More Zen Ideas
One of the chief distractions is grasping onto a sense of “this is hard.” In relationship counselling, “This is hard” is short-hand for “Why the hell should I have to change when it’s his/her fault?” Hint: because the only thing you have even slight control over is yourself.
Crowning Glory
Life is, indeed, exactly like this. In case you haven’t noticed, if you’re not dead, the Cosmos is providing everything you need. As a matter of fact, it’s even providing stuff, experiences, that you either don’t know you need, or wish you didn’t need. In other words, each of life’s challenges is there for a reason.
The Zen of Insight
We sit, and observe, and suddenly the background mental chatter is right there, as plain and obvious as can be. It’s largely crap, and consists of half-formed stories that serve like the little images in a DVD index. We see the little image, get all intrigued, and push “PLAY.”
Except that we are the director, writer, and cinematographer, and all the work happens as we push the PLAY button.
None of it exists until we make it up.
Self-less Expression
This “joining” approach is what begins the healing process — joining together the parts of ourselves into a coherent whole. And here’s the weird piece — We recognize, as all good Zen practitioners know, that not only are we whole, but that the only place we exist is in the here and now. We also know that, in a very real sense, each of us is the totality of the universe itself.
Compassion
Now, compassion is yet another misunderstood word. Compassion is sometimes equated with “feeling sorry for,” and is often used as a bludgeon — “If you had an ounce of compassion, you’d look after me and do what I want.”
And yet, in the Zen world, the compassionate act could be a kick in the ass. It’s often abrupt, and direct, and challenging.
Self Awareness
I’ve been thinking about that, and while I “get” the whole self esteem idea, this is one of those terms that can be badly misunderstood. Being the Zen guy that I am, I’d much rather head down the path of self acceptance — that’s what this article is going to be about.
Zen Based, Present Living
