Reflective World

Put a mirror down somewhere. Everything that is in front of it, is reflected in it, exactly as it appears. The mirror is unable to differentiate, therefore it reflects things exactly as they are. The same is the case with the master. He is open to the pure mirror of his spirit and is unclouded by any consciousness which separates and distinguishes one thing from another, distinguishing between good and evil. Yes his mirror-like soul is not blind to "this" and "that", to "good" and "evil". He sees without being forced by his habitual patterns to judge. If the mirror of the soul is pure and free from the slightest trace of prejudice, then everything in the sees between heaven and earth, is reflected in it, just as it is. A man who possesses such a mirror is absolutely present in perfect command of the moment and the attitude of mind which is called for at that point. He can produce natural action, wonderful in that it can be subjected to every conceivable change, wether in the art of fencing or in any of the arts of life, containing the wisdom of the Buddha.

SOURCE: Japanese Zen Master

Every one of you knows people who are really bloody useful in a crisis. You can think of all the people that you admire as partial incarnations or the archetypal Messiah. And the more that that manifests itself in any given person then the more generally useful and admirable that person is in a multitude of situations and we don't know the limit to that.

SOURCE: https://youtu.be/kXHCzjQxH9A?t=1294

I deeply and completely accept myself,
while accepting my hate and anger,
while allowing myself to access my infinite power of intuition, imagination and visualisation,
while letting go of all worries,
while not clinging to my ego,
while relaxing all tense muscles.

On Healing Trauma, respected therapist and teacher Peter A. Levine brings you face to face with his effective new treatment - not a "talking" cure, but a deep physiological process for releasing your past traumas and instilling a harmonious awareness of your body. Are you experiencing physical or emotional symptoms that no one is able to explain? If so, you may be suffering a traumatic reaction to a past event, teaches Levine. Medical researchers have known for decades that survivors of accidents, disaster, and childhood trauma often endure life-long symptoms ranging from anxiety and depression to unexplained physical pain and harmful "acting out" behaviors reflecting these painful events. As a young stress researcher at the university of California at Berkeley, Levine found that all animals, including humans, are born with a natural ability to rebound from these distressing situations.

It is a myth to believe that we will find our authentic self after we have left behind or forgotten one thing or another... to make ourselves, to shape a form from various elements - that is the task! The task of a sculptor! Of a productive human being!

Compassion is the spontaneous wisdom of the heart. It's always with us. It always has been, and always will be. When it arises in us, we've simply learned to see how strong and safe we really are.

~ Mingyur Rinpoche

Someone asked me "Aren´t you worried about the state of the world?"I allowed myself to breathe, and then I answered: "What is most important is not to let the anxiety of what happens to the world to fill your heart. If your heart is filled with anxiety, you will get sick and you will not be able to help."

- Thich Nhat Hahn

About meaning of life, so many people nowadays are just cynicists, crying about their life, how they are slaves of the system, pretty much depressed.

This is why I find the Character Ethics so interesting, values like:

 - patience (everything of value needs time to create)
 - compassion (reduce suffering of oneself and others)
 - courage (standing up for your own beliefs)
 - integrity/honesty (actually act on what you know/believe, what is knowledge/belief worth if somebody doesn't act on it)
 - growth (growing to become more socially interdependent and independent/self-differentiated)
 - excellence (only in a specific field, since nobody can know everything, resulting in interdependence)
 - service (actively helping a cause, which increases the wealth of society and always comes back to oneself)
 - potential (everybody starts small, it takes effort to grow)
 - nurturance (help others grow and release their potential)

If ones character has those values, that person simply can't be a slave by definition. Rather being a interdependent part of the whole.

When we speak of listening with compassion, we usually think of listening to someone else. But we must also listen to the wounded child inside of us. Sometimes the wounded child in us needs all our attention.

That little child might emerge from the depths of your consciousness and ask for your attention. If you are mindful, you will hear his or her voice calling for help. At that moment, instead of paying attention to whatever is in front of you, go back and tenderly embrace the wounded child.

~ Thích Nhất Hạnh