Life

How much of your life as you know it

exists within the mind's world?

The world of the remembered past

and the imagined future.

How much of your sense of identity

is based upon memory of past experience?

Who are you in the present,

without reference to the past?

What is life like in the present moment

without reference to the past or the future?

- Leonard Jacobson 

The Simple Truth

The Simple Truth is that there is no life

outside of this moment.

The life which you believe in 

is nothing but an illusion

which you have constructed

in your mind using the power

of thought, memory and imagination.

It is not real.

Nothing outside of this moment is real!

- Leonard Jacobson 

Make each moment 

an occasion to live

deeply,

happily,

in Peace.

- Thich Nhat Hanh

Quote

Simplify, simplify.

— Henry David Thoreau

A Little Behind....

Hi everyone! I've gotten a little behind on posting on this blog.... or maybe it is that I haven't been very present in the last month or two.... maybe a little of both.

The first task I put focus on was trying to be present when as the saying goes - while chopping and carrying, or doing the daily chores of life. I found myself challenged by this, especially while folding laundry.

I would like to share what I've recently come up with.

When one is folding laundry, it it's not about a pair of socks being "exciting." It is about being present with what is REAL rather than what is imagined or made up.

One can only be 1 of 2 places, present with what is real or in the mind.

In the mind is not real, is it imagined, it is either past or future. Where are we instead.... in a disagreement you had yesterday? What I am going to eat for dinner? Where we will go on vacation. It's fine to think about these things. A decision about dinner has to be made at some point. But one does not need to be so focused on these things to the exclusion of what is really happening here and now. (For additional reading on thoughts, please see the post on Simply Spirituality, How to Make a Watch Disappear.)

My experience has been that everything begins to feel more alive..... try it and let me know what you experience in the comments section below!

A Call to Presence

By: Leonard Jacobson

To be fully awake and enlightened simply means to be fully present in the moment of now. To be present is the simplest thing. It is your natural state.

Every moment, you have a choice. Will you be present in the truth and reality of this moment or will you allow yourself to be seduced into the world of the mind? All thoughts take you out of the present moment. And then if you believe in those thoughts, which most of us do, you get lost in the world of the mind.

For most of us, we have become so habituated to thinking, that thoughts never end. They have a life of their own. We are not even choosing to think. Thinking is happening all by itself and we are simply pulled from one thought to another, never really experiencing the sacredness of this moment.

The present moment is free of memories of the past and imaginings into the future. And so the pain and limitations of the past magically disappear when you are present. Anxiety about the future also disappears. You are just here now, fully present in this moment. When you are fully present, your inner experience is one of peace, love, acceptance, power, truth and compassion. Separation and fear dissolve. You exist within Oneness.

When you bring yourself fully present, thoughts stop and your mind falls silent. But there is an even deeper level of silence waiting to emerge. As your mind becomes silent, an inner door is opened, allowing an infinite and eternal silence to emerge. This infinite and eternal silence is the very essence of your Being. It is your true nature. It is the essence of all existence. It is the eternal silent presence of pure consciousness. It is the "I AM" of you. It is that dimension of you that exists in Oneness with all that is. It is your Buddha nature. It is awakened man. It is awakened woman.

Mindfulness Quote

Mindfulness is simply being aware of what is happening right now

without wishing it were different;

enjoying the pleasant without holding on when it changes

(which it will);

being with the unpleasant without fearing it will always be this way

(which it won’t).

- James Baraz