10.20.25
Meditation Mondays
Thought
The sense impression I have of green exists only because of me, I am its bearer. It seems absurd to us that a pain, a mood, a wish should rove about the world without a bearer, independently. An experience is impossible without an experient. The inner world presupposes the person whose inner world it is.
– Gottlob Frege, The Thought: A Logical Inquiry.
Quote
Carl Sagan on interconnectedness:
“The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself.”
Intention of the Day
My intention is to look for ways to brighten someone’s day.
What’s your intention today?
Happy Monday,
Val
10.13.25
Meditation Mondays
Thought
“A leader is best
When people barely know he exists
Of a good leader, who talks little,
When his work is done, his aim fulfilled,
They will say, “We did this ourselves.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching
Quote
Eckhart Tolle on surrender:
“Surrender is the simple but profound wisdom of yielding to rather than opposing the flow of life.”
Intention of the Day
My intention is to approach my tasks with clarity and purpose.
What’s your intention today?
Happy Monday,
Val
10.6.25
Meditation Mondays
Thought
The Wu Wei principle underlying Tai Chi Ch'üan can be understood by striking at a piece of cork floating in water. The harder you hit it, the more it yields; the more it yields, the harder it bounces back. Without expending energy, the cork can easily wear you out. So, Wu Wei overcomes force by neutralizing its power, rather than by adding to the conflict. With other approaches, you may fight fire with fire, but with Wu Wei, you fight fire with water.
–Benjamin Hoff, The Tao of Pooh
Quote
Robert Brault on simplicity:
“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.”
Intention of the Day
My intention is to focus on what truly matters today and let go of distractions.
What’s your intention today?
Happy Monday,
Val
9.29.25
Meditation Mondays
Thought
When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves. Everything can be taken from a person but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response.
– Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning
Quote
Lao Tzu on acceptance:
“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.”
Intention of the Day
My intention is to appreciate the efforts of others and celebrate their successes.
What’s your intention today?
Happy Monday,
Val
9.22.25
Meditation Mondays
Thought
You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf. Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally. Each moment missed is a moment unlived. The little things? The little moments? They aren’t little.
– John Kabat-Zinn, Wherever You Go, There You Are
Quote
Alan Watts on presence:
“The art of living is neither careless drifting nor fearful clinging. It consists of being sensitive to each moment.”
Intention of the Day
My intention is to approach the day with a curious mind and a willing heart.
What’s your intention today?
Happy Monday,
Val
9.15.25
Meditation Mondays
Thought
I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life.
– Henry David Thoreau, Walden
Quote
Pema Chodron on being:
“You are the sky. Everything else—it’s just the weather.”
Intention of the Day
My intention is to stay open to new experiences and ideas.
What’s your intention today?
Happy Monday,
Val
9.8.25
Meditation Mondays
Thought
When you arise in the morning, think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love. Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them. The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts. You have power over your mind—not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength. Waste no more time arguing about what a good person should be. Be one.
– Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
Quote
David Steindl-Rast on simplicity:
“Joy is the happiness that doesn’t depend on what happens.”
Intention of the Day
My intention is to focus on progress, not perfection.
What’s your intention today?
Happy Monday,
Val
9.1.25
Meditation Mondays
Thought
“If while washing dishes, we think only of the cup of tea that awaits us, thus hurrying to get the dishes out of the way as if they were a nuisance, then we are not ‘washing the dishes to wash the dishes.’ … If we can’t wash the dishes, the chances are we won’t be able to drink our tea either. … While drinking the cup of tea, we will only be thinking of other things, barely aware of the cup in our hands. Thus we are sucked away into the future—and we are incapable of actually living one minute of life.”
—Thich Nhat Hanh, The Miracle of Mindfulness
Quote
African proverb on surrender:
“The wind does not break a tree that bends.”
Intention of the Day
My intention is to meet challenges with grace and courage.
What’s your intention today?
Happy Monday,
Val