Lawrence Levy, “Balancing Emotions”
Once we acknowledge the importance of looking within ourselves, we have to elevate our awareness of how our emotions and patterns of behavior affect us. We begin to see the impact on our lives of our emotions, our inner patterns of behavior, and the inner stories that dictate how we see ourselves and the world around us. Becoming aware of these inner forces is key to changing them.
Ingrid Michaelson
The storm is coming but I don’t mind
People are dying, I close my blinds
All that I know is I’m breathing now
I want to change the world, instead I sleep
I want to believe in more than you and me
But all that I know is I’m breathing
All I can do is keep breathing
All we can do is keep breathing now
Now, now now…
Toni Packer, “Unmasking the Self”
Sitting quietly, doing nothing, not knowing what is next and not concerned with what was or what may be next, a new mind is operating that is not connected with the conditioned past and yet perceives and understands the whole mechanism of conditioning. It is the unmasking of the self that is nothing but masks—images, memories of past experiences, fears, hopes, and the ceaseless demand to be something or become somebody.
Henry Shukman, “The Art of Being Wrong”
Peace and kindness have their best shot at establishing themselves when we accept our own inadequacy, when limitation and error become aspects of ourselves we can embrace rather than strive to mask.
Charlotte Joko Beck, “Attention Means Attention”
Every moment in life is absolute in itself. That’s all there is. There is nothing other than this present moment; there is no past, there is no future; there is nothing but this. So when we don’t pay attention to each little this, we miss the whole thing.
by Theodore Tae
Last week, the Kappa Sigma fraternity at Duke University threw an Asian-themed party, and sent an email to its guests with “Herro Nice Duke Peopre” as a subject line.
People understandably have reacted passionately against the party, dubbed “Asia Prime” and later renamed “International Relations” by the brothers of KSig. While following this incident, however, I’ve found that the sentiments perhaps most harmful to constructive dialogue about the event aren’t the blatantly racist ones, but the ones that seek to discredit and dismiss.
- Pema Chodron, “Bite-Sized Buddhism”
- Lin Jensen, “Wash Your Bowl”
