5.27.24
Meditation Mondays
Thought
Act without action
Manage without meddling
Taste without tasting
Great, small, many, few
Respond to hatred with virtue
Plan difficult tasks through the simplest tasks
Achieve large tasks through the smallest tasks
The difficult tasks of the world
Must be handled through the simple tasks
The large tasks of the world
Must be handled through the small tasks
Therefore, sages never attempt great deeds all through life
Thus they can achieve greatness
– Tao Te Ching
Quote
Rumi on love:
"Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray."
Moment of Gratitude
I’m grateful to all of you for being a part of this journey with me.
What are you grateful for today?
Happy Monday,
Val
5.20.24
Meditation Mondays
Thought
This is how I can see human history as a Gaian dream, because I think every night when we descend into dreams, we are potentially open to receiving Gaian corrective tuning of our life state. The whole thing is an enzyme-driven process. We arc like an organ of Gaia that binds and releases energy. A liver cell doesn’t need to understand why it binds and releases enzymes. Similarly, as humans, we bind and release energy for reasons perhaps never to be clear to us hut which place us firmly within the context of the Gaian mind.
—Rupert Sheldrake, Terence McKenna and Ralph Abraham, Chaos, Creativity and Cosmic Consciousness
Quote
Japanese philosopher Musashi on non-attachment:
“Non-attachment does not mean that we should not enjoy life. It means that we should not cling to things and experiences as if they were permanent and necessary for our happiness. When we can let go of our attachment, we are free to enjoy life as it is, without being weighed down by worries and desires.”
Intention of the Day
My intention is to express gratitude as much as I can today.
What’s your intention today?
Happy Monday,
Val
5.13.24
Meditation Mondays
Thought
There is a Zen koan about the expanded experience of self in which everything in the universe is experienced as the self. Zen Master Tan-hsia tested his student, Wu-kung, by asking him, “What is the self prior to the empty eon?” As soon as Wu-kung started to speak, Tan-hsia stopped him, saying, “You’re noisy; go away for awhile. So Wu-kung went away and one day decided to take hike up Po-yu Peak. As he climbed up the last stretch the top of the mountain, he was suddenly awakened.
What did Wu-kung see up on Po-yu Peak that caused him to awaken? He saw trees, mountains, and fields extending in all directions. He saw deer, rabbits, birds, and bugs. He saw a stream winding down through the valley. He saw himself. Perhaps he stretched out his arms and said, “I am whole. I am alive!”
— Ellen Birx, Healing Zen
Quote
Philosopher Epicurus on desire:
"He who is not satisfied with a little, is satisfied with nothing."
Moment of Gratitude
I’m grateful for the opportunity to work outside in the sun.
What are you grateful for today?
Happy Monday,
Val
5.6.24
Meditation Mondays
Thought
If you have an idea you’re excited about and you don’t bring it to life, it’s not uncommon for the idea to find its voice through another maker. This isn’t because the other artist stole your idea, but because the idea’s time has come.
In this great unfolding, ideas and thoughts, themes and songs and other works of art exist in the ether and ripen on schedule, ready to find expression in the physical world.
—Rick Rubin, The Creative Act
Quote
Philosopher Lao Tzu on change:
"Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like."
Acknowledgement of the Day
Small acknowledgements can help shift your perspective to the positive aspects of your day. Today I acknowledge myself for exercising patience under pressure.
What are you acknowledging yourself for today?
Happy Monday,
Val
4.29.24
Meditation Mondays
Thought
There is a word in Buddhism that means “wishlessness” or “aimlessness.” The idea is that you do not put something in front of you and run after it, because everything is already here, in yourself. While we practice walking meditation, we do not try to arrive anywhere. We only make peaceful, happy steps. If we keep thinking of the future, of what we want to realize, we will lose our steps. The same is true with sitting meditation. We sit just to enjoy our sitting; we do not sit in order to attain any goal. This is quite important. Each moment of sitting meditation brings us back to life, and we should sit in a way that we enjoy our sitting for the entire time we do it. Whether we are eating a tangerine, drinking a cup of tea, or walking in meditation, we should do it in a way that is “aimless.”
—Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace is Every Step
Quote
Philosopher Seneca on evolution:
“All things greatly outgrow their beginnings.”
Intention of the Day
My intention is to release the effort and live in the present moment.
What’s your intention today?
Happy Monday,
Val
4.22.24
Meditation Mondays
Thought
As you gain more and more access to your true nature, you will also spontaneously receive creative thoughts, because the field of pure potentiality is also the field of infinite creativity and pure knowledge. Franz Kafka, the Austrian philosopher and poet, once said, “You need not leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. You need not even listen, simply wait. You need not even wait, just learn to become quiet, and still, and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked. It has no choice; it will roll in ecstasy at your feet.”
—Deepak Chopra, The Seven Laws of Spiritual Success
Quote
Writer Robert Pirsig on searching externally:
“The only Zen you find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up there.”
Moment of Gratitude
I’m grateful that I got to spend time with old friends and family last week.
What are you grateful for?
Happy Monday,
Val
4.15.24
Meditation Mondays
Thought
When vacuuming pay attention to moving the vacuum cleaner over each area of the carpet without thinking about what you will do next or what you would rather be doing. When driving attend to the road in front of you, the traffic, and your hold on the steering wheel. Don’t be daydreaming with your mind somewhere else and arrive not knowing how you got there. When doing paperwork, attend to writing checks, typing memos, and filing receipts. Don’t be fragmented, preoccupied, or separate from each activity of your life. When you are fully present and aware you wake up to the wonder of your ordinary mind.
—Ellen Birx, Healing Zen
Quote
Philosopher Alan Watts:
“What I am really saying is that you don’t need to do anything, because if you see yourself in the correct way, you are all as much extraordinary phenomenon of nature as trees, clouds, the patterns in running water, the flickering of fire, the arrangement of the stars, and the form of a galaxy. You are all just like that, and there is nothing wrong with you at all.”
Moment of Gratitude
I’m grateful I got to witness the totality of the solar eclipse last week and got to share the moment with my mother.
What are you grateful for today?
Happy Monday,
Val
4.8.24
Meditation Mondays
Thought
No matter what tools you use to create,
the true instrument is you.
And through you,
the universe that surrounds us
all comes into focus.
—Rick Rubin, The Creative Act
Quote
Essayist John Burroughs on action:
“Leap and the net will appear.”
Intention of the Day
Today I intend to live a life of powerful gratitude with every step and breath that I take.
What’s your intention today?
Happy Monday,
Val