up my right hand. My right hand picks itself up. If I try to pick up my hand, what would I pick it up with? There always has to be something, as it were, that isn’t picked up, that picks itself up, that works itself and is not worked upon.

—Alan Watts, What is Tao? 

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Japanese philosopher Musashi on meditation:

“In the depths of stillness, where the mind is calm and undisturbed, lies the wellspring of true strength. It is through the practice of meditation, the cultivation of inner peace and the ability to remain centered amidst chaos that one discovers the power within.”

Intention of the Day

My intention is to give and receive love freely today.

What’s your intention today? 

Happy Monday,

Val

3.25.24

Thought

The part, the whole, the volume, the values, the composition, the emotional quiver, everything, is there... Shut your eyes, wait, think of nothing. One sees nothing but a great coloured undulation. What then? An irradiation and glory of colour. That is what a picture gives us, a warm harmony, an abyss in which the eye is lost, a secret germination, a coloured state of grace. All these tones circulate in the blood, don’t they? One is revivified, born into the real world, one finds oneself, one becomes the painting. To love a painting, one must first have drunk deeply of it in long draughts. Lose consciousness. Descend with the painter into the dim tangled roots of things, and rise again from them in colours, be steeped in the light of them.

(J. Gasquet, Cézanne) 

— Marion Milner. The Plunge Into Colour – Creators on Creating.

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Writer Howard Thurman on purpose in life:

Don't ask yourself 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.

Gratitude Practice 

Gratitude Rock: I’ve done this one for a few years now. Find a small rock that you really like and carry it around with you. Whenever you feel or see the rock, use it as a reminder to think of something that you’re grateful for.   

Happy Monday,

Val

3.18.24

Thought

Like two golden birds perched on the self-same tree, intimate friends, the ego and the Self dwell in the same body. The former eats the sweet and sour fruits of the tree of life, while the latter looks on in detachment. 

—The Mundaka Upanishad

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Writer Joseph Campbell on direction in life:

Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.

Intention of the Day

My intention is to stay calm and centered as I make conscious choices today.

What’s your intention today? 

Happy Monday,

Val

3.11.24

Thought

There is a Zen story about how a single breath can free us from the confines of our intellectualizing and unite us with all creation. Tokusan was a brilliant scripture scholar who went to study with Zen Master Ryutan. One night as Tokusan was leaving to go home to bed after a long evening of discussion, he noticed that it was pitch black outside. Zen Master Ryutan lit a lantern and handed it to Tokusan. Just as Tokusan reached for the lantern, Ryutan blew it out. In that moment, Tokusan experienced enlightenment and bowed in gratitude. Tokusan realized that he was not dependent upon words and teachings to light the way for him. Even in times of darkness, he could experience his essential nature directly and be a lamp unto himself.

With a single puff of air from the Zen master’s mouth, Tokusan saw what he had not been able to see up until then. All of his scripture study and discussion had not communicated what a single breath of air communicated to him. Tokusan directly experienced that awakening is not dependent on intellectual grasping. The next day Tokusan gathered all of his commentaries on the scriptures into a huge pile and burned them. He told the group assembled there that intellectual speculation is like gasping at straws and can't compare to the vastness of direct experience. The direct experience of a single breath unites us with all creation.

— Ellen Birx. Healing Zen.

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Author and naturalist John Muir on the majesty of existence:

When we contemplate the whole globe as one great dewdrop, striped and dotted with continents and islands, flying through space with other stars all singing and shining together as one, the whole universe appears as an infinite storm of beauty.

Moment of Gratitude 

I’m grateful for the opportunity to connect with you and contemplate new ideas every week.  

What are you grateful for?

Happy Monday,

Val

3.4.24

Thought  

Take a particular case: what does it tell you about somebody that they begin to like (for example) West African music? Well, it tells you that their focus of attention as a listener is starting to shift. Nigerian music downplays harmony and melody in favour of extremely rich and complex rhythmic meshes.

These engage a different part of you: they are extremely physical and movement-oriented. They deal with the body, an area that Western classical music (for example) rarely addresses. When a listener is moved by this music, and is allowing herself to accept the idea that her body is a fit focus for artistic attention, she is saying (in the words of the artist Peter Schmidt) that the body is the large brain. Our cultures, which have made such a big distinction between men of action and “men of thought,” might find this hard to accept: all our hierarchies are based upon the idea that the brain is good and the body inferior. I believe that in the process of being moved by Nigerian music, you begin to empathize with another view of the universe, another picture of how things work and how they fit together. And in noticing how you have the capacity to empathize with that, perhaps you take a further step and begin to suppose that the cultural values are also "possible" for you. 

— Brian Eno – Why World Music?

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Author and poet Eden Phillpotts on the universe:

The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.

Intention of the Day

My intention is to release the doing and live in the present moment.

Happy Monday,

Val

2.26.24

Thought

There are, as you know, exercises that are taught by masters of Zen Buddhism – like the koan – where the mind is to be held resolutely upon some absurdity which is impossible to think about. By holding the attention on something which cannot be thought about because of its inherent absurdity, a vacuum is finally created. In this case, the exercise is to allow for the entry of a complete insight into the nature of man; this is called Satori. But it is connected with the one essential technique: for something to enter, a place must be made for it.  

— J.G. Bennett. Living in the Medium – Creators on Creating.

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Philosopher Alan Watts on perspective:

We seldom realize, for example that our most private thoughts and emotions are not actually our own. For we think in terms of languages and images which we did not invent, but which were given to us by our society.

Moment of Gratitude 

I’m grateful for time spent with family.  

What are you grateful for? 

Happy Monday,

Val

2.19.24

Thought

While we practice conscious breathing, our thinking will slow down, and we can give ourselves a real rest. Most of the time, we think too much, and mindful breathing helps us to be calm, relaxed, and peaceful. It helps us stop thinking so much and stop being possessed by sorrows of the past and worries about the future. It enables us to be in touch with life, which is wonderful in the present moment.    

— Thich Nhat Hanh. Peace is Every Step.  

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Spiritual leader Buddha on the nature of mind:  

"The mind is everything. What you think, you become."

Intention of the Day 

My intention today is to be willing to release anything that no longer serves me.

Happy Monday,

Val

2.12.24

Thought

Freedom, liberation, this must be the aim of aim. To become free, to be liberated from slavery: this is what a man ought to strive for when he becomes even a little conscious of his position. There is nothing else for him, and nothing else is possible so long as he remains a slave both inwardly and outwardly. But he cannot cease to be a slave outwardly while he remains a slave inwardly. Therefore in order to become free, man must gain inner freedom. The first reason for man’s inner slavery is his ignorance, and above all, his ignorance of himself. Without self-knowledge, without understanding the working and functions of his machine, man cannot be free, he cannot govern himself and he will always remain a slave, and the plaything of the forces acting upon him.

This is why in all ancient teachings the first demand at the beginning of the way to liberation was: “Know thyself”. 

— P.D. Ouspensky. In Search of the Miraculous.

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 Writer Joseph Campbell on purpose in life:

The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature.

Moment of Gratitude

I’m grateful for the few days of pure sunshine last week.  

What are you grateful for? 

Happy Monday,

Val