Love’s rule is one,
Man’s rules are many.
Delusion and pain are a tangle of rules
While peace has no limitation.
When fear speaks
Happiness becomes pain
And desperately people cling
To straws of sorrow.
Their left hands use magic
To repel dark spirits,
And with their fright
They invite them in again.
What is pain
But Love unexpressed?
Be unshakable
But not obstinate;
Embrace fear
But do not affirm it;
Feel pain
But do not believe it.
Namaste with Love
Always
Mark
A Meeting of the Minds and Heart
In the West it’s hard to even conceive of enlightened beings. We have much to learn about how to approach them, how to be with them, how to use them on our own journey into our heart. Cultures like that of India have customs and forms that, although perhaps not directly transferable, can show us how to be in the presence of a holy person.
As a teenager getting ready for a date, I would go to great lengths dressing, combing my hair, buying flowers, acquiring the money, planning the evening – there seemed to be no end to my preoccupation with the momentous trivia of going on a date. Only when everything was in order could I begin to open to the relationship. If my shoes were scuffed, I would spend a good part of the evening hiding them under an available chair or couch or being embarrassed or self-conscious about them. In its own way opening to the presence of a holy being, a lover for your soul, demands that same kind of psychological preparation.
When I first traveled around India and saw holy beings, I treated these meetings rather casually and just enjoyed being with whomever I happened to be with at whatever level we happened to meet. But as time went on, I began to appreciate receiving the presence of spiritual beings more deeply and having the opportunity to drink from the well of their experience. I came to understand that this transmission of living spirit involves preparation in order to be open to receive it. Slowing my mind down enough to be in the moment in “Indian time” was one part of that. Opening my heart to feel their love was another.
Imagine living in India twenty-five hundred years ago. You hear about an enlightened being walking the earth called Gautama Buddha. You set out to find him to receive his teachings.
Perhaps you go to Sarnath, where he delivered his first sermon in the Deer Park. You talk to the newly ordained bikkhus, or monks, gathered there and ask his whereabouts. They direct you to a town to the north. You travel on foot, in a horse-drawn wagon, or by oxcart. In each village you receive another report, making you feel you are getting closer. Your anticipation mounts day by day as you move from village to village, your mind fixed on the moment when you will meet this being, sit before him, and receive his teaching.
Weeks go by, and you begin to meet people who have just been with the Buddha. Their eyes are alight, their hearts open. They emanate a peace that speaks of the experience they’ve had. Finally you are within a day’s travel of the Buddha. Your mind turns to how you will prepare yourself for this meeting. As you near your destination, you stop and bathe and wash your clothes, perhaps pick some flowers or fruit in one of the villages. As you get very close, you are so excited you are afraid that you will not be quiet enough to receive him. So you sit on a rock by a stream, collecting yourself.
Finally you approach the cave where the Buddha sits. You climb the hill to the door of the cave. It is dark inside. A small fire flickers, and in the firelight you see someone sitting in meditation. After some time, he becomes aware of your presence and motions you to enter. You enter, bow before him, and offer your fruit and flowers. You sit before him and finally raise your eyes to look into his. Time stops. Everything you have been anticipating is coming to fruition in this moment.
The universe disappears. Only his eyes exist. A flow of love, wisdom, consciousness passes between you. Perhaps a few words are said – words you take away and think upon again and again in the years to follow. Or perhaps he says nothing, and it is just his stillness, his presence, the incredible love that flows from him, the deep compassion you feel. You feel as if you were naked before his glance. He sees through you, he knows all – past, present, and future. He does not judge, but simply acknowledges how it all is. Even a moment of such compassion can be liberating.
– Ram Dass, excerpt from Be Love Now co-authored by Rameshwar Das
Centre Yourself on Wholeness
If all the scientists, analysts, and
theorists disappeared today,
Not one part of truth would be lost.
If all the judges,lawyers, priests, holymen and
prosecutors disappeared,
Not one part of morality would be lost.
If all the investors, speculators,
bankers and brokers disappeared,
not one part of wealth would be lost.
On the contrary, truth, love,
and abundance
Would be more easily received.
Center yourself first in Wholeness
And all the parts will be yours.
Namaste with Love
Always
Mark
If you rely on the power of others
You weaken your own.
If you seek to own the world
You limit your abundance.
The expert guide helps to lead people forward
By sitting them down
Helping them to drop the contents of their mind
Down to their bellies.
Removing their goals
Strengthens their intentions.
With a clear mind
The see and then understand the confusion that desire creates.
Be still my friends and let it happen.
Namaste with Love
Always
Mark
Fear of failure, fear of loosing face, the fear of rejection, fear of the unknown, the fear of success….Whatever fears you face in your life it’s now time for you to face them.
There are literally millions of labels we can place on words and call them fears, as in the image above, the list is endless and different fears attack each and every one of us, and we react to these fears in different ways.
Every time we turn our backs on a fear and try to fight it, it becomes a pointless exercise and waste of our time, because fighting our fears places us in a ‘battle’ with that fear forever, whilst facing these fears will give us ‘freedom’ forever.
Our minds play tricks on us all the time, ‘the devil in our head’, ‘our sub conscious mind’, our Ego’s’ constantly chatter to us laying doubts on our ability to achieve, playing reference to things that have gone wrong in the past, and nagging us to stop right there and give up!…”Don’t be stupid, you know you will fail”, “It’s no point you doing that because no one will listen to you”, “Ah, they are just begging because they are too lazy to work so don’t give them your money”, “It’s not your problem, don’t get involved or it will end in tears, “Leave your job, are you stupid”, “Your not smart enough or worthy enough to do or go somewhere”……..How many of you have had these thoughts go through your head?
Our fears of failure can limit us and keep us from living the life we want to. When we inevitably experience rejection or disappointment, we have to be hardy in our way of coping with these struggles. Overcoming our critical inner voice can be a vital step in becoming more emotionally resilient. We can learn skills to become hardier, and we can face challenges with fewer internal setbacks. Yet, the first step in taking on this new confidence is shedding the baggage of our past, the critical inner voices that falsely feed our fears of failure.
If you have chance look at a child, an elderly person or someone who is really poor, observe their behaviours and take note of how they live their lives.
And like Derek says
In action find stillness.
Seek the simple kernel
At the heart of every matter.
See the greatness in a small kindly gesture.
Make forgiveness your intention
And your enemies your allies.
Love is perceived in all you meet.
Civilized man, afraid of natures simplicity
Creates complex problems;
The healer creates wholeness
By loving whomever God has put in his way.
When there is trust, promises are not required
And the difficult challenge is met with joy.
Namaste with Love
Always
Mark
Hi Everyone,
I have noticed my lack of enthusiasm and procrastination regarding writing posts of late, I guess it is down to the fact that my number of followers does not seem to grow so much when I see some blogs or twitter accounts gaining thousands, tens of thousands or hundreds of thousand of followers. The numbers of likes and retweets are huge and they gain lots of opportunity to promote themselves, their thoughts and their businesses easily but when I look at these sites and accounts I am so surprised as to the content, many seem to have nothing at all to offer, they lack in content, don’t offer any help or support to their followers and they are often very rude and in some cases obscene in their content. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not in this for fame or glory and my blog is about giving back, trying to help people who are maybe in need for some words and pictures that will help them in their time of need, offer some inspiration and a helping hand when they feel down or anxious.
So, what is it we need to do to make our sites more ‘Sexy’, to help us get our messages of good across to a wider audience, to actually start to do more good around the world, to bring about more attention to the state of our environment, to help fight disease, help the poor, bring an end to victimisation, child abuse, honor killings, bullying at school, the horrors of GMO, the poisoning of our oceans, global warming and not to forget help bring more awareness towards the real need to have peace on earth?
Maybe I need to go on a serious diet, to get down at the gym 7 days a week and build up my abs, some plastic surgery here and there is, a hair weave perhaps or is it that I really need to think about and position my messages in a very different way?
When I look at our world I get a tear in my eye, when i see the news and hear of abuse of our children, watch wars raging for the sake of greed or religion, see families loosing their homes because of the lack of jobs I wonder where is our world heading, what more can I do to help!…Many would say I think too much, I cannot heal everyone and everything…but for me, it’s hard, it’s really hard to switch off my compassion radar, I’m too deep in to do that now, I watch tv with my wife and I tear up when I see pollution, my heart takes a stabbing when i see brothers and sisters of humanity fighting and when I see the continuance of corporate greed and the manipulation of humanity by the media….I must do something, I must act, I must do my bit to help save our world from imploding from our own greed and lust for more, more money, more land, more things, more, more, more.
So, I’m open to offers, open to suggestion, what do I/We need to do to help promote compassion, love, peace and happiness to humanity, how do we help make a difference?
BTW, If you answers are…Plastic Surgery, Extensive Diet, Gym 7 days a week, a New Fancy Set Of Teeth etc, please consider sending me a large value cheque or bank transfer because otherwise, it, ain’t gonna happen 🙂
Love to you all, may you be blessed with love, happiness and peace
Namaste with Love
Always
Mark
It is so easy for us to talk about Inner Peace and what living in the ‘Now’ does for your life, how it brings an end to our suffering and allows us to live in contentment and look at our lives and the world around us with a different set of eyes!
But how easy is it for us to reach this state of ‘Inner Peace’? Well I guess there is no short answer to that question because some of us find ‘Inner Peace’ very quickly whilst others look for it throughout their lives and never actually find it. And for some they gain ‘Inner Peace’ then slip right back into their old ways of living like they are on that never ending diet, loosing weight, gaining fitness only to return to old habits, gain weight and on goes that perpetual circle of life!
I know I have struggled throughout my life, battling with Ego, past life issues, memories of terrible relationships, pain and bad experiences in life but when i actually ‘walk the talk’ and live in the now, when I stop focussing on ‘how stressed I am’ and remember ‘how blessed I am’, my life changes immediately for the better, my health improves rapidly, my smiles bring about other smiles, my laughter heals my pain and I see the world how it should and could be and I gain strength each day to get out there and do some good for mankind and mother earth.
Inner Peace is controlled by you and you alone, once you realize this and start to manage your mind, your life can, and will change for the better…
Go on, give it a try, for once the old saying is true…’The Grass Is Greener On The Other Side’
Namaste with Love
Always
Mark
If we are to start making any headway towards changing our world for the better, to bring about peace, to eradicate disease and to bring about an end to poverty and starvation for millions of our brothers and sisters around the world, we will need to bring out the ‘Big Guns’
We need to start listening to each other, start to understand the other side of the story, give our compassion to others irrespective of their colour, religion or social status, forgive and forget what has gone on in the past and forge forward together as one humanity in the search of peace and in love of each other toward a common goal of life and environmental sustainability of our crops and waters and the protection of our planet, we need to build up our patience and understanding of other cultures and ways of life and most of all we need to be truthful and honest with each other.
OM
Namaste with Love
Always
Mark
Once again I am humbled by the kindness and nomination for the ‘one Lovely Blog Award’, this time I was nominated by Khalkinised from the Buddhasutra, please stop by and follow his blog over at http://buddhasutra.com . Thank you my friend for your kind nomination 🙂 As you know I happily accept your nominations in the spirit that they were sent, however I decline to go through with the process of acceptance due to the amount of time it takes to comply.
Namaste with Love
Always
Mark
Ancient healers were one with infinite love.
But they ignored social convention
So people thought they were crazy.
They would pay attention to what others overlooked;
While others debated, they would
be silent
While others would worry, they’d
be unconcerned.
Alert, they discover the world anew
with each footfall
Humble, they greet you with
the innocence of a child
Patient, they wait for nothing,
knowing everything is here
Present, they respond to change
like an eagle in flight
Open, they listen without judgement
Gentle, they cradle your soul in the
memory of light.
Intent on deepest healing
Some carry the deepest wounds.
Placid, they are the still, clear pool
Reflecting mountain and sky.
My meditations and prayers are with you
My sage, my inspiration, my friend.
Namaste with Love
Always
Mark
Official Announcement
Re: Thay’s present health condition and how to support Thay’s recovery
Plum Village, November 12, 2014
To all Plum Village Practice Centers,
To all Practice Centers and Sanghas World Wide,
To our Dear Beloved Friends,
With a deep mindful breath we announce to the world the news that yesterday, the 11th of November 2014 Thay, Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, experienced a severe brain hemorrhage. Thay is receiving 24 hour intensive care from specialist doctors, nurses and from his monastic disciples.
At present, Thay is still very responsive and shows every indication of being aware of the presence of those around him. He is able to move his feet, hands and eyes. There are signs that a full recovery may be possible.
For the last two months, Thay’s health had already been fragile due to his advanced age. He was hospitalized in Bordeaux on the 1st of November. He was gaining strength day by day until this sudden and unexpected change in his condition.
All the monasteries in the tradition of Plum Village are organizing practice sessions to generate the energy of mindfulness and to send Thay this healing and loving energy. We would like to ask the whole worldwide community of meditation practitioners to participate and support us in this critical moment. We know and trust that Thay will receive all your energy and that this will be a big support in his healing and recovery.
Our practice of stability and peace in this very moment is the best support we can offer to Thay. Let us all around the world take refuge in our practice, going together as a river to offer Thay our powerful collective energy. We are all cells of the great Sangha Body that Thay has manifested in his lifetime.
Future reports on Thay health and recovery will be posted officially at http://www.plumvillage.org, langmai.org, villagedespruniers.org, and http://www.facebook.com/thichnhathanh.
On behalf of the Monastic Dharma Teacher Council of Plum Village,
Bhikkhu Thich Chan Phap Dang
Bhikkhuni Thich Nu Chan Khong Nghiem
May the Love Compassion and Healing Energies of the whole of humanity be brought through the devine matrix to Thich Nhat Hanh ‘Thay’ at his moment of need and bring him the healing he needs to gain a full recovery.
Namaste with Love
Always
Mark
We are all on our own special journey of life. For some of us its smooth sailing, our sails following the winds of time, floating comfortably on calm seas but for others its a more tempestuous journey, fraught with setbacks and traumas brought on by the every changing winds of change within our lives.
We start our journey as soon as we are born, some say at the time of conception, I guess I follow the latter because we started our learning process at conception, we could feel our mothers and sense their emotions, hear sounds and feel movement so our journeys of life, I believe began at the point of conception.
Our learning experiences differ; we encounter different ways of life, different cultural experiences, different languages, different religions and become accustomed to different foods, tastes and of course ways of dress.
We follow the guidance of our parents, siblings, family, friends, teachers and cultures and continue our early years of learning in awe of everything taught to us. We seldom challenge these ways, the content of the information presented to us in the belief that these teachings are the only way forward. Some of us start to question these teachings as we get older, some of us manage to break through the barriers confining us so we can see and experience different ways of life, teachings and beliefs but for others the barriers are too strong and the beliefs to proud to challenge or to change.
So for me, I like to keep an open mind, I believe there is not ‘Right Way’ to life, no ‘Right and only Religion’ and no set way of doing anything. I like to believe we are all from the one same source, we are ‘All’ part of ‘Life’s Rich Tapestry’, we are ‘One Humanity’ living on ‘One World’ and it is our collective responsibility to love all mankind and protect our world for our future generations in the hope that one day everyone will understand that we are……..
‘One Humanity’!
Namaste with Love
Always
Mark
Yesterday I posted a Question, ‘Describe Your Life In One Word’,
Here are some of the replies I received so far.
Pain
Surf, as in the waves, ripples and Tsunamis of the Ocean
Happy
Blessed
Growth
Truth
Understanding
Joyous
Be
Love
Anticipation
Creative
Thankful
Wonderful
Sad
Complicated
And one friends saying ‘He’s looking for the word’ 🙂
Our lives are filled with daily encounters which provide us with different emotional and physological experiences and feelings they can include, trials, tribulation, times of great joy, sadness, pain. We experience happiness, times filled with great feelings of love, tearful times both happy and sad, times in which we experience great physical and mental pain, each experience is given to us for a reason so that we can learn from the good and the bad things that come into our lives, it is our challenge to take these experiences and feelings on board and learn from them becasue each day will bring us something new and hopefully rewarding.
Remember the following:-
Namaste with Love
Always
Mark
Take time out this weekend to connect with nature, breathe in the fresh air and breath out love to our planet and if you have time meditate, connect with your inner soul, with your heart and give thanks for your life:)
Namaste with Love
Always
Mark
The Fragrance Of Life
Walk outside on a summer’s day
Sit yourself down and relax
Feel the warmth of the sun on your face
The gentle breeze in the air
Close your eyes and breathe deep breaths
In through your nose, out through your nose
Concentrate you attention and awareness of your breath
In, Out…In, Out
Notice the fragrances of life in your breath
The sweetness of nectar in the air
Freshly mown grass, bringing new life
The sap on the trees from the lungs of our world
The musky, fruity scent of roses in bloom
Mint, Rosemary, Thyme and Lavender too
Evoke your senses and develop your skills
Concentrate your awareness
Breathe deeply, In, Out….In, Out
The scent evokes and awakens your taste
Maybe the taste of tea from a tea rose
The sweetness of pear, apples or fig
The citrus of oranges or lemon
Life and your senses are a wonderful thing and in your control
Invoke your senses
Enjoy nature, enjoy life
Namaste with Love
Always
Mark
“Connection with gardens, even small ones, even potted plants, can become windows to the inner life. The simple act of stopping and looking at the beauty around us can be prayer.”
– Patricia R. Barrett, The Sacred Garden
“The first act of awe, when man was struck with the beauty or wonder of Nature, was the first spiritual experience.”
– Henryk Skolimowski
“Even before I could speak, I remember crawling through blueberry patches in the wild meadows on our hillsides. I quickly discovered Nature was filled with Spirit; I never saw any separation between Spirit and Nature. Much later I discovered our culture taught there was supposed to be some kind of separation – that God, Spirit and Nature were supposed to be divided and different. However, at my early age it seemed absolutely obvious that the church of the Earth was the greatest church of all; that the temple of the forest was the supreme temple. When I went to the sanctuary of the mountain, I found Earth’s natural altar – Great Spirit’s real shrine. Years later I discovered that this path of going into Nature, bonding deeply with it, and seeing Spirit within Nature – God, Goddess, and Great Spirit – was humanity’s most ancient, most primordial path of spiritual cultivation and realization.”
– John P. Milton, Sky Above, Earth Below
“In all things of nature there is something marvellous.”
– Aristotle
“In the assemblies of the enlightened ones there have been many cases of mastering the Way bringing forth the heart of plants and trees; this is what awakening the mind for enlightenment is like. The fifth patriarch of Zen was once a pine-planting wayfarer; Rinzai worked on planting cedars and pines on Mount Obaku. … Working with plants, trees, fences and walls, if they practice sincerely they will attain enlightenment.”
– Dogen Zenji, Japanese Zen Buddhist Grand Master , Awakening the Unsurpassed Mind, #31
Scent is the most potent and bewitching substance in the
gardener’s repertory and yet it is the most neglected and
least understood. The faintest waft is sometimes enough
to induce feelings of hunger or anticipation, or to transport
you back through time and space to a long-forgotten moment
in your childhood. It can overwhelm you in an instant or simply
tease you, creeping into your consciousness slowly and
evaporating almost the moment it is detected. Each fragrance,
whether sweet or spicy, light or heavy, comes upon you
in its own way and evokes its own emotional response.
– Stephen Lacey, Scent in Your Garden, 1991
To be overcome by the fragrance of flowers
is a delectable form of defeat.
– Beverly Nichols
I go to nature to be soothed and healed,
and to have my senses put in order.
– John Burroughs
My lilac trees are old and tall;
I cannot reach their bloom at all.
They send their perfume over trees
And roof and streets, to find the bees.
– Lousie Driscoll, 1875 – 1957, My Garden Is a Pleasant Place
Perfumes are the feelings of flowers.
– Heinrich Heine
Oneness, When you look into another’s eyes and all you see is yourself!
The realisation that we are all one in the same, we are all created from source, we are all part of the 5 master elements Pancha Mahabhuta (Sanskrit)meaning Pancha (5) Maha (Master) and Bhuta (Element) = Space, Air, Fire, Water and Earth, these 5 principle elements of intelligence underlie all of creation, they make up everything within our bodies and everything outside our bodies.
Once we understand these 5 elements we can start to feel the presence of others and notice the connections between all beings, the feeling of ‘Oneness’ is a wonderful thing, it opens our eyes to the world and allows our hearts to connect with others.
Namaste with Love
Always
Mark
Some people say that living in the Now is impossible.
How can you possibly trust those who might harm you?
How can you survive without planning and toil?
How can you heal without first being schooled?
Fear of death,
Fear of want,
The fear of separation from your God.
To choose to trust allows the fullest expression of life.
To choose to serve creates the greatest abundance.
To choose compassion brings oneness and health.
Values found only in the Now
Banishing all fear.
The only rational response to life.
Being in the Now, forgiving all and being thankful for all
Bringing you closer to your God, your Spirit and your Life.
Namaste with Love
Always
Mark
Take a moment to watch and listen to this short video…The reality of your life is now!
Namaste with Love
Always
Mark
When you love what you already have in your life, you realise you actually have all that you need!
Most of us go out and buy for the sake of buying, for that tiny rush of excitement and happiness when we see something nice and just have to have it whatever the cost! We often forge on with our lives looking for more, more clothes, more jewelry, a new hairdo or makeover, more success, more happiness, a bigger and better job, a bigger house, new car, another holiday, a slimmer self etc.
Sometimes when I just sit here and meditate I look at the all the things I have around me and realise that I do have enough, I don’t need anything else in my life, I’m happy, I have a loving wife, beautiful children, good health, a good job, a roof over my head, enough clothes to last me forever, food on my table, my spiritual awareness and happiness! So what more could I want?
I guess I could say world peace, the end of poverty and starvation, a clean environment, the end of disease, education for all, equal rights for all, happiness amongst all races and religions etc, but One day at a time, One day at a time 🙂
I went to my local Buddhist temple today and sat in quite contemplation and meditated for an hour on my own gratitude and I feel so happy now 🙂
May you all be blessed with a day like mine 🙂 Happiness, peace and love to you all.
Namaste with Love
Always
Mark
Endless Light and Love 