Buddhism

All posts in the Buddhism category

Happy Valentines Day My Friends

Published 14/02/2015 by inspiringyourspirit

 

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My Dear Friends,

Today is February 14th, Valentines Day, so I thought I would send out this short message to remind you all that ‘You Are Loved’!

Valentines day is not just about a relationship from one person to another but its also about remembering that ‘You are Always Loved’ by someone, it may be a friend, a colleague, a pet or a family member, it may also be that you are loved for what you do, what joy you bring to someone’s heart through your blog, your charitable work, your artwork, you are an inspiration to someone…so please remember

You Are Loved..

Namaste with Love
Always
Mark

Dormant Seeds Ready to Sprout

Published 10/02/2015 by inspiringyourspirit

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Excerpt from Grist of the Mill Ram Dass

There is a story about an old Zen monk who was dying, who had finished everything and was about to get off the wheel. He was just floating away, free and in his pure Buddha-mind, when a thought passed by of a beautiful deer he had once seen in a field. And he held on to that thought for just a second because of its beauty, and immediately he took birth again as a deer. It’s as subtle as that.

It’s like when we begin to see the work that is to be done, and we go to an ashram or a monastery, or we hang out with satsang. We surround ourselves with a community of beings who think the way we think. And then none of the stuff, the really hairy stuff inside ourselves, comes up. It all gets pushed underground. We can sit in a temple or a cave in India and get so holy, so clear and radiant, the light is pouring out of us. But when we come out of that cave, when we leave that supportive structure that worked with our strengths but seldom confronted us with our weaknesses, our old habit patterns tend to reappear, and we come back into the same old games, the games we were sure we had finished with. Because there were uncooked seeds, seeds of desires that sprout again the minute they are stimulated. We can stay in very holy places, and the seeds sit there dormant and uncooked. But there is fear in such individuals, because they know they’re still vulnerable.

Nothing goes under the rug. We can’t hide in our highness any more than we’ve hidden in our unworthiness. If we have finally decided we want God, we’ve got to give it all up. The process is one of keeping the ground as we go up, so we always have ground, so that we’re high and low at the same moment – that’s a tough game to learn, but it’s a very important one. So at the same moment that if I could, I would like to take us all up higher and higher, we see that the game isn’t to get high – the game is to get balanced and liberated.

Namaste with Love

Always

Mark

Moganshan Mountain

Published 02/02/2015 by inspiringyourspirit

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My Dear Friends,

For the past three days we have been at the top of Moganshan Mountain in Zhejiang Province China, meditating and enjoying the fresh mountain air in the snow and bamboo forests. Its been a joyous weekend up high in the mountains, connected with mother nature and at peace with the world, filled with happiness, smiles and laughter one in which I will remember for a lifetime:) I have attached a few photos from the weekend, hope you enjoy them.

Namaste with Love
Always
Mark

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The New ABC’s Attention, Balance, Compassion

Published 27/01/2015 by inspiringyourspirit

Mindfulness.

I’m a Mindfulness practitioner and teacher myself but although Mindfulness is a word commonly used and many people say they are Mindfulness practitioner’s, life coaches etc, may are not! Also, many people ask me what Mindfulness is and how it can be useful for them,their family, their children, their employees, their teams etc so I thought I would share this short TedX video by Susan Kaiser Greenland, her talk explains the simple meaning of Mindfulness into a new learning process “Teaching The New ABC’s, Attention, Balance and Compassion.

I do hope you like this short video and that it will bring you a greater understanding of how Mindfulness could fit into your life and the life of your family,friends and workplace.

If yo need any help, please let me know.

Namaste with Love
Always

Mark

Do you Know Love

Published 26/01/2015 by inspiringyourspirit

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Those who know Love
Know its facility in all matters,
Others find it useful occasionally
While the broken-hearted bitterly laugh
And deny Love altogether.
Can you hear in their laughter
The sound of Heaven?

God is not to blame for the separation.
He has never turned his back on you.
Blame is the disease
Which blinds you of unity’s truth.

Wake up; the nightmare is over.
The light is in them
As well as in you.
The thinest of veils
Divides the two.
You are one Self.

You are not weak, but strong.
You are not limited, but unlimited.
You are not unloved, but much beloved.
You have suffered only for this,
That you may bless those who suffer still.

Take your time to contemplate the words above my dear friends and think of ways in which you can help others to see that they too are loved, share your love with them and make their day 🙂

Namaste with Love
Always
Mark

Just a Quick Message

Published 23/01/2015 by inspiringyourspirit

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Just a quick message to wish you all a great weekend.

And to say

May all your dreams, hopes and wishes be carried along on the
winds of time
and goodness come back to you
for all the compassionate work you do;
and may you all be blessed with good health
happiness, peace and love.

Namaste with Love
Always
Mark

We are all Vulnerable

Published 23/01/2015 by inspiringyourspirit

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There is a story about an old Zen monk who was dying, who had finished everything and was about to get off the wheel. He was just floating away, free and in his pure Buddha-mind, when a thought passed by of a beautiful deer he had once seen in a field. And he held on to that thought for just a second because of its beauty, and immediately he took birth again as a deer. It’s as subtle as that.

It’s like when we begin to see the work that is to be done, and we go to an ashram or a monastery, or we hang out with Satsang. We surround ourselves with a community of beings who think the way we think. And then none of the stuff, the really hairy stuff inside ourselves, comes up. It all gets pushed underground. We can sit in a temple or a cave in India and get so holy, so clear and radiant, the light is pouring out of us. But when we come out of that cave, when we leave that supportive structure that worked with our strengths but seldom confronted us with our weaknesses, our old habit patterns tend to reappear, and we come back into the same old games, the games we were sure we had finished with. Because there were uncooked seeds, seeds of desires that sprout again the minute they are stimulated. We can stay in very holy places, and the seeds sit there dormant and uncooked. But there is fear in such individuals, because they know they’re still vulnerable.

Nothing goes under the rug. We can’t hide in our highness any more than we’ve hidden in our unworthiness. If we have finally decided we want God, we’ve got to give it all up. The process is one of keeping the ground as we go up, so we always have ground, so that we’re high and low at the same moment – that’s a tough game to learn, but it’s a very important one. So at the same moment that if I could, I would like to take us all up higher and higher, we see that the game isn’t to get high – the game is to get balanced and liberated.

Have a balanced weekend my friends, love life, be in peace and be thankful for who you are 🙂

Namaste with Love
Always
Mark

It’s More Fun Being Compassionate and Kind.

Published 22/01/2015 by inspiringyourspirit

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It’s actually so much easier
and much more fun
Being compassionate, kind
Generous and forgiving.
But people tend to forget this
And wonder why they find themselves
Living in a world which is
Out of balance.

When we forget ourselves
We loose touch with the Earth,
Believe in powerlessness,
Invent a wrathful God
Cruel leaders
Uncaring parents
Rebellious children
A desolate world.

Your relationship with the Universe
Reflects what you remember.
There is no advantage to living in fear.
Wake up my friends
And pay attention.

Namaste with Love
Always
Mark

The Endless Nativity of Light

Published 21/01/2015 by inspiringyourspirit

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Life is eternal and everywhere
Yet remains a quality precious,
Treasured and rare.

Receive the quality of openness and
Know clarity,
Centeredness, and know focus,
Playfulness, and know joy;
Receive the quality of humility
And know the greatness of life.

Without openness there is separation
Without centeredness, interference
Without playfulness, decay

Without humility, the endless repetition
of pain.

Humility is the highest blessing of
Life;
Through it the great serve the lowly
And the lowly serve the great.
In this way the Universe ever uplifts
Itself:
The endless nativity of light.

Namaste with love
Always
Mark

Trust..So Important in Life

Published 20/01/2015 by inspiringyourspirit

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Trust

Trust, where do I begin,
Trust, it’s hard to gain
Trust, Its hard to give
Trust, wanted in love
Trust, needed for life

Trust, built to last, or not
Trust, hurts like hell when lost
Trust, must be there in business and in life
Trust, loosing it starts wars
Trust, friendships won or lost

Trust, leads to the heart
Trust, ends in happiness or in tears
Trust, is a must.

Namaste with Love
Always
Mark

Who Does Heaven Love Most?

Published 17/01/2015 by inspiringyourspirit

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My Dear Friends,

One man kills for peace
Another man lives for it;
Yet the first man loves his dog
And beats his children,
And the other loves his children
And beats his dog.
Would you be so bold as to declare
Which man heaven loves most?

Love’s flame glows
In both victor and vanquished.
Who has won?
Who has lost?
God lives in both master and slave.
Who is beating whom?

It’s been written, “All that has happened,
Has had to happen.
All that must happen
Must happen.”
So who can stand outside the circle of
Heaven
To Direct it’s grasp?

I do hope you all have a great weekend
Namaste with Love
Always
Mark

Focussed Intent to Manifest Your Dreams

Published 15/01/2015 by inspiringyourspirit

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Focussing Your Intent

You may have heard that ‘The moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves, too’ This refers to an inexplicable yet very real power that comes into play when one truly decides to move forward. Coincidences occur and help comes in from unexpected directions. It is as iff the entire universe is conspiring to propel you toward success.

Lao Tzu taught the same lesson when he wrote “Hold the great image. All under heaven will come” The great image is the clear visualisation of what you intend to manifest. When you hold this image clearly in your mind with focussed intent, everything and everyone around you will automatically become aligned with you.
The net effect is that the Tao becomes like an omnipresent director, orchestrating entire sequences of events in your favor. When this happens, you solve problems with ease, accomplish tasks that seemed difficult before. Nothing can stand in your way.

In order to leverage the great power to move on your behalf, you must make a decision at the deepest core of your being and back it up with actual action. Thinking really hard by itself will accomplish nothing. Taking action, on the other hand, is the trigger that will open up the floodgates. Wield the great image, and let all under heaven come to you.

Namaste with Love
Always
Mark

My Way or The Highway!…Or Is It?

Published 14/01/2015 by inspiringyourspirit

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My dear friends,

There are I believe many true words written in the image above. Words that reflect some of the problems we have in this world, where one country believes it is greater than another, one religion believes it is the only religion, one corporate which believes it is the only business on earth or one person who believes they are better than you or I, or one media outlet which believes it is the only voice or opinion to what is going on in our world!

When I sit down and talk to anyone, I use empathy, I listen with the intent to understand, I may not fully agree with everything that person says but I will observe their thoughts and treat them with respect in the understanding that they will offer me the same levels of support and courtesy. This is how I was brought up. I remember my grandfather talking to us children and saying that everyone we come to meet in our lives irrespective of their name, their title, the colour of their skin, their job etc was to be treated with the same levels of courtesy and respect and I have thankfully remembered those words all my life, I still get sad when I see people being treated badly, often on the street, in restaurants, service counters and of course the media, where people think ‘They’ are better and look down upon the people they are talking to (or often shouting at)!

Wouldn’t it be nice for once to have a world full of respect, where ‘We’ as human beings started to actually respect each other, to look at each other eye to eye, to look inside the eyes of the person we are talking to and to see their soul, to connect with empathy and to listen with actual intent to understand what they are saying or trying to say, to reflect on their thoughts and digest the emotions that are shown to us before we respond with our reply.

I believe that respect is a genuine staring place towards world peace, once respect is established, we can foster love, build relationships and live happier lives.

Just a thought…..

Namaste with love
Always
Mark

Meditation, Gratitude, Giving Thanks and Joy

Published 12/01/2015 by inspiringyourspirit

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“If we cannot be happy in spite of our difficulties, what good is our spiritual practice?”

~Maha Ghosananda

Buddhist monks begin each day with a chant of gratitude for the blessings of their life. Native American elders begin each ceremony with grateful prayers to mother earth and father sky, to the four directions, to the animal, plant, and mineral brothers and sisters who share our earth and support our life. In Tibet, the monks and nuns even offer prayers of gratitude for the suffering they have been given: “Grant that I might have enough suffering to awaken in the deepest possible compassion and wisdom.”

The aim of spiritual life is to awaken a joyful freedom, a benevolent and compassionate heart in spite of everything.

Gratitude is a gracious acknowledgment of all that sustains us, a bow to our blessings, great and small, an appreciation of the moments of good fortune that sustain our life every day. We have so much to be grateful for.

Gratitude is confidence in life itself. It is not sentimental, not jealous, nor judgmental. Gratitude does not envy or compare. Gratitude receives in wonder the myriad offerings of the rain and the earth, the care that supports every single life.

As gratitude grows it gives rise to joy. We experience the courage to rejoice in our own good fortune and in the good fortune of others.

Joy is natural to an open heart. In it, we are not afraid of pleasure. We do not mistakenly believe it is disloyal to the suffering of the world to honor the happiness we have been given.

Like gratitude, joy gladdens the heart. We can be joyful for people we love, for moments of goodness, for sunlight and trees, and for the breath within our breast. And as our joy grows we finally discover a happiness without cause. Like an innocent child who does not have to do anything to be happy, we can rejoice in life itself, in being alive.

Let yourself sit quietly and at ease. Allow your body to be relaxed and open, your breath natural, your heart easy. Begin the practice of gratitude by feeling how year after year you have cared for your own life. Now let yourself begin to acknowledge all that has supported you in this care:

With gratitude I remember the people, animals, plants, insects, creatures of the sky and sea, air and water, fire and earth, all whose joyful exertion blesses my life every day.

With gratitude I remember the care and labor of a thousand generations of elders and ancestors who came before me.

I offer my gratitude for the safety and well-being I have been given.

I offer my gratitude for the blessing of this earth I have been given.

I offer my gratitude for the measure of health I have been given.

I offer my gratitude for the family and friends I have been given.

I offer my gratitude for the community I have been given.

I offer my gratitude for the teachings and lessons I have been given.

I offer my gratitude for the life I have been given.

Just as we are grateful for our blessings, so we can be grateful for the blessings of others.

Continue to breathe gently. Bring to mind someone you care about, someone it is easy to rejoice for. Picture them and feel the natural joy you have for their well-being, for their happiness and success. With each breath, offer them your grateful, heartfelt wishes:

May you be joyful.

May your happiness increase.

May you not be separated from great happiness.

May your good fortune and the causes for your joy and happiness increase.

Sense the sympathetic joy and caring in each phrase. When you feel some degree of natural gratitude for the happiness of this loved one, extend this practice to another person you care about. Recite the same simple phrases that express your heart’s intention.

Then gradually open the meditation to include neutral people, difficult people, and even enemies- until you extend sympathetic joy to all beings everywhere, young and old, near and far.

This excerpt is taken from the book, “The Art of Forgiveness, Lovingkindness, and Peace“ by Jack Kornfield

My Dear friends, we certainly have so much to be thankful for, need I mention even a few? However, we do forget to give thanks and speak out our gratitude on a daily basis. It has been shown that being grateful raises our levels of happiness and joy and these raised levels of happiness attract others that are also happy; thus enabling our lives to be filled with more joy each and every day. So today, ‘Go on, give it a go’, meditate, bring people and things into your minds eye and into your heart, give thanks for everything in your life, good and bad and feel the peace and the love that this meditation brings to your heart and soul.

I did this; this morning….’A big smile on my face right now’ when I think of this process of gratitude 🙂 A simple meditation and mindful eating of my toast and honey. I gave thanks for the honey, the sweetness on my tongue, gave thanks to the Bee for collecting the honey, to the flower that attracted the bee, for the sun the rain and the soil that raised the flower in order to attract the bee, for the seedling that brought life to the flower, for the person or animal that brought that seed to that piece of soil, for the soil that gave its nutrients to the seed, for the sun that shone its warmth and helped the seeding grow, for the rain that gave the flower life, for the cloud that made the rain, for the rivers and oceans that brought about the cloud, for God for his creation of the earth and then I came on to the toast and the butter on my toast, and my mouth, my tongue for experiencing the sweet sensation of the honey, for the goodness and nutrition the honey, the toast and the butter were giving to my body, and this process of thankfulness went on, and on…Interestingly, this process of giving thanks brought about a real enlightenment to me, honestly I have never experienced mindful eating so much as I did this morning, I have experienced it many, many times before but this morning it was different, set at a really different level, I awakened to something very new, something great, something that brought peace to my heart and my soul, a total experience of joy…

Toast and Honey will never be the same again 🙂

Namaste with Love my dear friends
Always
Mark

The Essence of Life

Published 09/01/2015 by inspiringyourspirit

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The Essence of Life

There is an essence that embodies the universe and yet it exists beyond all space and time. It is infinitely ancient because it is eternal. In comparison to this, the universe’s age of fourteen billion years is nothing.

Human beings have made many inadequate attempts to describe it. Some may call it God, others may prefer a term like Tao, which means ‘The Way’ for the simple reason that this essence is the way of existence, the way or reality.

We do not know much about it, but we do know that the essence is within us. Our highest hopes and dreams, ideals and aspirations all come from its power to express itself. We manage to catch a glimpse of it when we exchange smiles with one another, we can feel it when one hand reaches out to touch another. It is what we are at the most essential level.

Try to meditate upon the essence of your truest nature, and call it by its original name: Love. The essence is no more or less than the energy of love in its purest form. Human beings are simply the solidified manifestation of this energy. That is why it is so important to us, and why we can never be without it. Embrace the essence, for it is the reason for existence itself, and the reason why we exist at all.

Namaste with Love
Always
Mark

What Is Your Calling In Life?

Published 08/01/2015 by inspiringyourspirit

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Having a Complete Life

How can we live a complete life, an ideal life that is full of happiness joy and fulfillment? The key to this success lies in making the best use of the limited time we have. We only have decades to live, and if we then subtract all the time we spend sleeping and eating, what’s then left isn’t much.

The sacred and spiritual task is the reason we came into this world. These specific tasks are different for each person, but most of them involve being of service to something greater than oneself. People who manage to actively work on their own sacred tasks are filled with happiness and joy, because they understand the mission, and they know what to do.
Their reward is a profound sense of satisfaction.

When they look back at their experiences, the people they have helped, the friendships they have made, they cannot help but smile. They have done a hundred out of a hundred things they wanted to accomplish. Theirs is the complete life, a life of meaning.

The sacred task is your primary purpose in life. I wonder if you have already identified it? If not, look for something that leverages your talents and abilities to serve a greater purpose. It will be a calling, something you are called upon to do. Discovering what it is will be your first step to start living the complete life of your own.

Have you found yours?

Food for thought my friends, food for thought!

Namaste with Love
Always
Mark

A Simple Act Of Kindness Creates a Ripple Effect That Comes Back to You.

Published 07/01/2015 by inspiringyourspirit

My Dear Friends,

You may have already seen this short video, I had not but; I thought it was well worth sharing again because of the reminder of this simple but profound message within the short story. The video certainly brought tears to my eyes and I’m happy that I came across it to remind me of the importance of doing good each and every day. This simple act of kindness like so many others that we can do will help others in their time of need and bring about the receipt of goodness in response to our acts of kindness.

Please watch the video and enjoy the message.

Namaste with Love
Always
Mark

The Pendulum and the Sage

Published 06/01/2015 by inspiringyourspirit

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The pendulum swings to and fro
From darkness to light
From sickness to health
From goodness to evil
And back again.

It’s enough to make anyone confused.
The sage has found the still point between;
Remaining neutral
He teaches by living a simple, honest life;
He creates by allowing,
He feeds without forcing,
And gives by receiving.

He heals by perceiving
One’s inner wholeness,
Then lets go,
He’s always in touch.

Can you find the still point between?

Meditate on this one my friends 🙂

Namaste with Love
Always
Mark

Love, Compassion and our Best Wishes for 2015

Published 05/01/2015 by inspiringyourspirit

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My wife and I meditating at the top of the Grampian mountains on New Years Day 2015.

I would like to take a moment to thank you all for all your follows, your comments and your support during 2014 and for the friendship and love you have sent me from all around the world.

Love, compassion and awareness of life and the world we live in is what I stand for, I try my best to promote these things through my blog and my daily activities, it is not always easy, there are often set-backs, challenges and sometimes even extremely negative and abusive responses and comments to my posts, I do however take these negative comments in my stride and think of all  for the love and support that you guys give me which in turn provides me with the strength to continue on in the hope that we can together help make change.

May and I had the opportunity to spend Christmas and New Year in Australia this year, we spent most of our time in nature, meditating and connecting with the beauty and spirit of Australia’s outback, the positive energy, the weather, the trees and the mountains gave us strength and we are both re-energized to do even more this year 🙂

The dawn of 2015 brought about the sad deaths of 36 people in Shanghai, the city where we live, those souls were lost to our world after a deadly stampede on New Year’s Eve killed 36 and caused the cancellation of celebrations across the city. At least 47 people were injured, including 40 still serious enough to required hospitalization, the Shanghai government said on its website. “The stampede — the city’s deadliest disaster since 2010 — started about 11:35 p.m. on New Year’s Eve as tens of thousands of people crowded into the historic Bund riverside district for a light show”.

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My prayers go out to those who are no longer with us and to their families and friends during this time of sorrow, may their souls rest in peace.

2015, what will it bring us?

I do hope that 2015 will bring about greater self realization, more compassion and a greater understanding of our world to us all. For us to work together in the name of peace and move forward towards a happier world where we can all live without the need for war, where we actively work together as one to find ways in which we can bring about the end of poverty, feed the hungry and save our environment from the ravages and destruction of our insatiable greed for more!…We can, I believe; achieve great things in 2015, we are on our way, our voices are now at last being heard, the powers that be are now starting to take notice, we can make a difference, we can bring about change.

I know you are there and I am very happy!

Namaste with Love
Always
Mark

He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands

Published 19/12/2014 by inspiringyourspirit

Naomi Feil, founder of Validation Therapy, shares a breakthrough moment of communication with Gladys Wilson, a woman who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2000 and is virtually non-verbal. Learn more at http://www.memorybridge.org.

The wonders of faith, kindness, compassion and the healing powers of music and touch that Naomi uses connect with these Alzheimers patients right to their very soul, a wonderful and lovely thing to see.

My dear friends, this short video will bring tears to your eyes and hopefully open your mind to the thought that we ARE all connected through love.

Namaste with Love

Always

Mark