Getting into the rhythm of the week, after having been sick, I thought a good place to begin is with a excerpt of a talk given by Sogyal Rinpoche on "How To Be Happy." The 9 minute clip emphasizes key aspects of working with our mind, so that we can engage is a process of self-help rather than self-hurt. Such is the nature of Zen.

My Life Is My Bow,

Jaye Seiho Morris, Curator
digitalZENDO

Peter Coyote narrates, on the chapter of "Control," from Shunryu Suzuki, Roshi's "Zen Mind, Beginners Mind." In unifying our heart-mind we use what seems and appears unbalanced to re-see our balanced nature.

May Your Life Go Well,

Jaye Seiho Morris, Curator
digitalZENDO

"Contraction," perfectly describes how I experience so-called "unfavorable," circumstances in my life and that of others. It's that moment of feeling or thinking "I don't want this," or "Please no, not that," and with it comes a tightening below the stomach. It's a moment when both body and mind are seamlessly focused, reacting together to the circumstance and nothing exists outside of that moment. That moment is the entire universe and nothing exists outside of it.

These contractions can range from someone "stealing," our parking space in the grocery store parking lot to, the moment we are told a friend or family member has been hospitalized, lost a job, had their feelings hurt. There are a million things that can cause the contraction but only one thing that can cause the contraction to release. The mind has to change it's feeling about what caused the contraction in the first place. This can be simple but difficult, because negative emotions can be really sticky.

This morning is an excerpt from a Dharma talk, given by Thich Nhat Hanh. Within, he discusses during the 5 minute clip, Nirvana as the removal of wrong views. Beautiful is beautiful.

With Warm Heart,

Jaye Seiho Morris, Curator
digitalZENDO

This morning is an excerpt from a Dharma talk, given by Thich Nhat Hanh. Within, he discusses during the 5 minute clip, Nirvana as the removal of wrong views. Beautiful is beautiful.

With Warm Heart,

Jaye Seiho Morris, Curator
digitalZENDO

Last week during the State of the Union, President Obama delivered a funny line. He said to his fellow Democrats, who've been feeling embattled, "Don't run to the hills." Take a stand and deal with difficult circumstances, rather than attempting to hide and duck for cover, hoping to avoid what the moment may really need from us.

The other day, one of my friends who told they've been "tired" a lot more, sleeping at unusual times, because of stress. Another friend told me of how he heard "precisely" what he didn't want to hear and shut down emotionally from his peers. Someone else I know spends endless hours shopping, because it helps them to "feel better." Other people that I know are undercut by various forms of addiction. All the distraction and avoidance is a type of running to the hills, rather than turning to face and meet the issue head on. From my personal experience, this can be the result of tremendous fear and anxiety.

Through the process of zazen, sitting to unify mind, the truth I came to is that each of us have something... some unfavorable circumstance... some issue... some thing... that we would rather avoid. Through examining mind, I wasn't able to see anyone who didn't have some serious challenge. We can feel so out of our depth, that sometimes, running to our emotional or psychological hills is the only things that seems to make sense, to our survival instincts. It's often counter-intuitive to turn and fight our dragons... tigers... problems... hardships...

Last week during the State of the Union, President Obama delivered a funny line. He said to his fellow Democrats, who've been feeling embattled, "Don't run to the hills." Take a stand and deal with difficult circumstances, rather than attempting to hide and duck for cover, hoping to avoid what the moment may really need from us.

The other day, one of my friends who told they've been "tired" a lot more, sleeping at unusual times, because of stress. Another friend told me of how he heard "precisely" what he didn't want to hear and shut down emotionally from his peers. Someone else I know spends endless hours shopping, because it helps them to "feel better." Other people that I know are undercut by various forms of addiction. All the distraction and avoidance is a type of running to the hills, rather than turning to face and meet the issue head on. From my personal experience, this can be the result of tremendous fear and anxiety.

Through the process of zazen, sitting to unify mind, the truth I came to is that each of us have something... some unfavorable circumstance... some issue... some thing... that we would rather avoid. Through examining mind, I wasn't able to see anyone who didn't have some serious challenge. We can feel so out of our depth, that sometimes, running to our emotional or psychological hills is the only things that seems to make sense, to our survival instincts. It's often counter-intuitive to turn and fight our dragons... tigers... problems... hardships...

A beautiful 7 minute reading of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi's "Right Effort," chapter from "Zen Mind Beginners Mind." Listening and hearing with an open heart, there is only a "Yes," to This moment of our life.

May Your Moments Go Well,

Jaye Seiho Morris, Curator
digitalZENDO

I wanted to share a interesting excerpt of a talk by Pema Chodron on "Why I Became a Buddhist." It's notable in her motivation and reasoning to do so. I listening beyond just hearing, she really managed to say a lot in the span of 6 minutes. I'm hoping that you can get something out of it as well.

Live Well,

Jaye Seiho Morris, Curator
digitalZENDO