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joy

A camel train crosses a desert in convoy; public domain image from Wikimedia Commons.
basic mindfulness | daily practice | joy | Pema Chodron

not a caravan of despair

ByTom Davidson-Marx Posted on07/13/202307/17/2024 07/17/2024

Do you have a fear of missing out on a more spiritual experience doing a mountain of laundry, washing a sinkful of…

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Air Man, 1828; original public domain image from Yale Center for British Art.
basic mindfulness | joy

be happy, meditate

ByTom Davidson-Marx Posted on07/03/202307/17/2024 07/17/2024

Rather than striving to get rid of stress and confusion, see how these mental states act as a false barrier to our…

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View from the dunes on Koog in Texel (1917) by Jan Toorop.
humor | joy

everything is a mess and it’s fine

ByTom Davidson-Marx Posted on11/14/202206/17/2024 06/17/2024

Yes, we are all in a mess, with suffering and despair everywhere-yet one lonely channel broadcasts the remarkable message that despite it…

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have your self a foolish little Christmas
joy

have your self a foolish little Christmas

ByTom Davidson-Marx Posted on12/25/201906/13/2024 06/13/2024

  Ram Dass encouraged us to embrace our foolish selves rather than try to fix them   I heard the news as…

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no self help
joy | psychological issues

no self help

ByTom Davidson-Marx Posted on04/22/201906/02/2024 06/02/2024

Mindfulness meditation leaves the self-help mindset in the dust by challenging the existence of the very thing we are setting out to…

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refuge
basic Buddhism | joy | simplicity

refuge

ByTom Davidson-Marx Posted on07/20/201708/12/2024 08/12/2024

We suffer because we forget what we truly are. We take refuge to remember. We forget we are love and compassion; that…

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Joy as a moral obligation
Christian mystics | joy

joy as a moral obligation

ByTom Davidson-Marx Posted on02/18/201607/07/2024 07/07/2024

Acknowledging the inevitable sorrows in our lives with mindfulness opens the heart to kindness and joy as a moral obligation. I recently…

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joy | metta/ loving-kindness

Buddhist meditation on joy

ByTom Davidson-Marx Posted on05/15/201308/12/2024 08/12/2024

In these past few posts we have been looking at the practice of the Four Immeasurables – Love, Joy, Compassion and Equanimity,…

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topics to explore

  • aging
  • attachment
  • basic Buddhism
  • basic mindfulness
  • Buddhist meditation
  • Buddhist precepts
  • Christian mystics
  • compassion
  • courage
  • daily practice
  • death and dying
  • expectation & goals
  • gratefulness
  • humor
  • impermanence
  • intimacy
  • Israel-Hamas War
  • joy
  • metta/ loving-kindness
  • pandemic teachings
  • patience
  • Pema Chodron
  • poets and poetry
  • political/ social issues
  • progress in meditation
  • psychological issues
  • simplicity
  • the present moment
  • U Tejaniya
  • uncategorized
  • War in Ukraine
  • Zen teachings

for a deeper dive, explore sub-topics

Ajahn Chah Ajahn Sumedho Carl Rogers compassion contemplative life contentment daily life David Steindl-Rast depression Dhammapada dukkha Emily Dickinson emotions four noble truths Gaza happiness impermanence intimacy Israel-Hamas war Jack Kornfield Joseph Campbell Krishnamurti Kuan Yin Larry Rosenberg Mark Nepo Norman Fischer Pema Chodron present moment resistance Robert Aikten Roshi Rumi Ryokan samsara Sharon Salzberg Shinzen Young Suzuki Roshi T. S. Eliot Tara Brach the three poisons Thomas Merton U Tejaniya Viktor Frankl vulnerability W. B. Yeats Zen koans

A mind unruffled by the vagaries of fortune, from sorrow freed, from disturbing emotions cleansed, from fear liberated, this is the greatest blessing.

~The Buddha (Mangala Sutta)

When you find your place where you actually are, practice occurs. When you find your way at this moment, practice occurs. Here is the place. Here the way unfolds.

Dogen, 1200 – 1253, Genjōkōan: Actualizaing the Fundamental Point

We can always imagine more perfect conditions. But it's not our task to create ideals, but to learn from the world as it is. For the awakening of the heart, conditions are always good enough.

Ajahn Sumedho

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