Lone Star Buddhist

(via chaoticlibra)

this-is-not-me:

Alan Watts.

(via inacalicodress)

veganpunkpixie:

Recipe

yourbeautifulmind:

ten myths about being spiritual

Myth 1 - All is Love and Light and I love everyone!

I wish. Our world can be a difficult place, and we are capable of awful things. Trying to believe otherwise will only stop you from being able to deal with the problem at hand. Be faithful to reality, not a perfectionist ideal; but don’t fall into despair or pity, either. Try to see each situation as it comes, as it is, without your positive or negative judgment filter on it. Even the wisest people can feel irritation, disgust or even hate. The difference is that they don’t jump from a passing feeling to a value judgment, or make a bad situation worse by acting or speaking from that place.

Myth 2 - All-acceptance and selflessness’ means that you have to let people take your money, spouse, body, self-respect.

Selflessness does not mean that you must walk like a wally into destructive situations – that’s twisted.  You must take care of yourself before you can take care of others. Even if you did give people everything they think they want, you’d be feeding their greed impulse and making it worse. It’s ok to maintain your boundaries, and only give when it feels absolutely right to you.  All-acceptance and selflessness are guidelines intended for the internal world, not the material one.  Of course when put into practice they eventually have material outcomes, but that will come naturally if you take care of the inside first.  Don’t let people take advantage.

Myth 3 - Anything goes.

Many of us have tried this path out, and I don’t regret it because I now know that it leads to despair – so I don’t miss it. A happy and productive human life needs self-control, though don’t confuse that with self-repression and piousness. As one Tibetan lama put it, when you build a corral for your horse, don’t make it too big or the horse will remain wild; but don’t build it too small either, because your horse needs room to move.

Myth 4 - If I do everything right, bad things won’t happen to me.

It is true that it’s possible to cut a lot of crap out of your life, and to grow a more productive state of mind, so that your life eventually improves on all fronts. But there isn’t a magic place where bad things are guaranteed not to happen. You will become better at dealing with them though. Even accomplished monks still have to deal with some extremely difficult life situations from time to time.  The Buddha taught that we all get old, we all get sick, and we all die.  Counter-intuitively, the way to escape suffering is not to run from it, but to embrace it – spiritually speaking.  If you’re suffering, make room to sit with those feelings on your own, and allow them to arise fully.  Feel them as completely as you can, just for half an hour.  Doing this every day is the way to freedom.

Myth 5 - I have to be big and shiny, like Tony Robbins.

See Myth 1.  You are who you are. When I first encountered the man who is now my teacher, an accomplished and renowned master, he was so understated that I didn’t notice him at all. Having a big personality and being wise are not necessarily mutually exclusive, but they don’t come hand-in-hand either.

Myth 6 - The Secret.

First of all, if it’s true that you get what you really really concentrate on, a lot more of us would be millionaires with sex on a stick.  And even if that was the case, it would be neither spiritual nor a great secret.  The only thing that’s great about it is the PR department.

Myth 7 - Enlightened people are incapable of doing stupid things.

Yes, I was disappointed too.  They stay human. It is possible to be wise in some areas, and unwise in others. ‘Enlightenment’ could be defined as having a deep understanding of the nature of existence. But some people who have this, have not necessarily figured out yet how to be kind or honest for example. There is spiritual intelligence and there’s emotional intelligence, and they don’t come hand-in-hand. The psychological imprint or conditioning that you have as a person is not completely wiped out if you have a spiritual experience. Or in other words – stuff always needs work.

Myth 8 - My teacher/ spirit guide knows better than me.

It’s true that there are people with great insight, and sometimes it’s tempting to hand all our choices over to them.  But even if they wanted to, nobody other than you can know what the right thing is for you to do in any given situation. It would be wise to learn to trust your own judgment and not give that power to anyone else. A genuine teacher will keep pointing you back to your own intuition, and if you try to give them your will, they’ll hand it right back to you.

Myth 9 - Bankers can’t be spiritual.

Why not?  Banking is the administration of money, which is the system of exchange that our society decided on a long time ago.  Administrators can be spiritual, chefs can be spiritual, cleaners, athletes, people in the dole queue; you name it. Unless you’re an executioner or dictator, your profession is unlikely to be inherently immoral.  You do your best with what you’ve got.  Having said that, there are situations where people have felt the need to disengage in order to uphold their values.  But that can happen in any profession – including charity work.

Myth 10 - I have to give up fun stuff.

Thankfully this is untrue (unless your idea of fun is really sick!)  Your spirituality can’t leave you.  Everyone needs to relax; my great master in Japan had a particular penchant for TV wrestling shows.  One monk I know collects yo-yos, and another was seen swishing down the monastic driveway in roller blades.  So light entertainment is unlikely to lead you astray. Steaks and women can be slightly trickier ethical areas, but no matter your interests, you’re still allowed to become a Buddhist. We all have desires but regular meditation strengthens your ability to choose.  You’d become less and less a slave to passion, and could instead choose which desires you want to indulge. So meditation practice makes choice stronger – not weaker.  At the same time you become more aware of the inevitable consequences of your actions, and so you can steer your life better. Consequences are going to happen regardless of if you believe in them or not, so you might as well take a closer look at them, before they take you by surprise again.

Myth 10-and-a-half  - I am going to learn to levitate.

Hmm that might just be possible. But what would be the point?

article source here

many thanks for the image to elige

(via clanarmstrong)

(via chaoticlibra)

The greatest act of love is letting someone go…….so kick rocks

rawlivingfoods:

Creamy Kale Salad (so simple and so good)

• 2 Bunch Kale chopped
• 4 large Tomatoes chopped

Avocado Cream Sauce (Cuisinart or blender):

• 2 Navel Oranges peeled
• 4 Avocados
• 3 cloves Garlic

Directions:

• Place the chopped Kale into a large bowl. Add the chopped Tomatoes and Avocado Cream Sauce. Mix well and let it sit in fridge for 30 minutes so Kale gets softer.

(via chaoticlibra)

Art of Living Slowly: How to Meditate Daily

artoflivingslowly:

Guest Post written by Leo Babauta from ZenHabits.net

The habit of meditation is one of the most powerful things I’ve ever learned.

Amazingly, it’s also one of the most simple habits to do — you can do it anywhere, any time, and it will always have immediate benefits.

How many habits can you…

Bhagavan Das

31 WAYS TO MOTIVATE YOURSELF TO EXERCISE

overcoming-obstacles:

1. How you feel after a workout. I always feel great after a good workout. It’s a high. And I let that motivate me the next time: “You know how good you’re going to feel, Leo!”
2. Time for you. While many people make time to take care of others (kids, spouse, other family, co-workers, boss), they don’t often make time to take care of themselves. Instead, make your “you” time a priority, and don’t miss that exercise appointment.
3. Calories burned. If you count calories (and it’s really one of the most effective ways to lose weight), you know that the more you exercise, the more calories you burn — and the bigger your calorie deficit.
4. Having fun. Exercise should be fun. If it isn’t, try a different kind of activity that you enjoy. As long as you’re moving, it’s good for you.
5. How you’re going to look. Imagine a slimmer, fitter you. Now let that visualization drive you.
6. Magazines. It motivates me to read fitness magazines. Not sure why, but it works.
7. Cover models. Sure, they’re genetically freaky, and probably Photoshopped to look perfect. But for some reason, looking at how good a cover model looks helps motivate me to work harder.
8. Blogs. I enjoy reading blogs about people who are into running, or losing weight. It can show the ups and downs they go through, and you can learn from their experiences.
9. Success stories. I find the success stories of others incredibly inspirational. If a fitness website has success stories, I’ll almost always read them.
10. Forums. Do the monthly challenge on the Zen Habits forums, or join another forum full of like-minded or like-goaled peopled. Check in daily. It really helps.
11. Rewards. If you exercise for a few days, give yourself a reward! A week? Another reward. Do it often in the beginning.
12. Fitting into new clothes. Wanna look good in a smaller size? Work out!
13. Being attractive. That’s always a good motivator, as I’m sure we all know. Edited to correct language.
14. Adrenaline rush. I get a rush when I exercise. Ride that rush to complete the workout.
15. Stress relief. Wound up after a long day at the office? Get out and work off that stress. It makes a world of difference.
16. Time for contemplation. I love, love the quiet time of exercise for thinking about things. Most of this post was written in my head as I exercised.
17. A workout partner. Best thing I’ve done.
18. An exercise class. Sign up for a class, perhaps with a friend, and you’ll be motivated to get there and work out.
19. A coach or trainer. Worth the money, just for the motivation.
20. An exercise log/graph. For some reason, writing it down is extremely important. Really. Do it for a week and you’ll see what I mean.
21. Your before picture. You often don’t realize how far you’ve come. Take pictures.
22. A 5K race or triathlon. Just sign up for one, and you’ll be motivated to train.
23. The dread of feeling “yuck” from not exercising. I hate how I feel after not exercising. So I remind myself of that when I feel tired.
24. Living long enough to see your grandkids … and play with them.
25. The scale. It’s not motivating to weigh yourself every day, as your weight fluctuates. But if you weigh yourself once a week, you’ll be motivated to have it keep going down, instead of up. Combine the scale with the measuring tape, and measure your waist.
26. Reaching a goal. Set a goal for weight, or your waist measurement, or a number of days to work out, or a number of miles to run this week. Setting and tracking a goal helps motivate you to complete that goal. Make it easily achievable.
27. Posting it on your blog. Tell people you’re going to lose weight or exercise daily, and report to them. You’ll make it happen.
28. Motivational quotes. I like to print them out or put them on my computer desktop.
29. Books. I just bought a strength-training book as a reward. It makes me want to hit the weights!
30. Others commenting on how good you look. When someone notices the changes in your body, it feels good. And it makes you want to work out more.
31. An upcoming day at the beach, or a reunion.

(via yogi-health)

flow-like-the-wind:

If we’re not self-aware, we can end up making all kinds of excuses to not do what we want. We can tell ourselves it’s unwise, or impractical, or unrealistic, or pointless, or laughable, or risky, or inadequate.

We can tell ourselves we’re unsure, or unprepared, or uncommitted, or untalented, or incompetent, or too busy, or too distracted.

We can rationalize that it’s too late, or we’re too old, or it’s too soon, or we’re too young. And we can convince ourselves it doesn’t really matter.

Except it does. Whether it’s a tiny choice or a big decision, if it’s something we want to do, it matters.

Happiness is when we recognize that, dispute our own defeatist excuses, and then get out there and enjoy instead of holding ourselves back.