12.9.24

Thought

We no longer walk the earth with wonder. We have purchased the fatal ticket. Instead of being guests of the earth, we are now crowded passengers on the runaway train of progress and productivity; the windows are darkened and we can no longer see out. The gadgets and games in each compartment are quite fascinating. There is constant theatre. Public relations experts offer sensational help in manicuring the image and searching out the best sound-bite.

Even if we wanted to alight, no-one seems to be able to stop the train. We desperately need to retrieve our capacity for reverence. Each day that is given to you is full of the shy graciousness of divine tenderness. It is a valuable practice at night to spend a little while revisiting the invisible sanctuaries of your lived day. Each day is a secret story woven around the radiant heart of wonder. We let our days fall away like empty shells and miss all the treasure.

— John O'Donohue, Eternal Echoes: Exploring Our Hunger to Belong

Quote

Aesop on gratitude: 

“Gratitude turns what we have into enough.”

Moment of Gratitude

I’m grateful for the sound of raindrops bouncing on the rooftop.

What are you grateful for today? 

Happy Monday,

Val

12.2.24

Thought

How, in such a dark place, gold draws so much light to itself is a mystery to me. But I see why in ancient times statues of the Buddha were gilt with gold and why gold leaf covered the walls of the homes of the nobility. Modern man, in his well-lit house, knows nothing of the beauty of gold; but those who lived in the dark houses of the past were not merely captivated by its beauty, they also knew its practical value; for gold, in these dim rooms, must have served the function of a reflector. Their use of gold leaf and gold dust was not mere extravagance. Its reflective properties were put to use as a source of illumination. Silver and other metals quickly lose their gloss, but gold retains its brilliance indefinitely to light the darkness of the room. This is why gold was held in such incredibly high esteem.

– In Praise of Shadows, Jun’ichiro Tanizaki

Quote

The Dalai Lama on peace: 

“Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace.”

Intention of the Day 

My intention is to find something to be grateful for in every situation today.

What’s your intention today? 

Happy Monday,

Val

11.25.24

Thought

Aristotle opens with the question: What is it we desire for its own sake, and not as a means to something else?

The beginning of an answer to that question is that the good life is practicing virtue. But the word being translated as “virtue” is arete, which means skill or excellence at something. So you might have the arete required to do crosswords while I might have the arete to catch wasps. Aristotle is asking what the arete to live successfully is. 

The skill of living successfully consists of developing a character that as a habit chooses the right action. The right action, according to Aristotle, is in many instances the mean between two extremes, both of which are defects. Some examples: at one extremity is rashness, and at the other craven cowardice, but somewhere in the middle is courage appropriate to the circumstances and your own limitations. Likewise, at one extremity are vanity, conceit and snobbery, and at the other excessive humility and self-deprecation, the mean is self-respect and in that sense proper pride. Or finally, in a case where one extremity would be giving all you have to the poor, and the other keeping everything you have all the time, the mean would be something like giving a proportion suited to your means.

– John Gaskin, The Travelers Guide to Classical Philosophy  

Quote

Kyle Gray on creating space: 

“Today I make space for miracles. I recognize that it’s not how big a miracle is that’s important but how much room I create for it.”

Moment of Gratitude

I’m grateful for long walks to center and ground myself.

What are you grateful for today? 

Happy Monday,

Val

11.18.24

Thought

We cannot eat raw potatoes, but we don’t throw them away just because they are raw. We know we can cook them. So we put them into a pot of water, put a lid on, and put the pot on the fire. The fire is mindfulness, the practice of breathing consciously and focusing on our anger. The lid symbolizes our concentration, because it prevents the heat from going out of the pot. When we are practicing breathing in and out, looking into our anger, we need some concentration in order for our practice to be strong. Therefore, we turn away from all distractions and focus on the problem. If we go out into nature, among the trees and flowers, the practice is easier.

As soon as we put the pot on the fire, a change occurs. The water begins to warm up. Ten minutes later, it boils, but we have to keep the fire going a while longer in order to cook our potatoes. As we practice being aware of our breathing and our anger, a transformation is already occurring. After half an hour, we lift the lid and smell something different. We know that we can eat our potatoes now. Anger has been transformed into another kind of energy – understanding and compassion.

– Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace is Every Step  

Quote

Tony Green on love: 

“The greatest power that mankind could ever achieve is the power of unconditional love. This is when people love with no limitations, conditions or boundaries.”

Intention of the Day 

My intention is to make points throughout the day to stop and be present.

What’s your intention today? 

Happy Monday,

Val

11.11.24

Thought

Let the wise man shun the cauldron of confusion,
And proceed on the path of light.

Let him leave the comfort of home,

Forsaking sensual pleasures,

Freeing himself from all obstacles,

Delighting in seclusion (Not an ordinary man’s choice),

And devote himself to cleansing the blemishes of the mind.

Those who have carefully cultivated their minds,

In tune with the elements of enlightenment –

Who, without grasping, delight in detachment,

Cleansed of all corruption and therefore shining brightly,

Send forth brilliant light.

– The Dhammapada  

Quote

James Clear on thought: 

“Anxiety is thought without control. Flow is control without thought.”

Intention of the Day 

My intention is to be thoughtful and attentive as I listen to others today.

What’s your intention today? 

Happy Monday,

Val

11.4.24

Thought

The thing I like to compare it to, in my own attempt to understand it all, is painting. The artist has a frame that is noncommittal – it’s kind of void – and he projects something of his own imaginative creation into that by way of paints. It’s important to him whether this color is here and that color over there is in exactly that place. And it isn’t always just reproducing as a camera might; it’s something of his own spirit that’s put forth, and it bounces back to him, telling something about his inner spirit.

Well, the alchemist used metals and various chemical substances in a way the painter uses paint; and his retort, is, as it were, the canvas. By dropping certain substances into the retort and watching them send up mists and so on, he activated his own imagination. And through that, he brought up, into the field of his consciousness, potentialities from his more unconscious system.

– Joseph Campbell, An Open Life  

Quote

Marcel Duchamp on alchemy: 

“Alchemy is a kind of philosophy, a kind of thinking that leads to a way of understanding.”

Moment of Gratitude

I’m grateful for quality time with family.

What are you grateful for today? 

Happy Monday,

Val

10.28.24

Thought

Heaven and Hell: A Zen Parable

A tough, brawny samurai once approached a Zen master who was deep in meditation. Impatient and discourteous, the samurai demanded in his husky voice so accustomed to forceful yelling, “Tell me the nature of heaven and hell.”

The Zen master opened his eyes, looked the samurai in the face, and replied with certain scorn, “Why should I answer to a shabby, disgusting, despondent slob like you? A worm like you, do you think I should tell you anything? I can’t stand you, get out of my sight. I have no time for silly questions.”

The samurai could not bear these insults. Consumed by rage, he drew his sword and raised it to sever the master’s head at once.

Looking straight into the samurai’s eyes, the Zen master tenderly declared, “That’s hell.”

The samurai froze. He immediately understood that anger had him in its grip. His mind had just created his own hell – one filled with resentment, hatred, self-defense, and fury. He realized that he was so deep in his torment that he was ready to kill somebody.

The samurai’s eyes filled with tears. Setting his sword aside, he put his palms together and obsequiously bowed in gratitude for the insight.

The Zen master gently acknowledged with a delicate smile, “And that’s heaven.”

– Joseph Nguyen, Don’t Believe Everything You Think  

Quote

Christine Evangelou on a crowded mind: 

“A crowded mind leaves no space for a peaceful heart.”

Intention of the Day 

My intention is to treat everyone I come into contact with today with love and care.

What’s your intention today? 

Happy Monday,

Val

10.21.24

Thought

If there is a higher form of consciousness attainable by man, other than that which he for the most part can claim at present, it is nearly certain that it is evolving and will evolve, but slowly, and with many a slip and hesitant pause. What would be more marvelous than the first revealment of the sense of sight, what more inconceivable to those who had not experienced it, and what more certain than the first use of this faculty must have been fraught with delusion and error? Yet there may be an inner vision which again transcends sight, even as far as sight transcends touch. It is more than probably that in the hidden births of time there lurks a consciousness which is not the consciousness of “self” – or at least, which includes and entirely surpasses these – a consciousness in which the distinction between the subject and the object, fall away.

– Kenneth Walker, The Mystic Mind.  

Quote

Terrence McKenna on consciousness: 

“You are an explorer, and you represent our species, and the greatest good you can do is to bring back a new idea, because our world is endangered by the absence of good ideas. Our world is in crisis because of the absence of consciousness.”

Intention of the Day 

My intention is to stay present and be loving in all my interactions today.

What’s your intention today? 

Happy Monday,

Val