30. Everything ends. Be aware of this and enjoy what you have while it exists for you.

Sometimes the end signifies a new beginning, and therefore it is easy to embrace (such as finishing school). Other times the end is unwanted and the loss is more pronounced. Embrace the end, even when it is unwanted. Embrace it with loving-kindness, remembering that everything ends. Berry

29. What we plant in the soil of contemplation, we shall reap in the harvest of action. Meister Eckhart

What a man takes in by contemplation, that he pours out in love. Meister Eckhart

28. A day spent without the sight or sound of beauty, the contemplation of mystery, or the search of truth or perfection is a poverty-stricken day; and a succession of such days is fatal to human life. Lewis Mumford

27. Soon silence will have passed into legend. Man has turned his back on silence. Day after day he invents machines and devices that increase noise and distract humanity from the essence of life, contemplation, meditation… Jean Arp

26. If you want to identify me,ask me not where I live,or what I like to eat, or how I comb my hair, but ask me what I am living for, in detail,ask me what I think is keeping me from living fully for the thing I want to live for. Thomas Merton

25. The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival. Aristotle

Sorry it is late today. I took my older kids to Halloween horrors and didn’t bring my computer. Then, this morning flipping through the channels while getting ready I found Wayne Dyer on PBS. He was discussing contemplation and how it is related to getting rid of excuses. It was interesting stuff in line with “The Secret”. He discussed this quote be Aristotle, so to conform with synchronicity I share it with you.

24. It is a challenge to avoid overextending oneself. The essence of following Tao is to find the middle. Those who follow Tao avoid the extremes. They seldom take absolute positions. All things have their time and their place and the wise thread a path through the middle. Deng Ming-Dao

23. Concordance emerges from the organizing patterns hidden behind apparent chaos. David R. Hawkins

22. Shake up your perception. Stop, take a minute, and feel how miraculous your life is. Realize how many millions of perfectly orchestrated biological events occurred to result in the you that reads this today. Think for a moment about how all the large and tiny decisions went into who you are at this very moment. Do you love your life? What do you need to do to begin to love your life? What do you need to change? Your perception? Your attitude? Do you need to set more challenging goals? Do you need to change the circumstances of your life? Feel how miraculous life is, take responsibility for the life you lead, and work toward loving your life.

21. The wise succeed without intending to do so. Lao Tzu

20. Our life is frittered away by detail…Simplify, simplify. Henry David Thoreau

19. The prayer of the monk is not perfect until he no longer recognizes himself or the fact that he is praying. St. Anthony

18. A few days ago I believed I achieved the Buddha state: Serene, calm, compassionately detached. Yesterday I hissed, groaned, and growled. Today: The Buddha state is not achieved, it is attained in the moment. Berry

You cannot be the Buddha all of the time. Human existence is wrought with trials and to be human is to feel. Work toward serenity in your daily living and in your practice, but remember: even the Buddha state is transitory.

17. Of all the weapons of death, desire is the most murderous. Chuang Tzu

16. When you ride in a boat and watch the shore, you might assume that the shore is moving. But when you keep your eyes closely on the boat, you can see that the boat moves.Similarly, if you examine many things with a confused mind, you might suppose that your mind and nature are permanent. But when you practice intimately and return to where you are, it will be clear that there is nothing that has unchanging self. Dogen

15. Our philosophy is progress. In our self-transcendence is our tremendous joy. Sri Chinmoy

14. There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.

If real is what you can feel, smell, taste and see, then ‘real’ is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain.

The Matrix is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth. Morpheus

My son watched The Matrix last night, and reminded me what a great movie it is about enlightenment, and, as many religions (especially Eastern) purport, how this world is an illusion we have all bought into. The above quotes were all spoken by Morpheus in that film.

13. Security is an illusion, yet as humans we take solace in the security we feel and experience some serenity. But life often steps in and proves yet again that security is an illusion. To be serene when it is obvious there is no security, to embrace the fact there is no real security, that is to be the Buddha. Berry

12. Belief is a beautiful armor, but makes for the heaviest sword. Everyone believes in how they think it ought to be. Everyone believes and they’re not going easily. John Mayer

In honor of the concert last night. John had a lot of great things to say about loving one another and letting it be known.

11. In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west; people create distinctions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true. Buddha

10. The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one. Elbert Hubbard

9. Rolling stone gathers no moss, but leaves a trail of busted stuff. Dave Matthews

8. Being is. Being is in-itself. Being is what it is. Jean-Paul Sartre

7. Desire is insatiable because it is an ongoing energy field, so that satisfaction of one desire is merely replaced by unsatisfied desire for something else. Multimillionaires remain obsessed with acquiring more and more money. David R. Hawkins

6. Don’t worry a-bout a thing, ’cause ev-ry little thing gonna be all right. Bob Marley – Three Little Birds

Believe it. Maybe his use of pot made it easier for him to believe, but I believe it is true regardless. And believing it is a powerful tool to remaining in the present.

5. Each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible. Viktor E. Frankl

4. Face the facts of being what you are, for that is what changes what you are. Soren Kierkegaard

3. The only way to find true happiness is to risk being completely cut open. Chuck Palahniuk

Although Mr. Palahniuk’s writing borders on the bizarre, I’m relatively sure he is speaking figuratively here. To be happy you also have to feel sadness and be vulnerable at times. To try to cut off one side of the spectrum amputates the other as well.

2. For one human being to love another; that is perhaps the most difficult of all our tasks, the ultimate, the last test and proof, the work for which all other work is but preparation. Rainer Maria Rilke

1. Have you ever sat down in the fresh cut grass?  And thought about the moment and when it will pass? Hey man now you’re really living. The Eels – Hey Man (Now You’re Really Living)

This is a great lyric from a great song (which I posted some time ago in this blog) which captures the essence of my beliefs about living your life. Be in the moment, enjoy the moment, and realize everything is transitory, including the moment and you.