Intimate conversations with Mother Earth -
A “letter” to Mother Earth, written by Thich Nhat Hanh.
Deep insights that seek to build a bridge between spirituality and science.
Bubble Map Breaking Down the World Religions (Infographic)
An excellent graphic from the National Post on the number of adherents of the world’s believing and non-believing constituencies. What factoid surprises you?
“Meditation is not an escape from life … but preparation for really being in life.” — Thich Nhat Hanh
“The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth in the present moment, to appreciate the peace and beauty that are available now.” — Thich Nhat Hanh (via lisawhitehare)
To all that is chaotic
in you,
let there come silence.
Let there be
a calming
of the clamoring,
a stilling
of the voices that
have laid their claim
on you,
that have made their
home in you,
that go with you
even to the
holy places
but will not
let you rest,
will not let you
hear your life
with wholeness
or feel the grace
that fashioned you.
Let what distracts you
cease.
Let what divides you
cease.
Let there come an end
to what diminishes
and demeans,
and let depart
all that keeps you
in its cage.
Let there be
an opening
into the quiet
that lies beneath
the chaos,
where you find
the peace
you did not think
possible
and see what shimmers
within the storm.from To Bless the Space Between Us
See also, this lovely interview.
“Enlightenment is the way, the way is enlightenment.” — Thich Nhat Hanh (in a Q&A at the Nottingham retreat, 2010)
“If the heart wanders or is distracted, bring it back to the point quite gently and replace it tenderly in its Master’s presence. And even if you did nothing during the whole of your hour but bring your heart back and place it again in Our Lord’s presence, though it went away every time you brought it back, your hour would be very well employed.” — St. Francis de Sales
“Suzuki Roshi used to say that what was needed most in the monastery were people who were good at cleaning out the corners. The most perverting ideas are the ones that lie for years and years in the dark corners of our mind. Like spiders, they creep out while we are sleeping and spin their webs of illusion. Only when the mind is clean, in order, and uncluttered can the present moment be fully realized. If we hang onto past memories, trophies of our good-old-days, in time our mind and our home will be a museum instead of a place to encounter the present reality. The relationship between house cleaning, garden cleaning, and mental caretaking is not just symbolic. It is very direct.” —
—Marian Mountain, The Zen Environment
(h/t Joan Halifax)
(Source: beingblog, via lisawhitehare)
“The Great Way isn’t difficult for those who are unattached to their preferences. Let go of longing and aversion, and everything will be perfectly clear.” — Seng-Ts’an
“There’s music in us
waiting to be played aloud.
Can you hear it too?”
— Daily Haiku on Love by Tyler Knott Gregson (via tylerknott)
(via dreaminginthedeepsouth)