Don't Miss the Sunrise

"Is there anything I can do to make myself enlightened?""As little as you can do to make the sun rise in the morning.""Then of what use are the spiritual exercises you prescribe?""To make sure you are not asleep when the sun begins to rise."-Anthony deMello, from One Minute Wisdom James: I feel that enlightenment is better understood as awareness. Thus, the seeker's question would then be, "Is there anything I can do to make myself aware?" He might as well be asking, "Is there anything I can do...

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Zen Story: A Cup of Tea

James: This is one of my favorite Zen stories:Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen. Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor's cup full, and then kept on pouring. The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. "It is overfull. No more will go in!" "Like this cup," Nan-in said, "you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your...

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My Interview with Mala Maker Brian McIntyre. Part II

CLICK HERE FOR THE FIRST PART OF MY INTERVIEW WITH BRIAN MCINTYRE:6). What are a few (2-3) of your favorite books on spirituality? Play of Consciousness! By Swami Muktananda. This will forever stand as the book that clarified my path and make all previous experiences clear and understandable.I am amassing a library of books in hopes that any one of the books will iPmpact their lives as this book has for me.7). What is your view of the world today?FEAR brings ignorance and despair. Living in fear...

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My Interview with Mala Maker Brian McIntyre. Part I

(Above: Brian sitting with some of his malas).Brian McIntyre is a deeply spiritual mala maker and world traveler from Canada who learned his ancient craft in Bodhgaya, India (the alleged site of the Buddha's Enlightenment) from a local artisan. The design of his malas are unique: Reading from his website, Destination Om: Custom Malas and Prayer Tools:The most obvious design that sets these malas apart from others is that I incorporate a "stretcher" into every mala which is a slip knot placed...

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Eco-Hangers. Recycled Cardboard Clothes Hangers

This from CNET:The idea for the company--which makes a dry cleaner hanger made entirely from recycled paper--came after founder and Chief Operating Officer J.D. Schulman's mother asked him to throw away a bunch of old wire hangers. He put them in the garbage, the hangers poked a hole in the bag, and gravy dripped on her white carpet when Schulman took the garbage out, says HangerNetwork CEO Bob Kantor. The result was the EcoHanger, a sturdy replacement for wire hangers that can be folded and tossed...

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An Epiphany: My Spiritual Awakening and Path Toward Forgiveness

Taking a nod from Peter I decided to write about an epiphany in my life. This is the epiphany of my spiritual awakening. I had just returned from a difficult, trying, scary, confusing and exhausting two year Mormon mission from Cote D'Ivoire, West Africa where my world had been turned upside down. My unflinching commitment to the Mormon faith was unraveling by the day as I began to do some research into what were the opposing views. You see, I had been taught to not question the veracity of the...

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Buddhism and Children

I read an interesting article in the latest Tricycle Buddhist Review regarding Buddhism and children. Basically the author, Clark Strand, was saying that American Buddhists need to teach their children to be Buddhists to make sure the religion continues to grow or it risks dying out.While I'm sure that his intentions are good this article raises a big red flag for me. That is because I do not feel that children should be indoctrinated or forced into their parent's religion. Perhaps it stems from...

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Touching Suchness

This is one of my favorite quotes/teachings from the Great Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh:I like to walk alone on country paths, rice plants and wild grasses on both sides, putting each foot down on the earth in mindfulness, knowing that I walk on the wondrous earth. In such moments, existence is a miraculous and mysterious reality. People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every...

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Dick Cheney the Unpatriotic Liberal

I don't usually talk politics on this blog but this video was too much to pass up.To hear him talk in this clip he's one us. Those "nasty, stupid, unpatriotic liberal" war critics that he has cursed. The Cheney camp claims that things were different because of 9/11. Yep, he is still beating that long dead (now decomposing) horse that Saddam had something to do with those horrible attacks. And I'm sure he'll be dragging the picked clean, parched bones with him to his grave.---End of Transmission...

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Rocky Mountain Lotus Pond

The summer tourist season saw its usual swarm of people bustling around the shopping district of the normally sleepy mountain town. The crowds were much deeper then most summer weekends, however, since the internationally known sculpture festival is now playing down the canyon in my hometown of Loveland. Our destination was in opposite direction of the herd.Nestled in between a back country road and a sparse cluster of cabins lies a graceful lotus pond high in the town of Estes Park, CO, USA at...

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Buddhist Health Survey

Take part in an interesting Buddhist Health Survey put together by The Northern University of Arizona in the United States of America. CLICK HERE. UPDATE: This survey takes about 45 minutes.For more information regarding this survey read below:Buddhism is a growing religion and practice in the United States and despite the growing number of individuals practicing basic elements of Buddhism, surprisingly little is known about the individuals who practice Buddhism. This survey assesses a...

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Meditation with the Buddha Within

I have been having some awful nightmares of late and was talking with my therapist about it and she had a suggestion. She said that since meditation works so well for me that I should try and do a mini-meditation before bedtime--one that concentrated solely upon getting ready for sleep. So a big part of that for me has been breathing deeply and letting the days events bubble up into my head as I lie there on the bed and physically breath them out of my mind and body. So last night I was doing this...

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