The value in sincerity

I was inspired by something I heard this week.

I was listening to another Gil Fronsdal dharma talk, and he related a story from the Zen tradition.

A student asked his teacher “If I practice Zen will I become enlightened?”.  And the Zen teacher replied “If your practice is sincere, it is almost as good”.

I was incredibly inspired by this simple concept.

I know myself that I practice Buddhism because I identify with the precepts very strongly.  However I do not hold the belief that I will become enlightened – I would imagine very few Buddhist practitioners ever will become enlightened.

However I can practice with sincerity.  We all can.

And it doesn’t have to relate to Buddhist practice – we can live our lives with sincerity full stop.

I love that thought so much.

Sincerity encompasses so many things – living ethically, honestly and with pure intention.  And all of those things make such a difference not only to our lives, but to the lives of those that we touch.

You can’t really put a value on sincerity and honesty.

So this week I’ve tried to really keep that as my intention.

Also in this past week I heard a discussion on the Buddha – how before he became enlightened he had to live through many lives, and learn from each one.  He was reborn many times.  And of all the lives he lead, and the mistakes he made (as a lay person) one thing he never did was lie.  And specifically he did not lie to himself.

It’s a deep concept – to never lie to ourselves.

It’s also been on my mind this week, and I have given a lot of reflection on the ways I have lied to myself in the past.

There are so many great things that can be gained from self analysis and knowledge.  I feel blessed to have access to the dharma teachings.

And a new day each day to learn from them.

Namaste,

Meg

 

Tender hearted

Hello my lovely friends 🙂

It’s been quiet lately on my blog as I struggled with a number of personal issues.

As always though I am grateful for the experience.

I feel very tender hearted and “open”.  I am grateful for the chance to continue on my spiritual path.

I’m also reading a truly beautiful book on blessings, which has come at the perfect time in my life.

How are you all?

Heartfelt blessings,
Meg

Things I love today

It’s Friday afternoon, I’m feeling incredibly grateful and happy, and wanted to share my favourite things today 🙂

♥  Having good health, and energy and vitality.  I’m feeling so good at the moment – I’m eating really well, juicing (love it!!), and exercising.  I am just so grateful that I am able to do this.  At the moment I am training for an obstacle course/endurance event towards the end of the year. I’m competing with my 70+ year old best friend (she is AMAZING!).

Me (photo by my little man)

♥  This beautiful BEAUTIFUL piece of music.  Perhaps my favourite ever.

♥  A quiet Friday evening, sushi for dinner, a cool breeze blowing through the open window, and the sound of birds having their last flight for the day.

What are you finding happiness in today?

Blessings,

Meg

Chocolate, crystals and gratitude

Hi lovely friends 🙂

Today’s post is dedicated to an AWESOME day out that my little boy and I had today.

We went to a local place in Brisbane called “Southbank”.  It’s in the middle of a city, and it has a man-made beach and lagoon, as well as fabulous eateries and shops.

We are grateful for:

♥  The bus ride in.  The ticket machine wasn’t working, so we got our ride for free :D.  This saved us more than $10.  We also got to have a lovely relaxed ride in – both listening to our iPod’s.

♥  Wandering around the markets where we found a stall selling chocolate filled banana’s :D.  I must admit banana’s aren’t my favourite fruit, but they certainly looked pretty good!  And it was so interesting to see how they made them – drilling out the centre and inserted melted chocolate.

♥  Followed by morning tea at Max Brenner’s chocolate bar.  Oh my goodness – this place is heaven on earth!!  I had a cup of tea, my little man had a hot chocolate, and a “chocolate lick”, which is basically a little pot of melted chocolate.  It was soooo good!!

Chocolate lick

Hot chocolate

♥  Watching the people in the lagoon do water aerobics.  It looked like so much fun!

♥  Watching my little man swimming and having heaps of fun.  And making new friends.  It was just so lovely and relaxing.  And I thought often how very blessed we are to have this wonderful place in the middle of the city.  And it’s completely free!

♥  The fabulous street performer we watched.  My son is usually a very serious boy, and he was entranced watching this performer.  Well actually equal parts entranced and terrified!  The performer was juggling fire, and knives, and my son was highly concerned!  All was good though 😀

♥  The wonderful crystals I picked up today.  It was such an interesting experience.  I was immediately drawn to a carving of a dolphin in amethyst.  Amethyst is actually my birth stone, as well as being a very spiritual stone.  I picked it up, intending to hold it while I thought about it, however it grew very warm in my hand, and I knew I had to have it.  It’s just exquisite, and I’m so glad that I got it!

♥  And I am mostly grateful for the whole experience of being outdoors, in the sunshine, with lots of other people, enjoying life and our community.

Blessings,
Meg

The world through the eyes of a boy with autism

Today my whole blog post is dedicated to my little man.

As I have mentioned before on this blog, he has Aspergers Syndrome, as well as an auditory processing delay, and severe anxiety. The poor kid has a lot of challenges.

One area he really shines in though is photography.  Ever since he was 3 he’s taken really wonderful photos.

He is now 7.  Today we were walking to school, and he asked if he could have my camera.  And he decided to document the whole trip to school.

His photos are below 🙂

Frangipani

Abstract

Snail

   

Footpath art

Sidewalk art

Pinecone

 

Wild Mushroom

    

As a parent, we all want to feel like our child is doing well, and we celebrate their successes.  My poor kid has had a lot of setbacks, but I am grateful beyond words that he is able to express himself via photography.

Blessings,

Meg

Anniversary

Wow, it’s been 1 year today since I started my blog.

It’s been the most amazing journey, and I have learnt so much thanks to all of you who have commented, and shared your thoughts with me.

I am lucky enough to be able to call many of you good friends now, and for this, and how much you have all enriched my life I am incredibly grateful.

Thank you so much to each and every one of you.

As always I send my love and blessings,

Meg ♥

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.
~Melody Beattie

 

This quote really spoke to me today.

Almost 3 weeks ago I started a gratitude journal.

Each day I think about, and list, all the things that I am grateful for.  It’s such a beautiful practice.  And it really is changes the way I see the world.  I find myself actively looking for things to be grateful for.

I’ve often read that gratitude is the key to finding happiness.

And I am discovering the truth of this for myself.  For if we don’t appreciate what we have, how can we ever truly be happy.  If we don’t appreciate what we have, we are always searching for something else to satisfy us.  And we are overlooking the massive blessings that are right in front of us.

I was saying as much to a friend recently.  I know that life is often difficult.  However in the end we have 2 choices.  We can focus on the negative, and dwell in misery.

Or we can focus on the positive, and find the goodness and joy in even the most everyday moments.

 

Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.

~ Eckhart Tolle

I don’t have time to rush

I’ve been really enjoying a journey of personal growth lately (or should I say increased personal growth).

I’m so grateful for the people I have spoken to, the wonderful conversations, the books I have read, the talks I have listened to.

One today really resonated with me.  And that was about not living our lives in a trance.  

And it’s so easily done – to live in a trance.  We are busy, we are stressed, and we are largely operating on automatic pilot.

When we live this way, we are not living according to our deepest intentions and aspirations.  We are merely treading water.

Thinking of an interaction you had with someone else today.  What was the intention behind your words and behaviour?  Were you trying to gain something?  Get your point across?  Or was it mainly just automatic pilot with no purpose?

This is something I have been asking myself a lot lately at the end of the day.  Looking back over the interactions I have had with others.

And there is no right or wrong answer.  However by focusing on this question, and really questioning our interactions, we strengthen the ability to act according to our intentions.

It’s the same as looking back over our day.  Where we really present for it?  Or where we in a trance?  Just keeping our heads down and forging on?

I was reminded of this today on the walk home with my son.  It had been a busy day working at his school, and I was tired and somewhat pre-occupied.  I noticed a bicycle coming towards us from the opposite direction, and moved over on the path to give them room to pass.  And that was about as much attention as I gave the moment.  My son however was much more mindful, and asked me if I had seen the baby on the back of the bicycle (in the baby seat).  And I hadn’t at all.  It was a stark reminder to me to just stay in the present moment (and get out of my own head 🙂 ).

Something else I was reminded of today was the fact that we all seem to be rushing.  I am extra guilty of this – even walking home from school, I’m walking smartly.  Like I have somewhere to be.  Where the place I need to be is right HERE.  In the moment.

We spend so much of our lives like that – in a rush.  Racing towards some imagined deadline.

And what we are doing is missing life along the way.

So my motto today is “I don’t have time to rush”.

I choose to be present for life.

My Grateful Challenge

This afternoon I was reading a wonderful article on Hailey Bartholomew, and the 365 Grateful Project.

She says that:

“What started out as a chore became a gift that changed the way I looked at the world.  Just having the camera physically with me every day caused a shift in the way I was thinking.  Previously I was concentrated on the negative, but doing this made me consciously look for the positive.  That process literally changed the way my brain was working, shifting it from always focusing on the bad to the good.

About three months into the project, I woke up one day and bounded out of bed.  I just sort of leapt out, ready for the day, excited about it, and that hadn’t happened for such a long time.  I remember thinking that morning, this is unusual – and I realised I was happy.  This project saved me”

It has inspired me to start my own Grateful Project.

Today I am grateful for:

A beautiful, clear and crisp Autumn Day (with a distinct flavour of winter).

A perfect daisy.

A knitting/craft afternoon with my neighbour.

My partner, and his love and support.

 

I would be honoured if you followed my progress on my Facebook page.

Love & blessings to you all ♥

I stop for suffering

It may be the name of my blog, however I really do stop for suffering.

I really care about people, and am passionate about helping them, and easing their suffering.

So friends, grab a cup of tea (or coffee if you prefer), and tell me…

How are you?

What’s on your mind?

What are you grateful for today?

Or struggling with?

Spread love everywhere you go:

First of all in your own house …
kindness in your face,
kindness in your eyes,
kindness in your smile,
kindness
~ Mother Teresa –