Calmness.....................

 

     Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom.  It is the result of long and patient effort in self-control.  Its presence is an indication of ripened experience, and of a more than ordinary knowledge of the laws and operations of thought. . . .

     Yes, humanity surges with uncontrolled passion, is tumultuous with ungoverned grief, is blown about by anxiety and doubt.  Only those whose thoughts are controlled and purified make the winds and the storms of the soul obey them.

     Tempest-tossed souls, wherever you may be, under whatsoever conditions you may live, know this—in the ocean of life the isles of blessedness are smiling, and the sunny shore of our ideal awaits your coming.  Keep your hand firmly upon the helm of thought.  In the bark of your soul reclines the commanding Master; He does not sleep; wake Him.  Self-control is strength.  Right thought is master.  Calmness is power.  Say unto your heart, "Peace, be still!"

-James Allen, Serenity

On the art of living.............

      According to Epictetus, the primary concern of philosophy should be the art of living:  Just as wood is the medium of the carpenter and bronze is the medium of the sculptor, your life is the medium on which you practice the art of living.  Furthermore, much as a master carpenter teaches an apprentice by showing him techniques that can be used to build things out of wood, Epictetus taught his students the art of life by showing them techniques that could be used to make something of their life.  The techniques in question were quite practical and completely applicable to students' everyday lives.  He taught them, among other things, how to respond to insults, how to deal with incompetent servants, how to deal with an angry brother, how to deal with the loss of a loved one, and how to deal with exile.  If they could master these techniques, Epictetus promised, they would experience a life that was filled with purpose and dignity, and more important, they would attain tranquility.  Furthermore, they would retain their dignity and tranquility regardless of the hardships life might subsequently inflict on them.

-William B. Irvine, A Guide to the Good Life (the ancient art of stoic joy)

Liberation...............................

The philosopher Decartes believed that he had found the most fundamental truth when he made his famous statement: "I think, therefore I am."  He had, in fact, given expression to the most basic error:  to equate thinking with Being and identity with thinking.  The compulsive thinker, which means almost everyone, lives in a state of apparent separateness, in an insanely complex world of continuous problems and conflict, a world that reflects the ever-increasing fragmentation of the mind.  Enlightenment is a state of wholeness, of being "at one" and therefore at peace.  At one with life in its manifested aspect, the world, as well as with your deepest self and life unmanifested—at one with Being.  Enlightenment is not only the end of suffering and continuous conflict within and without, but also the end of the dreadful enslavement to incessant thinking.  What an incredible liberation this is!

-Eckhart Tolle,  The Power Of Now:  A Guide To Spiritual Enlightenment

both at the same time...............

     F. Scott Fitzgerald, a contemporary of William Jennings Bryan, described this paradox.  "The test of a first rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.  One should, for example, be able to see that things are hopeless and yet be determined to make them better."  It seems to me that the lesson in both Bryan's and Fitzgerald's comments is to simultaneously choose life while serenely knowing that the mysterious future pull is doing exactly what it is supposed to be doing as our bodies age and die.  Thus we are in charge and we are not in charge, both at the same time, and it is all right for these two opposites to coexist.

-Wayne Dyer,  from Wisdom of the Ages

It's a good thing...............

..........................because the battle hasn't been going well:

"Your goal is not to battle with the mind, but to witness the mind."

-Muktananda

On quieting the ego.................

Failure and rejection can be a miserable place. How do you carry on? How do you take pride in yourself and your work?

The famous coach John Wooden’s advice to his players gives the answer: Change the definition of success. “Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-­satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.”

That’s it. Your effort, doing the best, is what you can control. This is what you need to focus on.

Do your work. Do it well. Then “let go and let God.“ That’s all there needs to be. Recognition and rewards — ­those are just extra. Rejection, that’s on them, not on us.

In other words, the less attached we are to outcomes the better. 

-Ryan Holiday, as culled from this post

empty...............................

"If you want wisdom, empty your heart of ignorance. If you want contentment, empty your heart of greed. If you want serenity, empty your heart of ill will."

-attributed to the Buddha

image via

Choices.............................

"Peace is absolutely a choice and a decision, although not a popular one in our society, despite the rhetoric about the term.  The decision to overlook the seeming inequalities of life instead of reacting to them is certainly a choice."

-David R. Hawkins

Invisible Sustenance...........................

.........................................................................Get some here.

Cultivation.......................

"True happiness comes from a sense of peace and contentment, which in turn must be achieved through the cultivation of altruism, of love, and compassion, and elimination of ignorance, selfishness, and greed."

-Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama

always good material....................

68.  Live out your days in untroubled serenity, refusing to be coerced though the whole world deafens you with its demands, and though wild beasts rend piecemeal this poor envelope of clay.  In all that, nothing can prevent the mind from possessing itself in peace, from correctly assessing the events around it, and from making prompt use of the material thus offered;  so that judgment may say to the event, "This is what you are in essence,  no matter how rumour paints you," and service may say to the opportunity, "You are what I was looking for."   The occurrence of the moment is always good material for the employment of reason and brotherliness - in a word, for the practice proper to men or gods.  For not a thing ever happens but has its special pertinence to god or man;  it arrives as no novel intractable problem, but as an old and serviceable friend.

-Marcus Aurelius,   Meditations,  Book VII

Habitual...............................

11.  When force of circumstance upsets your equanimity, lose no time in recovering your self-control, and no not remain out of tune longer than you can help.  Habitual recurrence to the harmony will increase your mastery of it.

-Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book VI

Fair trade..............................

via

Go..................................

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.

-Max Ehrmann,  Desiderata

Avoid..............................

Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

-Max Ehrmann,  Desiderata

A critical difference..............

.............................Balancing Harmony in the Heartland.

The coming of..............................

.......................................................mass serenity.

Modern times..........................

On "injustice collection"..........................

     We need to be aware that we have unwittingly become "injustice collectors."  The media reports are full of this form of chronic resentment.  We see "injustice collecting" in international relations where making the other nation "wrong" is actually a primary objective.  We are unconsciously programmed to believe that "injustice collecting" is "normal."  In contrast to this habitual pattern, which is destructive and weakening, the letting go technique frees us from keeping close account of the "wrongs" made against us.  Our time and attention are freed up to see the beauty and opportunity around us.

     Anger is binding, not freeing.  It connects us to another person and holds them in our life pattern.  We are stuck in the negative pattern until we let go of the energy of anger and its little payoffs of righteous indignation, feeling wronged, and the desire for revenge.  

     Relinquishing anger brings us many benefits.  We are free to experience emotional comfort and ease, gratitude for the daily opportunities to grow and heal, mutual caring with another without subtle "strings attached," improvement in health, and more life energy.  These breakthroughs allow us to move up to a more effective and effortless state of inner freedom.

-David R. Hawkins,  Letting Go:  The Pathway of Surrender

Unattached...........................................

"To live non-attachedly is to feel impulses, think thoughts, and experience life without becoming hooked by mental narratives about how things 'should' be, or should never be, or should remain forever.  The perfectly non-attached Buddhist would be simply, calmly present, and non-judgmentally aware.
      "Which, let's be frank, isn't going to happen for most of us any time soon."
-Oliver Burkeman,  The Antidote:  Happiness For People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking