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#2257 - Sunday, September 11, 2005 - Editor: Gloria    

The cardinal sin is in our failure not to sense the grandeur of the moment,
the marvel and mystery of being, the possibility of  quiet exaltation.

~  Abraham Herschel

posted to Morning Zen

photo by Alan Larus http://www.ferryfee.com/bluesky/field&stream.htm    

Moments...


"Our faith comes in moments... yet there is a depth in those brief moments which constrains us to ascribe more reality to them than to all other experiences."


Ralph W. Emerson




"The awful daring of a moment's surrender which an age of prudence can never retract."
  
T.S. Eliot


 
 
"In every phenomenon the beginning remains always the most notable moment."
  
Thomas Carlyle



"Certain thoughts are prayers. There are moments when, whatever be the attitude of the body, the soul is on its knees."
 
Victor Hugo

posted to AlphaWorld  

 

What seems nasty, painful, evil, can become a source of beauty, joy and strength, if faced with an open mind. Every moment is a golden one for him who has the vision to recognize it as such.

photo by Alan Larus http://www.ferryfee.com/bluesky/field&stream.htm    

* "What seems to be happening at the moment is never the full story of
what is really going on. For the honey bee, it is the honey that is
important. But the bee is at the same time nature's vehicle for
carrying out cross-pollination for the flowers. Interconnectedness is a
fundamental principle of nature. Nothing is isolated. Each event
connects with others. Things are constantly unfolding on different
levels. It's for us to perceive the warp and woof of the Oneness of All
as best we can and learn to follow our own threads through the tapestry
of life with authenticity and resolve."
~ Jon Kabat-Zinn

From "WHEREVER YOU GO THERE YOU ARE," with thanks to FRIENDS OF
SILENCE, published at www.herondance.org.


posted to Daily Dharma by W. Kelley  

   

Here and now...
In this moment...
I relinquish all illusions...
and experience myself as I AM.
There is only One.

 

 

Beloveds,  It is not in happiness that we seek the truth of who we are beyond our minds

and bodies. It is when what we know to be real and safe and secure is destroyed that a deeper awareness of life is found. The truth is life is as it is. Life is a mystery. What you

are is a mystery. What everything is is a mystery. If you can accept that life is as it is,

and that it cannot be figured out, then you are free to rest in this moment, to feel

yourself in every moment existing as existance, as awareness itself, as the

mystery itself. In this there is great peace and love and often bliss.

 

 

*   *   *

No need to hold on to anything but the awareness of whatever is happening in this moment.

 

posted to Conscious Oneness by Sampava

 

  Torei Zenji's Bodhisattva vow    

I am only a simple disciple, but I offer these respectful words:
Assembly:

When I regard the true nature of the many dharmas,
I find them all to be sacred forms of the Tathagata's never-failing essence.

Each particle of matter, each moment,
is no other than the Tathagata's inexpressible radiance.

With this realization, our virtuous ancestors gave tender care
to beasts and birds with compassionate minds and hearts.
Among us, in our own daily lives, who is not reverently grateful for the protections of life:
food, drink, and clothing! Though they are inanimate things,
they are nonetheless the warm flesh and blood, the merciful incarnations of Buddha.

All the more, we can be especially sympathetic and affectionate with foolish people,
particularly with someone who becomes a sworn enemy and persecutes us with abusive language.
That very abuse conveys the Buddha's boundless loving-kindness.
It is a compassionate device to liberate us entirely from the mean-spirited delusions
we have built up with our wrongful conduct from the beginningless past.

With our open response to such abuse we completely relinquish ourselves,
and the most profound and pure faith arises.

At the peak of each thought a lotus flower opens, and on each flower there is revealed a Buddha.
Everywhere is the Pure Land in its beauty.

We see fully the Tathagata's radiant light right where we are.
May we retain this mind and extend it throughout the world
so that we and all beings become mature in Buddha's wisdom.

  posted to Harsha Satsangh by Era  

    When the mind is at peace,
the world is at peace.
Nothing, real, nothing absent.

Not holding on to reality,
not getting stuck in the void.

You are neither holy nor wise,
just an ordinary fellow who has
completed his work.

~ Layman P'ang
posted to SufiMystic by ts (thanks Era)   

  good vibes  

One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a
stormy world is to stand up and show your soul. Struggling souls catch light
from other souls who are fully lit and willing to show it.

~  Clarissa Pinkola Estes
posted to nondualnow by Myra  

 

Living in Simple Faith
Author: Jane Mullikin
Date:   09-09-05 15:47


After nearly ten years of slow preparation based on the leading of the Holy Spirit, of dealing with lessons to be learned; of steps to be taken; of stumbling blocks to overcome; I drove across town to pick up a plaque. The plaque reads:

The Living in Simple Faith House
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Joanne Septon Mullikin Home
In memory of the woman whose death led to the creation of this place



After I held it in my hands for a while, I laid it on the car seat beside me and headed home to The Living in Simple Faith House where renovations are nearly complete. As I headed out, I had a very special visitation from the Spirit. It was an encouragement to keep moving forward and a gentle admonition to "just do it."

I acknowledge the concerns which have crept in as everything cost too much, everything took three times as long as expected. I was visited by the old fears from the bad years: fears of failure, fears of exhausting my funds.

God tells us not to fear. He tells us to "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin— they simply are! Think of the sea, the air, the sun, the stars, and the moon— all of these simply are!" [Oswald Chambers]

Now I must be cognizant of those moments I drift backwards, stop the discouraging thoughts, and move forward--Living in Simple Faith!

The Living in Simple Faith House is a page which tells more about the house.

  excerpt on  Spiritual Sisters of the Internet Cafe    

Look at the birds of the air . . . . Consider the lilies of the field . . .
Matthew 6:26, 28

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin"— they simply are! Think of the sea, the air, the sun, the stars, and the moon— all of these simply are as well— yet what a ministry and service they render on our behalf! So often we impair God’s designed influence, which He desires to exhibit through us, because of our own conscious efforts to be consistent and useful. Jesus said there is only one way to develop and grow spiritually, and that is through focusing and concentrating on God. In essence, Jesus was saying, "Do not worry about being of use to others; simply believe on Me." In other words, pay attention to the Source, and out of you "will flow rivers of living water" ( John 7:38 ). We cannot discover the source of our natural life through common sense and reasoning, and Jesus is teaching here that growth in our spiritual life comes not from focusing directly on it, but from concentrating on our Father in heaven. Our heavenly Father knows our circumstances, and if we will stay focused on Him, instead of our circumstances, we will grow spiritually— just as "the lilies of the field."

The people who influence us the most are not those who detain us with their continual talk, but those who live their lives like the stars in the sky and "the lilies of the field"— simply and unaffectedly. Those are the lives that mold and shape us.

If you want to be of use to God, maintain the proper relationship with Jesus Christ by staying focused on Him, and He will make use of you every minute you live— yet you will be unaware, on the conscious level of your life, that you are being used of Him.

*    *    *

I have been moving in this direction for many years, but the epiphany occurred when I read “They who live in God perform countless good works for his glory, but those in whom God lives are often flung into a corner like a useless bit of broken pottery. There they lie, forsaken by everyone, but yet enjoying God’s very real and active love and knowing they have to do nothing but stay in his hands and be used as he wishes.”

Jean-Pierre de Caussade nailed me with “flung into a corner like a useless bit of broken pottery”. My spirit’s strong reaction to that sentence ended the striving and searching; I could now focus on the task at hand.

By Jane Mullikin

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