Moment by Moment

• Non-Judging
• Patience
• A Beginner’s Mind
• Trust
• Non-Striving
• Acceptance
• Letting Go

…..Jon-Kabat-Zinn
……founder of the Stress Reduction Clinic, University of Massachusetts Medical Center

Practicing Mindfulness
Jerry Braza

Savoring & Sharing What We Have

In ordinary life we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.

…..Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Grateful living invites us to savor and share what we have – living more simply so that others might simply live. Appreciation for what we have is a powerful first step to contentment and offers the possibility of sustainability for others and life on our planet.

Wake Up Grateful
Kristi Nelson

Purposes of Our Actions

• To have and give happiness in some way.
• To provide for ourselves and others.
• To take care of people.
• To take care of the earth.
• To make a difference.

The Restful Mind
Gyalwa Dokhampa

Interdependent Connection

By taking care of others, you are looking after yourself. And to take care of others, you need to think of yourself and your own well-being, but doing so from a place of generosity rather than thinking of what “I want” or “I need.” It’s a cycle of interdependence and connection – we need to take care of others in order to take care of ourselves, and we need to take care of ourselves in order to take care of others. By doing so, we benefit one another.

Everyday Enlightenment
Gyalwang Drukpa

Acquired Assumptions

Our lives are lived inside a score of assumptions acquired through conditioned, adopted belief structures. We tend to automatically project these assumptions onto the world and people around us. Whether we tend to easily change our minds about what we believe to be so, or stubbornly hold onto what we think, the solidity of our current experience generally seems unquestionable.

Reality only manifests for us in concert with our assumptions and attendant feelings.

Believing Assumptions Are Knowable

Irrespective of the specific beliefs to which we subscribe, the core, underlying belief driving our assumptions is that they are “knowable” – that is, we tend automatically presuppose that we recognize and know what is true and real. This is particularly true when we like what’s happening. When we’re satisfied and fulfilled, we’re not concerned with what we are thinking, or the veracity of our thoughts. Rather than analyzing what is happening, we just enjoy our experience.

But as soon as we’re unhappy or stressed, our thoughts can preoccupy us, magnifying in our minds. At such times, we typically take our thoughts very seriously. We listen to and struggle with what we think, uncertain about what is or isn’t true, yet attaching ourselves to certain belief, assuming they reflect the truth.

Essential Wisdom Teachings: The Way to Inner Peace
Peter & Penny Fenner