7.1.24

Thought

To offer another illustration of it, suppose you are cutting wood. If you go against the way the tree grew, that is to say against the grain of the wood, the wood is very difficult to cut. If you go with the grain, however, it splits easily. Or again, in sawing wood, some people are in a great hurry to get on with sawing and they try and power right through the piece. But what happens? When you turn the board over you see the back edge of the wood is full of splinters, and you find that you are rather tired as well. Any skilled carpenter will tell you, “Let the saw do the work, let the teeth do the cutting.” And you find that by going at it quite easily, and just allowing the blade to glide back and forth, the wood is easily cut. As our own proverb says, “Easy does it.” And wu wei means easy does it. Look out for the grain of things, the way of things. Move in accord with it and work is thereby made simple.

—Alan Watts, What Is Tao?

Quote

Leonardo da Vinci on the power of thought: 

"The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions."

Moment of Gratitude

I’m grateful for the time I had to make some music last weekend. 

What are you grateful for today? 

Happy Monday,

Val

6.24.24

Thought

Emptiness is essential to the spirit of Zen. In the context of Zen, emptiness is not nihilism. It is not a void. It is not loneliness. It is not a black hole. The experience of emptiness is the experience of no boundaries and the experience that you are not separate. It is the experience of oneness. It is vast and boundless as the empty sky. It extends to the ends of the universe, unobstructed. 

Zen Master Keizan once commented, “When emptiness is struck, it makes an echo, and thus all sounds are manifested. When emptiness is transformed, all things manifested and, therefore, forms are distinguished. Do not think that emptiness is not forms, nor think that emptiness is not a thing or a state, emptiness is everything, just as it is. Emptiness is fullness. 

— Ellen Birx, Healing Zen

Quote

Writer Ralph Waldo Emerson on self authenticity:

"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment."

Intention of the Day

My intention is to breath deeply today.

What’s your intention today? 

Happy Monday,

Val

6.17.24

Thought

How does the cloud know when to rain? How does the tree know when spring begins? How does the bird know when it’s time to build a new nest? The universe functions like a clock…

… these rhythms are not set by us. We are participating in a larger creative act we are not conducting. We are being conducted. The artist is on a cosmic timetable, just like all of nature.

—Rick Rubin, The Creative Act

Quote

Lao Tzu on inner completeness:

"When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you."

Acknowledgement of the Day

Today I acknowledge myself for making calm and conscious choices.  

What are you acknowledging yourself for today?

Happy Monday,

Val

6.10.24

Thought

The affluence of the universe - the lavish display and abundance of the universe - is an expression of the creative mind of nature. The more tuned in you are to the mind of nature, the more you have access to its infinite, unbounded creativity. But first, you have to go beyond the turbulence of your internal dialogue to connect with that abundant, affluent, infinite creative mind.  

—Deepak Chopra, The Seven Laws of Spiritual Success 

Quote

Writer Ralph Waldo Emerson on the internal:

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."

Intention of the Day

My intention is to be responsive and not reactive today. 

What’s your intention today?

Happy Monday,

Val

6.3.24

Thought

The morning-glory, lasting only a few hours in the summer morning, is of the same significance as the pine tree whose gnarled trunk defies wintry frost. The microscopic creatures are just as much manifestations of life as the elephant or the lion. In fact, they have more vitality, for even if the other living forms vanish from the surface of the earth, the microbes will be found continuing their existence. Who would then deny that when I am sipping tea in my tearoom, I am swallowing the whole universe with it, and that this very moment of my lifting the bowl to my lips is eternity itself transcending time and space.

– John Carey, What Good are the Arts?  

Quote

Thich Nhat Hanh on mindfulness:

"The most precious gift we can offer anyone is our attention. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers."  

Intention of the Day

My intention is to relax into the moment and stay centered as I make conscious choices today.

What’s your intention today? 

Happy Monday,

Val

5.27.24

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

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

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