Navigating a day

We go about the day moving our limbs and the torso in unison, in a rhythm. 

• I pause, to notice all inner workings that makes and supports this movement.  This pause and this noticing seems to ride on bringing attention to my breath, the inhales and the exhales. 
• In the pause sometimes senses are evoked.  
• The thoughts, what am I thinking? 
  
  
  
• How and where is my feeling, and what emotions are riding in this physical body?

The pause, with all these subtle questions, grounds me and provides an attentive rhythm to the flow of the day. 

Its a lot to 'unpack', and who has the 'time' to go deep into each of the above self inquiry, and then one can also ask "why"? 

Maybe its enough to bring attention to any one aspect, like a thought, a feeling or a sensation, and take few deep breaths.  

And then notice the effects.

These are basics, to snack on, to slowly build the mind muscle of awareness.  

Just as we build other muscles through physical  exercise; we continue to build the mind muscle through being mindful and aware.  

The question "why", then finds the answer in how we navigate through daily life and living.  

North America - Houston calling...

The last few days back in North America, to the luxuries of living in a first world, concrete world….immense gratitude for being with the family and friends. And then the news - as I watched the cruise ship and its 4000 some passengers going through their personal stories of discomfort as the systems broke down on the luxury liner….unhappy people with unmet expectations. They paid for the few days of time off to relax and get away, to pause - all the reasons why we take vacations. Now we are talking about protecting the "planet from space"…. a meteor hitting Russia and a close call from an asteroid. One in a million chance of two cosmic events happening on the same day… I cannot help but think of Oscar Pistorius….an inspiration for many, those who met him speak of his kind, gentle and friendly disposition. Our behavior and interactions with others is the mirror, it is the outer projection of who we are. So are we to stop taking people at their "face value", the nicer you are the more hidden demons within? Not! yet it does reinforce the belief that the outer masks need to come off. Not only to express our inner demons, but for each of us to get closer to how we feel, in any and every given moment. The awareness of ones' feelings, without outer distractions - allows one in finding the thoughts surrounding those feelings. This awareness not only help to diminish the intensity of the emotional outburst but allows one to channel that energy; with the hope that the internal conflict does not result in a "volcanic" eruption. Awareness then becomes the freedom to "pause between the stimulant and the action"… Once the comfort level with being with the feelings becomes acceptable, then the "expression" of those feelings becomes manageable, it changes from hostile to compassion for self and for others. As a society we have been conditioned to start the outer relationships in order to feel good inside, could this be the unachievable approach or just another distraction. How about we start a relationship first with oneself and then with others. Life and living is not linear, its now with all its happenings, and all the cosmic coincidences are just another reminder. A daily pause, a ritual to find the space to pause. As essential to life as the breath. This is the journey we want to be on, the pauses and vacations to take from the hustle bustle of every day commitments. Just as the breath and breathing keeps the body alive, the awareness of each moment keeps the soul alive. Is it time to get back to the basics. Take time to appreciate, the laughter of a child, the one meal and each bite each person gets to eat. The joy of loving with just this moment, the presence, the immense ocean of compassion which drowns out all the dramas. Time to think and live simply, finding the beauty in the here and now. In the laughter shared, the mistakes called life, the freedom to feel without the outer distractions to numb this moment. To be simply humans, living and approaching life with the passion and acceptance - two sides of the same coin. The glamour, the perfection, and the inspiration we seek from the external and the outer - causes an imbalance if the inner is not touched. Taking time to be by oneself, to be introspective and contemplate. It is all inside - the outer seeking by so many becomes the destruction of "one"- sometimes the means destroys the end.

In the exhale is the release….

Life is like the breath, it continues to happen irrespective of whether we are aware or not.  

When we exhale with awareness it brings a deep release, a sense of peace and relaxation... the inhale becomes more conscious and we begin to breathe deeper, slower and allow ourself to move quietly and silently.   

How similar to life and everyday living.  Going about the hustle bustle of the day in each moment, each breath we breathe is shallow each moment lived on the surface.  

How then to find the treasures that lie deep within each of us?  Maybe pause more often to notice the feelings; as we notice the thoughts wrapping those feelings, pause and focus on the exhale, in the exhale is the release...  

A little practice then becomes life itself.  We begin to release our attachment to the thoughts and the feelings change, with more smiles in our heart we find a space to live with a lightness in each step; our footprint on this earth becomes hardly noticeable.  

Real answer

empty the mind of thoughts, 

i find space…

2012 a year bound in time, and time binds, creating conditions and imprisons the spirit...

how will this year proceed? will the travel, the journeys continue…

three intentions came up in the space, they manifest, as all energy follows intention 

unasked answers, are they not the real answers?

for when we ask a question, the context might not be clear….the person answering will first understand as per their context; how can the context of two people be the same, hence how can the answer…

and then one moment the answer is clear, no question asked. 

just sitting in the sun... answers?

Unveil the love by accepting each moment As it transpires; inspire and be awestruck. Release the limitations of fear and being judged, "what is the fear?" And "Who is the judge?" And a little voice answered "The first is rejection the other the approval," Who rejects and who approves? The mind full of thoughts has many faces, Each more scary than the other. And When the stream of thoughts is the unending river? Dam the thoughts...

as the year turns from 2011 to 2012…from 4 to 5

do we choose the moment, or does a moment choose us,,,do we define life, or does the life define us…

"be in the world but not of the world", becomes clear when we begin to see association and identification with the structures, checkpoints, milestones…

we are born, the existence of a body is a structure, we grow with associations, checkpoints and milestones, each individual form becomes a world…

the outer world and the inner are aligned…how many things and how many thoughts we accumulate is a choice…

through the clearing, we begin to see space, in this space we feel a sense of freedom…

often as i lie under the open sky, with the earth beneath me, i look up, i feel i am soaring, flying like those birds...the feeling comes from the space, uncluttered space which i find inside me…

driving down the parkway, keeping my eyes on the road which is slippery, its lined with trees, each branch covered in glistening snow, its the moment, captured and imprinted…WOW!!!

this moment…peace and harmony

Sunny day and sunny thoughts - moment in time

The sun was out today, shining bright..........the light creating shadows, covering the city with the beauty of the clear blue sky............can this beauty be blinding........

I took the ramp from DVP/404, towards Richmond Street......just above the Gardiner freeway,  a plane was descending, towards the island airport...........knowing where to land, with all the engines running, the alertness of the pilot was in the moment..........from my vantage point, it looked like the plane was gliding, maybe allowing gravity to bring it down...........the hand of the moment slowly supporting the descent.