Spiritual Leanings ... From all faiths.

[citybutch]

Mindfulness

I am mindful of the presence of God within and all about me.

Mindfulness is a spiritual practice that leads to a richer life experience. It infuses ordinary activities with love and joy. When I am mindful of my relationships, I become fully present with my loved ones, listening with love and sharing from my heart. When I am mindful of my physical well-being, I hold thoughts of health and wholeness. When I am mindful of my finances, I appreciate my prosperity and give thanks by sharing from my abundance.

When I am mindful of the presence of God within and all about me, I am more patient, loving and kind to myself and others. Mindful living allows me to enjoy all that life offers, one moment at a time.

For the Lord their God will be mindful of them and restore their fortunes. --Zephaniah 2:7

http://www.dailyword.com/

As I opened the webpage this morning.... the news was on and they had a bit on Mindfulness... at exactly the same moment!!

[citybutch]

7. Right Mindfulness

Right Mindfulness traditionally is the seventh part of the Eightfold Path of Buddhism, but that doesn't mean it is seventh in importance. Each part of the path supports the other seven parts, and so they should be thought of as connected in a circle or woven into a web rather than stacked as if in an order of progression.

Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh says that Right Mindfulness is at the heart of the Buddha's teaching. "When Right Mindfulness is present, the Four Noble Truths and the other seven elements of the Eightfold Path are also present." (The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching, p. 59)

What Is Mindfulness?

The Pali word for "mindfulness" is sati (in Sanskrit, smriti). Sati can also mean "retention," "recollection," or "alertness." Mindfulness is a whole-body-and-mind awareness of the present moment. To be mindful is to be fully present, not lost in daydreams, anticipation, indulgences, or worry.

Mindfulness also means observing and releasing habits of mind that maintain the illusion of a separate self. This includes dropping the mental habit of judging everything according to whether we like it or not. Being fully mindful means being fully attentive to everything as-it-is, not filtering everything through our subjective opinions.

Why Mindfulness Is Important

It's important to understand Buddhism as a discipline or process rather than as a belief system. The Buddha did not teach doctrines about enlightenment, but rather taught people how to realize enlightenment themselves. And the way we realize enlightenment is through direct experience. It is through mindfulness that we experience directly, with no mental filters or psychological barriers between us and what is experienced.

The Ven. Henepola Gunaratana, a Theravada Buddhist monk and teacher, explains in the book Voices of Insight (edited by Sharon Salzberg) that mindfulness is essential to help us see beyond symbols and concepts. "Mindfulness is pre-symbolic. It is not shackled to logic," he says. "The actual experi*ence lies beyond the words and above the symbols."

Mindfulness and Meditation

The sixth, seventh and eighth parts of the Eightfold Path -- Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration -- together are the mental development needed to release us from suffering.

Meditation is practiced in many schools of Buddhism as part of mental development. The Sanskrit word for meditation, bhavana, means "mental culture," and all forms of Buddhist meditation involve mindfulness. In particular, shamatha ("peaceful dwelling") meditation develops mindfulness; people sitting in shamatha train themselves to stay alert to the present moment, observing and then releasing thoughts instead of chasing them. Satipatthana vipassana meditation is a similar practice found in Theravada Buddhism that is primarily about developing mindfulness.

In recent years there has been a growing interest in mindfulness meditation as part of psychotherapy. Some psychotherapists find that mindfulness meditation as an adjunct to counseling and other treatments can help troubled people learn to release negative emotions and thought habits.

Four Frames of Reference

The Buddha said there are four frames of reference in mindfulness:

1. Mindfulness of body (kayasati).
2. Mindfulness of feelings or sensations (vedanasati).
3. Mindfulness of mind or mental processes (cittasati).
4. Mindfulness of mental objects or qualities (dhammasati).

Have you ever suddenly just noticed that you had a headache, or that your hands were cold, and realized you'd been feeling these things for a while but weren't paying attention? Mindfulness of body is just the opposite of that; being fully aware of your body, your extremities, your bones, your muscles. And the same thing goes for the other frames of reference -- being fully aware of sensations, aware of your mental processes, aware of the phenomena all around you.

The teachings of the Five Skandhas are related to this, and are worth reviewing as you begin to work with mindfulness.

Three Fundamental Activities

The Venerable Gunaratana says mindfulness comprises three fundamental activities.

1. Mindfulness reminds us of what we are supposed to be doing. If we are sitting in meditation, it brings us back to the focus of meditation. If we are washing dishes, it reminds us to pay full attention to washing the dishes.
2. In mindfulness, we see things as they really are. The Venerable Gunaratana writes that our thoughts have a way of pasting over reality, and concepts and ideas distort what we experience.

3. Mindfulness sees the true nature of phenomena. In particular, through mindfulness we directly see the three characteristics or marks of existence -- it is imperfect, temporary and egoless.

Practicing Mindfulness

Changing the mental habits and conditioning of a lifetime is not easy. And this training is not something that only happens during meditation, but throughout the day.

If you have a daily chanting practice, chanting in a focused, fully attentive way is mindfulness training. It can also be helpful to choose a particular activity such as preparing a meal, cleaning the floors, or taking a walk, and make an effort to be fully mindful of the task as you perform it. In time you will find yourself paying more attention to everything.

Zen teachers say that if you miss the moment, you miss your life. How much of our lives have we missed? Be mindful!

http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeigh...indfulness.htm

[Andrew, Jr.]

We do not use only our voices and our lips when we sing a song. We utter an inner song because there is in us Someone who listens. ~ St. Augustine

Prayer:

Dear Father, let me sing Your praises with all that I am, with all that I think, say, or do. Grant that my whole being in life will reflect Your abiding presence within me to everyone I encounter.

Amen.

[Andrew, Jr.]

Today is the Nat'l Day of Prayer. I hope everyone had some time to spend with their creator.

Glory to God in the highest, and peace to all of His people on earth.

[citybutch]

Mother's Blessing

I bless my mother and all mothers around the world.

We are all born out of the energy of Divine Love. Like a million tiny seeds blown across the earth, each of us takes root to grow into a unique expression of the one Love that created us.

Whether the seed of my being landed on a soft fertile place or a rocky path, I was created out of Love and I am an expression of Love. I give thanks for the womb that gave me life and the love that supported my growth. My eyes are opened to see anew all the love I have received. Strong and gentle, liberating and supportive, love has nurtured my growth. Whether the mother who gave me these gifts of love is with me now or not, I send a blessing of loving gratitude to her today.

Your mother was like a vine in a vineyard ..., fruitful and full of branches. --Ezekiel 19:10

http://www.dailyword.com/

[Andrew, Jr.]

Thanks be to God for all mothers.

[Andrew, Jr.]

I hope everyone is doing well here.

Namaste,
Andrew