From the category archives:
Like a bee attracted to a flower, we all naturally gravitate toward happiness and do whatever we can to make it last as long as possible. Consciously and unconsciously, we also shun that which we perceive to cause unhappiness. This is because our fundamental nature is one of happiness.
continue reading …
{ 1 comment }
For 28 years silver-haired Mildred Norman Ryder wandered from place to place across America, walking over 25,000 miles to bring a message of peace to everyone she encountered. On her journey she took no money, personal belongings, or food. No cell phone, for in those days cell phones hadn’t been invented. What propelled her was confidence in the intrinsic kindness of human beings and trust in the goodness of life itself. She called herself Peace Pilgrim. Some have likened Peace Pilgrim to a Twentieth Century Saint Francis of Assisi.
continue reading …
{ 0 comments }
When my neighbor ~ who on this occasion was preparing a vegetable bed with the help of her one-year-old daughter, contentedly cooing, and already elbow deep in dirt ~ told me about the connection between working in the garden and improved mood, she was substantiating what ancient cultures have known for centuries: that being close to the Earth benefits one’s state of mind.
continue reading …
{ 0 comments }
Whether you plan to refresh a weathered balcony terra cotta pot with vibrant geraniums or vivify a secluded patio with the perfume of gardenias, exploring your local garden shop will provide you with technicolor possibilities for putting your earthy creativity to work.
continue reading …
{ 0 comments }
We’ve all watched kids laughing at a joke, then asking that the joke be retold, and laughing again just as heartily the second time, and finally entreating us to retell the same joke. Somehow, for young children, on the third recounting (if it happens at all), the joke remains as new and funny as the first time it was told.
continue reading …
{ 0 comments }
A new acquaintance of mine has a tailgate full of philosophy … the kind that makes you think for a while. The kind that takes time to sink in.
continue reading …
{ 0 comments }
Borrowing from Jean-Paul Sartre’s statement: To read a poem in January is as lovely as to go for a walk in June, I venture to say that: To view photography of natural beauty in January is as lovely as to go for a walk in June, particularly when one is perusing spectacular collections like those of Brother Alfred Brousseau.
continue reading …
{ 0 comments }
Attracting flights of robins to the Santa Cruz Mountains, the sweet reddish-orange berries of the Pacific madrone, ripening to fullness in December and January, fall abundantly to the forest floor.
continue reading …
{ 0 comments }
This is the second post citing from Thomas A. Forsthoefel’s compendium of essential writings by the Dalai Lama (if you haven’t read the initial one, I encourage you to do so first). Here dependent origination is further explained in the context of emptiness.
continue reading …
{ 1 comment }
The art of synthesis that activates deeper understanding is a skill in which Thomas A. Forsthoefel excels. His selections from the Dalai Lama’s many works into The Dalai Lama: Essential Writings are masterfully juxtaposed to illuminate meaning. Over the next two weeks, I will be quoting from Foresthoefel’s compendium so that readers may experience this first-hand. To gain maximum benefit, please read both this and next week’s post.
continue reading …
{ 0 comments }
