Zen Mind

The practice of Zen mind is beginner's mind.
The innocence of the first inquiry ... Who am I?
... is needed throughout Zen practice.
The mind of the beginner is empty,
free of the habits of the expert, ready to accept,
to doubt, and open to all the possibilities.
It is the kind of mind which can see things
as they are, which step by step in a flash
can realize the original nature of everything.

Shunryu Suzuki

How I Go Into the Woods

Ordinarily I go to the woods alone,
with not a single friend,
for they are all smilers and talkers
and therefore unsuitable.
I don't really want to be witness talking to the catbirds
or hugging the old black oak tree.
In have my ways of praying
as no doubt you have yours
Besides, when I am alone
I can become invisible.
I can sit on the top of a dune
as motionless as an uprise of weeds,
until the foxes run by unconcerned.
I can hear the almost unhearable sound

of the roses singing.
If you have ever gone to the woods with me,
I must love you very much.

Mary Oliver

Nothing is Left

When you find out that there was never
anything in the dark side to be afraid of ...
nothing is left but to love.

Alan Watts

Art is a Lie

We all know that Art is not truth.
Art is a lie that makes us realize truth,
at least the truth that is given us to understand.
The artist must know the manner whereby to
convince others of the truthfulness of his lies.

Pablo Picasso

One Family

Aiki is not a means to fight or defeat an enemy.
It is the way to reconcile the world and to make
human beings one family.

Morihei Ueshiba

The Art of Peace

To injure an opponent is to injure yourself.
Controlling aggression without hurting is
the art of peace.

Morihei Ueshiba

True Victory

True victory is
victory over oneself.

Morihei Ueshiba

Where Wisdom Lives

The mind usually says,
"I know, I know, I know."
But the "don't know mind"
is where wisdom lives.

Byron Katie

One Does Not Know

To be free is
To know that
One does not know.

wu'hsin

Open Mind Needed

Everyone knows an open mind
is needed for new info to enter.
Nothing can enter a closed door.

Judy Cohen

Tired of "But"

I'm tired of the change-of-subject word "but," as in
Well, yes, I suppose I do feel better but
this is incorrect anyway.

Judy Cohen

No Two People

No two people see the same tree.
No two people see the same world.

Byron Katie

Helping the Planet

There is nothing you can do
that doesn't help the planet.

Byron Katie

Only Peace

There's nothing that can
keep you from peace.

Byron Katie

What is God?

God is
what is.

Byron Katie

The Task of Liberated People

The task of liberated people is not
to scold the world and preach to it,
but to delight it back to its senses.

Alan Watts

We Need Silence

See how nature - trees, flowers, grass -
grows in silence?
See the stars, the moon, and the sun -
how they move in silence?
We need silence to be able to touch souls.

Mother Teresa

Small Acts of Kindness and Love

Some believe it is only great power
that can hold evil in check, but
that is not what I have found.
It is the small, everyday deeds
of ordinary folk that keep
the darkness at bay. Small acts

of kindness and love.

J.R.R. Tolkien

It Was Early

Sometimes I need
only to stand
wherever I am
to be blessed.

Mary Oliver

Simple Human Connection

In our darkest moments, we don't need solutions or advice.
What we yearn for is simply human connection - 
a quiet presence, a gentle touch. These small gestures are
the anchors that hold us steady when life feels like
too much. Please don't try to fix me. Don't take on my pain
or push away my shadows. Just sit beside me as I work
through my own inner storms. Be the steady hand I can
reach for as I find my way. My pain is mine to carry, 
my battles mine to face. But your presence reminds me
I'm not alone in this vast, sometimes frightening world.
It's a quiet reminder that I am worthy of love, even 
when I feel broken. So, in those dark hours when
I lose my way, will you just be here? Not as a rescuer,
but as a companion. Hold my hand until the dawn arrives,
helping me remember my strength. Your silent support
is the most precious gift you can give. It's a love that
helps me remember who I am, even when I forget.

Ernest Hemingway

Nothing More Confining

There is nothing more confining than
the prison we don't know we are in.

William Shakespeare

The Way

What stands in the way
is the way.

Marcus Aurelius

Be Kind

There are three ways to ultimate success:
The first way is to be kind.
The second way is to be kind.
The third way is to be kind.

Fred Rogers

Worried

I worried a lot. Will the garden grow, will the rivers
flow in the right direction, will the earth turn
as it was taught, and if not how shall I correct it?
Was I right, was I wrong, will I be forgiven,
can I do better?
Will I ever be able to sing, even the sparrows
can do it and I am, well, hopeless.
Is my eyesight fading or am I just imagining it,
am I going to get rheumatism, lockjaw, dementia?
Finally, I saw that worrying had come to nothing.
And gave it up. And took my old body
and went out into the morning,
and sang.

Mary Oliver

Joy Comes Back

When you finally realize that joy

is less fireworks
more firefly

less orchestra
more birdsong

she will come back much more often

for joy will not fight
with the fast pace of this life

she dallies not in the shiny or the new

she breathes in the basic
shimmers in the simple
and dances in the daily to-and-fro

joy has been beckoning you

for many a year my friend

you were just too busy doing, to see

the very next time joy wraps 

her quiet warmth around you

as the garden embraces your weary body

in its wildness

tip her a nod

you cannot force her to stay

but if you are a gracious host

joy comes back.

Donna Ashworth

The Patience of Ordinary Things

It is a kind of love, is it not?
How the cup holds the tea,
How the chair stands sturdy and foursquare,
How the floor receives the bottoms of shoes,
Or toes. How soles of feet know
Where they're supposed to be.
I've been thinking about the patience
Of ordinary things, how clothes
Wait respectfully in closets
And soap dries quietly in the dish,
And towels drink the wet
From the skin of the back.
And the lovely repetition of stairs.
And what is more generous than a window?

Pat Schneider

No Further Away

Peace dwells in the ordinary.
It's no further away than that.

Byron Katie

No Longer Free

The moment you want to be somebody,
you are no longer free

Jiddu Krishnamurti

The Only Step Possible

The only step necessary on your personal journey of
awakening is the one that is before you at this moment.
In fact, this is the only step possible for you.

William Martin

Whatever Way They Like

Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes.
Don't resist them - that only creates sorrow.
Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally
forward in whatever way they like.

Lao Tzu

The Most Dangerous

The search for reality is the most dangerous
of all undertakings, for it destroys
the world in which you live.

Nisargadatta

We Are Connected

Just speak, do, act, make mistakes, correct them, go on.
You are connected. We are connected.
That's the fundamental nature of our being.
Let our practices, let our life emerge from that connection.

William Martin

No Argument

Cause and effect get mixed up. 
They must be in their proper alignment.
The assumption is that I am connected.
I may not feel it all the time, but when
I operate from that assumption and then
let my practices, whether it's Qigong
or meditation or prayer or service
or simply being and talking with people,
emerge from the understanding that
I am connected rather than trying to connect,
everything flows the way it's supposed to.
Argument never, ever enters into the question.

William Martin

An Expression of Connection

Assume that divinity flows
in every atom of your being. 
Assume you are connected.
Assume you are part of God,
the Tao, the Divine Source.
Then let your spiritual and
religious practices emerge from that,
be an expression of that connection
rather than a means to achieve
that connection.

William Martin

What is Love?

Love is wanting others
to be happy.

Dalai Lama

Lost Touch

We are most lost and feel most abandoned when
we have lost touch with our own souls.

Michael Meade