Spiritual Practice
There is no spiritual practice more profound than being kind to one's family,
neighbours,
the cashier at the grocery store,
an unexpected visitor, the con in the next cell,
a stray cat or dog,
or any other of the usually 'irrelevant' or 'invisible' beings who may cross our paths
in the course of a normal day.
Certainly there are spiritual mysteries beyond description to explore,
but as we mature, it becomes clear
that those special experiences are only meaningful
when they arise from and return to
a
life of ordinary kindness
Bo Lozoff
Where are you now, my good friend? Are you out in the field, in
the forest, on the mountain, in a military camp, in a factory, at
your desk, in a hospital, in a prison? Regardless of where you
are, let us breathe in and out together, and let the Sun of
awareness enter. Let us begin with this breath and this
awareness. Whether life is an illusion, a dream, or a wondrous
reality depends on our insight and our mindfulness. Awakening is
a miracle. The darkness in a totally dark room will disappear
the moment the light is switched on. In the same way, life will
reveal itself as a miraculous reality the second the Sun of
Awareness begins to shine.
Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche
There is a hole in my pavement
There Is a Hole in My
pavement
Autobiography in Five Short Chapters
By
Portia Nelson
Chapter One
I walk down the street.
There
is a deep hole in the pavement.
I fall in.
I am lost…I am
helpless.
It isn’t my fault.
It takes forever to find a way
out.
Chapter Two
I walk down the street.
There
is a deep hole in the pavement.
I pretend that I don’t see it.
I
fall in again.
I can’t believe I am in this same place.
But,
it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.
Chapter Three
I walk down the same
street.
There is a deep hole in the pavement.
I see it is
there.
I still fall in…it’s a habit…but,
My eyes are
open
I know where I am
It is my fault.
I get out
immediately.
Chapter Four
I walk down the same
street.
There is a deep hole in the pavement.
I walk around it.
Chapter Five
I walk down another street.
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This Breathing Space
In this place of sunlit frosty mornings and big-sky-blue days
and velvet starlit nights of boundless space,
in this breathing space
we people from such different places
came along with kindly faces
to be touched by moments of humanities grace
in this breathing space.
In and out ..................in and out,
that's what this breathing stuff's about
and the delicate spaces in between
just to be in ...................just to be
me and you...................and you and me
present in this place of space
with our 'community of souls'
with our 'union of beings'
in this space to find knowledge shared,
experiences gained,
and drops of wisdom poured............to be breathed in as one
just in.................and out..................one breath.
As we sit with one another now
breathing in ...................and breathing out
pausing again in between..........just to be,
to feel, to see
all of us here, our transient community
where even love has sometimes shown its face
its' kindly face
inside this ........................Our Breathing Space
David Oldham