Words of Wisdom

Fulfillment Prayer May all those who offered me food & nourishment this year attain the sublime happiness of total peace and contentment. May all those who offered me drink and dessert, who served, who received, who honored me, who helped or collaborated and co-created with me, or who made offerings to me and my altruistic spiritual mission--- May they attain happiness and well-being, be well and joyful, and enjoy complete fulfillment, peace, & harmony. With love and blessings, Lama Surya Das

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  So much to face lately, or is it always that way? I thought the old adage was that as you age, you worry less- so they lied, huh? Is this what my late mother called "The illusory promise of the Golden Years and Happy Hereafter?" I recently saw an entire article dedicated to helping us sort through, and deal with all of this worry, anxiety, and uncertainty. While there were many sane rebuttals and remedies, what I realized, as a seeker and questioner myself-- is that what I've come to truly trust is my own common sense, inner discernment, and bullshit detector too---educating myself...

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1) Rest in the breath while letting go of all thoughts, concerns, plans, worries, and preoccupations. 2) Be mindful of the physical sensations you feel right now. 3) Feel the good earth beneath your feet or the seat that cradles you. 4) Chant a mantra or sacred phrase again and again, with pure, undivided concentration and focus. 5) Make eye contact with another being, and feel compassion and loving-kindness for whomever you are with. 6) Smile at someone, hug someone, or help someone 7) Go outside and make contact with nature through the sky, clouds, trees, a flower, a body of water, the earth...

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            ...Let’s remember...  “You have been telling people that this is the eleventh hour. Now you must go back and tell people that this is the hour! And there are things to be considered: Where are you living? What are you doing? What are your relationships? Are you in right relation? Where is your water?

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    May all awakening beings extend with true compassion their luminous mirrorlike wisdom. May the merit and virtue of these considerations  of the bodhisattvas, both of the words herein and in the readers' hearts,  be extended to all beings, that all may find their unique, sparkling place  in the awakening; and may the practice of awakening go on endlessly.   Happy New Year!                   

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One of my wonderful Twitter followers @scnitschke  sent me this powerful poem in response a recent post. I loved it so much, I thought you might too! "She Let Go" Without a thought or a word, she let go. She let go of fear. She let go of judgments. She let go of the confluence of opinions swarming around her head. She let go of the committee of indecision within her. She let go of all the ‘right’ reasons. Wholly and completely, without hesitation or worry, she just let go. She didn’t ask anyone for advice.

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“From love we learn to ease our fretful longing for more and to rest in the blessedness of things as they are. From love we learn to heal our losses and our fears of loss. Love awakens us. It shows us the truth about ourselves and gives us the courage to live this truth. Love sustains us: it is our quintessential nourishment. And love connects us--to others, to ourselves, and to the source of all being. Love is our teacher, and we are love's apprentices.” By Rich and Antra Borofsky

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We should not be taken in by the intensity of our latest spiritual epiphany while losing sight of the endless journey yet to be unfolded. I diagnose this seeker’s disease as “premature immaculation”, and it does crop up on this shore today: thinking we are there before we actually are. We may actually have gone far; and yet, there is still far to go. A spiritual teacher and spiritual friends can be very helpful to keep us going along the great Way of awakening; a clear head and good heart are essential, and can be cultivated and developed; and a regular spiritual practice is absolutely...

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Summer is a great time to sit quietly on your porch, in a park, at the beach, or even just on you front stoop and incorporate a spiritual exercise—a  moment of mindfulness, of contemplative sweetness into your busy life. Breathe, Smile, and Relax Sitting still in a quiet place, bring all of your attention to your body as you fill your lungs and lower belly with one deep, deep breath. . . and then let it out in a long sigh. . . . Ahhhh If you were truly attentive, your mind would have been clear of all distractions for 10 whole seconds, while your body was nourished with extra oxygen and your...

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As a young child playing hide and seek outside, with my cousins and siblings, in both Brooklyn and suburban Long Island, I learned an early meditation lesson: the more I stopped, and simply tuned in and sensed, directly, in the immediacy of the moment--the more focused and still I got, in body and mind-- the more I saw and could see. And when I was clearer, everything became clearer. This was my youthful introduction to the harmony and oneness available via a heightened, wakeful, present awareness. I can almost see now how mind-reading works, when you utterly still your own body & mind, breath...

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