The Doors of Perception

Quotes

Inconvenience or Opportunity?

by Shaila Catherine from Tricycle Magazine

Spiritual practitioners thrive in unpredictable conditions, testing and refining the inner qualities of heart and mind. Every situation becomes an opportunity to abandon judgment and opinions and to simply give complete attention to what is. Situations of inconvenience are terrific areas to discover, test, or develop your equanimity. How gracefully can you compromise in a negotiation? Does your mind remain balanced when you have to drive around the block three times to find a parking space? Are you at ease waiting for a flight that is six hours delayed? These inconveniences are opportunities to develop equanimity. Rather than shift the blame onto an institution, system, or person, one can develop the capacity to opt to rest within the experience of inconvenience.

Find other entries tagged with: mind, heart, judgment, blame, opportunity, equanimity, negotiation

Share, rate, or comment on this entry.

One of our small things

As if

When you’re hanging out with family, your lover, good friends, etc., be there with them as if it was the last time you were going to see them for a while (or maybe even ever). It’s a really powerful practice that shifts many things towards the positive in our interpersonal dynamics. Imagine how present you are when it really is the case that your loved one is going to be away for a while. Why not bring that energy as often as you can? All that we can be absolutely sure of is what is happening ...

by David

Experience

This is a blog post I wrote years ago. It’s interesting for me to go back and see where I was at different points in life.

I used to think that I was David experiencing life. Now I feel that I am Life experiencing David.

The more and more I sit back and witness the unfolding experience of this character named David, the less and less I am identified with his mind. For so long, my experience was the view that David’s mind projected on the day to day. I am starting to realize that this is a ...

- David

small things