Growing Pains

On life's journey faith is nourishment, virtuous deeds are a shelter, wisdom is the light by day and right mindfulness is the protection by night. If a man lives a pure life, nothing can destroy him.  -Buddha

We often complain about our lives and how hard they are.  One of the lessons in this short quote is – lead a good, pure life, and the way is not so hard.  

If life is hard, then it is growing pains. The person is moving away from faith and being good and kind and industrious.  When we move off the path of doing things that are right, we grow and stretch our learning, and we hurt our selves and others along the way.  There are not any shortcuts.  It is life.

Blessings,

Judy

Pain Passes

                          

You can’t go preventing pleasure and pain, you can’t keep the mind from labeling things and forming thoughts, but you can put these things to a new use. If the mind labels a pain, saying, 'I hurt,' you have to examine the label carefully, contemplate it until you see that it’s wrong: the pain isn’t really yours. It’s simply a sensation that arises and passes away, that’s all.

- Upasika Kee Nanayon, "Tough Teachings To Ease The Mind" 

I read this quote from Buddhist teachings and thought about living in the present moment.  When a person is present, pain has a harder time being present.  It is like trying to have two beings inhabit the same space.  It is not possible.  Pain does pass.

Blessings,

Judy 

Our Pets Speak

 

We too came from the stars. 

We too know about choosing journeys.

We have chosen to be here, now, with you on Earth.

We intervene when we can so that the hurts that might be inflicted on people are inflicted on us.

We have borne much cruelty from Man kind.

We, therefore, have issue with the word “mankind”.  

Our experience is that most of the human race is not kind to us or to each other.

We hope this changes very soon, or, we may return to the stars.

-Your Pets

Blessings,

Judy

Buddha Says Pain Passes

You can’t go preventing pleasure and pain, you can’t keep the mind from labeling things and forming thoughts, but you can put these things to a new use. If the mind labels a pain, saying, 'I hurt,' you have to examine the label carefully, contemplate it until you see that it’s wrong: the pain isn’t really yours. It’s simply a sensation that arises and passes away, that’s all.

- Upasika Kee Nanayon, "Tough Teachings To Ease The Mind" 

I read this quote and thought about living in the present moment.  When a person is present, pain has a harder time being present.  It is like trying to have two beings inhabit the same space.  It is not possible.  Pain does pass.

Blessings,

Judy

Responsibility For Our Self

The poster says:

Anytime we perceive that someone else has weakened us, has downed us, has hurt us, has come “against” us, we really have to evaluate that honestly.  Did they really, or did we decide they did, then hurt ourselves with that series of thoughts? - by Lee Travathan

*************

My recent Full Moon meditation focused on Self-Care.  This includes care for the Physical, Emotional, Mental and Spiritual parts of our BEING.  In the meditation, I saw how language can affect or, in some cases, effect what we do to help ourselves.  We have all been raised in a society that uses guilt to manipulate our actions.  Now is a great time to release this weight.

Blessings,

Judy