Canoe in the Mist: February 2012

Vipassana

Vipassana is the oldest Buddhist meditation practice, going back 2,500 years to the time of the Buddha. The literal meaning is "to see through." It does not rely on the mystical, nor does it seek to bypass our rational mind, but rather trains the rational mind, teaching us to experience ourselves and the world in a clearer way.

It is a gentle, gradual and thorough process of cultivating concentration and mindfulness, or awareness, by simply paying attention to what is happening. Sitting still and closing our eyes, we learn to watch our thoughts, feelings and body sensations without getting caught up in them. This system of observation, acceptance and resting with what is, leads to greater understanding and insight into the nature of existence.

(source)

Common Ground Meditation Center

Insight Meditation Society

Wisdom?/Humor?/Reality?/Hope.

"More than any time in history mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness, the other to total extinction. Let us pray that we have the wisdom to choose correctly." ~Woody Allen

"Things are going to get a lot worse before they get worse." ~Lily Tomlin

"We must face the prospect of changing our basic ways of living. This change will either be made on our own initiative in a planned way, or forced on us with chaos and suffering by the inexorable laws of nature." ~Jimmy Carter

One final paragraph of advice: do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am — a reluctant enthusiast... a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it’s still here. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, the lovely, mysterious, and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much; I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those desk-bound men and women with their hearts in a safe deposit box, and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this; You will outlive the bastards." ~Edward Abbey, from a speech to environmentalists in Missoula, Montana in 1978 and in Colorado, which was published in High Country News under the title "Joy, Shipmates, Joy."

"What I fear most is despair
for the world and us: forever less
of beauty, silence, open air,
gratitude, unbidden happiness,
affection, unegotistical desire
~Wendell Berry, from IX, Sabbaths 1998, in Given

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Consider the dot

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