When You Are
Daddyo on the left, Robbie and his mom in the middle, and David Leatham on the right. (Taken at this spring’s Desert Classic.) “Everything good has awareness for its root.” -Bhodidharma You never know what’s going to happen. So the best way to be is aware—always aware. Because when aware, every response, whether mental or […]
Dream
Still shot of dresser on fire. I had a crazy cool dream. I was with a group of kids; I was an adult, but I was with kids. I was talking with the kids, and I told them I was adopted. For some reason that seemed important, like it had some meaning that I couldn’t […]
Find The Subtle Reality
Western Diamondback, caught by hand in the Florence desert. “Observing carefully, one can see every thought rise and set in pure Consciousness alone.” -Sri Atmananda In that quote, the word “one” refers to the “real I.” Set aside some time each day and experience the reality of this: When you know you are not thinking, […]
There Is Nothing Better
A tribute to: Gracie, Tucker, or the T-man, Daddyo in the Navy and my dear mother and father, to whom I am eternally grateful. “The nature of mind is inherently like space: It includes everything you experience.” -Tilopa Set aside some time each day to be self-aware: Wordlessly, know you are aware. In awareness, only helpful […]
25 Minutes
“Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know.” What a great quote from Pema Chodron. I was faced with a forty minute motorcycle ride that I was, clothing-wise, totally unprepared for. By the time I got home I knew I’d be freezing. So I decided to try an experiment. […]
What Never Changes
Desert Bighorn at sunset on the crosscut canal. “Sense-perceptions can only be indirect knowledge, and not direct knowledge. Only one’s awareness is direct knowledge.”-Ramana Maharshi All thought is indirect, or second-hand knowledge. “Second-hand,” in that you were not born thinking and caring about everything. Daily, set aside some time to rest in direct knowledge: silently, […]
Everything You Need
“If you can perceive calmly, you will penetrate the hidden essence and penetrate all time. As it is said, “When psychology has no influence on perception, the ultimate power remains, serving as a guide in all places.” -Pai-chang On living, everything you need is revealed in the silent observation of daily activities. Pulling on socks, loading […]
We Are All Buddhas
Let’s bring in the new year with this, from Mingyur Rinpoche… “We’re all buddhas. We just don’t recognize it. We are confined in many ways to a limited view of ourselves and the world around us through cultural conditioning, family upbringing, personal experience, and the basic biological predisposition toward making distinctions and measuring present experience […]
You Are Naturally Happy
“You start by seeking happiness.On analysis you find that misery is caused by thoughts.”-Ramana Maharshi How you experience life is determined entirely by how you think. Watch your mind for proof of this: Only in thought is anything unacceptable. Merriam-Webster defines arbitrary as: existing or coming about seemingly at random or by chance. If you fully […]
Really Feel This…
“If you love truth, be a lover of silence. Silence, like the sunlight, will illuminate you in God.”-Saint Isaac of Syria The concept of individuality is the sole source of all misery. That what we actually are is a physical form—which seemingly exists independently from its immediate environment, but in fact is totally dependent on […]