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September 2025

: A point on the road to decent side. Seven points out of a possible twelve so far. Not bad. photo thumbnail

: by @bodhidave.bsky.social — the more kind and open-hearted we are, the more aware we are of what …

: by @patrickrhone The rock you hide under will likely eventually crush you.

: Block your exits

: Forrest by David Hockney. photo thumbnail

: A gentle reminder…

: by @Archimage “Fury is just an emotion used to mask fear.”

: …you have to help other people if you want to survive. — Dave Winer

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

: To assert the whole requires a vantage beyond it. The 21st Century Self by Robert Saltzman 📚

: Jean Baudrillard. photo thumbnail

: I think it’s very healthy to spend time alone. You need to know how to be alone and not be defined …

: I’m haunted by this phrase at the moment. ”…to tend to what is falling apart without pretending it …

: Good afternoon. photo thumbnail

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

: photo thumbnail

: …the void is not a threat. It is this moment, unadorned. The self is not an entity with problems. …

: We die to each other daily. What we know of other people is only our memory of the moments during …

: Social media creates and maintains the illusion of involvement in the world beyond our own lived …

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: A quiet day off today just going with the flow. Coffee, walking, watching the world go by.

: The End of Our Circle Last night, our local meditation circle closed its doors for the final time. Our format was simple: …

: We may be approaching a time when the illusion of selfhood is strengthened, not weakened, because we …

: Continuing to read: The 21st Century Self by Robert Saltzman 📚 This is an important book. Not so …

: The first corruption

: Minding God’s Business by Prickly Oxheart. Don’t be put off by the title. Wise and timely advice for …

: Coffee stop. photo thumbnail

: ”Self-awareness is arduous, and since most of us prefer an easy, illusory way, we bring into being …

: Long(ish) drive home today after a great weekend with old friends and (perhaps) summer’s last …

: ”The danger isn’t that AI becomes sentient. It’s that humans persist in treating it as if it were.” …

: ”…the self is not an entity you must liberate, improve, or protect. It is a performance of claiming, …

: Mars and the Artist by Cy Twombly. photo thumbnail

: The morning after the night before… 😵‍💫 photo thumbnail

: Weekend away. photo thumbnail

: Undiscovered Genius of the Mississippi Delta by Jean-Michel Basquiat photo thumbnail

: ”If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself.” — Herman Hesse

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: ”In philosophy, and particularly in metaphysics, certainty is a kind of death. It kills the question …

: Oblique strategy: Try not naming things.

: Boredom is wanting something that isn’t there. Contentment is having everything when nothing is …

: The Kiss by Gustav Klimt. photo thumbnail

: “Oh, you people are slow. Bringing you up to speed is like trying to explain Norway to a dog.” — …

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: Seagram Murals by Mark Rothko photo thumbnail

: Rewatching Slow Horses.

: All we are is the present moment. Everything else is imagination.

: “Some things need to be unsaved, neglected, forgotten, ignored, left undone so better things can be …

: Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion by Francis Bacon. photo thumbnail

: Stroke, heart attack and death. The new reasons why people can’t attend parties these days…

: Finished reading Zen Experience by Douglas Harding 📚

: Rain, Steam and Speed – The Great Western Railway by J. M. W. Turner. photo thumbnail

August 2025

: “The bad news is you’re falling through the air, nothing to hang on to, no parachute. The good news …

: All the words, ideas and images come and go… and then there you are, free from all of it.

: False Start by Jasper Johns. photo thumbnail

: I’m enjoying reading a number of people writing about their rich and varied rituals as the seasons …

: The Dog by Francisco de Goya. photo thumbnail

: ‘TIL THE END Six points out of a possible nine. Not a bad start to our return to the Premiership. If … photo thumbnail

: “The evil that is in the world always comes of ignorance, and good intentions may do as much harm as …

: The paradox of progress I don’t really use AI. I just don’t have any use for it. However, I was attempting to make some text …

: Still alive. Still wondering where dinner is. photo thumbnail

: Good afternoon. photo thumbnail

: “The harder truth—the one that makes the gurus squirm—is that the present moment is unalterable. It …

: “The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it.” — Flannery O’Connor

: “Hope is just fear in disguise.” — Sam Harris

: A timely reminder today that there is no need to keep everything! Weird how the more digital our …

: Day off POV. photo thumbnail

: Went for a little walk at the weekend. photo thumbnail

: Good afternoon. photo thumbnail

: Nothing trumps the present moment.

: Douglas Harding’s ‘Headless Way’ strikes me as a particularly English, no nonsense, method of …

: Seeing what you really are is recognising that you are nothing that you thought you were but are …

: It’s funny when you catch yourself trapped in the idea and thought about something instead of the …

: Good afternoon. photo thumbnail

: “The question isn’t whether you live in a free country — it’s whether you’re free to be who you …

: It all counts…

: I always forget that gratitude is the most powerful superpower.

: Good afternoon. photo thumbnail

: It’s not about getting rid of one perspective and stabilising another. Swapping one story for …

: “Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent.” — Ludwig Wittgenstein

: “A world where everything must be seen is a world where nothing is understood.” — Joshua Krook

: “Wisdom is not knowing and knowing that I do not know. Ignorance is not knowing that I do not know. …

: “Zen doesn’t answer questions, it dissolves them.” — Barry Magid

: If you insist upon life having meaning I can only bring your attention to whatever is happening …

: When all questions vanish, when all frameworks dissolve, when all explanations are unnecessary.

: “You can’t live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay …

: No one saw that coming, least of all me! photo thumbnail

: You are not a project that needs to be brought to fruition. Leave yourself alone, sit back and watch …

: Post by @mattypenny “Let go of certainty. The opposite isn’t uncertainty. It’s openness, curiosity …

: Good afternoon. photo thumbnail

: Reading Orient by David Hinton 📚 is a vivid reminder of why I have always been fascinated by and …

: “No thought, no memory any more me than whatever occurs next…” — Orient by David Hinton 📚

: “Letting go of our images of who we are is a way of letting go of the known, which is our prison.” …

: “Empty desert, empty ruins: this open emptiness erases all the meaning we want to invest in things, …

: Having a peaceful mind doesn’t mean the absence of pain and problems. It just means they are felt …

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

: A lone voice All the current hysteria, both positive and negative, around AI/ LLMs reminds of the early days of …

: There’s no path, no journey, no story. Just the present moment changing, changing, changing…

: “Without emptiness, where would all this vanishing go, this vanishing that opens the exquisite …

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

: Good evening. photo thumbnail

: So my team are back in the Premier League after an eight season absence. While we’ve made some … photo thumbnail

: “To see wholly, mirror-deep and sincere: to see is to forget the names of things.” Orient by David …

: Caffeine needed to be iced today. photo thumbnail

: “The truth is: you won’t fix the world. You won’t fix them. You won’t fix yourself. And once you …

: “No one warns you that love, in its rawest form, is not a balm but a breaking.” — Robert Saltzman, …

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

: Of course. Now it all makes sense. photo thumbnail

: I won’t get involved. After 16 years she knows what she’s doing. photo thumbnail

: “Money has no essence. It’s not ‘really’ anything; therefore, its nature has always been and …

: This moment; bright, clear, warm, still and tranquil. Spoilt only by these words.

: Well, this looks fun. Hopefully Ben Wheatley back to his best.

: “All words lead to more words. Before, after and between those words? The immanence and vastness of …

: “While wandering down the path of wonder, I briefly escape the world of separation and enter the …

: “Act without expectation.” – Lao Tzu Zen Every Day

: “Everyday we wake up and collectively make a world together; but which one of us, left to our own …

: 🤷‍♂️ photo thumbnail

: Augustus John. photo thumbnail

: Gwen John. photo thumbnail

: Good evening. photo thumbnail

: Solar powered website. The future now.

: “I can’t find that self I am anywhere, that inside we assume looks out to an outside. And I can’t …

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

: “When you paint Spring, do not paint willows, plums, peaches, or apricots, but just paint Spring. To …

: Good evening. photo thumbnail

: Good afternoon. photo thumbnail

: by @openculture@toot.community The Spinal Tap Sequel Arrives Next Month: Watch the Trailer and a …

: The 21st Century Self by Robert Saltzman 📚 is an extraordinary book. Chapter one is so exquisitely …

: by @mariapopova.bsky.social What happens when we die www.themarginalian.org/2022/01/1…

: by @drwalt Milton Understood the 21st Century Mind: scottwalters.micro.blog

: Post by @zeldman.bsky.social “I also learned something about people and friendship, and remembered …

: I love his photographs. photo thumbnail

: Everything worthwhile and valuable in life tend to be by-products of other processes, not ends in …

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

: The path leads directly here from here…

: Some runs are better than others and that was not one of them. Legs like lead and nothing in the …

: “The moment is all; the moment is enough.” — Virginia Wolf

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

: Currently reading The 21st Century Self by Robert Saltzman 📚

: Currently reading Orient by David Hinton 📚

: Good afternoon. photo thumbnail

: Finished reading: Where the Heart Beats by Kay Larson 📚

: I Want to read: The 21st Century Self by Robert Saltzman 📚

: I Want to read: Orient by David Hinton 📚

: Finished reading: China Root by David Hinton 📚 Extraordinary read. The language is sparse but so …

: “The present-moment experience is not a fixed state. You cannot catch it or hold it. It’s an endless …

: We inhabit and live inside stories as if they’re going to protect us. From what?

: Had the privilege of spending time with a Harris’s Hawk at the weekend.

: The freedom from likes and dislikes…

: More and more uninterested in people’s opinions, preferences and what they think, and really only …

: Been offline for the best part of a week and have not missed it one bit. Literally had no cause or …

: No matter what is added to or subtracted from experience nothing is gained nor lost.

: The most profound recognition finds its complete realisation without articulation.

July 2025

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

: “We think that the point is to pass the test or overcome the problem, but the truth is that things …

: The dog sleeps, dream barking in her bed, paws twitching as she runs who knows where…

: “We go on—not upward, not forward, but just on…” — Anon

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

: “The self doesn’t produce thoughts, it’s thoughts that produce the self.” — Robert Saltzman

: Three friends have each had a dear pet pass away in the last three days 😞

: Why would we trust positive thoughts any more than negative ones? Why one set of stories over …

: Good afternoon. photo thumbnail

: “I myself was the murderer and the murdered.” — Carl Jung

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

: Working with individuals that have a wide range of neurodivergent conditions including bio polar, …

: Not something yet not nothing.

: A kind of magic Just want to make a quick shout out/ thank you/ mention to @manton for the ease with which I was …

: Consciousness is not a problem to be solved. That’s like a ruler trying to measure itself. …

: Our greatest teacher is always with us, for it is no more and no less than the present moment.

: Fresh dew soaked morning after the rain. The dog sleeping soundly after breakfast. Silent house.

: Enjoying this. Alas, UK only I fear 😕 photo thumbnail

: It doesn’t take much reflection to reveal how much of our experience is made up of our opinions …

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

: This morning, gentle rain. The brook babbles a little louder. Cars hiss by while the dog snores.

: If we don’t assimilate and integrate traditional ancient wisdom into the ordinary reality of our own …

: Paying close attention to our mind and the myriad thoughts that arise, it’s possible to see the …

: So much unnecessary fear, anxiety and suffering (as well as groundless hope and optimism) is caused …

: This is how I see all brands, slogans and advertising. photo thumbnail

: “Finding meaning is merely a matter of finding a better story. Stories put your pains and pleasures …

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

: “You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never …

: “Here is not an ‘Either-Or’ crossover but, rather, a ‘Both-And’ revelation.” — Dennis Gallagher

: Non duality “Non-Duality. That place where we see that the One manifests as the many and the many are …

: Good afternoon. photo thumbnail

: Happiness has nothing to do with pleasure.

: There was a time (even before the printed word) it was thought that the written word signalled the …

: Our thoughts and ideas are the least of us. Always late to the party that’s already in full swing, …

: “In my psychotherapy practice, I saw this play out daily. Clients spoke of loneliness, but what they …

: Spot the difference between: “Is this all there is?” and “You mean there’s all this?!”

: “We don’t have ideas. Ideas have us.” — Carl Jung

: Where do you want to be? I work with someone who spends all of their time on holiday despite actually being on holiday for …

: “When you argue with reality, you lose, but only 100% of the time.” — Byron Katie

: How to be unhappy Compare yourself to others Compare the present with the past and the future Believe your thoughts …

: “I speak not of transcendence, but of what shimmers before the mind moves to name it. Not the …

: “The way out of our cage begins with accepting absolutely everything about ourselves and our lives.” …

: There is no thought, idea, concept or story that can survive the raw actuality of experience. Not …

: Self interest is a dead end.

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

: “Death is not the opposite of life, but a part of it.” — Haruki Murakami

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

: “Silence is not freedom from sounds. Silence is not freedom from thoughts. Silence is freedom from …

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

June 2025

: “…it becomes vividly clear that in concrete fact I have no other self than the totality of things of …

: Looking back over old journal entries from years ago I see a completely different person. …

: Ouch This morning I stubbed my toe. Badly. You know, the kind that hurts beyond all reason. The stubbing …

: “No memory, no problem.”

: Good afternoon. photo thumbnail

: Treetops photo thumbnail

: We all take our feelings very seriously but what are they?

: What stories are we all telling ourselves this morning?

: After a hectic weekend at work enjoying a slightly slower start this morning with coffee and a cool …

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

: “I’ve lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.” — Mark Twain

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

: We project our trance onto the machine and find it blinking back. This is the danger: not that …

: This old girl is 16 years and 3 months young. She just keeps on truckin… photo thumbnail

: Good afternoon. photo thumbnail

: Things are finite. Being is infinite.

: “Do you think that I count the days? There is only one day left, always starting over: it is given …

: It’s fascinating to watch how quickly and automatically direct experience is transformed into a …

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

: “One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness …

: ”Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final.” — Rainer …

: Good afternoon. photo thumbnail

: You can only wake up to your own life.

: “My job is not to run around doing things. I am a human being, not a human doing.” — Paradigm shift

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

: Thinking is great fun. Watching thoughts pop up out of nowhere and then disappear again just as …

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

: Life strategy

: “Light only has meaning when it illuminates something dark and enlightenment is no good unless it …

: Good afternoon. photo thumbnail

: “Any idea we have right here and now of what next looks like, is a painting made by our mind, and …

: Looking forward to this. Shifty, the new film/ series from Adam Curtis. UK only I fear 😕 photo thumbnail

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

: “When we turn 40 we stop saying ‘hi’ and start saying ‘bye’. — Martin Amis

: The point of utopias and dystopias is that we end up somewhere in the middle. What we fail to …

: Good afternoon. photo thumbnail

: We cannot rid ourselves of anything that happens because we are everything that happens.

: Perhaps the greatest piece of advice ever, from Carl Jung, of course 😉 One lives as one can…”

: “The observer is the observed and therein lies sanity, the whole.” — Jiddu Krishnamurti

: The shift from a busy, confused and overwhelmed mind to that of open, clear, spaciousness is …

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

: “The boundary to what we can accept is the boundary to our freedom.” — Tara Brach

: Being alive is the only adventure.

: At meditation this evening I felt an exquisite intensity of the moment – of everything happening all …

: “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.” …

: “Different strokes for different folks or for different moments. One moment you need Zen. The next …

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

: Things go away. Everything is always here.

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

: Ever tried looking for yourself and not come up with either thoughts, ideas, stories, memories or …

: Nothing has to happen yet everything does.

: Recognising the eternal now is exquisitely palpable yet utterly ungraspable. Reality is fully …

: Even in contemplative/ meditative spheres there is a tendency to fetishise certain conditions, like …

: Whatever progress may or may not be, it is only made when one drops the idea of making any.

: Today will be spent mostly hauling building waste to the dump. Oh, and coffee of course. And maybe a …

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

: “The mark of the moderate man, according to the Tao, is that he has no ideas about himself. None. …

: You can’t do what is already being done. You can’t become what you already are. You can’t allow what …

: Good afternoon. photo thumbnail

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

: Spiritual/ meditative/ contemplative insights are not reserved for sacred texts, ancient traditions, …

: The presence or not of suffering is beside the larger point that there is anything to experience at …

: “You’re on Earth. There’s no cure for that.” — Samuel Beckett

: What is lost in the individual tends to be society’s gain and vice versa.

: Everything, including you, is just happening without any effort whatsoever.

: There are no distractions. Only a seamless continuum of experience.

: Good afternoon. photo thumbnail

: “In my estimation, the wisest among us are those who live without answers to ultimate questions, …

: There’s what you should do, what you shouldn’t do and what you’re going to do anyway.

: Body feeling battered this morning so attempting to take it easy today before work tomorrow

: Currently. photo thumbnail

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

: Challenging but amazing yoga session this morning and then six hours hacking and wrestling the …

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

: “You can only be afraid of what you think you know.” — Jiddu Krishnamurti

: Who am I? What am I? In all honesty, only everything that is happening.

: Good afternoon. photo thumbnail

: “The cure for the pain is in the pain.” — Rūmī

: We will remain forever blind to the unintended consequences of our actions be they good or ill.

: “Why do you meditate?” “To see what happens.”

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

May 2025

: “We go on—not upward, not forward, but just on…” — Anon

: There is no elephant in the room. The elephant is the room.

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

: Thursday night is darts 🎯 night. photo thumbnail

: Recognising the difference between thinking you are a thing to which other things happen and being …

: At the close of meditation this evening this thought, somewhat paradoxically popped up, ‘…the …

: Good afternoon. photo thumbnail

: “Happiness can exist only in acceptance.” — George Orwell

: It is said that AI doesn’t know what it’s doing or how it’s doing it. I would suggest that neither …

: Bring the noise Sitting in silence and stillness is all very nice but there is nothing intrinsic to these conditions …

: Adam Curtis’ new series ‘Shifty’ looks fun.

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

: Good evening. photo thumbnail

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

: Good night. photo thumbnail

: “The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” — George …

: “If we trust life, we know this for a fact: Everything that happens, happens for the best.” — Trust

: “Don’t miss what is here now, in wishing it was otherwise.” — Andō

: You can’t be what you are if you think of yourself as anything in particular.

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

: The sound of welcome rain The welcome sound of rain

: ”I am not one and simple, but complex and many.” — Virginia Woolf

: Sitting quietly in my car Drinking coffee Cars hiss in the distance Nothing to be done

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

: Good afternoon. photo thumbnail

: So apparently Apple is a successful international technology company. And it also appears that their …

: The sad thing about getting promoted to the Premier League is the inevitable dissolution of the …

: “Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people.” — …

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

: Good afternoon. photo thumbnail

: Making the most of the last of the glorious weather today before the traditional bank holiday … photo thumbnail

: A day of chores, chopping wood and carrying water. Not really, more like laundry and mowing the lawn …

: “I believe in kindness. Also in mischief. Also in singing, especially when singing is not …

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: “Living itself means nothing other than being questioned; our whole act of being is nothing more …

: Allium out, loud and proud. photo thumbnail

: Good morning. It’s been raining. photo thumbnail

: What is here, now? Nothing less than your whole life. Everything that could possibly be happening for you is right …

: Good afternoon. photo thumbnail

: Does contemplation have a place in the world? ”We don’t need more teachers, we need more …

: ”The universe is wider than our views of it.” — Henry David Thoreau

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: On her favourite sheepskin rug. photo thumbnail

: Good evening. photo thumbnail

: Good afternoon. photo thumbnail

: Contemplatively/ meditatively speaking, the secret to getting somewhere is to go nowhere.

: “Humans love to add, to expand, and to clarify. And in doing so, we create complexity… The irony is …

: “Wherever you are, is the place you need to be.” — Anon

: It’s a long way down for little old arthritic legs… photo thumbnail

: The end of a tiring week of work. Pretty knackered but, as always, rewarded and fulfilled. The …

: ”No matter how many years you sit doing zazen, you will never become anything special.” — …

: Dog & dinner. photo thumbnail

: Good afternoon. photo thumbnail

: “You never truly need what you want. That is the main and thoroughgoing key to serenity. — Albert …

: Contemplation runs through all of life.

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

: Good afternoon. photo thumbnail

: I don’t know anything about tech but this made me smile Justfuckingusehtml

: This month’s cult cinema club is showing Pedro Almodovar’s Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown … photo thumbnail

: Not being bullied At school I was a prime target for bullies. To avoid the inevitable I somehow managed to develop a …

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

: “Before I studied Zen, mountains were mountains and rivers were rivers. When I had studied Zen for …

: Where are you?

: ‘TIL THE END I’m not going to get carried away by my team, Sunderland AFC, making it to the playoff final at … photo thumbnail

: Who’s that? photo thumbnail

: Spent the day battling the garden and have the bramble scars to show for it! Exhausted but glad to … photo thumbnail

: ”I have been filled with hopes, fears, despairs, longings, happiness. Expansive moments, contracting …

: The Assembly Originally a one off on the BBC but now a series on ITV, The Assembly is currently my favourite TV … photo thumbnail

April 2025

: There are few greater pleasures than sitting in the sun, with a gentle breeze, favoured drink of …

: Dog leg photo thumbnail

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: Very new foal. photo thumbnail

: Wild horses. photo thumbnail

: The wild garlic by the brook is blooming. photo thumbnail

: Up photo thumbnail

: Making the most of the last rays after work. photo thumbnail

: Feel what you feel, don’t feel what you think.

: I have always, mysteriously, loved Magnolias without having any idea why. This shone some light on … photo thumbnail

: Am I the only one who finds the Tapestry app ugly? I’m sure it’s technically amazing but it just …

: There’s a difference between being comfortable in your own skin and being pleased with yourself. The …

: The most pertinent questions AI raises are about us. What are we?

: We must make our experiment. We must make mistakes. We must live out our own version of life. And …

: Now, more than ever, cultivating resilience is perhaps our most important endeavour.

: The ego is the workshop where the self is made. — Carl Jung

: Experience is a spectrum not a hierarchy.

March 2025

: Good morning. photo thumbnail

: The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place. — George …

: Despite being a massive fan of Armando Iannucci and Steve Coogan I didn’t overly enjoy their stage …

: Head in, bum out. Comfort. photo thumbnail

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: “It is by no means certain that the man with good intentions is under all circumstances a good man. …

: “When a man lacks self-knowledge, he can do the most astonishing or terrible things without calling …

: Good morning pheasant. photo thumbnail

: This was 16 yesterday. No more mountains or hikes left in her but she keeps on trucking, ever more … photo thumbnail

: eveningSatoru Hasegawa https://gram.social/p/Tsbasatoru/808639683390295453 photo thumbnail

: “Don’t try to create and analyse at the same time, they’re different processes.” — Corita Kent

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: The glory of a beautiful Spring day would not exist if not for all the bleak, grey winter ones that …

: Investigate, question, examine, interrogate anything for long enough and sooner or later it …

: We educate and pass on our values to our children not by lecturing but by example, how we live, how …

: We could almost be forgiven for thinking Spring is in the air…

: A civil and humane society is held together and sustained less by its laws than by the everyday acts …

: Still cold here so jumper mode has been activated having been practically shaved this afternoon. photo thumbnail

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: Tonight Toast bringing her door stop skills. photo thumbnail

: “The journey into the self, into the nameless and the formless, is first and last an act of …

: A still, cool and unnervingly quiet day out there… Off to see Mother Vera later at the Borderlines … photo thumbnail

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: Extraordinary. She’s not underneath anything. photo thumbnail

: Let no idea take you hostage lest you develop Stockholm syndrome to an ideology.

: So, not altogether unpredictably I ended taking an unscheduled ice bath by falling into the brook! …

: Coffee first and then I have to chop/ prune/ wrestle a fallen tree out of the brook. Typically I …

: I’m sorry but I have no idea what’s going on here. photo thumbnail

: Huh. Never heard of Próspera before until I read this. When hell looks like a Caribbean holiday.

: “Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people.” — …

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: Humans are optimised for survival not truth.

: One way and then the other. photo thumbnail

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: Toast has claimed her spot and is not moving. photo thumbnail

: Another beautiful day out there. What feels like a balmy 12 degrees, a gorgeous blue sky scuffed …

: Lovely post, as always, from Mike Farley at An Open Ground. “Part of the trouble, it seems to me, …

: “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.” — Philip K. Dick

: “In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.” — Albert Camus

: “I don’t know… I think I’d like to say only that they (children) should learn to be alone and try to …

: It’s become very clear that my mind is incapable of thinking geo-politically or in terms of …

: “One has to discover everything for oneself. And get over it all alone.” — Too-Ticky/ Tove Jansson

: “Reality does not need to be solved. It does not require a conclusion. The mind may demand answers, …

: Looking forward to this. So many comedy heroes, particularly Chris Morris. Imagine

: “Why is it that so few people follow their own star? Why is the star such a heavy burden? Because …

: I’ll take as many of these freezing, clear dawns as the universe can give. photo thumbnail

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: If we really, really accept and embrace the reality of our finitude, our death; then our being, our …

: Few things have upset me as much recently as seeing Trump and his henchmen ambush Zelensky in such a …

: “Thoughts are natural events that you do not possess, and whose meaning you only imperfectly …

: Controversial/ contrarian opinion alert! Care is more important than love. I’ve seen so many people …

: If you are lonely when you are alone, you are in bad company. — Jean-Paul Sartre

: A price is being paid by millions simply from one man growing up with wealth, privilege and …

: What a world. Went to bed last night having watched a tiny, frightened, weak and cowardly bully … photo thumbnail

February 2025

: I absolutely adore this photo. NightSatoru Hasegawa … photo thumbnail

: Went to a new meditation session this evening at the local yoga centre. Really good. …

: “Memory is a liar. It’s a heap of dog-eared, smudged, incessantly revised fictions.” — Peter …

: Back to work tomorrow and it’s my weekend to work. Here’s hoping the sun keeps shining and the land …

: There must always be humour. Some way, somehow humour must be allowed.

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: Zen doesn’t answer questions, it dissolves them.

: It’s a beautiful day out there. A walk across the fields in the sunshine for coffee seems like a …

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: “Meditation is not about becoming a better person or a more spiritual person. It’s about becoming a …

: Yew tunnel. photo thumbnail

: I enjoy Day One Journal’s On This Day feature popping up, as it does, entries from years past. The …

: “You’re on Earth. There’s no cure for that.” — Samuel Beckett, Happy Days

: “The point of Zen is not to escape life, but to live it completely, to taste fully the richness, the …

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: The brook is back to running low and clear now. photo thumbnail

: It’s relatively easy to live with other people compared to living openly and honestly with oneself.

: Whatever a tree does, whatever a fly does, whatever the sea does, whatever a penguin does, whatever …

: After the floods. photo thumbnail

: “Meditation/ contemplation is the discovery that the point of life is always arrived at in the …

: I like being in art galleries in the same way I like being in churches. And I like having no idea …

: “If we have one job in times like this, it is to be bearers, through our careful grief, of love, of …

: So, made it into work after all, dodging lots of standing water most of the way. Thought it would be …

: The only teacher you need, and that never goes away, is the present moment.

: The brook now running brown and a little faster and higher. Another twelve hours of this rain and …

: “It boils down to waking up moment to moment. Being present, open, unprotected. Allowing the …

: Wet and windy out there so keeping warm and dry indoors watching the footie. Newcastle flying …

: Test post from wordland.social.

: “And that to me is the healthy heart of contemplation (a.k.a. meditation). It’s an allowing. It’s a …

: I swapped the sea for mountains and rivers and thought I’d regret it but have never looked back.

: Lovely evening watching our favourite local band, Peiriant, play a homecoming gig. And, bonus, … photo thumbnail

: What a glorious sunny day. Yoga, coffee, fixed gutter, coffee, fires, logs, laundry, 5k run, lunch … photo thumbnail

: ”Now is simply now. You are simply you. And tell me, since you want to leave the place where you …

: “…today’s ‘self-realisation’ might be tomorrow’s ‘what the hell was I thinking?’” — Robert Saltzman

: There is no elephant in the room. The elephant is the room.

: The whole idea of so-called ‘Productivity’ is, not only just plain bullshit, but a distraction from …

: As I periodically do from time to time, I’ve mercilessly stripped out loads of feeds from my Reader. …

: “The right time is any time that one is still so lucky as to have.” — Henry James

: Boredom is wanting something that isn’t there. Contentment is having everything when nothing is …

: Madrid are a cat toying with City as if they’re a mouse.

: RMAMCI Game over…?

: Apropos something completely unrelated, a couple of words popped up that accurately describe my …

: As far as philosophy is concerned I’ve always thought Wittgenstein drew a rather neat line under the …

: Over the years (since around 1999) I’ve had countless blogs (ie. I’ve lost count). Using, in no …

: Dog and bed in perfect harmony. photo thumbnail

: And home again. photo thumbnail

: Fires, logs, laundry, shopping, pharmacy, run and walk across the fields into town for coffee. photo thumbnail

: What stories and narratives of self will you be holding onto as you’re dying? Which begs the rather …

: Wow, a Red Kite just swooped down onto the road in front of me to grab a scrap of roadkill. I slowed …

: “People don’t have ideas, ideas have people.” — Carl Jung

: It’s a strange feeling being surrounded by people who seem to have a lot to say about everything …

: “Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word ‘happy’ would lose its …

: What an extraordinary morning. Seeing the actual sun for the first time in what feels like many … photo thumbnail

: The specific qualities of experience pale in comparison to the simple presence of everything, the …

: “Embrace your losses as fair payment for the surplus of being alive.” — Kieran Setiya

: I wholly disapprove of what you say—and will defend to the death your right to say it. — Evelyn …

: Never confuse your own character and personality with those of the society and culture in which you …

: My favourite Prince anecdote comes from an interview when he was asked what Rolling Stones song he …

: Been revisiting Prince for the first times in ages. For my money, throughout the six year period …

: Really savouring Mary Oliver’s Dog Songs. Great poet that she is, she manages to convey the human …

: “Awakening is highly overrated. And it is credited with a lot more than it is actually responsible …

: I’m finding it enormously freeing and conducive to a profound lightness of being to not try and hold …

: If one is in the business of finding answers to life then, if they exist at all, they surely reside …

: Logs chopped and laundry done, now just time for coffee and cake before a late shift.

: Only when that time comes, then and only then will we know what we will do and who we are.

: Enough is more than everything.

: Very happy with my Valentine gift from my wife. photo thumbnail

: The best advice ever: There’s what you should do, there’s what you shouldn’t do and there’s what …

: Not living anywhere near London anymore I’m really excited to have got tickets to see the National … photo thumbnail

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: In terms of one’s immediate phenomenological experience in this moment, there is no difference …

: Woe betide anyone who thinks they know better.

: …the right-populist turn seems to be the effect of improved material, and especially technological, …

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: My wife is doing an MA in Contemporary Craft. This little window into academia is slowly but surely …

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: “We suffer from the delusion that the entire universe is held in order by the categories of human …

: Fire lit. Dog fed. Feet up. Footie on…

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: “Churches speak most convincingly when there’s no one in them.” — Keith Ashford

: “Can we imagine a life with no content?” — More, please

: Great episode of A New Way Of Being podcast, interview with Shiv Sengupta, a writer I have a lot of …

: A rainy, grey day. Yet there is egg, bacon and coffee at my local cafe before the cleaning of fires, …

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: Dog spillage. photo thumbnail

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: “I have nothing to say and I am saying it and that is poetry as I need it.” — John Cage

: So today was spent mostly getting dirty, taking stuff to the recycling centre, clearing up after the …

: The problem with pleasure.

: So this old girl (16 in March) got her new meds and top up jabs (oh, and treat or two from the vet) … photo thumbnail

: Can’t believe I’ve only just now been introduced to the amazing Lola Young, thanks to my wife who …

: Our unconscious exerts itself on us whether we want it to or not. Indeed, the degree to which we …

: “Both men are conspicuous for the degree to which they still resemble children, having retained a …

: “You can’t define a person. You can’t sum anyone up. Life is non-summative—it is infinite.” — James …

: The Dark Enlightenment is now happening, live.

: There is no avoiding anything. Everything reaches you in the end.

: “The real truth, that dare not speak itself, is that no one is in control. Absolutely no one.” — …

: “Original experience has not been interpreted for you, and so you’ve got to work out your life for …

: What we are does not exist in language. Not everything has a story. Not everything needs a story.

: In every fleeting moment question and answer are the same thing.

: “We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we …

January 2025

: Tonight is Severance night. Loved Season 1 and I’m carrying on watching it but I’m beginning to kind …

: To bastardise/ rewrite Alan Watts: “Poetry is perhaps our greatest folly. The art of saying what …

: Maturity, at any age, is nothing more than realising that both you and life are not what you thought …

: “If one is looking for final answers and somehow, unfortunately, finds them, that is religion, not …

: Feel I have to give another shout out to The Kissing of Kissing: Poems (Multiverse) by Hannah …

: “When we live our life as a whole, there is no longer an aspect that gets singled out as …

: And suddenly the smallest mounds became hills to die on…

: “No war was ever started by someone who couldn’t give a fuck either way.” — John Cooper Clarke

: “How can I be substantial without casting a shadow? I must have a dark side too if I am to be whole; …

: Nothing in particular to do today. Got a run of long shifts coming up so taking the opportunity to …

: “One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness …

: Yoga this evening was part brutal, part glorious with moments of hilarity. All life was there.

: “Thus to enter a realm of immediate experience is most stimulating for those who have done their …

: “This may be no more than his household, his own tortured psyche, or the lives that he blights with …

: The one thing I know. I don’t know anything.

: “One lives as one can…” — Carl Jung, Your questions are unanswerable

: Today: cleaning out fires, chopping logs, laundry, signing off on our roof work and then maybe a 5k …

: Not integrating and assimilating traditional ancient wisdom into the ordinary reality of your own …

: The closest I came to an esoteric or so-called spiritual experience when I was a child was when, …

: Another variation on the same theme. “Just being alive is enough.” — Shunryu Suzuki

: The absurdity of accumulating and hanging onto items, things, stuff…

: I love Joan Tollifson.

: Flipboard’s new Surf app is all very nice now but it will just turn to shit, like Flipboard did, …

: Consciousness and phenomena are so intertwined, interdependent and co-emergent as to be …

: “Suffering doesn’t disappear from life, it disappears into life.” — Barry Magid, Ordinary Mind …

: Being/ life is exactly what it is, exactly what it appears to be in each moment and yet we have no …

: “The meaning of life is just to be alive. It is so plain and so obvious and so simple. And yet, …

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: The more one learns about the great spiritual traditions in tandem with examining the raw …

: SUERZA n. a feeling of quiet amazement that you exist at all; a sense of gratitude that you were …

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: “It is in the nature of political bodies always to see the evil in the opposite group, just as the …

: Words always fail. Sometimes beautifully, sometimes catastrophically.

: So. What a weekend. We had workmen doing repairs on the roof last week that didn’t get finished and …

: The restless, seeking mind settles when it realises there’s nothing to find.

: Get out of your own way and let yourself unfold…

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: “Where I am, I don’t know, I’ll never know, in the silence you don’t know, you must go on, I can’t …

: Looking forward to getting back to the meditation group tomorrow. A series of consecutive late …

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: “No, it isn’t. No combination of words can be a fact because words are not facts and facts are not …

: “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. — George …

: I don’t know if this makes any sense but, ‘react’ and ‘respond’ are not synonymous. For me a …

: There’s no cure for being human.

: Wherever we go, whatever we do we always take ourselves with us.

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: And let’s not forget Toast in black and white… photo thumbnail

: Some old black and white photos… photo thumbnail

: Ignorance and certainty. Wisdom’s way: Believe nothing. Doubt everything. — Twins

: “To remain still, to turn from knowing to simple awareness – without choosing, without direction, in …

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: “I’ve lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.” — Mark Twain

: “In other living creatures ignorance of self is nature; in man it is vice.” — Boethius

: If we allow them the vicissitudes of life make us instead of break us.

: “Thoughts are natural events that you do not possess, and whose meaning you only imperfectly …

: “The advantage of so-called ‘free will’ is indeed so obvious that civilized man is easily persuaded …

: The best teacher is always the present moment no matter what is happening.

: Feel what you feel, don’t feel what you think.

: You can’t edit life. You’re either all in or all out.

: Look close enough and all things disappear.

: The problem is all the arguments and conflicts between people who think they have the ultimate …

: Booked tickets to see Robert Eggers' remake of Nosferatu on Tuesday. Can’t wait!

: As much as I love his films, I can’t get enough of David Lynch’s paintings and photography either… photo thumbnail

: Sadly I’m struggling to find a way to watch David Lynch’s Eraserhead and Lost Highway. It seems …

: “Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people. It …

: “Man’s fate has always swung between day and night. There is nothing we can do to change this.” — …

: “Deeply ingrained in the infantile psyche is the conscious or unconscious assumption that the cure …

: Good morning from The Dead. photo thumbnail

: Current status: Coffee before work photo thumbnail

: “We should not try to “get rid” of a neurosis, but rather to experience what it means, what it has …

: “If you look for meaning, you miss what happens.” — Andrei Tarkovsky

: Can’t fault her commitment to keeping the door open rather than relaxing in her bed. photo thumbnail

: RIP David Lynch. Things were never quite the same after seeing Eraserhead.

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: “Needing to have reality confirmed and experience enhanced by photographs is an aesthetic …

: No matter how small and simple a life may appear to be, it is whole and infinite.

: We are not Black Holes. Our darkness does not consume light. Rich and fertile, it is the very stuff …

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: “Only what is really oneself has the power to heal.” — Carl Jung

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: “…we uncover the essential impermanence of everything that arises; and that of course includes …

: ‘Just enough’ technology seems exactly the right amount. Or of anything for that matter.

: The only way I found that successfully dealt with the whole To Do/ Tasks/ Lists farrago was to get …

: The new Reeder app is an extraordinary product I can highly recommend. A unified timeline of just …

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: It’s that time… photo thumbnail

: Where would we be without the darkness?

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: The problems caused by thought are not solved by more thinking.

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: All the problems we face, ranging from the most intimate and private right through to the biggest …

: “When you surrender, the problem ceases to exist. Try to solve it, or conquer it, and you only set …

: “Words, like the hands of a skilled bodyworker, can draw your attention to something previously …

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: The complete yet ongoing experience that there is anything happening at all (whatever the flavour, …

: Mostly spending today chopping wood and carrying water… 🧘‍♂️ ☯️

: I am incredibly prejudiced. When I see the ‘technical advisors and custodians’ of Free Our Feeds …

: Highly recommend this book of astonishing poems. The Kissing of Kissing: Poems (Multiverse) by … photo thumbnail

: Letting this sleeping dog lie. 🐕 photo thumbnail

: “The mind chases experiences the way a dog chases squirrels: compulsively. The mind thinks (thinks!) …

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: “Love is an action. But the action happens by itself. There is no doer. Love is not an activity; …

: Working the late shift again tonight so no meditation group tonight sadly. 🧘‍♂️ ☯️

: There are no other lives that any of us could be living. 🧘‍♂️ ☯️

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: “A political situation is the manifestation of a parallel psychological problem in millions of …

: “It is in the nature of political bodies always to see the evil in the opposite group, just as the …

: Really trying my hardest to watch Megalopolis but I fear Coppola might have left us with, as his …

: None of these clever, well written books have the answer because there are no answers. 🧘‍♂️ ☯️

: We can never know what we are. We can only be what we are. 🧘‍♂️ ☯️

: In the spirit of prevention being better than cure I think it behooves all of us to acknowledge our …

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: Always open, never landing… 🧘‍♂️ ☯️

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: The divine right of tech billionaires… The Dark Enlightenment

: There are no absolutes, ultimates or fundamentals in nature – only at the limits of our perceptions. …

: Every single life is expressing something. 🧘‍♂️ ☯️

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: Well, well. How serendipitous! No more than a couple of hours after my earlier post this quote falls …

: Ouch! Managed to ‘brand’ my arm on the door of the log burner last night. It hurt at the time but it …

: Cold Cold Ground 🎵 photo thumbnail

: Brilliant, as ever, from @annie ”In my experience, having courage feels like a cross between bungee …

: “I don’t know” sounds like an ending but is actually always the best place to start… 🧘‍♂️ ☯️

: The only way is through… 📷 photo thumbnail

: The best teacher of all is the present moment. 🧘‍♂️ ☯️

: She’s shy… 📷 🐕 photo thumbnail

: Getting back to yoga tonight was such good feeling. A really nice vibe with some lovely guys in a …

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: I am grateful for a life that is small but infinite. 🧘‍♂️☯️

: Thinking about the cost of being persistently aware of global news about which we can have no input, …

: This. The only true goal is boredom Minus the incorrect assertion that Buddhism seeks to detach one …

: Freezing dawn. photo thumbnail

: Toast in her happy place, on a sheepskin rug. 15 years, 10 months and counting… 🐕 photo thumbnail

: For me meditation and contemplation are synonymous. Practice is continuous in the midst of life. To …

: Another beautiful post from Mike Farley, this time on impermanence and the interdependence of life …

: Here’s to the new Reeder app Time for a long overdue shout out to the new Reeder app. I haven’t seen Iconfactory’s Project … photo thumbnail

: Just seen A Real Pain. A good movie. Learned that Kieran Culkin is brilliant at playing himself. …

: A busy day, a long walk and now a roaring fire…

: Snow still lingering on the high ground. photo thumbnail

: It appears to be time for a change… I’m off to micro.blog. If you want to continue seeing my posts …

: Very curious to see Roberts Eggers’ Nosferatu remake. Mixed reviews but I always enjoy his work, …

: “What we’re really in the business of doing is helping people stay with the thoughts and feelings …

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: Happy to have booked my first yoga class of the year. It will be good to get back on the mat …

: I’m enjoying the slow pace of micro.blog. And the lack of likes and follower counts and ‘re-posts’ …

: A blast from the past on the drive home this evening. 🎵 photo thumbnail

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: When work is flow it’s no longer work.

: “When there is nothing left, the way opens. Only when you can sit still in the ruins of all you had …

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: “Nobody needs to go anywhere else. We are all, if we only knew it, already there.” — Aldous Huxley …

: Nobody needs to go anywhere else. We are all, if we only knew it, already there. — Aldous Huxley

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: Only just made it in to work this morning. The combination of snow melt and overnight rain has …

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: Only just made it in to work this morning. The combination of snow melt and overnight rain has …

: So it was the snow which caused problems yesterday and now and tomorrow it will be snow melt plus …

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: Melting already. photo thumbnail

: Melting already. photo thumbnail

: Solitude is for me a fount of healing which makes my life worth living. Talking is often are a …

: Just made it home as the snow started to settle and deepen. Switched to a later shift tomorrow so …

: Joy at the smallest things comes to you only when you have accepted death. But if you look out …

: “Thoughts arise and fall as flowers live and wilt. Stars fade over eons in the night sky and clouds …

: Thoughts arise and fall as flowers live and wilt. Stars fade over eons in the night sky and clouds …

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: Listening to Zen teacher and psychoanalyst Barry Magid’s Ordinary Mind. Excellent so far. Within … photo thumbnail

: Listening to Zen teacher and psychoanalyst Barry Magid’s Ordinary Mind. Excellent so far. Within … photo thumbnail

: This seemed like a suitable companion for the cold and dark drive to work this morning. “Dark and … photo thumbnail

: “Zen is feeling life, not something about life.” — Alan Watts 🧘‍♂️

: Experience without language. Wordless being.

: Experience without language. Wordless being. 🧘‍♂️

: Thoughts and feelings are not a problem. Believing they are is.

: Thoughts and feelings are not a problem. Believing they are is. 🧘‍♂️

: Can’t believe it’s a year since I last watched Luke Littler in the final of the PDC World …

: “Human memory, driven by emotional self-interest, goes to extraordinary lengths to provide evidence …

: “Remembering and fiction-making are virtually indistinguishable.” “Remembering his country, he …

: “I know of nothing more difficult than knowing who you are and having the courage to share the …

: Really want to read this (and watch the companion documentary on Amazon). David Shields is one of my … photo thumbnail

: Really want to read this (and watch the companion documentary on Amazon). David Shields is one of my … photo thumbnail

: She made it through another year but not sure she’ll make another one… 🐕 photo thumbnail

: It’s cold outside but not in here. photo thumbnail

: Just checking the weather for the next couple of days and it looks like I could quite easily get …

: Tucking into my favourite Xmas present. photo thumbnail

: Probably the most underrated feeling or state of mind that contributes subtlety but most powerfully …

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: The fire is slowly dying for the night… photo thumbnail

: So here we go with micro.blog… Haven’t the faintest how I’ll use it or if I even will. First …

: Brilliant and beautiful. Quit chasing it. Happiness does not like to be chased. It does admire a …

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December 2024

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: I’ve always found this time of year rather strange. I find myself surrounded by people both off and …

: There are two conditions for growth: quietude and stillness. To avoid growth, have a goal. Create an …

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: Living by principles is not living your own life. It is easier to try to be better than you are than …

: Nothing happens next, this is always it.

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: It is inevitably true that life is suffering. But the reverse is also true: suffering is life. It is …

: …reality is that which does not go away even if you don’t believe in it. — Robert Saltzman

: From radical nonduality, you get nothing. Or put differently, you get everything, just as it is. …

: Belief is the problem not what is believed.

: Not knowing, intimacy, mystery—all are words that convey a simple, yet profound, openness to the …

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: There is no stillness or silence, there is always movement and sound. There is nowhere to go. We …

: There is no one to whom we are not related. Yes, the idea of me and mine is a cultural cornerstone, …

: Filling the conscious mind with ideal conceptions is a characteristic of Western theosophy, but not …

: This is what Zen means by being detached – not being without emotion or feeling, but being one in …

: What is the ‘silence' that you are after? Do you hear those trucks passing by on the road and the …

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: We truly become ourselves when we forget ourselves.

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: I stroll along the stream up to where it ends. I sit down watching the clouds as they begin to rise. …

: The inflation of the ego is brought about by its identification with the collective values. — Carl …

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: On this, World Meditation Day, a few random thoughts on practice: You can’t do meditation wrong. …

: Apparently it’s World Meditation Day today. Who knew? Not me for one! If I had any advice for anyone …

: If there’s no problem, there’s no problem.

: Yes, the shit can be a burden. But an even bigger burden is the feeling that one has to be …

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: Don’t expect too much from therapy. — James Low When I first heard James say this on his podcast it …

: What is before words Sensations before expression Being before description This without time Life …

: Now ask yourself this: which matters most when it comes to human dignity,  value  or importance? …

: It’s now clear that Christmas this year will be minimal but good enough. For a million differing and …

: The most profound recognition finds its complete realisation without articulation.

: I have nothing to say and I am saying it and that is poetry as I need it. — John Cage

: What we are does not exist in language.

: Zen koans paradoxically use language to demonstrate the absurdity and futility of language in …

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: Initially we can see there is the territory and the map. Then we see through the map and recognise …

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: Dzogchen according to James Low Dzogchen is a particular flavour of Tibetan Buddhism. Its essential insights into the nature of mind …

: View from the sofa. I can’t move. I’m practically in a coma. photo thumbnail

: I’m listening to my wife play Monument Valley 3 and I feel like I’ve had a full body massage I’m so …

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: Modern luxury is the ability to think clearly, sleep deeply, move slowly, and live quietly in a …

: Just as a man still is what he always was, so he already is what he will become. The conscious mind …

: Everything is precisely, exactly as it is, but doesn't arrive anywhere. There's no conclusion. It's …

: I’ve heard so many people who are living with a cancer that is going to take them away say that …

: A way of liberation can have no positive definition. It has to be suggested by saying what it is …

: How old am I? I AM forever. As old as I’ve always been. — How old are you?

: With Bluesky’s current explosive growth, now seems like a good time to run a mile.

: Wisdom consists in doing the next thing you have to do, doing it with your whole heart, and finding …

: If you do one thing today, open your hand and heart and let go of whatever you’re holding onto. What …

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: You are not a problem to be solved.

: Just as nothing is gained or attained, nothing is lost or wasted.

: You can’t take credit for yourself, only responsibility.

: You know that the antidote to exhaustion is not necessarily rest? … The antidote to exhaustion is …

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: The only possible place to get to, the only attainable perspective, the only condition one simply …

: There is nothing to be done but see ourselves clearly. With this clear recognition, what happens …

: Therefore, I do not view the self as an improvement project that begins with incompletion and …

: A man in love is unmasked. He has no preferences, makes no distinctions, acknowledges no …

: Cold feet Warm heart Today

: You are here now… [youtu.be/V2zbpKvcL...](https://youtu.be/V2zbpKvcLH8) Robert Saltzman The Ten …

: We had a power cut today so I spent the time chopping wood for the stoves. What’s the cliché? He who …

: If I am constantly on the move, tripping, going from here to there and back again, then I am in a …

: The insights of so-called awakening/ enlightenment are not acquiring new information but simply …

: A day off today between a twelve hour shift yesterday and another one tomorrow. In my old job this …

: All I can be is who I am right now; I can experience that and work with it. That’s all I can do. The …

: Some days I am struck more forcibly than other days by just how much we unconsciously define …

: Dawn. Sitting still and silent in my car. The rain has abated, floods receding but the wind howls …

: So storm Darragh gave us a right old battering! Woke up this morning to the brook raging higher than …

: But Life doesn’t conform to concepts. It doesn’t fit into neat categories or frameworks. Life is …

: There is darkness inside all of us. Unrecognised and unacknowledged it festers and transforms only …

: Hello Rat in the supermarket car park. photo thumbnail

: I rarely write about my work and I have no idea why. It seems I am simply not moved to. That said it …

: Let me keep my distance, always, from those who think they have the answers. Let me keep company …

: It is pure fantasy to think that you could have done things differently or lived your life any other …

: A curious state of mind today. Not melancholy but floating. Present but not present. Liminal… photo thumbnail

: If my happiness depends on someone or something or on a particular set of circumstances, then I am …

: Came across this on a building beside a river this afternoon. photo thumbnail

: There is no elephant in the room. The elephant is the room.

: There is nothing wrong with mind. Mind is completely perfect in every respect except for thinking …

: Reality is only a Rorschach ink-blot, you know. Alan Watts via Tony Cartledge

: This is so beautiful… morning no.8 She is blind but loving the sunshine. She feels it with whole her … photo thumbnail

: It is perfectly ordinary and normal that much of what we experience makes no sense. Sense is the …

: Probably one of my favourite music videos of all time. Joy Division’s Atmosphere. …

: What if you did not separate yourself from the experience that is here now - whether that moment is …

: The price of living in a consumer culture is that we are tyrannized by things. Not just by things …

: Out dancing last night the DJ played Prince’s Mountains and then Miss You by The Rolling Stones. …

November 2024

: Previously I posted here about my soft spot for Glen Campbell’s Wichita Lineman. On further … photo thumbnail

: A great time with my son at the match this afternoon and 3-0 win as well! photo thumbnail

: Ever so slightly obsessed with Wichita Lineman by Glen Campbell at the moment. I first heard it as a …

: It takes great resolve to enter into the darkness of our own chaos, to give up the familiar path and …

: Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted. — Aldous Huxley

: True action—be it the step toward a new perspective, a tangible effort to create, or the humble …

: It comes as a great relief to realise that you could not have lived your life in any other way …

: Beautiful cool morning. Grateful to simply be today. What a glorious start to a twelve hour shift. photo thumbnail

: I don’t read a lot of fiction but an author I had never heard of popped up in my feed today – Fleur … photo thumbnail

: It’s easy to succumb to the soothing embrace of words and language when often we’re really falling …

: After years of practice and contemplation, trials and tribulations, an eventful life with its fair …

: Having ventured out towards a beautiful dawn, I arrive at work only to be shrouded in freezing fog! … photo thumbnail

: A freezing frosty morning and a beautiful dawn to guide my way to work. photo thumbnail

: When it comes managing personal tasks and to-do’s the best piece of advice I ever heard came from …

: If you can’t integrate/ assimilate traditional ancient wisdom into the ordinary reality of your own …

: Knowing is new and spontaneous. Knowledge is remembered and rehearsed. One is accumulated, the other …

: In the absence of adequate rites of passage, ad-men become the high priests of an initiation into …

: Later on, life forces us to make one-sided differentiations. But that is why we get lost to …

: It’s strange to consider the fact that liberal democracy has mostly been the exception rather than …

: Where is home? Here, always right here, right now. Which is, of course, everywhere we happen to be.

: America is undergoing the most profound cultural transformation for a generation but not in the way …

: Started to watch Kneecap last night and got bored. Didn’t make it to the end. It’s got lots of great …

: Hot in there. photo thumbnail

: …he won't get to the root of his problem, because the root of his problem is himself, and he doesn't …

: If I don’t know who I am, whatever I do to make the world better will only serve to make it worse. …

: Still, clear air outside. A dog barks. Flames rage in the wood burner. In the distance the gentle …

: We just happen and our conscious awareness is a helpless passenger along for the ride.

: A bright, crisp and clear morning. A good day for a run.

: Everything uttered is too much…

: There is only one way and that is your way; there is only one salvation and that is your salvation. …

: If we do not accept the existence of archetypes, reading ancient myths and fairy tales can be very …

: There’s a kind of wisdom that only arises automatically as time passes that no amount of learning or …

: Set off early and made it in to work this morning. Many roads still flooded and closed but managed … photo thumbnail

: Trump is not Hitler. He had a plan. Trump is The Joker. An agent of chaos. …

: Our punishments are strong and unequivocal. Our preventions are weak and paltry. The whole idea of …

: No work today. Roads completely flooded in multiple places. The brook running high and fast too. photo thumbnail

: It’s weird stepping outside into 15 degree warmth this evening when only yesterday it was -2 …

: I see and hear a great deal of noise, panic and hysteria and very little wisdom. Sometimes the …

: At this moment of all moments we must resist the urge to react to hastily. The change underway is so …

: So Bluesky is all the rage now as people leave Twitter/ X in the hope that human nature won’t …

: The Heart says, ‘Enough is enough. What I want, I have.’ The Head says, ‘What’s the plan? What’s …

: The experience of suffering is no less significant than that of liberation. The experience of …

: For a time, words may encourage and inspire, but if you cling too long to a teaching, any teaching, …

: It is not what happens but the way it happens. There are infinite manifestations of drinking a glass …

: Some years back, Charlotte Joko Beck was asked by a reporter whether, after all her years of …

: This is a test post from Wordpress on the web.

: It seems like the only way to get #tags through to the Fediverse is to do this: #tags #Fediverse …

: Very odd. I have two Wordpress blogs both of which are identically hooked up to the Fediverse. One …

: Nothing to see here. Just another #tags test.

: Looking at the recent election in the USA it’s hard not to get caught up in the all pervasive …

: Yes. Stillness, the open awareness of what simply is, would appear to be all that is needed: only to …

: Self-continuity is a sparkling chain of mirages, of emptiness. — Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche

: People write some awful shit on social media no doubt. People also write some self righteous virtue …

: This looks good. [youtu.be/Rnl4KbvqA...](https://youtu.be/Rnl4KbvqA2w?feature=shared) Alan Watts is …

: Giving this a go tonight. photo thumbnail

: Two days of solid rain forecast. Here come the floods…

: It’s bloody hot in here! photo thumbnail

: Right, so #tags in the body text come through but not when added in the Wordpress editor. Mmm, …

: OK, testing #tags as they dont seem to coming through…

: Testing, testing… hello Fediverse… Coming to you live from Wordpress land.

: Well, hello…

: What are you afraid of losing when nothing in the world actually belongs to you. — Marcus Aurelius

: Today I have found myself quite literally chopping wood (with a new splitter) and carrying water …

: Every now and then I fire up an AI app and just end up staring at the blinking cursor with …

: There can be hollow victories that exclude too many people, as well as powerful losses that can lead …

: To become one with just what is, one is at one with both presence and loss, with being and not …

: The peace you’re looking for isn’t something to acquire. It’s what’s revealed when you stop …

: I appreciate the way Zen embodies, with humour and mischief, the futility of describing and/ or …

: First snow. Just a soggy dusting quickly turning to slush. More to come this week though. photo thumbnail

: Coffee and cake (that was) before my late shift today. Heavy rainfall due later so I’m slightly … photo thumbnail

: As always, the present moment exactly as it presents itself, is the greatest teacher of all… but …

: Rather than succumbing to the illusion of certainty through prediction, we should embrace the future …

: When we resist what is, we get stuck to the very thing we want to move away from. — Understanding …

: I've lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened. — Mark Twain

: Perhaps you have noticed that the mind misinterprets everything. — Lost in a dream

: Some random notes on media: True independence of mind surely precludes subscribing to or following …

: Reading in front of this is the only place to be this afternoon. photo thumbnail

: If this moment in time should teach those of us with a spiritual bent anything, it’s the lesson of …

: Counter to the prevailing trope of spiritual orthodoxy I don’t accept that our so-called true nature …

: Nothing is everything. Or, in the mirror, everything is nothing. What I’ve learned

: One day I looked for my self and found nothing. Turning attention back on itself there was only wide …

: Life is not something to understand or figure out. It’s not an equation to solve, nor a puzzle to …

: Words can never capture what we are – language always fails beautifully in this regard – but this …

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: In this world you can search for everything, except love and death. They find you when the time …

: Imagine waking up one morning to the realization that you have no opinions. And that, moreover, you …

: We tend to define ourselves and fashion our identities in opposition to other people instead of …

: No matter how compelling or beautiful they may be, words appeal in the main to the linear, thinking …

: This is the history of the world: revolutionaries turning into tyrants, leaders who claim to stand … photo thumbnail

: No idea why, but the Scandinavian concept of Hygge has never appealed to me. Quite the reverse, I …

: Make no mistake about this. We are are not doing life. Life is doing us. — The myth of doership

: We don’t exist and function and live exactly as we do without every other aspect of the universe …

: Notice how explanations don’t explain anything and fail to bring an end to questioning. As children …

: If memories were needed, were meant to last, we’d never forget a thing.

: Judging others from a distance is easy, lazy and more often than not, diminishes the self, all the …

: …even in your own hidden life, you can become a powerful agent of transformation in a broken, …

: Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself. — Leo Tolstoy

: Our hope for a particular outcome can blind us to the truth of why it doesn’t happen.

: I have never been especially impressed by the heroics of people convinced they are about to change …

: There are no obstacles to life. Obstacles are life.

: Our existence is our statement. Our being is our saying. Everything is said in our living.

: We too are living now through such a world, caught again between two ages, confused and conflicted, …

: Interesting. Back leg out this time as she considers her options. photo thumbnail

: Anyway The Paradoxical Commandments By Kent M. Keith People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. …

: The Buddha knew that because both happiness and unhappiness are unsatisfactory, they have the same … photo thumbnail

: Our consciousness doesn’t choose or do a goddamned thing. All that important stuff is left to our …

: Hope is fear in disguise.

: Putting wings on a caterpillar does not make it a butterfly… Shiv Sengupta Shiv is a lone but wise …

: Everything is always it and it is always different. Whenever I hear the phrases like ‘original …

: All life is luck.

: Life can break us but in doing so it makes us.

: Be knowingly silent as often as you can and you will no longer be a prey to the desire to be this or …

October 2024

: To help others, first realize that there are no others. That we are one, not two, three or a …

: There’s no escape yet we’re completely free.

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: You can’t get into it, you can’t get out of it. You are it. — John Astin

: Imagine a tree thinking it was separate from the rest of the universe. The ensuing confusion would …

: They do the best coffee and cakes. photo thumbnail

: The whole social structure—which is to be competitive, aggressive, comparing oneself with another, …

: A nice 5k run this morning in beautiful autumn sunshine. More than a hint of warmth in the sun and …

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: Exhausted at the end of another twelve hour shift. Exhausted but still somehow feeling very alive, …

: We no more consciously know what we’re going to say or do next than we beat our heart, digest our …

: This ‘me’ that is aware ain’t doing shit but catching up on action already set it play. Our …

: It’s dark because you are trying too hard. Lightly child, lightly. Learn to do everything lightly. …

: Our thoughts, ideas and opinions are the least of us. Always late to the party that’s already in …

: Patterns, symbols, archetypes, myths, stories – maps of unknowable territories. What is created when …

: If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth …

: A nice meditation circle this evening. A modest six attendees in contrast to the fourteen last week. …

: No one chooses what to like or dislike. All that arises preconceptually, and then we call the …

: If you’re moved by something, it doesn’t need explaining. If you’re not, no explanation will move …

: I think and think and think. I've thought myself out of happiness one million times, but never once …

: Finding and accepting your own mind makes clear the recognition that, not only does all seeking end, …

: I have no interest in theory or academia… That’s all very well in practice but will it work in …

: Somewhere along the way, you realize that no one will teach you how to live your own life — not your …

: What started off as dank and foggy has blossomed into a crisp and bright day with more than a hint … photo thumbnail

: There is no perfection, only completeness, which is exactly what we always are.

: Home. photo thumbnail

: Is this what you think it means to be human? How little adept we are at living! We tie ourselves up …

: When you feel you are everything there is no need to believe in anything.

: Debris from the recent floodwaters caught in the branches of trees over ten feet above the river’s … photo thumbnail

: The sea used to be my contemplative companion on the morning walk to work but now it’s rivers and … photo thumbnail

: The sun exquisitely striking the hills through the clouds this morning on my way into town. photo thumbnail

: Both the poetic and the mythic image at once reveal and conceal. The meaning is divined rather than …

: It is inarguably true that I exist. That I am. The mind’s response to this fundamental fact is to …

: Growth and insight often arise in unplanned moments, outside the pressures of deadlines. By moving …

: There is no inter-personal justice, no weighing of scales between two souls – only forgiveness.

: A wet but fresh and alive autumnal morning. The brook running fast and clear. Everything glistening, … photo thumbnail

: You can only find your own mind.

: The silence of intuited unicity is always on It cannot and need not be contrived or arrived at or …

: Whoever ‘wins’, uncertainty is the only certainty, chaos the new normal. The flexibility to prevail …

: If you’re confused you’re thinking. The problems of thought are not solved by more thinking.

: The ego thinks it knows what you want. The unconscious knows what you need.

: Beautiful autumnal morning. A purposefully slow, meandering drive to work. Golden leaves everywhere. … photo thumbnail

: This is it, with or without language or meaning, what is here now is everything.

: When hungry, eat your rice; when tired, close your eyes. Fools may laugh at me, but wise men will …

: A nice meditation circle this evening. Fourteen participants this week and a good discussion about …

: trickle down economics trickle down economic trickle down economi trickle down econom trickle down …

: Frequently, in a journey of the soul, the most precious moments are the mistakes. They have brought …

: You’ve noticed by now that more suffering is inflicted on the world by people who take offence than …

: Just chopped down an intrusive bush that would eventually have got out of control. Surprisingly …

: She loves anything to do with sheep. Toast. photo thumbnail

: The season has begun. photo thumbnail

: There’s what you should do, what you shouldn’t do and what you’re going to do anyway.

: If you don’t know what to do next, just wait and see what you do next.

: Why meditate? Why do anything? To see what happens…

: Imprisoned plant. photo thumbnail

: I can’t get enough of Agnes Martin. photo thumbnail

: My very talented wife’s latest creation – a hand built (not thrown) porcelain teapot. I can’t wait … photo thumbnail

: At every moment where language can't go, that's your mind. — Bodhidharma

: In my experience, religion and spiritual practices can serve as pretty good hiding places for people …

: Who remembers the Dark Enlightenment? Back in 2007/08 it was little more than a sinister, niche …

: I made it in to work today. Second time lucky. Roads still officially closed and strewn with …

: It seems I’ve stopped posting here for some reason and now find myself posting over at What’s here …

: The brook is running lower and clear again now after the deluge. photo thumbnail

: I’m fascinated by the visual tropes of spiritual materialism which almost always accompany or … photo thumbnail

: We are never done. – Shiv Sengupta

: Lao-tzu is the example of a man with superior insight who has seen and experienced worth and …

: Accepting you cannot know who and what you are is wisdom.

: Didn’t make it into work today. Got 90% of the way only to find the main road totally impassable. Oh …

: RSS basically works like social media should work. Using RSS is a chance to visit a utopian future …

: Toast. One paw out. Just in case. photo thumbnail

: Living in such close proximity to a living, pulsing vein of nature is a clear and ever present …

: The stream beside the house has gone from a clear trickle to a raging muddy torrent in a couple of … photo thumbnail

: I was sent home from work early today because of the flooded roads. Made it back OK, just. It will …

: A treacherous drive to work this morning. Driving rain in the dark, surface spray from trucks. It’s … photo thumbnail

: Just enjoyed watching the local football team win 1-0 against spirited and stiff opposition. It was …

: Care work has always required head, hand and heart since forever… perhaps the original source for …

: It can’t be emphasized enough that nothing we have done, no action that we’ve taken, no resource …

: There is only one way and that is your way; there is only one salvation and that is your salvation. …

: Our ego erroneously takes credit for its alleged thoughts and actions when instead the appropriate …

: Loneliness and being alone are two completely different things. Loneliness is a lack, being alone is …

: The bad/ good news is everything is included. The good/ bad news is everything is empty.

: Creativity and discovery are the same thing. It is what happens when the universe attempts to …

: Whatever you experience is complete, whole, lacking nothing and entirely sufficient unto itself.

: My world/ life may be small yet it is infinite…

: One lesson Zen practice teaches us is that without the constraints that we place upon ourselves of …

: Observe things as they are and don't pay attention to other people. – Huangbo Xiyun "Observe things …

: No matter how hard I look I can’t find any evidence of free will, yet never fail to feel the full …

: Or, alternatively, he tries to solve all his problems by plunging headlong into a collective …

: An exhibition of paintings on emptiness “Emptiness is form, form is emptiness.”— “Heart Sutra” … photo thumbnail

: Let what comes, come. Let what goes, go. These days it seems to me that practice is nothing without …

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: I don’t know if my daily coffee is habit, ritual or routine. Does it matter? Who cares? photo thumbnail

: A tiring but fun day at work. That pretty much sums up support work for me. I come off every shift …

: Morning coffee before work. photo thumbnail

: And remember that Zen does not belong to anyoneneither to you, nor to me,nor to those who claim … photo thumbnail

: When you find your own mind you realise the universal in the particular and the particular in the …

: Know your own mind just as it is. – Ryokan

: Control As if

: If you must hold on, hold lightly And when it’s time, let go

: Zen is feeling life not feeling something about life. – Alan Watts I think I’m paraphrasing but you …

: [youtu.be/odFAiCHIq...](https://youtu.be/odFAiCHIq3M) Currently reading Ryokan’s One Robe, One …

: This pretty much sums up where I’m at right now… It’s over, the “buddhas and patriarchs” disease …

: I’ve recently started using the new (improved) Reeder app. What I like about it is that it blurs … photo thumbnail

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: No ontology in the history of humankind has been or is more metaphysical than materialism. Unlike …

: Sometimes I am a philosopher, sometimes a religious person, sometimes a monk, sometimes an educator, …

: The true, hidden origin of the so-called 'Hard Problem of Consciousness' Philosophers of mind talk much about the so-called 'Hard Problem of Consciousness.' But is it a … photo thumbnail

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: Every so often I start a new blog like this one. For some reason I just stopped posting to my …

: To celebrate his blog’s 30th birthday I’ve started following Dave Winer’s Scripting News again, as …

: Currently re-watching Gomorrah (La Serie) for the umpteenth time. It’s one of the few series that … photo thumbnail

: This is Toast. She’s 15 years old. Her current features include arthritis, thyroid problems, … photo thumbnail

: I’ve no idea what I’m going to be posting here and that’s fine. Here’s a snap of the aurora my wife … photo thumbnail

: Hello world 👋

August 2024

: You must be true to your own way until at last you actually come to the point where you see it is …

: In the end one experiences only oneself. David Shields

: Practice is something before we realise it is nothing and we are already home and went nowhere.

: We find that all along, we had what we needed from the beginning and that in the end we have …

: Everything worthwhile and valuable in life are by-products of other processes, not ends in …

: For a time, words may encourage and inspire, but if you cling too long to a teaching, any teaching, …

: That which seems like a false step is just the next step. Agnes Martin

: To be yourself is to be nobody to yourself. Shiv Sengupta

: If you are open and ready to receive then everything that happens is needed.

: There is no greater teaching than the present moment.

: It’s all an enormous process… No suffering is unnecessary… All of it is only enlightening, this is …

: The mistakes have to be made.

: We have to experience the inseparability of the delusion and enlightenment, not try to eliminate one …

: The seeing itself can never be seen. Joan Tollifson

: Human memory, driven by emotional self-interest, goes to extraordinary lengths to provide evidence …

: I know of nothing more difficult than knowing who you are and having the courage to share the …

: No matter what is added to or subtracted from experience nothing is gained nor lost.

: The most profound recognition finds its complete realisation without articulation.

July 2024

: He then learns that in going down into the secrets of his own mind he has descended into the secrets …

: I am space for you. I am the space in which you are held. I disappear in your favour.

: It is inevitably true that life is suffering. But the reverse is also true: suffering is life. It is …

: Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart. Rainer Maria Rilke

: Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. Philip K. Dick

: Zen doesn’t have any answers. Barry Magid

: Thoughts and feelings will not kill you, nor will they save you. Robert Saltzman

: Cause and effect is always a story, a conceptual overlay that selects a tiny part of the whole and …

: ...that moment when you finally become so entirely yourself that you are no longer even aware of, or …

: Self help? Help someone else.

: The meaning of a tree is to be tree; the meaning of the sky simply is the sky, and so on. We might …

: In a sense, and as in melodrama, killing yourself amounts to confessing. It is confessing that life …

: ...the meaning of the moment is synonymous with being the moment, regardless of its content. Barry …

: Reality is something you could question; realness is beyond all doubt. David Shields

: We think that the point is to pass the test or overcome the problem, but the truth is that things …

: Concepts can be discussed forever without needing to put any skin in the game at all—but when this …

: …each moment is sufficient unto itself. Robert Saltzman

: You are a child playing with clay complaining about the shapes that you yourself are fashioning out …

: It’s not as if you can get something from someone or give something to someone. Kodo Sawaki

: Remembering his life, he imagined it. David Shields

: Remembering his life, he imagined it. David Shields

: I can relate to: “You mean there’s all this?!” rather than: “You mean this is all there is?”

: The dark side of living cannot be avoided forever. For every freedom there is a proportionate …

: No questions, no answers, just curiosity.

: A map can never reflect or represent the territory because it, too, is part of the territory. There …

: Existence, being, presence – undoubtable yet ungraspable.

: Even temporal, so called peak experiences pale and fall within the infinite experience of everything …

: You can’t have anything without everything else.

: And the deepest truth is not to find an answer, but to live with the answer-less-ness. Joan …

: Self-study of any seriousness aspires to myth. Thus do we endlessly inscribe and magnify ourselves. …

: It’s already happened, it’s already too late, life has already happened. This is it. So your opinion …

: Everything is a movement of the whole. Joan Tollifson

: ...you don’t develop compassion by sending others love from the safety of your own comfort zone. …

: It is easy to mistake for intelligence and insight just more and sophisticated language …

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: More and more I seem to find the world of ordinary everyday things more interesting, appealing and …

: Confusion is a state that can only be brought about by thinking and language.

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: One always dies too soon — or too late. And yet one’s whole life is complete at that moment, with a …

: The manner in which you relate to suffering directly influences whether you will perpetuate more …

: Dialogue Between the Seeker and Life Seeker: I want to be more open. Life: I AM pure openness. Seeker: I want to become more present. …

: There is never nothing/ no things – there is always everything.

: Neurosis is always a substitute for legitimate suffering. Carl Jung

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June 2024

: I'm afraid that if you look at a thing long enough, it loses all of its meaning. Andy Warhol

: I hated being depressed, but it was in depression that I learned my own acreage, the full extent of …

: The unconscious on one side is nothing but nature, and on the other hand it is the overcoming of …

: There is a there, there. But when you’re there, there’s nothing there.

: Wittgenstein’s assertion that: Whereof one cannot speak, thereof must one be silent. is about as …

: Language is perhaps one of the most exquisite yet clumsiest of human flowerings. It can make a …

: Meaning is contingent, it is situational, it is not intrinsic. All the infinite diversity of …

: Things are finite. Being is infinite.

: Any mood, sense or feeling that this isn’t it is just as much it as any mood, sense or feeling that …

: Millions long for immortality who don't know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon. …

: Recognition, acceptance, gratitude, wholeness, completion, aliveness, simply being etc… are not …

: Our capacity to make peace with another person and with the world depends very much on our capacity …

: There is nothing that doesn’t belong. Everything has its place.

: There are two ways of getting home; and one of them is to stay there. G.K. Chesterson

: We cannot rid ourselves of anything that happens because we are everything that happens.

: The degree of grieving can be mistakenly seen as the degree of love instead of, as it often is, the …

: Beware the comfort of spiritual opium. Joan Tollifson

: …experience is not happening to you, it is you. John Astin

: If we sit quietly, making no effort, life expresses itself clearly; it simply happens on its own. …

: If there’s no solution, is there a problem…?

: What is the self? It is yourself and there is no excuse whatever. So you are absolutely in the …

: Just a few of the reasons I love my work so much are that it has nothing to do with business. Or …

: When people say ‘what are the chances of that happening?’ I would say exactly the same as those …

: Spirituality is not to be learned by flight from the world, or by running away from things, or by …

: No thought, no reflection, no analysis, no cultivation, no intention; let it settle itself. Tilopa …

: Your experience, however it is manifesting, is always the complete, whole aliveness of being you …

: If you find yourself looking or seeking something else, something different, something more – what …

: This is my secret. I don't mind what happens. Jiddu Krishnamurti

: There’s no explaining what is obvious.

: The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to oneself. Michel de Montaigne

: The more closely one observes anything at all the more clear and obvious the indivisibility and …

: The presence or not of suffering is beside the larger point that there is anything to experience at …

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: The very name – Large Language Model (LLM), the technology that powers AI, reveals something …

: How you behave when no one is looking tells you everything you need to know about yourself.

: It is not only possible but hardly uncommon to become lost in ideas, concepts and language and dwell …

: This from an AI: …reality is perhaps both fully complete in each moment and yet endlessly …

: Feeling infinite has nothing to do with believing you are immortal and can do anything but …

: There is no one way - The Way. There is only your way and only you can find it.

: As a matter of fact, we are constantly living on the edge of a volcano, and there is, so far as we …

: When Zen has done its work it disappears leaving no trace.

May 2024

: We strive for meaning when we fail to recognise our intrinsic wholeness, when we feel separate and …

: Many of the things I can and cannot do can be explained by a lack of imagination.

: But do not ask me where I am going, As I travel in this limitless world, Where every step I take is …

: Guard against being a slave to words. The Gospel According to John

: There is no elephant in the room. The elephant is the room.

: The contemporary social landscape, be it mediated by technology or actual social spaces, …

: At some point in life the world's beauty becomes enough. You don’t need to photograph, paint or even …

: I am not one and simple, but complex and many. Virginia Woolf

: Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people. Carl …

: Wherever you find yourself physically, geographically, emotionally or psychologically, you’re always …

: Most media opinion, commentary, editorial and punditry and can be boiled down to ‘We don’t know.’

: We hope because we fear.

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: At a certain point it serves no purpose to read more books or hear more teachings. One recognises …

: Happy Bastards There is no such thing as lasting happiness. Happiness is the result of a constant ongoing …

: In most of our human relationships, we spend much of our time reassuring one another that our …

: I had learned that the greatest and most important problems of life are all in a certain sense …

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: This is what it means to be human, to feel the pain, the grief, the stress, the risk, the fear, the …

: There seems to be two distinct kinds of so-called ‘spiritual’ activity one can engage in. On the one …

: You never truly need what you want. That is the main and thoroughgoing key to serenity. Albert Ellis …

: We let go in the measure that we are willing to confront our deepest fears. We experience freedom in …

: Modern man is blind to the fact that, with all his rationality and efficiency, he is possessed by …

: You don’t live in the moment, you are the moment. You don’t have a life, you are life.

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: My own childhood can attest to the veracity of this quotation… Nothing has a stronger influence …

: Our children don’t learn from what we tell them or say about life but from how we actually behave …

: …in each case you have to try to figure out what the addictive substance means symbolically. …

: I have been through some terrible things in my life. Some of which actually happened. Mark Twain

: We live in a world that is not perfectible, a world that always presents you with a sense of …

: You're on Earth. There's no cure for that! Samuel Beckett

: What makes life unbearable is your mistaken belief that it can be cured. Charlotte ‘Joko’ Beck

: Profound, lasting contentment in life emerges automatically and effortlessly only from an honest …

: Individuation strives for the living cooperation of all psychic factors… …This is also a state in …

: America is too sentimental. Freedom and free market, liberty and equal jobs and democracy for …

: All down the ages the existence of a supreme value has been attested by religious and mystical …

: We are nature. The energy of our thoughts and feelings germinate like seedlings. Our ideas and …

: Everything is always it. Even that which emerges from us that claims not to be or seems not to be - …

: The seeing is the letting go. Toni Packer

: Darkness holds, nurtures, enables and sustains the light. There can be no wholeness or complete …

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: How can I be substantial without casting a shadow? I must have a dark side too if I am to be whole; …

: Change is inevitable, progress not necessarily.

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: Each of us can’t help but fully live the aliveness we are, even in spite of all the thoughts, ideas …

: I don’t really know anything about myself other than what appears to happen in each moment.

: There is no imperative or desire that can get you any closer to or reveal what is already here. …

: ‘This’ is undeniable yet inexpressible.

: The bottomless well of present being is all we can really draw upon.

April 2024

: I consider myself blessed and grateful for having very little imagination.

: Forever reaching for the light, bliss, joy etc. does not ensure their realisation. Instead it almost …

: I am not a thing in the world; I am the space in which the world is happening. Richard Lang

: Get out of your own way…

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: Everything is included and necessary, particularly the profound trauma that was the catalyst for …

: Came across these journal entries from a year ago today: The specifics of where I am, and what I do …

: There comes a time when, if you come to recognise, accept and are grateful for the truth of your own …

: At a certain point you realise that without knowing someone (as well as it is possible to do so) …

: Your own way, your own instinctive energy of movement is more important than any one particular …

: What is actually happening is beyond doubt yet cannot be expressed.

: You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts. Kahlil Gibran

: Looking back over the last two or three years, if there is anything that could be said to have …

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: As a country, and in the family of origin, people talk about the tragedy of the thousands who die of …

: Stumbled across poet d. a. levy for the first time. An extraordinary character. if you want a …

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: I don’t think we would be in such a perilous state if we men were able to fully acknowledge the …

: The simplicity of appearance before interpretation…

: The living actuality of the here and now requires no belief, faith, story, meaning or supporting …

: One can easily throw dust into one's own eyes with theories. Carl Jung

: I didn’t do anything to find myself here and now.

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: Thinking is something the universe is doing in the form of human beings. Like everything else, it is …

: Seer and seen arise and set together. John Troy

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: If everything on earth were rational, nothing would happen. Fyodor Dostoevsky

: If we attend closely and carefully to what is undeniable, paradoxically it reveals that everything …

: Perhaps our refusal to face reality is the only ill we suffer from, and all the rest is just …

: …there has to be suffering, because it’s through suffering, in the struggle between good and evil, …

: Again and again man correlates himself with the world, racked with longing to acquire, and become …

: The best teacher is the present moment – whatever, however it is.

: Stumbled across this wonderful book of essays and stories while browsing in my favourite second hand … photo thumbnail

: It is said that the human animal’s most significant aim is to find and secure meaning. What if …

: Hope is just fear in disguise. To live without hope is to live without fear.

: Perhaps the fate of the human race was secured by the evolution of the individual ego self. In …

: Feel what you feel, just don’t feel what you think. Don't worry about getting in touch with your …

: There is nothing of me that is alone and absolute except my mind, and we shall find that the mind …

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: At a certain point the conceptual demarcations of consciousness/ awareness, phenomena, mind, …

: We are unknowably complex and sophisticated organic systems perfectly capable of running ourselves …

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: I read a computer engineer say that AI doesn’t know what it’s doing or how it’s doing it. I would …

: I can highly recommend Wim Wenders’ latest film Perfect Days which I took the family to see last …

: You don’t have to go on the road or travel to broaden your mind or learn or transform or… anything …

: When fully individuated and wholly awake to impermanence and interdependence then one is free to act …

: Our prisons and hospitals are full of people with whom nature has been experimenting to unhappy …

: As with all attempts to pin down, define and solidify the world, trying to establish cause and …

: Nobody sees anybody truly but all through the flaws of their own ego. That is the way we all see …

: Ninety per cent of the world's woe comes from people not knowing themselves, their abilities, their …

: Concurring very strongly with Douglas Harding’s assertion that when we begin to practice we consult …

March 2024

: I often find myself overwhelmed in awe and wonder at the infinite number of perspectives and points …

: Individuation is just ordinary life and what you are made conscious of. Carl Jung

: Talking nonsense is the sole privilege mankind possesses over the other organisms. It's by talking …

: Whatever arises, love that. Kavi Jezzie Hockaday

: The Truth requires belief. Your own truths are self evident and need no support or validation. …

: No doubt we are right to open the eyes and ears of our young people to the wide world, but it is the …

: Pulling back projections is the most painful, agonizing process in the world. Because you have to …

: A healthy ego forgets itself.

: You can’t edit life. You’re either all in or all out.

: Anyone who wants to know the human mind will learn next to nothing from experimental psychology. He …

: The spiritual exhortation to end suffering and the West’s dream of pursuing happiness are the same …

: Understanding who one is has nothing to do with identity or images of selfhood. Knowing who you are …

: If I have to suffer, then let it be from my reality. A neurosis is a much greater curse! In general, …

: I rarely write about my work and I have no idea why. It seems I am simply not moved to. That said it …

: Life lives us whether we recognise it or not. We are fully lived regardless of what we think we do …

: Diagnosis with a specific terminal illness changes nothing except perhaps revealing our capacity to …

: The map is just another aspect of the territory.

: The endless cycle of recognition of, acceptance of and gratitude for impermanence and …

: Have we lost the power and agency of trusting our own instincts in the face of: the crowd, the …

: Is imposter syndrome so prevalent because so many of us try to be what we are not and instinctively, …

: Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this, too, …

: My story isn't pleasant, it's not sweet and harmonious like the invented stories; it tastes of folly …

: That anything is happening at all trumps all specific things that happen.

: There may be relativistic problems of the world to solve but you are not one of them.

: Nirvana is where you are, provided you don't object to it. Alan Watts

: Identification with concepts, imagination and with images of selfhood are all part of the same …

: There is a beautiful irony and paradox in that seeking, meditating and in some way taking action to …

: Don’t believe the hype… Public Enemy

: …the mind is its own place, and in it self can make a Heav’n of Hell, a Hell of Heav’n… John Milton …

: Simply being is all the meaning we need, yet evidently not all the meaning we want.

: I’m not interested in remedial projects of improvement but just curious about the nature of what is.

: It seems we have made pain some kind of mistake, like having it is somehow wrong. Don't let them …

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: People meditating on the fundamental carry out their ordinary tasks and activities in the midst of …

: The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as l am, then I can change. Carl Rogers And …

: Distracted? From what?

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: We are constant flux. No ground, no resting place. Nowhere to land. Perpetual process. Cessation of …

: It is human nature to see ourselves as things (called selves) instead of processes, and as such see …

: By believing passionately in something that still does not exist, we create it. The nonexistent is …

: …trying to become better than who you already are is what keeps you from realizing that you are …

: Being is the only answer.

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: All that needs to be done is whatever happens, which is the next most necessary thing, that which we …

: We sense what we sense, we feel what we feel – the raw qualia of being. Then we express in language …

: As soon as the words form, language employed, the story told… That’s it. Over. Done. Everything has …

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: At a certain point effort becomes effortless.

: The thing to see is that it’s not necessary to get ourselves into any particular state because every …

: If you are at war with the world it is just a proxy battle for a war with yourself.

: Humans are optimised for survival, not truth.

: Find your own mind…

: The meaning of being alive is just being alive. Alan Watts

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: The problem is not suffering itself but thinking suffering is a problem and trying to avoid it.

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: Recognising the infinite, ever-changing variations of the complete, indivisible whole…

: So-called spiritual teachings and discourse are no less prone to language games, semantic confusion …

: Once we grasp that any form of language is just another story we lose the sense of so-called …

: Today, in an incredible second hand bookshop, I found a wonderful show catalogue of my favourite … photo thumbnail

: People know far more about themselves than they appreciate. Aspects of being and aliveness that are …

: If we really, really accept and embrace the reality of our finitude, our death; then our being, our …

: Religions promise that death is not the end of “myself.” Tribal identification with race and …

: Perhaps the whole root of our trouble, the human trouble, is that we will sacrifice all the beauty …

: If I got rid of my demons, I’d lose my angels. Tennessee Williams

: The desire to be happy and to resist and want to change one’s current experience is as much a cause …

: Nothing is left behind. We are always everything that has ever happened.

: Certainly it hurts… The trick, William Potter, is not minding that it hurts. TE Laurence

February 2024

: In essence, people cannot be compelled to be what they are not. Philip K. Dick

: There is no part of life any more special than any other. Every moment of being counts equally. Our …

: We no more think our thoughts than we beat our hearts or digest our food. Thought is automatic, …

: I’m not interested in pleasure, joy, bliss, silence or stillness any more than I’m interested in …

: The minute a thing goes into language it is ipso facto conditioned in its objectivity. Carl Jung

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: To suffer without complaint is the only lesson we have to learn in this life. Vincent van Gough The …

: One must not avoid unhappiness. One must accept suffering; it is a great teacher. There, that's the …

: The world is not comprehensible, but it is embraceable — through the embracing of one of its beings. …

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: Let us thank the life I have lived for all the happy and all the sad hours, for every joy, for every …

: I never wish to be easily defined. I’d rather float over other people’s minds as something strictly …

: We become subjects in a world of separate objects and things. When all ideas and conceptions of …

: Everything we need to know about consciousness is contained within the experience of consciousness …

: I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had …

: Natural man is not a ‘self’— he is the mass and a particle in the mass, collective to such a degree …

: I am not interested in escaping from ordinary life by attaining nirvana. In my experience, any …

: Sometimes, there is only a hair's breadth of difference between what one enjoys and what one must …

: This morning I stubbed my toe. Badly. You know, the kind that hurts beyond all reason. The stubbing …

: If one is in the business of finding answers in life then, if they exist at all, they surely reside …

: And so, we don't have to contrive our way into any particular state. We don’t need to achieve some …

: Within the realm of willpower we have choice, but beyond that no choice at all. Carl Jung

: ‘Originally…’ ‘In essence…’ ‘Essentially…’ ‘At source…’ ‘Basically…’ ‘Ultimately…’ ‘Fundamentally…’ …

: That taste is my guide. The taste of myself. I don't pretend to be what others were, nor understand …

: In Zen, we try to remember that each moment, whether good or bad, is perfect in itself because there …

: Now is the focal point of eternity.

: Objectivity is a conceit.

: Scientists find the hard problem of consciousness such a problem because it won’t submit to the …

: I’m not only curious about the nature of my own mind but also about how other minds experience …

: It seems to me that the project (if it could be called such a thing) of waking up or so-called …

: One can produce a thousand words, a thousand descriptions, and yet the essential is still not …

: I am content to live in the mystery, to be surrounded by the unknown… I am Content to Live in the …

: If you don’t know what to do next just wait and see what you next do. Action is spontaneous and …

: We don’t have ideas, ideas have us. Carl Jung

: When it is said that our natural state is either this or that my first instinct is to say we have no …

: Suffering is the price we pay for embodiment. Robert Saltzman

: All we can give is everything we have.

: Nothing happens in which you are not entangled. Carl Jung

: Nothing happens in which you are not entangled. Carl Jung

: Nothing happens in which you are not entangled. Carl Jung

: I don’t remember my dreams. I can’t remember the last time I was able to recall one. This morning …

: Returning to the wordless…

: Many of one’s own most wise and poignant insights arise out of confusion, pain, uncertainty, loss, …

: Following others, however wise they may seem, impedes finding one's own freedom, which is not a …

: I read Jung not as a scientist or psychologist but as a symbolic artist. For me his work is not …

: What a beautiful passage from Carl Jung (my emphasis): At times I am as laid out in the countryside …

: Non duality is not the pinnacle, an end point, the final goal and resting place. It is simply one …

: Bad things happen, we are smashed apart, we rebuild ourselves, we are changed, we move onwards. More …

: Bad things happen, we are smashed apart, we rebuild ourselves, we are changed, we move onwards. More …

: Bad things happen, we are smashed apart, we rebuild ourselves, we are changed, we move onwards. More …

: The end of a twelve hour shift. As always I’m exhausted but invigorated and rewarded. I never stop … photo thumbnail

: It’s essential to make a wholehearted, unconditional commitment to what is.

: I could think longer and harder (indeed, at all) about what I write in which case I wouldn’t write …

: It’s no mystery that it’s all mystery.

: For some people the stories about life are more important and have more value than the life actually …

: The less I know about something, someone, anything, the better.

: As mad as this sounds – it’s only just occurred to me – that the reason I do anything is simply to …

: I’m not seeking or looking for anything. I’m just perpetually curious.

: If you get rid of qualities of the Shadow you don't like by denying them, you become more and more …

: Every man has a quiet place in his soul, where everything is self-evident and easily explainable, a …

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: Not everything has a story. Not everything needs a story.

: Not everything has a story. Not everything needs a story.

: Not everything has a story. Not everything needs a story.

: What we are does not exist in language.

: What we are does not exist in language.

: As I spend much of my time working with individuals presenting a wide range of physical and learning …

: Nothing Missing All there is, is this one bottomless moment, present experiencing here and now—ever-present, …

: Nothing Missing All there is, is this one bottomless moment, present experiencing here and now—ever-present, …

: Nothing Missing All there is, is this one bottomless moment, present experiencing here and now—ever-present, …

: Up and out for a 5k run this morning. Legs really feeling it after our hike up to the Bluff …

: I belong to a local meditation group of about 16 people. We meet once a week for a couple of hours …

: Loosening up I promised myself I’d start 2024 writing more openly and freely here. That never happened. Well not …

January 2024

: Dogen Realisation is reality right now. Even shocks, doubts, fears, and frights are none other than …

: Dogen Realisation is reality right now. Even shocks, doubts, fears, and frights are none other than …

: Dogen Realisation is reality right now. Even shocks, doubts, fears, and frights are none other than …

: Whether you’re sitting alone in a cave or stuck in a traffic jam you’re always exactly where you …

: I have no right to call myself one who knows. I was one who seeks, and I still am, but I no longer …

: 嗦丢 Is The Secret To Living A Zen Life “Sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge and lean over to watch the river slipping …

: The key to peace of mind, I say, resides not in practices and paths, but in suffering consciously …

: The key to peace of mind, I say, resides not in practices and paths, but in suffering consciously …

: The key to peace of mind, I say, resides not in practices and paths, but in suffering consciously …

: I’m compelled to draw attention to the totality of all experiences of aliveness. There seems to be …

: One can not feel the conscious need or want to do anything at all, yet be powerfully moved to simply …

: One can not feel the conscious need or want to do anything at all, yet be powerfully moved to simply …

: One can not feel the conscious need or want to do anything at all, yet be powerfully moved to simply …

: Your life Your lived experience Your own unique aliveness That simply is Without need or want In …

: Your life Your lived experience Your own unique aliveness That simply is Without need or want In …

: Your life Your lived experience Your own unique aliveness That simply is Without need or want In …

: You want to become a Buddha? There’s no need to become a Buddha! Now is simply now. You are simply …

: You want to become a Buddha? There’s no need to become a Buddha! Now is simply now. You are simply …

: You want to become a Buddha? There’s no need to become a Buddha! Now is simply now. You are simply …

: Mind is Thus and objects are also Thus: There is no true and also no false. Existence doesn’t …

: Mind is Thus and objects are also Thus: There is no true and also no false. Existence doesn’t …

: Mind is Thus and objects are also Thus: There is no true and also no false. Existence doesn’t …

: There is no obligation to place the recognition of the nature of one’s own mind into any particular …

: There is no obligation to place the recognition of the nature of one’s own mind into any particular …

: There is no obligation to place the recognition of the nature of one’s own mind into any particular …

: All we are is the present moment. Everything else is imagination.

: All we are is the present moment. Everything else is imagination.

: All we are is the present moment. Everything else is imagination.

: Home At home in joy, At home in confusion, At home in peace, At home in darkness, At home in light, At …

: Home At home in joy, At home in confusion, At home in peace, At home in darkness, At home in light, At …

: Home At home in joy, At home in confusion, At home in peace, At home in darkness, At home in light, At …

: You are the highest, utmost authority of and to yourself.

: You are the highest, utmost authority of and to yourself.

: You are the highest, utmost authority of and to yourself.

: Original nature? For me ‘original nature’ or ‘ground of being’ are not some ideal condition to attain away from the …

: Trust your own insights, you have your own unique mind and experience, no one else’s.

: Trust your own insights, you have your own unique mind and experience, no one else’s.

: Trust your own insights, you have your own unique mind and experience, no one else’s.

: If there is to be change there must first be recognition. Indeed, often the seeing is the change.

: Wondering about the degree to which we believe intentionality actually ends up achieving what was …

: Creativity and solitude Two closely related aspects of being. Creativity fascinates me as I do not understand it. It’s like …

: I’m fascinated by creativity. I have no idea what it is or how it happens.

: If you can’t integrate/ assimilate traditional ancient wisdom into the ordinary reality of your own …

: If you can’t integrate/ assimilate traditional ancient wisdom into the ordinary reality of your own …

: If you can’t integrate/ assimilate traditional ancient wisdom into the ordinary reality of your own …

: Far from shielding or protecting us, awakening/ enlightenment make us even more acutely aware of the …

: Far from shielding or protecting us, awakening/ enlightenment make us even more acutely aware of the …

: Far from shielding or protecting us, awakening/ enlightenment make us even more acutely aware of the …

: I’m continually surprised by how many apparently mature and experienced spiritual practitioners …

: I’m continually surprised by how many apparently mature and experienced spiritual practitioners …

: I’m continually surprised by how many apparently mature and experienced spiritual practitioners …

: There is a dishonesty to many spiritual teachers that misleadingly promise some fictional, …

: There is a dishonesty to many spiritual teachers that misleadingly promise some fictional, …

: There is a dishonesty to many spiritual teachers that misleadingly promise some fictional, …

: It’s not a matter of either deserving or not deserving anything. We just get what we get when we get …

: It’s not a matter of either deserving or not deserving anything. We just get what we get when we get …

: It’s not a matter of either deserving or not deserving anything. We just get what we get when we get …

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: Doubt, chaos, uncertainty, darkness are all part of the same whole, the same indivisible aliveness …

: Doubt, chaos, uncertainty, darkness are all part of the same whole, the same indivisible aliveness …

: Doubt, chaos, uncertainty, darkness are all part of the same whole, the same indivisible aliveness …

: There are pockets of wisdom and insight to be found throughout all the great spiritual traditions …

: There are pockets of wisdom and insight to be found throughout all the great spiritual traditions …

: There are pockets of wisdom and insight to be found throughout all the great spiritual traditions …

: Change? On the question of whether it is possible to change. Change is inevitable regardless of whether we …

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: Don’t expect anything to happen. Just wait. This waiting is a deep acceptance of the moment as such. …

: Don’t expect anything to happen. Just wait. This waiting is a deep acceptance of the moment as such. …

: Don’t expect anything to happen. Just wait. This waiting is a deep acceptance of the moment as such. …

: There is a there, there; but when you’re there, there’s nothing there…

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: Everything as it is There is no way we can judge ourselves because we cannot step outside of ourselves into objectivity. …

: The five mile (8k) run went really well. A few more of those and then a 10k I think.

: Spiritual traditions can be rich seams of wisdom, insight and practice. And yet are really just the …

: Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word ‘happy’ would lose its …

: Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word ‘happy’ would lose its …

: Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word ‘happy’ would lose its …

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: Switching from running 5k to 5 miles. Wish me luck…

: A full life is what results when we are thoroughly emptied out. When we become the space for life to …

: There are people, I know, who like to sweeten everything – otherwise, they can't swallow it. That's …

: As always a tiring but rewarding day at work. Never a dull moment.

: Is there really any depth? I keep finding myself returning to the insight that ‘depth’ is just another idea/ concept and not …

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: Everything is an aspect of everything else.

: Everything is an aspect of everything else.

: Everything is an aspect of everything else.

: Sitting quietly Sitting quietly in my car Drinking coffee Cars hiss in the distance Nothing to be done

: Cold, dark, peaceful Up at 6.30am. Dark, quiet, still and minus two degrees. I practically meditate on my thirty minute …

: We’re always looking for diamonds in the mud. But the mud itself is pretty interesting. That’s what …

: We’re always looking for diamonds in the mud. But the mud itself is pretty interesting. That’s what …

: We’re always looking for diamonds in the mud. But the mud itself is pretty interesting. That’s what …

: Whatever path was taken it led directly here from here.

: Whatever path was taken it led directly here from here.

: Whatever path was taken it led directly here from here.

: There are no other lives that any of us could be living.

: There are no other lives that any of us could be living.

: There are no other lives that any of us could be living.

: We wake up in our own way, in our own time, to our own life.

: We wake up in our own way, in our own time, to our own life.

: We wake up in our own way, in our own time, to our own life.

: I can never know what I am. I can only be what I am.

: I can never know what I am. I can only be what I am.

: I can never know what I am. I can only be what I am.

: Trauma can wake us up just as well as any so-called spiritual practice.

: Trauma can wake us up just as well as any so-called spiritual practice.

: Trauma can wake us up just as well as any so-called spiritual practice.

: Every single life is expressing something.

: Every single life is expressing something.

: Every single life is expressing something.

: Hanging a name on a mystery, whether the name is ‘Consciousness’ or ‘Jehovah,’ does nothing to …

: Hanging a name on a mystery, whether the name is ‘Consciousness’ or ‘Jehovah,’ does nothing to …

: There are no absolutes, ultimates or fundamentals in nature – only at the limits of our perceptions.

: There are no absolutes, ultimates or fundamentals in nature – only at the limits of our perceptions.

: There are no absolutes, ultimates or fundamentals in nature – only at the limits of our perceptions.

: “I don’t know” sounds like an ending but is actually always the best place to start…

: “I don’t know” sounds like an ending but is actually always the best place to start…

: “I don’t know” sounds like an ending but is actually always the best place to start…

: Animals don’t try to be better, don’t try to change how and what they are. That is our particular …

: Animals don’t try to be better, don’t try to change how and what they are. That is our particular …

: Animals don’t try to be better, don’t try to change how and what they are. That is our particular …

: You can only do what you are moved to do.

: You can only do what you are moved to do.

: You can only do what you are moved to do.

: It’s interesting to see how even spirituality, in the widest possible sense, is just as prone to …

: It’s interesting to see how even spirituality, in the widest possible sense, is just as prone to …

: It’s interesting to see how even spirituality, in the widest possible sense, is just as prone to …

: There doesn’t have to be anything more or less than this. Indeed, there never can be.

: There doesn’t have to be anything more or less than this. Indeed, there never can be.

: There doesn’t have to be anything more or less than this. Indeed, there never can be.

: What do we do now, now that we are happy? Samuel Beckett

: What do we do now, now that we are happy? Samuel Beckett

: What do we do now, now that we are happy? Samuel Beckett

: It’s impossible not to live your life. We live the only lives we can.

: It’s impossible not to live your life. We live the only lives we can.

: It’s impossible not to live your life. We live the only lives we can.

: Very often to be lost is simply the only place to really find out where I am. Anon

: My divergence from traditional spirituality continues apace. I can only follow my own nose and it …

: It’s much easier to confront and deal with a gaping stoma erupting foaming faeces than it is to …

: It’s much easier to confront and deal with a gaping stoma erupting foaming faeces than it is to …

: It’s much easier to confront and deal with a gaping stoma erupting foaming faeces than it is to …

: We came from the unknowable and will return to the unknowable.

: It doesn’t matter what anyone has said, says or will say. You and only you can recognise the nature …

: It doesn’t matter what anyone has said, says or will say. You and only you can recognise the nature …

: It doesn’t matter what anyone has said, says or will say. You and only you can recognise the nature …

: You get what you get when you get it. Robert Saltzman

: We overestimate the degree to which we have control over our lives.

: Just because we have the conceptual framework of a ‘new year’ a ‘new beginning’ doesn’t mean …

: Things change when they’re ready to change. For better or worse is irrelevant. Change is neutral.

December 2023

: Our folly is to remain resolutely unsatisfied with the actual living truth, clearly and readily …

: Our folly is to remain resolutely unsatisfied with the actual living truth, clearly and readily …

: Despite what means we have at our disposal; science, art, religion – we get no closer to the mystery …

: Despite what means we have at our disposal; science, art, religion – we get no closer to the mystery …

: Hail and beware all stories.

: Imagination and creativity have the potential to both trap us and set us free in equal measure.

: Imagination and creativity have the potential to both trap us and set us free in equal measure.

: Imagination and creativity have the potential to both trap us and set us free in equal measure.

: What do you do? The same as everyone else. Just live.

: If you’re confused, anxious or afraid you’re definitely lost in thought.

: So much pointless anguish lies at the foot of thinking we know why we do what we do.

: We can spend hours and hours thinking and thinking and it all pales and falls so dramatically short …

: Life isn't a dress rehearsal – this is it. It's your job to show up for this moment. Oliver Burkeman …

: The existence or not or rather the belief or non-belief in free will is just mental gymnastics. …

: Blind devotion to a religion, scripture, guru, teacher or tradition is always a dead end. However, …

: Whatever you find yourself doing (even if it’s scrolling soc med or disappearing down a YouTube …

: We are often reminded to not confuse the map with the territory, yet it is more confusing to forget …

: Imagination abhors a vacuum. In our attempts to understand we most often find ourselves fabricating.

: Accepting what life presents us with People do not realize just how much they are putting at risk when they don’t accept what life …

: Accepting what life presents us with People do not realize just how much they are putting at risk when they don’t accept what life …

: Try and stop a river and it inevitably spreads everywhere uncontrollably. Let it flow and it just …

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: Waking up is a relaxation into not knowing, into simply being this whole happening, just as it is. …

: Waking up is a relaxation into not knowing, into simply being this whole happening, just as it is. …

: Forget dual and non-dual. They are just words that don’t change or make any difference to the …

: Taking responsibility for whatever comes before you…

: Identification is the root of all bondage.

: Identifying with silence, peace and stillness is misguided. We are the flow of all phenomena.

: There is nothing mysterious about what is happening but there is only mystery about how and why.

: There is nothing mysterious about what is happening but there is only mystery about how and why.

: There is nothing mysterious about what is happening but there is only mystery about how and why.

: There is only what is apparent here, now. Everything else is imagination.

: Depth is a seductive illusion. Silence too. There is always some sound, sensation or whisp of …

: No matter what is going on in our mind; confusion, peace, anxiety, clarity, contraction, …

: We don’t have a relationship with thought or the world. We are thought, we are the phenomenal world. …

: Individuality or personality traits are not about being unique or differentiated from other …

: We’re not meant to be happy any more than we’re meant to be in pain. We’re not meant to be anything …

: We’re not meant to be happy any more than we’re meant to be in pain. We’re not meant to be anything …

: We’re not meant to be happy any more than we’re meant to be in pain. We’re not meant to be anything …

: Philosophy is its own problem. Reality is absolutely fine without it.

: The best meditation I know of is to completely surrender to whatever is happening, however it’s …

: The best meditation I know of is to completely surrender to whatever is happening, however it’s …

: The best meditation I know of is to completely surrender to whatever is happening, however it’s …

: We are not required to attain anything, I say. Nothing. This is not a test. When that is seen, one …

: We are not required to attain anything, I say. Nothing. This is not a test. When that is seen, one …

: There are no experts in the art of living, which is an art of improvisation without certainty. We …

: There are no experts in the art of living, which is an art of improvisation without certainty. We …

: There is more to be revealed and recognised in the actual nature of one’s own mind than in any …

: Zen doesn’t enable you to be zen-like. It allows you to be completely you minus any trace of Zen.

: There’s no secret to life. It is completely revealed and utterly evident in every moment. What’s not …

: There’s no secret to life. It is completely revealed and utterly evident in every moment. What’s not …

: There’s no depth to experience. You’re either experiencing something or you’re not, and when you are …

: There’s no secret to life. It is completely revealed and utterly evident in every moment. What’s not …

: Carl Jung on how to live One lives as one can. There is no single, definite way for the individual which is prescribed for …

: Carl Jung on how to live One lives as one can. There is no single, definite way for the individual which is prescribed for …

: What you want and what you don’t want are irrelevant. All that matters is what happens.

: What you want and what you don’t want are irrelevant. All that matters is what happens.

: What you want and what you don’t want are irrelevant. All that matters is what happens.

: You always have everything you need and you always have.

: All we know is mind So far as we know, there is no ultimate understanding, no supreme being, no "God." That which we …

: All we know is mind So far as we know, there is no ultimate understanding, no supreme being, no "God." That which we …

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: The wisdom of age constitutes the ability to accept reality, which is the knowledge of certain …

: The wisdom of age constitutes the ability to accept reality, which is the knowledge of certain …

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: Where I am, I don't know, I'll never know, in the silence you don't know, you must go on, I can't go …

: Where I am, I don't know, I'll never know, in the silence you don't know, you must go on, I can't go …

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: Freefalling through phenomena… No parachute but no ground either.

: Freefalling through phenomena… No parachute but no ground either.

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: Yesterday I received a letter which immediately caused me great anxiety and fear, a palpable …

: Yesterday I received a letter which immediately caused me great anxiety and fear, a palpable …

: I’m not a Zen Buddhist. My mind has no spiritual tradition. It is whatever it is, however it is, …

: I’m not a Zen Buddhist. My mind has no spiritual tradition. It is whatever it is, however it is, …

: The end is in the beginning and yet you go on. Samuel Beckett

: The end is in the beginning and yet you go on. Samuel Beckett

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: You guard a spiritual thing; It isn't something you could make, And it isn't something you can …

: You guard a spiritual thing; It isn't something you could make, And it isn't something you can …

: Everything is just happening including you.

: Everything is just happening including you.

: I have no idea what awakening or enlightenment mean to other people but to me they simply mean the …

: I have no idea what awakening or enlightenment mean to other people but to me they simply mean the …

November 2023

: I think so-called ‘original nature’ is a phantom. There is no such thing. There’s no original …

: I think so-called ‘original nature’ is a phantom. There is no such thing. There’s no original …

: Rather than practicing in the midst of life, the midst of life is practice.

: Rather than practicing in the midst of life, the midst of life is practice.

: If you can’t value the darkness, how will you ever value the light? Shiv Sengupta

: If you can’t value the darkness, how will you ever value the light? Shiv Sengupta

: What is the meaning of life? You may as well ask what is the meaning of a mushroom. It is simply to …

: What is the meaning of life? You may as well ask what is the meaning of a mushroom. It is simply to …

: That the Buddha was a great man who lived many years ago and was written about in sutras doesn’t …

: That the Buddha was a great man who lived many years ago and was written about in sutras doesn’t …

: A fine Zen teaching Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. Mike Tyson

: A fine Zen teaching Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. Mike Tyson

: Some of Jung’s most powerful work is his most fantastical and imaginative. It functions very much …

: Some of Jung’s most powerful work is his most fantastical and imaginative. It functions very much …

: The past when you consider it in the present is a new and different past. Kodo Sawaki

: The past when you consider it in the present is a new and different past. Kodo Sawaki

: The right actions are born in the moment of unkowing.

: The right actions are born in the moment of unkowing.

: The world will show you if you give yourself to the world. James Low

: The world will show you if you give yourself to the world. James Low

: True acceptance calls forth the appropriate response. Barry Magid

: True acceptance calls forth the appropriate response. Barry Magid

: There are no obstacles to life. Obstacles are life.

: There are no obstacles to life. Obstacles are life.

: “Very often to be lost is simply the only place to really find out where I am.” Anon

: “Very often to be lost is simply the only place to really find out where I am.” Anon

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: There is nothing to grasp. Let go and the Way is there. Let go and your hands are full. ‘Homeless’ …

: There is nothing to grasp. Let go and the Way is there. Let go and your hands are full. ‘Homeless’ …

: You can’t have something without everything else as well.

: You can’t have something without everything else as well.

: We’re not meant to be alive, we just happen to be.

: We’re not meant to be alive, we just happen to be.

October 2023

: Why do I meditate? Why do I do anything? To see what happens… yet nothing has to happen nor does …

: Why do I meditate? Why do I do anything? To see what happens… yet nothing has to happen nor does …

: No escape When one is not looking for any escape at all, but finds oneself participating in whatever thoughts, …

: No escape When one is not looking for any escape at all, but finds oneself participating in whatever thoughts, …

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: All we need do is recognise and appreciate that everything in every moment is always it.

: All we need do is recognise and appreciate that everything in every moment is always it.

: The territory includes the map. Everything is it.

: The territory includes the map. Everything is it.

: By a symbol, I do not mean an allegory or a sign, but an image that describes in the best possible …

: By a symbol, I do not mean an allegory or a sign, but an image that describes in the best possible …

: What we’re really in the business of doing is helping people stay with the thoughts and feelings …

: What we’re really in the business of doing is helping people stay with the thoughts and feelings …

: At any given moment the only thing that could possibly be missing is what we’re not giving.

: At any given moment the only thing that could possibly be missing is what we’re not giving.

: We really don’t need to trouble ourselves with questions of self/ non-self , duality/ non-duality, …

: We really don’t need to trouble ourselves with questions of self/ non-self , duality/ non-duality, …

: Enlightenment is not some supreme spiritual state. It is the simple perception that reality is only …

: Enlightenment is not some supreme spiritual state. It is the simple perception that reality is only …

: Everyone has a plan 'till they get punched in the mouth. Mike Tyson

: Everyone has a plan 'till they get punched in the mouth. Mike Tyson

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: Practice is not a curative fantasy. Rather an intimate unconditional relationship with what is, what …

: Practice is not a curative fantasy. Rather an intimate unconditional relationship with what is, what …

: Recognising our raw aliveness in every aspect of this moment. Both pain and joy, delight and sorrow …

: Recognising our raw aliveness in every aspect of this moment. Both pain and joy, delight and sorrow …

: Just as the mute person has trouble describing the taste of sugar, we have trouble describing the …

: Just as the mute person has trouble describing the taste of sugar, we have trouble describing the …

: Anything that purports to be an answer contains the seed of another question.

: Anything that purports to be an answer contains the seed of another question.

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: Silently implicit in the marrow of being is the inevitability of not being.

: Silently implicit in the marrow of being is the inevitability of not being.

: We are never not completely what we are, whatever is happening despite not having the first clue …

: We are never not completely what we are, whatever is happening despite not having the first clue …

: Perhaps that which is beyond articulation is the more real, the more true, the most valuable.

: Perhaps that which is beyond articulation is the more real, the more true, the most valuable.

: You cannot choose or decide what to understand or when. You get what you get when you get it. Robert …

: You cannot choose or decide what to understand or when. You get what you get when you get it. Robert …

: Your goal is not perfection (which is a very one-sided attitude toward life) but your unique …

: Your goal is not perfection (which is a very one-sided attitude toward life) but your unique …

: You’re never too old for this shit.

: You’re never too old for this shit.

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: Language is a world unto itself. An infinite universe of imaginative and conceptual imagery and …

: Language is a world unto itself. An infinite universe of imaginative and conceptual imagery and …

September 2023

: It is precisely at the point where we become completely lost that life fully operates. Kosho …

: It is precisely at the point where we become completely lost that life fully operates. Kosho …

: Any search for meaning ultimately leads to the inner "mythical" realm and must be understood as a …

: Any search for meaning ultimately leads to the inner "mythical" realm and must be understood as a …

: How else could it have occurred to man to divide the cosmos, on the analogy of day and night, summer …

: How else could it have occurred to man to divide the cosmos, on the analogy of day and night, summer …

: One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious. …

: One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious. …

: Recognise that the car we think we are driving is actually fully autonomous requiring no driver. We …

: Recognise that the car we think we are driving is actually fully autonomous requiring no driver. We …

: It is both a great relief and also a source of boundless capacity, to look for oneself and find no …

: It is both a great relief and also a source of boundless capacity, to look for oneself and find no …

: If you think your consciousness and ego/ self of I, me, mine is so damn clever, important and …

: If you think your consciousness and ego/ self of I, me, mine is so damn clever, important and …

: The less one says the more one is.

: The less one says the more one is.

: Awakening washes away awakening. Old Zen saying

: Awakening washes away awakening. Old Zen saying

: The difference between what you want to do and what you don’t want to do dissolves until you are …

: The difference between what you want to do and what you don’t want to do dissolves until you are …

: Naked and alone A Zen master's students arrive to find him disheveled, mud-spattered, and naked, sitting on the …

: Naked and alone A Zen master's students arrive to find him disheveled, mud-spattered, and naked, sitting on the …

: The specific qualities of experience pale before the simple yet unfathomable recognition that there …

: The specific qualities of experience pale before the simple yet unfathomable recognition that there …

: We really don’t have to do anything to be fully and totally alive. We don’t live our lives, our …

: We really don’t have to do anything to be fully and totally alive. We don’t live our lives, our …

: You’re only free if you’re free to suffer as well as laugh.

: You’re only free if you’re free to suffer as well as laugh.

: A simple, open-ended curiosity with what is…

: A simple, open-ended curiosity with what is…

: It’s over, the “buddhas and patriarchs” disease That once gripped my chest. Now I’m just an ordinary …

: It’s over, the “buddhas and patriarchs” disease That once gripped my chest. Now I’m just an ordinary …

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: We are always exactly where we need to be.

: We are always exactly where we need to be.

: Concepts (like nonduality) can be discussed forever without needing to put any skin in the game at …

: Concepts (like nonduality) can be discussed forever without needing to put any skin in the game at …

: Can you imagine trying to draw lines around your aliveness? A line under this A boundary round that …

: Can you imagine trying to draw lines around your aliveness? A line under this A boundary round that …

: Watch out for intellect, because it knows so much it knows nothing and leaves you hanging upside …

: Watch out for intellect, because it knows so much it knows nothing and leaves you hanging upside …

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: To appreciate fully one’s essential solitude—along with one’s absolute inability to fathom it—is the …

: To appreciate fully one’s essential solitude—along with one’s absolute inability to fathom it—is the …

: Let us not forget that this very aliveness that we are, has been lent to us from who knows where. It …

: Let us not forget that this very aliveness that we are, has been lent to us from who knows where. It …

: Austerity of phenomena gets one no closer to the intimacy of this moment. A pneumatic drill or a …

: Austerity of phenomena gets one no closer to the intimacy of this moment. A pneumatic drill or a …

: A ‘Yes’ to life includes ALL of it. There is no partial aliveness, no edited highlights, no that but …

: A ‘Yes’ to life includes ALL of it. There is no partial aliveness, no edited highlights, no that but …

: Rather than getting tied up in knots trying to figure out how the whole universe works, or trying to …

: Rather than getting tied up in knots trying to figure out how the whole universe works, or trying to …

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: To pay special devotional attention to, say, silence and stillness over and above the rest of the …

: To pay special devotional attention to, say, silence and stillness over and above the rest of the …

: Myth taken as myth informs, but myth taken as fact bewilders. Robert Saltzman

: Myth taken as myth informs, but myth taken as fact bewilders. Robert Saltzman

: You don’t need to worry about what will or won’t happen or what you will or won’t do, as none of …

: You don’t need to worry about what will or won’t happen or what you will or won’t do, as none of …

August 2023

: Do not compare, do not measure. No other way is like yours. All other ways deceive and tempt you. …

: Do not compare, do not measure. No other way is like yours. All other ways deceive and tempt you. …

: I am already fully complete, whole and perfectly imperfect. My true being is not dependent on any …

: I am already fully complete, whole and perfectly imperfect. My true being is not dependent on any …

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: Sitting in silent stillness… Consider for a moment what on earth does that do or give you that …

: Sitting in silent stillness… Consider for a moment what on earth does that do or give you that …

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: There is an exquisite tension at the heart of every moment, Of knowing and unknowing, Of letting go …

: There is an exquisite tension at the heart of every moment, Of knowing and unknowing, Of letting go …

: Why do anything? To see what happens. Why do nothing? To see what happens.

: Why do anything? To see what happens. Why do nothing? To see what happens.

: Out of nowhere comes the willingness to act…

: Out of nowhere comes the willingness to act…

: We happen. Our aliveness simply occurs and we are the totality of that occurring.

: We happen. Our aliveness simply occurs and we are the totality of that occurring.

: All the great spiritual teachings ultimately point to a freedom that has nothing to do with …

: All the great spiritual teachings ultimately point to a freedom that has nothing to do with …

: Life is an unresolvable, incomprehensible, indeterminate mystery. And that’s not a horrible or …

: Life is an unresolvable, incomprehensible, indeterminate mystery. And that’s not a horrible or …

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: It is very important to go out alone, to sit under a tree — not with a book, not with a companion, …

: It is very important to go out alone, to sit under a tree — not with a book, not with a companion, …

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: He who binds to himself a joy Does the winged life destroy He who kisses the joy as it flies Lives …

: He who binds to himself a joy Does the winged life destroy He who kisses the joy as it flies Lives …

: Relax and be present with yourself. This is not an active looking for something but a receptive …

: Relax and be present with yourself. This is not an active looking for something but a receptive …

: For 'THIS' there is no explanation. No explanation is infinite beauty. ‘How and Why’ hides all that. …

: For 'THIS' there is no explanation. No explanation is infinite beauty. ‘How and Why’ hides all that. …

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: I can go around saying, ‘There’s no me.’ Or I can claim, ‘There IS a me.’ When the energy of both …

: I can go around saying, ‘There’s no me.’ Or I can claim, ‘There IS a me.’ When the energy of both …

: The only problem with being is communicating it, the insufficiency of language. We all intuitively …

: The only problem with being is communicating it, the insufficiency of language. We all intuitively …

: The apparent world out there is you, is in you as you are in it, or rather, there’s no outside or …

: The apparent world out there is you, is in you as you are in it, or rather, there’s no outside or …

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: There’s no philosophy or metaphysics here. Just what is evident, what is apparent, and that is …

: There’s no philosophy or metaphysics here. Just what is evident, what is apparent, and that is …

: Around and around we go on the merry go round of thoughts, ideas and beliefs, yet never move from …

: Around and around we go on the merry go round of thoughts, ideas and beliefs, yet never move from …

: ‘Behind it all’ is just bullshit really. There’s nothing behind the curtain. What you see is what …

: ‘Behind it all’ is just bullshit really. There’s nothing behind the curtain. What you see is what …

: Everything is just happening. Whatever this is, this experience of being is just happening. It can’t …

: Everything is just happening. Whatever this is, this experience of being is just happening. It can’t …

: There are no layers to appearance, no depth. Everything is always right here, right on the surface – …

: There are no layers to appearance, no depth. Everything is always right here, right on the surface – …

: You can see or not see. Know or not know – Clarity or delusion – Either way it doesn’t matter. …

: You can see or not see. Know or not know – Clarity or delusion – Either way it doesn’t matter. …

: There is no path, no yoga, no discipline that will lead you to truth. All that the mind can do is to …

: There is no path, no yoga, no discipline that will lead you to truth. All that the mind can do is to …

: Language reveals itself but obscures truth.

: Language reveals itself but obscures truth.

: There is nothing we do that isn’t exactly what we are. Every movement of body and mind is completely …

: There is nothing we do that isn’t exactly what we are. Every movement of body and mind is completely …

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: There is something very reductive and life-denying about all pervasive positivism.

: There is something very reductive and life-denying about all pervasive positivism.

: To be silent the whole day long, see no newspaper, hear no radio, listen to no gossip, be thoroughly …

: To be silent the whole day long, see no newspaper, hear no radio, listen to no gossip, be thoroughly …

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: What comes is what comes, what goes is what goes and we dance with these partners as the flow …

: What comes is what comes, what goes is what goes and we dance with these partners as the flow …

: Can you imagine a bird trying to live its life as if it wasn’t a bird?

: Can you imagine a bird trying to live its life as if it wasn’t a bird?

: Too many words… and I am gone.

: Too many words… and I am gone.

: Life; this vital, immediate, spontaneous, inevitable aliveness can only ever be exactly what it is, …

: Life; this vital, immediate, spontaneous, inevitable aliveness can only ever be exactly what it is, …

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: Despite its aspirations language is only ever about language. Things are only ever about themselves.

: Despite its aspirations language is only ever about language. Things are only ever about themselves.

: Everything is exactly as it is, as it appears… until it isn’t.

: Everything is exactly as it is, as it appears… until it isn’t.

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: There’s no need for a map when you are the territory.

: There’s no need for a map when you are the territory.

: Reality, life, is not One, not Two, not even Many or Nothing. It is indeterminate and does not …

: Reality, life, is not One, not Two, not even Many or Nothing. It is indeterminate and does not …

: You don’t have to believe in a dream to act in a dream, and you don’t have to know what things …

: You don’t have to believe in a dream to act in a dream, and you don’t have to know what things …

: Language obscures immediately.

: Language obscures immediately.

: It is only knowledge that has limits. Belief is limitless to the point of absurdity. While in …

: It is only knowledge that has limits. Belief is limitless to the point of absurdity. While in …

: Truth is the direct perception of the unknown before interpretation. Shiv Sengupta

: Truth is the direct perception of the unknown before interpretation. Shiv Sengupta

: Don’t search for The Truth, just stop cherishing opinions. Hsin-Hsin Ming

: Don’t search for The Truth, just stop cherishing opinions. Hsin-Hsin Ming

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: When we really look, inquire and rigorously interrogate our experience with the utmost honesty and …

: When we really look, inquire and rigorously interrogate our experience with the utmost honesty and …

: Questioning authority (including your own!) is the beginning of freedom of thought. Robert Saltzman …

: Questioning authority (including your own!) is the beginning of freedom of thought. Robert Saltzman …

: The sweet spot of aliveness is balanced on the cusp of unknowing and spontaneous action.

: The sweet spot of aliveness is balanced on the cusp of unknowing and spontaneous action.

: You are a small part of the universe. How can another small part make you complete? The line you …

: You are a small part of the universe. How can another small part make you complete? The line you …

: Silently and serenely one forgets all words; clearly and vividly That appears before you. When one …

: Silently and serenely one forgets all words; clearly and vividly That appears before you. When one …

: To be truly awakened is actually very ordinary. It just means that you are here as the trees are …

: To be truly awakened is actually very ordinary. It just means that you are here as the trees are …

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: In the act of looking we overlook what is already vividly apparent here, now. By relaxing the urge …

: In the act of looking we overlook what is already vividly apparent here, now. By relaxing the urge …

: The wind in the pines plays a subtle song, of which I have become effortlessly aware. I did not …

: The wind in the pines plays a subtle song, of which I have become effortlessly aware. I did not …

: Every single thought, idea, feeling, image and story that once crossed my mind has come and gone …

: Every single thought, idea, feeling, image and story that once crossed my mind has come and gone …

: We live in illusion and the appearance of things. There is a reality. We are that reality. When you …

: We live in illusion and the appearance of things. There is a reality. We are that reality. When you …

: The realisation that there is nothing to be done but recognise what is already completely and …

: The realisation that there is nothing to be done but recognise what is already completely and …

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: Nothing to say, everything to be…

: Nothing to say, everything to be…

: When you stop thinking about yourself all the time, a certain sense of repose overtakes you. It …

: When you stop thinking about yourself all the time, a certain sense of repose overtakes you. It …

: My secret is I don’t mind what happens. Krishnamurti

: My secret is I don’t mind what happens. Krishnamurti

July 2023

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: Platitudes are not poetry.

: Platitudes are not poetry.

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: You may want Zen practice to make you calmer, more relaxed, and more peaceful. But though these …

: You may want Zen practice to make you calmer, more relaxed, and more peaceful. But though these …

: To live in this world you must be able to do three things: to love what is mortal; to hold it …

: To live in this world you must be able to do three things: to love what is mortal; to hold it …

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: It’s all for nothing in the end but I say an unconditional Yes! to it all anyway.

: It’s all for nothing in the end but I say an unconditional Yes! to it all anyway.

: There is no help in changing your environment. Whether at home or in the forest. If you can do it in …

: There is no help in changing your environment. Whether at home or in the forest. If you can do it in …

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: It feels somehow safer to keep pretending to be someone small instead of being no one and …

: It feels somehow safer to keep pretending to be someone small instead of being no one and …

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: Meditation is all well and good but sometimes you just can’t beat a good nap.

: Meditation is all well and good but sometimes you just can’t beat a good nap.

: How about if I sleep a little bit longer and forget all this nonsense. Franz Kafka

: How about if I sleep a little bit longer and forget all this nonsense. Franz Kafka

: I don’t think in terms of having experiences anymore. Things just happen. Rain is dripping softly. …

: I don’t think in terms of having experiences anymore. Things just happen. Rain is dripping softly. …

: Of all the pitfalls in our paths and the tremendous delays and wanderings off the track I want to …

: Of all the pitfalls in our paths and the tremendous delays and wanderings off the track I want to …

: When I was a kid I saved myself When I grew up I solved myself Now I’m older and wiser I know I did …

: When I was a kid I saved myself When I grew up I solved myself Now I’m older and wiser I know I did …

: There’s what you should do, what you shouldn’t do and what you’re going to do anyway.

: There’s what you should do, what you shouldn’t do and what you’re going to do anyway.

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: In my estimation, the wisest among us are those who live without answers to ultimate questions, …

: In my estimation, the wisest among us are those who live without answers to ultimate questions, …

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: This is death’s life, not your life’s death. Benjamin Smythe

: This is death’s life, not your life’s death. Benjamin Smythe

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: As if we have a choice.

: As if we have a choice.

: Being always feels uncomfortable to those who are addicted to becoming. Shiv Sengupta

: Being always feels uncomfortable to those who are addicted to becoming. Shiv Sengupta

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: Let the silence eat you but not for any reason. Benjamin Smythe

: Let the silence eat you but not for any reason. Benjamin Smythe

: I realized that the world does not represent a struggle at all, or a predaceous sequence of chance …

: I realized that the world does not represent a struggle at all, or a predaceous sequence of chance …

June 2023

: If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it? Dogen

: If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it? Dogen

: Whatever is happening is not what we say is happening.

: Whatever is happening is not what we say is happening.

: …when we look for things there is nothing but mind, and when we look for mind there is nothing but …

: …when we look for things there is nothing but mind, and when we look for mind there is nothing but …

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: If there are any problems caused by thought, they are certainly not solved by more thinking.

: If there are any problems caused by thought, they are certainly not solved by more thinking.

: Where exactly do you think you’re going?

: Where exactly do you think you’re going?

: We have become our own tyrants.

: We have become our own tyrants.

: Every thing is also it’s opposite.

: Every thing is also it’s opposite.

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: Our thoughts and ideas are the least of us. Always late to the party that’s already in full swing, …

: Our thoughts and ideas are the least of us. Always late to the party that’s already in full swing, …

: What appears to be a centre is but a point on the periphery of another centre. The totality of a …

: What appears to be a centre is but a point on the periphery of another centre. The totality of a …

: If you drop the entire weight of authority--the scriptures; the words and histories of the God-men; …

: If you drop the entire weight of authority--the scriptures; the words and histories of the God-men; …

: The idea of progress towards realization or perfection in some imagined future is delusional …

: The idea of progress towards realization or perfection in some imagined future is delusional …

: When you nurture the ability to witness your life in the third person, in extremis, or through …

: When you nurture the ability to witness your life in the third person, in extremis, or through …

: Simply appreciate the fact that anything is even happening at all. Notice that something is present, …

: Simply appreciate the fact that anything is even happening at all. Notice that something is present, …

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: There is no more or less aliveness anywhere else. No more or less living other than here. You’re …

: There is no more or less aliveness anywhere else. No more or less living other than here. You’re …

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: If you don’t know what to do next just wait and see what you do next.

: If you don’t know what to do next just wait and see what you do next.

: This is always it Everything is This can never not be or separate from everything Even these words …

: This is always it Everything is This can never not be or separate from everything Even these words …

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: What is here when we stop trying to arrive there? What is here, so close that we do not notice? …

: What is here when we stop trying to arrive there? What is here, so close that we do not notice? …

: If we liken experience to a radio, our usual mode is to just keep turning the dial until we find a …

: If we liken experience to a radio, our usual mode is to just keep turning the dial until we find a …

: If we take eternity to mean not infinite temporal duration but timelessness, then eternal life …

: If we take eternity to mean not infinite temporal duration but timelessness, then eternal life …

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: I am. This is. I am this.

: I am. This is. I am this.

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: No escape When one is not looking for any escape at all, but finds oneself participating in whatever thoughts, …

: No escape When one is not looking for any escape at all, but finds oneself participating in whatever thoughts, …

: We imagine spiritual enlightenment as a state of unbroken happiness and doubtless certainty. But as …

: We imagine spiritual enlightenment as a state of unbroken happiness and doubtless certainty. But as …

: There is nothing wrong with not knowing what to think about anything.

: There is nothing wrong with not knowing what to think about anything.

: Our personal truth is the unedited, uncurated totality of our being.

: Our personal truth is the unedited, uncurated totality of our being.

: Waking up is recognising that we are the totality of all that we are. Becoming whole is seeing and …

: Waking up is recognising that we are the totality of all that we are. Becoming whole is seeing and …

: Awake awareness has nothing to do with therapy, happiness or self improvement.

: Awake awareness has nothing to do with therapy, happiness or self improvement.

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May 2023

: Awareness destroys the craving or longing) without the pseudo-subject (“me”) trying to do anything.… …

: Awareness destroys the craving or longing) without the pseudo-subject (“me”) trying to do anything.… …

: Don’t be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth. Don’t Be …

: Don’t be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth. Don’t Be …

: In the perfection of imperfect peace, there is no need for anything to be anything other than how it …

: In the perfection of imperfect peace, there is no need for anything to be anything other than how it …

: Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth. …

: Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth. …

: There is no reality except the one contained within us. That is why so many people live such an …

: There is no reality except the one contained within us. That is why so many people live such an …

: When your last breath arrives, intellectual knowledge can do nothing. Adi Shankaracharya

: When your last breath arrives, intellectual knowledge can do nothing. Adi Shankaracharya

: One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious. …

: One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious. …

: Just as delusion is not a personal failure, awakening is not a personal success. It is the …

: Just as delusion is not a personal failure, awakening is not a personal success. It is the …

: Nirvana and Bodhi (Englightenment) are dead stumps to tie your donkey to. The twelve divisions of …

: Nirvana and Bodhi (Englightenment) are dead stumps to tie your donkey to. The twelve divisions of …

: It's not the world that is the problem. It’s our relationship to it, it’s how we relate to it… The …

: It's not the world that is the problem. It’s our relationship to it, it’s how we relate to it… The …

: Praying. It doesn’t have to be the blue iris, it could be weeds in a vacant lot, or a few small …

: Praying. It doesn’t have to be the blue iris, it could be weeds in a vacant lot, or a few small …

: The surest way to be free is not to avoid or resist anything. Surrender to everything is the truest …

: The surest way to be free is not to avoid or resist anything. Surrender to everything is the truest …

: It’s not information or knowledge. It’s not what you know or understand. It’s not an experience, a …

: It’s not information or knowledge. It’s not what you know or understand. It’s not an experience, a …

: If we are integrated with ourselves, if we are whole, by definition, we are simultaneously …

: If we are integrated with ourselves, if we are whole, by definition, we are simultaneously …

: …I always had this certain contentment - I wouldn't call it happiness - it was more of an inner …

: …I always had this certain contentment - I wouldn't call it happiness - it was more of an inner …

: Some of what’s out there in the spiritual world, spoken at times with absolute certitude and …

: Some of what’s out there in the spiritual world, spoken at times with absolute certitude and …

: Do you think peace requires an end to war? Or tigers eating only vegetables? Does peace require an …

: Do you think peace requires an end to war? Or tigers eating only vegetables? Does peace require an …

: A man who actually lives never asks what is living and he has no theories about living. It is only …

: A man who actually lives never asks what is living and he has no theories about living. It is only …

: The lure of the distant and the difficult is deceptive. The great opportunity is where you are. John …

: The lure of the distant and the difficult is deceptive. The great opportunity is where you are. John …

April 2023

: If loss just remains loss and does not permit or allow us to open up our own relationship with life …

: If loss just remains loss and does not permit or allow us to open up our own relationship with life …

: Don’t fall for the allure of the ecstatic. Profound liberation of mind can be revealed cleaning the …

: Don’t fall for the allure of the ecstatic. Profound liberation of mind can be revealed cleaning the …

: Because we are not in the world, the world lies within us — we can be anything it is possible for us …

: Because we are not in the world, the world lies within us — we can be anything it is possible for us …

: If we attend carefully enough we find the universal in the particular and the particular in the …

: If we attend carefully enough we find the universal in the particular and the particular in the …

: There is no separation in all aspects of being, a life is indivisible whatever it’s variation. There …

: There is no separation in all aspects of being, a life is indivisible whatever it’s variation. There …

: The specifics of where I am, and what I do are irrelevant. I am always right here, right now, riding …

: The specifics of where I am, and what I do are irrelevant. I am always right here, right now, riding …

: Adventure? Compared to what? Simply being here is adventure enough.

: Adventure? Compared to what? Simply being here is adventure enough.

: In practice the more you desire and effort towards anything in particular the further and faster you …

: In practice the more you desire and effort towards anything in particular the further and faster you …

: A felt sense of being beautifully bloated and pregnant with unutterable possibility yet profoundly …

: A felt sense of being beautifully bloated and pregnant with unutterable possibility yet profoundly …

: All these words are just ferns unfolding A worm extending itself through the earth Raindrops …

: All these words are just ferns unfolding A worm extending itself through the earth Raindrops …

: To take oneself apart yet remain indivisible To clearly see through oneself yet remain whole To …

: To take oneself apart yet remain indivisible To clearly see through oneself yet remain whole To …

: The true human being Has undone everything And made no attempt To do it all up again They live from …

: The true human being Has undone everything And made no attempt To do it all up again They live from …

: There is a natural intelligence That speaks a secret language You can only hear it, and feel it, …

: There is a natural intelligence That speaks a secret language You can only hear it, and feel it, …

: ‘Being fully alive also means aligning our lived lives with what in Zen is called the inmost …

: ‘Being fully alive also means aligning our lived lives with what in Zen is called the inmost …

: What is the self? It is yourself and there is no excuse whatever. So you are absolutely in the …

: What is the self? It is yourself and there is no excuse whatever. So you are absolutely in the …

: Paradoxically ‘not knowing’ — being the condition of having no idea what to do or how to do anything …

: Paradoxically ‘not knowing’ — being the condition of having no idea what to do or how to do anything …

: When awareness recognizes itself, recognizes what it's always been it feels a kind of joy. It's just …

: When awareness recognizes itself, recognizes what it's always been it feels a kind of joy. It's just …

: Confusion can only ever arise when thinking about thoughts. The bare, raw actuality of experience is …

: Confusion can only ever arise when thinking about thoughts. The bare, raw actuality of experience is …

: Fear informs most people’s choices, and investment in the belief that fear keeps us safe is …

: Fear informs most people’s choices, and investment in the belief that fear keeps us safe is …

: The action devoid of attachment represents the functioning of impersonal and universal creative …

: The action devoid of attachment represents the functioning of impersonal and universal creative …

: Perhaps the most liberating of all realizations is the recognition that there is always simply what …

: Perhaps the most liberating of all realizations is the recognition that there is always simply what …

: …it’s not really “me” in the individual sense, finding how to harness my mind, or merge with Source. …

: …it’s not really “me” in the individual sense, finding how to harness my mind, or merge with Source. …

: Nothing has to happen right now but what is happening right now. Nothing has to be right now but …

: Nothing has to happen right now but what is happening right now. Nothing has to be right now but …

: I put myself aside to suit the wants of another. That’s kind of noble sounding, but it’s really just …

: I put myself aside to suit the wants of another. That’s kind of noble sounding, but it’s really just …

: If we stare into AI don’t we see ourselves reflected back in all our glory and horror, perfect and …

: If we stare into AI don’t we see ourselves reflected back in all our glory and horror, perfect and …

: I read a computer engineer say that AI doesn’t know what it is, what it’s doing or how it’s doing …

: I read a computer engineer say that AI doesn’t know what it is, what it’s doing or how it’s doing …

: Who can tell where it all begins? Beyond the Sun, the Birds and the Hills

: Who can tell where it all begins? Beyond the Sun, the Birds and the Hills

: Thus it is that our worldview is conventional and far from complete. It is just a version of …

: Thus it is that our worldview is conventional and far from complete. It is just a version of …

: You can’t get outside yourself to define yourself. You can’t get outside of nature, because you are …

: You can’t get outside yourself to define yourself. You can’t get outside of nature, because you are …

: This is all there is. This moment right now. This is it. It’s all there ever is and was. This is the …

: This is all there is. This moment right now. This is it. It’s all there ever is and was. This is the …

: And how can we know the whole of which we are only a part? Carl Jung

: And how can we know the whole of which we are only a part? Carl Jung

: Our resting place, our true home is always right here, right now under all circumstances in any …

: Our resting place, our true home is always right here, right now under all circumstances in any …

: In practicing meditation, we’re not trying to live up to some kind of ideal— quite the opposite. …

: In practicing meditation, we’re not trying to live up to some kind of ideal— quite the opposite. …

: Let go of what has passed. Let go of what may come. Let go of what is happening now. Don’t try to …

: Let go of what has passed. Let go of what may come. Let go of what is happening now. Don’t try to …

: Your questions are unanswerable because you want to know how one ought to live. One lives as one …

: Your questions are unanswerable because you want to know how one ought to live. One lives as one …

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: Not having a problem with having a problem is to be carefree. Not being uncomfortable about being …

: Not having a problem with having a problem is to be carefree. Not being uncomfortable about being …

: Here it is right now. Everything as it is. Start thinking about it and you miss it. Try and grasp it …

: Here it is right now. Everything as it is. Start thinking about it and you miss it. Try and grasp it …

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: There is nothing to be done and no doer to do anything. All action simply emerges out of the unknown …

: There is nothing to be done and no doer to do anything. All action simply emerges out of the unknown …

: Every morning I get up early, go out and walk, and listen and look and sense and feel and think and …

: Every morning I get up early, go out and walk, and listen and look and sense and feel and think and …

: Take no one else’s word for anything. Find out for yourself. Accept no authority but your own.

: Take no one else’s word for anything. Find out for yourself. Accept no authority but your own.

: If we attend closely and carefully to what is undeniable, paradoxically it reveals all that is …

: If we attend closely and carefully to what is undeniable, paradoxically it reveals all that is …

: The meaning of life is just to be alive. It is so plain and so obvious and so simple. And yet, …

: The meaning of life is just to be alive. It is so plain and so obvious and so simple. And yet, …

: Despite our best efforts to resist and deny certain aspects of our lives, ultimately we simply …

: Despite our best efforts to resist and deny certain aspects of our lives, ultimately we simply …

: The weeds of our mind have just as much to teach us as the flowers.

: The weeds of our mind have just as much to teach us as the flowers.

: This body moving like the waves are breaking Wind blows through this empty space of mind Thoughts …

: This body moving like the waves are breaking Wind blows through this empty space of mind Thoughts …

: If we are able view everything without our usual conceptual frames of reference then we can …

: If we are able view everything without our usual conceptual frames of reference then we can …

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: Nothing happens next. This is always it. photo thumbnail

: Pretty much everything we think and do prevents us from recognising the true nature of our mind and …

: Pretty much everything we think and do prevents us from recognising the true nature of our mind and …

: When we recognise we are simply open space for ourselves we also see how we are open space for …

: When we recognise we are simply open space for ourselves we also see how we are open space for …

: We are both the infinite source and the expression of it.

: We are both the infinite source and the expression of it.

: Phenomena are just phenomena. There is neither too much or too little. There is what there is and we …

: Phenomena are just phenomena. There is neither too much or too little. There is what there is and we …

: There is no way to act or behave or be in the world since the world resides in us. This simple …

: There is no way to act or behave or be in the world since the world resides in us. This simple …

: Sometimes the byproducts of our perfect expression may manifest as pain and suffering. Our folly is …

: Sometimes the byproducts of our perfect expression may manifest as pain and suffering. Our folly is …

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: We are a symphony without a conductor. Loch Kelly

: We are a symphony without a conductor. Loch Kelly

: The ego is optimised for survival not truth.

: The ego is optimised for survival not truth.

: No state of mind, mood, condition, thought or feeling is a thing to be either attained and believed …

: No state of mind, mood, condition, thought or feeling is a thing to be either attained and believed …

: Life’s infinite unfolding is all we need. This is always it and this is always enough.

: Life’s infinite unfolding is all we need. This is always it and this is always enough.

: Ordinary everyday life is meditation enough if we attend to it in the moment with simplicity, an …

: Ordinary everyday life is meditation enough if we attend to it in the moment with simplicity, an …

: When the mind recognizes itself, there is no thing to see there. It’s just wide open. Tsoknyi …

: When the mind recognizes itself, there is no thing to see there. It’s just wide open. Tsoknyi …

: Have you also learned that secret from the river; that there is no such thing as time? That the …

: Have you also learned that secret from the river; that there is no such thing as time? That the …

March 2023

: Preparation (literally forethought) is making up a small, finite, limited, fixed story and …

: Preparation (literally forethought) is making up a small, finite, limited, fixed story and …

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: We are simultaneously wide open and empty yet pregnant with infinite potential and possibility.

: We are simultaneously wide open and empty yet pregnant with infinite potential and possibility.

: Sometimes our imagination saves us and sometimes it condemns us.

: Sometimes our imagination saves us and sometimes it condemns us.

: The quality of our mind determines the quality of our life.

: The quality of our mind determines the quality of our life.

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: We don’t have anything. We are everything.

: We don’t have anything. We are everything.

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: Everything changes except the awareness of change. This open allowing is the same now as it was when …

: Everything changes except the awareness of change. This open allowing is the same now as it was when …

: A simple presence with what is here, a silent attendance to how things are. The world becomes both …

: A simple presence with what is here, a silent attendance to how things are. The world becomes both …

: The conviction, the sentence, the prison — this was my life. There was no other life I should have …

: The conviction, the sentence, the prison — this was my life. There was no other life I should have …

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: If we don’t think about ourselves where is the need for self esteem? Toni Packer

: If we don’t think about ourselves where is the need for self esteem? Toni Packer

: Every day, every minute, every moment we begin again. We drop all the definitions we are holding, …

: Every day, every minute, every moment we begin again. We drop all the definitions we are holding, …

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: It is merely as an expedient that the Essence of Mind is so called; it cannot really be named by any …

: It is merely as an expedient that the Essence of Mind is so called; it cannot really be named by any …

: True wisdom automatically arises the more we unlearn, undo and let go of the apparent compulsion to …

: True wisdom automatically arises the more we unlearn, undo and let go of the apparent compulsion to …

: Paradoxically it is both a great relief and also a source of boundless capacity, to look for oneself …

: Paradoxically it is both a great relief and also a source of boundless capacity, to look for oneself …

: In the silence prior to thoughts, there is nothing to be said… Thinking about thoughts

: In the silence prior to thoughts, there is nothing to be said… Thinking about thoughts

: None of us know in advance what we will find in contemplative work but invariably we find everything …

: None of us know in advance what we will find in contemplative work but invariably we find everything …

: Failure? How can we possibly fail at living, of simply being this aliveness we have always been. It …

: Failure? How can we possibly fail at living, of simply being this aliveness we have always been. It …

: We can never really see or know or grasp ourselves. All we can be aware of is the empty abundance of …

: We can never really see or know or grasp ourselves. All we can be aware of is the empty abundance of …

: Waking up is really about simply being alive—being alive as present experiencing, as boundless aware …

: Waking up is really about simply being alive—being alive as present experiencing, as boundless aware …

: What can we offer each moment of being? Only everything.

: What can we offer each moment of being? Only everything.

: There is no peace in information. No rest in knowledge. No sanctuary in belief.

: There is no peace in information. No rest in knowledge. No sanctuary in belief.

: Let us walk in the silence and spaciousness of our own true selves, as we venture out into the world …

: Let us walk in the silence and spaciousness of our own true selves, as we venture out into the world …

: You can lose interest in thought. It’s really not all that difficult. You sit back in and as the …

: You can lose interest in thought. It’s really not all that difficult. You sit back in and as the …

: There is no life to live, nor anywhere else to live it other than right here, right now in this very …

: There is no life to live, nor anywhere else to live it other than right here, right now in this very …

: The imperative nature of the present moment is everything we need. Embrace and cherish the vitality …

: The imperative nature of the present moment is everything we need. Embrace and cherish the vitality …

: The source of life is not out there somewhere but right here now, inside all of us in every moment. …

: The source of life is not out there somewhere but right here now, inside all of us in every moment. …

: If anything, I surrender to the infinite, the unknowable, this ungraspable moment.

: If anything, I surrender to the infinite, the unknowable, this ungraspable moment.

: To see what is right in front of one’s nose is a constant struggle. George Orwell

: To see what is right in front of one’s nose is a constant struggle. George Orwell

: We don’t have to know anything or attain any new information to fully recognise the nature of our …

: We don’t have to know anything or attain any new information to fully recognise the nature of our …

: Like a snail, we carry our true home with us wherever we go. Our intrinsic open awareness of …

: Like a snail, we carry our true home with us wherever we go. Our intrinsic open awareness of …

: Anything can happen for some weird reason; yet also, without any reason, nothing at all can happen. …

: Anything can happen for some weird reason; yet also, without any reason, nothing at all can happen. …

: Wide open, boundless, empty yet abundant being as awareness is our only true and persistent …

: Wide open, boundless, empty yet abundant being as awareness is our only true and persistent …

: If you can sit quietly after difficult news; if in financial downturns you remain perfectly calm; if …

: If you can sit quietly after difficult news; if in financial downturns you remain perfectly calm; if …

: My Grass Roof Hermitage I’ve built a grass hut where there’s nothing of value. After eating, I relax and enjoy a nap… … photo thumbnail

: My Grass Roof Hermitage I’ve built a grass hut where there’s nothing of value. After eating, I relax and enjoy a nap… … photo thumbnail

: To find out what’s truly right for us we usually have to do all the wrong things first.

: To find out what’s truly right for us we usually have to do all the wrong things first.

February 2023

: The bare actuality and raw aliveness of this present moment is all we can rely on. All else is …

: The bare actuality and raw aliveness of this present moment is all we can rely on. All else is …

: When we really attend, look, listen and sense closely all the myriad aspects of this present moment, …

: When we really attend, look, listen and sense closely all the myriad aspects of this present moment, …

: The bad news is you are falling through the air, nothing to hang on to, no parachute. The good news …

: The bad news is you are falling through the air, nothing to hang on to, no parachute. The good news …

: There is all this aliveness, all this movement, all this energy here, now. What more could there …

: There is all this aliveness, all this movement, all this energy here, now. What more could there …

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: It is great joy to realise that our fundamental reality is qualityless. When at last, plucking up …

: It is great joy to realise that our fundamental reality is qualityless. When at last, plucking up …

: There are no words… yet here are words.

: There are no words… yet here are words.

: Before seeing who we are, we read the scriptures to see if we have got it right. After seeing who we …

: Before seeing who we are, we read the scriptures to see if we have got it right. After seeing who we …

: We can only have our own awakening, no one else’s.

: We can only have our own awakening, no one else’s.

: It’s relatively easy to live with other people compared to living openly and honestly with oneself.

: It’s relatively easy to live with other people compared to living openly and honestly with oneself.

: When the mind recognizes itself, there is no thing to see there. It’s just wide open. Tsoknyi …

: When the mind recognizes itself, there is no thing to see there. It’s just wide open. Tsoknyi …

: I've lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened. Mark Twain

: I've lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened. Mark Twain

: Roaring dreams take place in a perfectly silent mind. Jack Kerouac

: Roaring dreams take place in a perfectly silent mind. Jack Kerouac

: If you’re wondering what to do next, just wait and see what you do next.

: If you’re wondering what to do next, just wait and see what you do next.

: The contemporary contemplative seeks spiritual awakening in the midst of everyday life: to “live in …

: The contemporary contemplative seeks spiritual awakening in the midst of everyday life: to “live in …

: When we truly recognise the nature of our true self, our authentic nature of mind, we see that it is …

: When we truly recognise the nature of our true self, our authentic nature of mind, we see that it is …

: We’re never done. We’re always beginning again, over and over and over.

: We’re never done. We’re always beginning again, over and over and over.

: Ultimately it is only our own insights that matter. We can never take anyone else’s realisation as …

: Ultimately it is only our own insights that matter. We can never take anyone else’s realisation as …

: Creativity and imagination are the beautiful failures of our attempts to grasp the ungraspable.

: Creativity and imagination are the beautiful failures of our attempts to grasp the ungraspable.

: Can we recognise that when we’re not deluded, confused and distracted by the energetic movements of …

: Can we recognise that when we’re not deluded, confused and distracted by the energetic movements of …

: Everything is included, nothing left out, yes, but everything just arises, changes and goes. Only …

: Everything is included, nothing left out, yes, but everything just arises, changes and goes. Only …

: The Inner Light is beyond praise and blame; like space it knows no boundaries, yet it is even here, …

: The Inner Light is beyond praise and blame; like space it knows no boundaries, yet it is even here, …

: Pointers towards and expressions of the infinite nature of mind are themselves infinite in variety …

: Pointers towards and expressions of the infinite nature of mind are themselves infinite in variety …

: If the only vision we have of ourselves comes from the social mirror - from the current social …

: If the only vision we have of ourselves comes from the social mirror - from the current social …

: Life lives us in ways our mind can't imagine. Dr Amy Johnson

: Life lives us in ways our mind can't imagine. Dr Amy Johnson

: Silence is pure wisdom.

: Silence is pure wisdom.

: Can we see that we cannot force ourselves to do anything? We can only allow ourselves to be exactly …

: Can we see that we cannot force ourselves to do anything? We can only allow ourselves to be exactly …

: If we relinquish our small, narrow, blinkered self we discover our innate, open infinite being. We …

: If we relinquish our small, narrow, blinkered self we discover our innate, open infinite being. We …

: Want just breeds more want. There is no end to wanting. Can we see that when all our wants are …

: Want just breeds more want. There is no end to wanting. Can we see that when all our wants are …

: ‘Amor Fati’. Can we say ‘Yes’ to the entirety of our life? When we do there is nothing to be afraid …

: ‘Amor Fati’. Can we say ‘Yes’ to the entirety of our life? When we do there is nothing to be afraid …

: Can we remain as we are without constantly trying to change by wanting or resisting? Change is …

: Can we remain as we are without constantly trying to change by wanting or resisting? Change is …

: What do we find when we let go of wanting? What is here, now in the clear light of not knowing? Can …

: What do we find when we let go of wanting? What is here, now in the clear light of not knowing? Can …

: It’s easy to cling on to the forms, props and materials surrounding meditative practice and forget …

: It’s easy to cling on to the forms, props and materials surrounding meditative practice and forget …

: Our true authentic being is not thought or rationalised into existence, it is simply whatever we …

: Our true authentic being is not thought or rationalised into existence, it is simply whatever we …

: Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life, and you will call it fate. Carl …

: Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life, and you will call it fate. Carl …

: Can we see that ‘knowing’ is the most limiting, restrictive, unhelpful and stultifying condition …

: Can we see that ‘knowing’ is the most limiting, restrictive, unhelpful and stultifying condition …

: Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are …

: Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are …

: Can we see that there is no need to go out seeking challenges. Every day is full of challenges if we …

: Can we see that there is no need to go out seeking challenges. Every day is full of challenges if we …

: Non-Duality “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field.I’ll meet you there.When the soul … photo thumbnail

: Non-Duality “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field.I’ll meet you there.When the soul … photo thumbnail

: If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, Infinite. For man …

: If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, Infinite. For man …

: We imprison ourselves by already deciding in advance how we are going to think and feel about things …

: We imprison ourselves by already deciding in advance how we are going to think and feel about things …

: Meditative inquiry is not a way out. It’s a way in. A willingness to attend to and embrace whatever …

: Meditative inquiry is not a way out. It’s a way in. A willingness to attend to and embrace whatever …

: Words, images and stories are only ever signposts all directing our wandering, distracted minds back …

: Words, images and stories are only ever signposts all directing our wandering, distracted minds back …

: The non dual perspective is not mysterious in any way, in fact it is the most ordinary, simple view …

: The non dual perspective is not mysterious in any way, in fact it is the most ordinary, simple view …

: Since we are already tyrannised by our thoughts, why would we indulge in yet more thinking.

: Since we are already tyrannised by our thoughts, why would we indulge in yet more thinking.

: …over time, winners tend to control everything, game systems in their favor and hoard more. And yet, …

: …over time, winners tend to control everything, game systems in their favor and hoard more. And yet, …

: What other people want (and possibly from you), is no concern of yours.

: What other people want (and possibly from you), is no concern of yours.

: Can we pause for just a moment and look at what is arising without judgement, without wanting what …

: Can we pause for just a moment and look at what is arising without judgement, without wanting what …

: There is nothing more to be discovered about existence than what is revealed right here, right now …

: There is nothing more to be discovered about existence than what is revealed right here, right now …

: Before we criticise, judge and denounce can we pause for a moment and consider why others do what …

: Before we criticise, judge and denounce can we pause for a moment and consider why others do what …

: Knee-jerk judgement and condemnation says more about our own psychological frailties than about the …

: Knee-jerk judgement and condemnation says more about our own psychological frailties than about the …

: Before seeing who you are, you read the scriptures to see if you have got it right. After seeing who …

: Before seeing who you are, you read the scriptures to see if you have got it right. After seeing who …

: True Zen cares nothing about Zen. Douglas Harding

: True Zen cares nothing about Zen. Douglas Harding

: Life is a burden until it isn’t. Will Rauschenberger, Ordinary Zen Sangha

: Life is a burden until it isn’t. Will Rauschenberger, Ordinary Zen Sangha

: Our ability to let go, allow whatever arises and act out of the present moment instead of memories …

: Our ability to let go, allow whatever arises and act out of the present moment instead of memories …

: Boredom declares: ‘there’s nothing happening’. Really? Is that true? If we attend carefully and …

: Boredom declares: ‘there’s nothing happening’. Really? Is that true? If we attend carefully and …

: Positive thinking is still just more thinking. It doesn’t solve the problem it purports to.

: Positive thinking is still just more thinking. It doesn’t solve the problem it purports to.

: See if you can notice the ever-present experience of desire and aversion? Sam Harris

: See if you can notice the ever-present experience of desire and aversion? Sam Harris

: What do we really mean, what are we really saying when we say ‘we let our guard down’?

: What do we really mean, what are we really saying when we say ‘we let our guard down’?

: True psychological freedom and genuine responsibility for oneself enable and reinforce each other in …

: True psychological freedom and genuine responsibility for oneself enable and reinforce each other in …

: The teachings and pointers of others will only get you so far. Only you can recognise your way home.

: The teachings and pointers of others will only get you so far. Only you can recognise your way home.

: Dogs on the beach Running, barking, playing, rolling Expressing their own aliveness the only way …

: Dogs on the beach Running, barking, playing, rolling Expressing their own aliveness the only way …

: The indivisibility of sound and silence, of form and emptiness.

: The indivisibility of sound and silence, of form and emptiness.

: There comes a point where there are few teachings wiser or more efficacious than our own insights.

: There comes a point where there are few teachings wiser or more efficacious than our own insights.

: In almost every circumstance we are afraid of an idea, an image, a story, a concept and never actual …

: In almost every circumstance we are afraid of an idea, an image, a story, a concept and never actual …

: I have to find a way to survive, like we all did when we were children… Hanif Kureishi

: I have to find a way to survive, like we all did when we were children… Hanif Kureishi

: Can we see that we all have it already? We just persist in the thinking that we don’t. Let go. The …

: Can we see that we all have it already? We just persist in the thinking that we don’t. Let go. The …

: When leaving a treasured situation of place or person we can simply choose whether we will miss it …

: When leaving a treasured situation of place or person we can simply choose whether we will miss it …

: In many instances wisdom is no more than the ability to follow one’s own advice that we happily and …

: In many instances wisdom is no more than the ability to follow one’s own advice that we happily and …

: If this were definable, explainable, graspable we’d have no religion, no art, no science.

: If this were definable, explainable, graspable we’d have no religion, no art, no science.

: That which is there, always, before everything. Empty yet abundantly full.

: That which is there, always, before everything. Empty yet abundantly full.

: Even our expressions of the infinite nature of awareness limit, bind and conceal its actuality.

: Even our expressions of the infinite nature of awareness limit, bind and conceal its actuality.

: We experience the fundamental unity of everything through a mind that has evolved to divide the …

: We experience the fundamental unity of everything through a mind that has evolved to divide the …

: Merely having the thought ‘this isn’t it’, completely obscures the fact that it is.

: Merely having the thought ‘this isn’t it’, completely obscures the fact that it is.

: Non duality is nothing extraordinary or special. It is the most ordinary, simple, obvious and …

: Non duality is nothing extraordinary or special. It is the most ordinary, simple, obvious and …

: When we are together, you and I, we disappear in each other’s favour. We are the open space in which …

: When we are together, you and I, we disappear in each other’s favour. We are the open space in which …

: We don’t see, we are what is seen. We don’t hear, we are what is heard. We don’t feel we are what is …

: We don’t see, we are what is seen. We don’t hear, we are what is heard. We don’t feel we are what is …

: At a certain point we realise we can hear something we were unaware of — an all pervasive silence …

: At a certain point we realise we can hear something we were unaware of — an all pervasive silence …

: If we think we are in some way occluded from what is, that is just a thought that can be seen …

: If we think we are in some way occluded from what is, that is just a thought that can be seen …

: In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. Albert Camus

: In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. Albert Camus

: If we truly allow ourselves to be exactly who we are and everything to be exactly as it is then …

: If we truly allow ourselves to be exactly who we are and everything to be exactly as it is then …

: You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees For a hundred miles through the …

: You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees For a hundred miles through the …

: Take away everything that is not essential and here we truly are.

: Take away everything that is not essential and here we truly are.

January 2023

: I can go around saying, ‘There’s no me.’ Or I can claim, ‘There IS a me.’ When the energy of both …

: I can go around saying, ‘There’s no me.’ Or I can claim, ‘There IS a me.’ When the energy of both …

: Contentment not dependent on any particular condition.

: Contentment not dependent on any particular condition.

: The ordinary and extraordinary interchangeable and identical.

: The ordinary and extraordinary interchangeable and identical.

: While the teachings of others can be extraordinarily helpful, essential even, don’t forget to listen …

: While the teachings of others can be extraordinarily helpful, essential even, don’t forget to listen …

: We can be eternally grateful if our work is identical to or an expression of our deepest original …

: We can be eternally grateful if our work is identical to or an expression of our deepest original …

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: The idea of liberation automatically inhibits the simple realisation that we are already free. Wei …

: The idea of liberation automatically inhibits the simple realisation that we are already free. Wei …

: There are no concepts here, no ideas, no stories, no meaning, no style, no art, no aesthetic — only …

: There are no concepts here, no ideas, no stories, no meaning, no style, no art, no aesthetic — only …

: As our relationship to thinking changes we don’t cease to think, we simply lose the continual manic …

: As our relationship to thinking changes we don’t cease to think, we simply lose the continual manic …

: Can we recognise that hope is just fear in disguise?

: Can we recognise that hope is just fear in disguise?

: Nothing is merely a means to an end, nothing is merely a step on the path to somewhere else. Every …

: Nothing is merely a means to an end, nothing is merely a step on the path to somewhere else. Every …

: Can we see how we tend to slice and dice our experience of the world, divide the seamless whole into …

: Can we see how we tend to slice and dice our experience of the world, divide the seamless whole into …

: "At some point there is a line we cross, and we find ourselves beyond the line. We discover that …

: "At some point there is a line we cross, and we find ourselves beyond the line. We discover that …

: Can we allow our thoughts to simply be without judgement or enchantment? Allow them the freedom to …

: Can we allow our thoughts to simply be without judgement or enchantment? Allow them the freedom to …

: Thoughts only capture and control us if we identify with them, personalise them and hold onto them …

: Thoughts only capture and control us if we identify with them, personalise them and hold onto them …

: There is a there, there, but when we’re there we find there’s nothing there.

: There is a there, there, but when we’re there we find there’s nothing there.

: If we look and listen with open awareness can we find the infinite, the absolute, emptiness is …

: If we look and listen with open awareness can we find the infinite, the absolute, emptiness is …

: Saying yes to life, even in its strangest and hardest problems. Friedrich Nietzsche

: Saying yes to life, even in its strangest and hardest problems. Friedrich Nietzsche

: The more we hear ourselves say ‘I don’t know’, the wiser we are becoming.

: The more we hear ourselves say ‘I don’t know’, the wiser we are becoming.

: If we can’t be wrong we can’t be free.

: If we can’t be wrong we can’t be free.

: Travel yes, by all means, but remember wherever we go we take our mind, with all it’s problems, with …

: Travel yes, by all means, but remember wherever we go we take our mind, with all it’s problems, with …

: If we attend carefully enough to what others are actually expressing we discover ourselves speaking …

: If we attend carefully enough to what others are actually expressing we discover ourselves speaking …

: At the end of the conceptual road lie only ruins.

: At the end of the conceptual road lie only ruins.

: Can we let go of everything as we welcome everything.

: Can we let go of everything as we welcome everything.

: The difference between fear and no fear is a thought.

: The difference between fear and no fear is a thought.

: When we allow everything to simply be, the world becomes infinite.

: When we allow everything to simply be, the world becomes infinite.

: This, just this, whatever is arising here and now is so obvious, so simple we overlook it in search …

: This, just this, whatever is arising here and now is so obvious, so simple we overlook it in search …

: When we look to where we think we are, all we see is everything there is. What we are looking for is …

: When we look to where we think we are, all we see is everything there is. What we are looking for is …

: Can we take responsibility for the quality of our own mind instead blaming others? Hurt people hurt …

: Can we take responsibility for the quality of our own mind instead blaming others? Hurt people hurt …

: If we attend fully in this moment we cannot help but allow everything equally. There can be no …

: If we attend fully in this moment we cannot help but allow everything equally. There can be no …

: Our lives change whether we want them to or not. Can we let go of the futile desire to control life …

: Our lives change whether we want them to or not. Can we let go of the futile desire to control life …

: There is nothing to understand but everything and nothing to know. There is no problem to solve, …

: There is nothing to understand but everything and nothing to know. There is no problem to solve, …

: Can we see that awareness is the one and only constant in our life. It allows everything to happen, …

: Can we see that awareness is the one and only constant in our life. It allows everything to happen, …

: Our common shrine can be the open, boundless, indivisible awareness that is always right here, right …

: Our common shrine can be the open, boundless, indivisible awareness that is always right here, right …

: With peace of mind we find ourselves at home everywhere.

: With peace of mind we find ourselves at home everywhere.

: May we raise children who love the unloved things May we raise children who love the unloved things – the dandelion, the worms and spiderlings. …

: May we raise children who love the unloved things May we raise children who love the unloved things – the dandelion, the worms and spiderlings. …

: The ability for two people to be together in each other’s company, in complete silence and total …

: The ability for two people to be together in each other’s company, in complete silence and total …

: What is here now? The warmth of the sun but no face Cold air but no skin The world moving past and through But no …

: What is here now? The warmth of the sun but no face Cold air but no skin The world moving past and through But no …

: Leave yourself alone. Stop meddling. There really is no need to interfere with what is already …

: Leave yourself alone. Stop meddling. There really is no need to interfere with what is already …

: Trying to be something or someone obscures the simple truth of what you really are without …

: Trying to be something or someone obscures the simple truth of what you really are without …

: Awakening is like finally recognising that the car we are driving is actually fully autonomous …

: Awakening is like finally recognising that the car we are driving is actually fully autonomous …

: Continual identification with every thought that enters our awareness condemns us to a prison of our …

: Continual identification with every thought that enters our awareness condemns us to a prison of our …

: All of which serve to distract and conceal the vivid, raw, alive truth of simply being here, now …

: All of which serve to distract and conceal the vivid, raw, alive truth of simply being here, now …

: Can we also notice the continuous directors cut narration that plays over the present moment?

: Can we also notice the continuous directors cut narration that plays over the present moment?

: Can we recognise our memories of the past and thoughts about the future as fundamentally all the …

: Can we recognise our memories of the past and thoughts about the future as fundamentally all the …

: The trouble with the mind is its supposed abstraction from the world… Douglas Harding

: The trouble with the mind is its supposed abstraction from the world… Douglas Harding

: The real problems of life are literally not what we think they are. The problems lie with …

: The real problems of life are literally not what we think they are. The problems lie with …

: Only confusion lies at the end of trains of thought.

: Only confusion lies at the end of trains of thought.

: We pour all our cognitive resources into and invest heavily in our separate egos. What a waste. Let …

: We pour all our cognitive resources into and invest heavily in our separate egos. What a waste. Let …

: Can we attend closely and carefully to the difference between memories and what is actually present …

: Can we attend closely and carefully to the difference between memories and what is actually present …

: If we are anything we are a spontaneous arising of ever changing aliveness.

: If we are anything we are a spontaneous arising of ever changing aliveness.

: The universe remains indifferent to our separate identities and desires.

: The universe remains indifferent to our separate identities and desires.

: Identifying as this or that is not liberation. Self identification binds us instead of freeing us. …

: Identifying as this or that is not liberation. Self identification binds us instead of freeing us. …

: When attachment and investment are seen completely—root cause as well as the consequences that …

: When attachment and investment are seen completely—root cause as well as the consequences that …

: The moment we notice ourselves behaving as ‘someone’ in relation to someone else or ‘others’ it is …

: The moment we notice ourselves behaving as ‘someone’ in relation to someone else or ‘others’ it is …

: There seems to me to be little point in insightful realisations if they remain within the domain of …

: There seems to me to be little point in insightful realisations if they remain within the domain of …

: Thought can organize the world so well that you are no longer able to see it. Anthony de Mello

: Thought can organize the world so well that you are no longer able to see it. Anthony de Mello

: When ego’s meet there is, eventually, always conflict. When open awareness meets open awareness …

: When ego’s meet there is, eventually, always conflict. When open awareness meets open awareness …

: Meaning and purpose are just a distracted person’s imaginary friends. Sam Harris

: Meaning and purpose are just a distracted person’s imaginary friends. Sam Harris

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: We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we …

: We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we …

: In our original non-dual nature of mind no thing can get in the way of any other thing. There is no …

: In our original non-dual nature of mind no thing can get in the way of any other thing. There is no …

: We are not meant to be anything in particular other than simply alive as we are and only until it is …

: We are not meant to be anything in particular other than simply alive as we are and only until it is …

: There is nothing confusing about pain. It is clear, pure and free and definitely not about us. It …

: There is nothing confusing about pain. It is clear, pure and free and definitely not about us. It …

: Dawn Freezing air Harsh and raw Ungraspable pain The great teacher

: Dawn Freezing air Harsh and raw Ungraspable pain The great teacher

: Can we attend to the raw actuality of experience without the accompanying psycho-dramatic narrative?

: Can we attend to the raw actuality of experience without the accompanying psycho-dramatic narrative?

: What do we mean when we say we ‘deserve’ something?

: What do we mean when we say we ‘deserve’ something?

: The realm of thought, concepts and stories is complex and confusing. Open, unimpeded awareness is …

: The realm of thought, concepts and stories is complex and confusing. Open, unimpeded awareness is …

: For the awakened mind nothing changes, everything stays the same but for our point of view. Instead …

: For the awakened mind nothing changes, everything stays the same but for our point of view. Instead …

: Cars rush past like waves on the beach Thoughts roll in and break apart Looking and not finding …

: Cars rush past like waves on the beach Thoughts roll in and break apart Looking and not finding …

: Just a sparrow “The infant sees a sparrow dancing on his window ledge and he’s all full of wonder and awe. The …

: Just a sparrow “The infant sees a sparrow dancing on his window ledge and he’s all full of wonder and awe. The …

: Realising there is nothing specific that we actually need except the simple acceptance of everything …

: Realising there is nothing specific that we actually need except the simple acceptance of everything …

: When the thinking mind tries to figure things out, confusion appears. But right here, right now is …

: When the thinking mind tries to figure things out, confusion appears. But right here, right now is …

: When the illusion of self is clearly seen through we miraculously disappear in each other’s favour.

: When the illusion of self is clearly seen through we miraculously disappear in each other’s favour.

: In the absolute there are no happy endings as there are no endings.

: In the absolute there are no happy endings as there are no endings.

: True understanding is a kind of instinctive unknowing, a deep sense of fundamental emptiness …

: True understanding is a kind of instinctive unknowing, a deep sense of fundamental emptiness …

: Noise is just as intrinsic to the absolute as silence. As motion is to stillness. They enable each …

: Noise is just as intrinsic to the absolute as silence. As motion is to stillness. They enable each …

: One fascinating, paradoxical and wonderful, yet utterly ordinary aspect of awakening is the freedom …

: One fascinating, paradoxical and wonderful, yet utterly ordinary aspect of awakening is the freedom …

: Wide awake in the midst of life.

: Wide awake in the midst of life.

: What are we doing and what is it we think we are doing?

: What are we doing and what is it we think we are doing?

: Neo-Advaita Meets Dzogchen: The Unraveling of a Pseudo-Enlightenment The following is an excerpt from Sam Harris’s book Waking Up. I must confess that I have not read … photo thumbnail

: Neo-Advaita Meets Dzogchen: The Unraveling of a Pseudo-Enlightenment The following is an excerpt from Sam Harris’s book Waking Up. I must confess that I have not read … photo thumbnail

: Unconditional expression.

: Unconditional expression.

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: photo thumbnail

: Existence purely expressed directly without preference, bias or fantasy.

: Existence purely expressed directly without preference, bias or fantasy.

: When we attend closely we find nothing more or less that the universe unfolding as us.

: When we attend closely we find nothing more or less that the universe unfolding as us.

: Trust not knowing. Let go of certainty. Fall through doubt and land in what’s left.

: Trust not knowing. Let go of certainty. Fall through doubt and land in what’s left.

: Freedom comes when we realise that although we will think, we don’t have to think. Letting go of the …

: Freedom comes when we realise that although we will think, we don’t have to think. Letting go of the …

: Listening, sensing, awaring without expectation.

: Listening, sensing, awaring without expectation.

: The acquisition of happiness through pursuit is a fundamentally flawed project. We can’t make …

: The acquisition of happiness through pursuit is a fundamentally flawed project. We can’t make …

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: There is simultaneously both something yet nothing. No experience yet being everything.

: There is simultaneously both something yet nothing. No experience yet being everything.

: Our quality of being determines our quality of doing Thich Nhat Hanh

: Our quality of being determines our quality of doing Thich Nhat Hanh

: It’s what’s real. Shift your focus from thought forms, physical objects, and mental stories to …

: It’s what’s real. Shift your focus from thought forms, physical objects, and mental stories to …

: When I am hungry I eat, and when I am thirsty I drink. Bankei

: When I am hungry I eat, and when I am thirsty I drink. Bankei

: One could write a million words, make a million pictures and still get no nearer to the raw …

: One could write a million words, make a million pictures and still get no nearer to the raw …

: Icy wind, flecks of stinging rain, deserted beach, mind open.

: Icy wind, flecks of stinging rain, deserted beach, mind open.

: photo thumbnail

: photo thumbnail

: photo thumbnail

: All that needs to be done is simply done without pause or question. Doing without gain or goal. …

: All that needs to be done is simply done without pause or question. Doing without gain or goal. …

: We become what we give our attention to.

: We become what we give our attention to.

: We become what we give our attention to.

: Let the nettle sting be. Who are we to claim it as ours?

: When we truly lose the overbearing sense of a self, what is left naturally inclines towards others.

: Let the nettle sting be. Who are we to claim it as ours?

: Let the nettle sting be. Who are we to claim it as ours?

: Reality is not a symbol, we live in the midst of it. John Aske

: Reality is not a symbol, we live in the midst of it. John Aske

: When we truly lose the overbearing sense of a self, what is left naturally inclines towards others.

: When we truly lose the overbearing sense of a self, what is left naturally inclines towards others.

: When we say we can’t take anymore what we’re really saying is we don’t want anymore.

: When we say we can’t take anymore what we’re really saying is we don’t want anymore.

: When we say we can’t take anymore what we’re really saying is we don’t want anymore.

: Enlightenment is absolute cooperation with the inevitable. Anthony de Mello

: Enlightenment is absolute cooperation with the inevitable. Anthony de Mello

: Observe what is here already, no need to go seeking elsewhere.

: Observe what is here already, no need to go seeking elsewhere.

: Don’t wait to be taught. Let your own intuition and insights guide you.

: Don’t wait to be taught. Let your own intuition and insights guide you.

: Don’t wait to be taught. Let your own intuition and insights guide you.

: Words and images have meaning in contrast to reality which simply is meaning.

: Words and images have meaning in contrast to reality which simply is meaning.

: Words and images have meaning in contrast to reality which simply is meaning.

: The real benefits of contemplative inquiry appear when we let go of acquiring any.

: The real benefits of contemplative inquiry appear when we let go of acquiring any.

: The real benefits of contemplative inquiry appear when we let go of acquiring any.

: It’s the holding on that hurts, not the letting go.

: It’s the holding on that hurts, not the letting go.

: It’s the holding on that hurts, not the letting go.

: Beware spiritual materialism. The subtle, seductive tendency to turn the formless, not only into …

: Beware spiritual materialism. The subtle, seductive tendency to turn the formless, not only into …

: Beware spiritual materialism. The subtle, seductive tendency to turn the formless, not only into …

: It is what we do when we don’t know, don’t understand what we are doing.

: It is what we do when we don’t know, don’t understand what we are doing.

: It is what we do when we don’t know, don’t understand what we are doing.

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: We deceive ourselves by thinking it can’t be this obvious, this simple, this effortless. It is our …

: We deceive ourselves by thinking it can’t be this obvious, this simple, this effortless. It is our …

: We deceive ourselves by thinking it can’t be this obvious, this simple, this effortless. It is our …

: The eternal unfolding of the infinite everything includes the arising of the futile attempts to …

: The eternal unfolding of the infinite everything includes the arising of the futile attempts to …

: The eternal unfolding of the infinite everything includes the arising of the futile attempts to …

: Can we be still and attend to this open awareness without describing or narrating?

: Can we be still and attend to this open awareness without describing or narrating?

: Can we be still and attend to this open awareness without describing or narrating?

: We don’t experience things in the present. We are experience and presence simultaneously without …

: We don’t experience things in the present. We are experience and presence simultaneously without …

: We don’t experience things in the present. We are experience and presence simultaneously without …

: When we truly and honestly inquire into the present moment with open awareness, without concepts or …

: When we truly and honestly inquire into the present moment with open awareness, without concepts or …

: When we truly and honestly inquire into the present moment with open awareness, without concepts or …

: Notice how we don’t experience time in the same way as we experience bodily sensations. When we …

: Notice how we don’t experience time in the same way as we experience bodily sensations. When we …

: Notice how we don’t experience time in the same way as we experience bodily sensations. When we …

: “True freedom is the end of separation, this moment of life without ‘I’. The presence revealed …

: “True freedom is the end of separation, this moment of life without ‘I’. The presence revealed …

: “True freedom is the end of separation, this moment of life without ‘I’. The presence revealed …

: Life lives us without effort. We need do nothing to be fully alive. We can’t stop it, we can’t make …

: Life lives us without effort. We need do nothing to be fully alive. We can’t stop it, we can’t make …

: Life lives us without effort. We need do nothing to be fully alive. We can’t stop it, we can’t make …

: Can we take responsibility for the truth we find when we let go of wanting things to be other than …

: Can we take responsibility for the truth we find when we let go of wanting things to be other than …

: Can we take responsibility for the truth we find when we let go of wanting things to be other than …

: You’re never going to win the argument you have with the universe.

: You’re never going to win the argument you have with the universe.

: Regarding Truth What stands in the way of self-remembering? Knowing that YOU are prior to the "YOU" that is created …

: Regarding Truth What stands in the way of self-remembering? Knowing that YOU are prior to the "YOU" that is created …

: When our minds are open and not constricted by the blinkers of small ego, we realise there is wisdom …

: When our minds are open and not constricted by the blinkers of small ego, we realise there is wisdom …

: When our minds are open and not constricted by the blinkers of small ego, we realise there is wisdom …

: I love this insight from Amoda Maa: “…the willingness to surrender the argument with what is: to …

: “Falling into openness—a dissolution of the psychological knot of ego—is the doorway to freedom.” …

: Falling into openness—a dissolution of the psychological knot of ego—is the doorway to freedom. …

: Falling into openness—a dissolution of the psychological knot of ego—is the doorway to freedom. …

: If, sometimes, we must hold, hold lightly with gentle tenderness, full in the knowledge that that is …

: If, sometimes, we must hold, hold lightly with gentle tenderness, full in the knowledge that that is …

: If, sometimes, we must hold, hold lightly with gentle tenderness, full in the knowledge that that is …

: Whatever state of mind you find yourself in, rather than focussing on the content or the description …

: Whatever state of mind you find yourself in, rather than focussing on the content or the description …

: Whatever state of mind you find yourself in, rather than focussing on the content or the description …

: That which is undoubtedly here yet utterly inconceivable.

: That which is undoubtedly here yet utterly inconceivable.

: That which is undoubtedly here yet utterly inconceivable.

: What seekers are seeking is not ‘out there’ beyond but right here, right now before everything, even …

: What seekers are seeking is not ‘out there’ beyond but right here, right now before everything, even …

: What seekers are seeking is not ‘out there’ beyond but right here, right now before everything, even …

: Nothing is fixed or stable including us and our fantastical flights of fancy about identity and …

: Nothing is fixed or stable including us and our fantastical flights of fancy about identity and …

: Nothing is fixed or stable including us and our fantastical flights of fancy about identity and …

: There is no mistaking the raw actuality of this moment, right here, right now. Everything else is …

: There is no mistaking the raw actuality of this moment, right here, right now. Everything else is …

: There is no mistaking the raw actuality of this moment, right here, right now. Everything else is …

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: If we attend closely and carefully enough we can observe how we take refuge and hide and imprison …

: If we attend closely and carefully enough we can observe how we take refuge and hide and imprison …

: If we attend closely and carefully enough we can observe how we take refuge and hide and imprison …

: All forms reveal emptiness and emptiness reveals all forms. Not two, not oneness, just difference …

: All forms reveal emptiness and emptiness reveals all forms. Not two, not oneness, just difference …

: All forms reveal emptiness and emptiness reveals all forms. Not two, not oneness, just difference …

: As ever, beginning again.

: As ever, beginning again.

: As ever, beginning again.

December 2022

: Attend to the present moment carefully and closely enough and find everything that happens appears …

: Attend to the present moment carefully and closely enough and find everything that happens appears …

: Attend to the present moment carefully and closely enough and find everything that happens appears …

: The present moment will never let you down. Everything else will.

: The present moment will never let you down. Everything else will.

: The present moment will never let you down. Everything else will.

: The fear of death is the same as any other story we believe to be true. Just a story we have made up …

: The fear of death is the same as any other story we believe to be true. Just a story we have made up …

: The fear of death is the same as any other story we believe to be true. Just a story we have made up …

: This, this that is undeniable, self evident and simply here is ungraspable and without form or …

: This, this that is undeniable, self evident and simply here is ungraspable and without form or …

: This, this that is undeniable, self evident and simply here is ungraspable and without form or …

: All memories pale in comparison to the vibrant, visceral actuality of this moment of vivid …

: All memories pale in comparison to the vibrant, visceral actuality of this moment of vivid …

: All memories pale in comparison to the vibrant, visceral actuality of this moment of vivid …

: Thinking - the original virtual reality.

: Thinking - the original virtual reality.

: Thinking - the original virtual reality.

: We attribute fixed meanings to the ever changing phenomenal world. No wonder all meanings fail in …

: We attribute fixed meanings to the ever changing phenomenal world. No wonder all meanings fail in …

: We attribute fixed meanings to the ever changing phenomenal world. No wonder all meanings fail in …

: Pleasure or pain. Relaxation or anxiety. There is nothing confusing about the present moment until …

: Pleasure or pain. Relaxation or anxiety. There is nothing confusing about the present moment until …

: Pleasure or pain. Relaxation or anxiety. There is nothing confusing about the present moment until …

: Awareness is not beyond doubt or question because it is already present before either arise.

: Awareness is not beyond doubt or question because it is already present before either arise.

: Awareness is not beyond doubt or question because it is already present before either arise.

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: “Feel your feet on the ground – listen and look.” John Butler

: “Feel your feet on the ground – listen and look.” John Butler

: “Feel your feet on the ground – listen and look.” John Butler

: Awareness includes everything and clings to nothing. We might call that unconditional love. Joan …

: Awareness includes everything and clings to nothing. We might call that unconditional love. Joan …

: Awareness includes everything and clings to nothing. We might call that unconditional love. Joan …

: Who exactly are you filing that complaint with?

: Who exactly are you filing that complaint with?

: Who exactly are you filing that complaint with?

: What does the statement: ‘I deserve…(insert what you think you deserve) actually mean?

: What does the statement: ‘I deserve…(insert what you think you deserve) actually mean?

: What does the statement: ‘I deserve…(insert what you think you deserve) actually mean?

: In the the condition of empty awareness, when the illusion of ego self is clearly seen through, what …

: In the the condition of empty awareness, when the illusion of ego self is clearly seen through, what …

: In the the condition of empty awareness, when the illusion of ego self is clearly seen through, what …

: Difference without separation.

: Difference without separation.

: Thinking negatively, thinking positively - it’s still all just magical thinking and prone to the …

: Thinking negatively, thinking positively - it’s still all just magical thinking and prone to the …

: Thinking negatively, thinking positively - it’s still all just magical thinking and prone to the …

: Nothing special. Ordinary awareness in the midst of life.

: Nothing special. Ordinary awareness in the midst of life.

: Nothing special. Ordinary awareness in the midst of life.

: There is nothing we can think that can solve the problems that thought creates.

: There is nothing we can think that can solve the problems that thought creates.

: There is nothing we can think that can solve the problems that thought creates.

: We love to meet the stories we hear with our own stories instead of just sharing the truth of what …

: We love to meet the stories we hear with our own stories instead of just sharing the truth of what …

: We love to meet the stories we hear with our own stories instead of just sharing the truth of what …

: See through the leading character (the ego) in our story and the whole narrative collapses.

: See through the leading character (the ego) in our story and the whole narrative collapses.

: See through the leading character (the ego) in our story and the whole narrative collapses.

: You Don’t Have To Suffer Anymore You Don’t Have To Suffer Anymore

: You Don’t Have To Suffer Anymore You Don’t Have To Suffer Anymore

: You Don’t Have To Suffer Anymore You Don’t Have To Suffer Anymore

: Time is Thought Time is Thought by Dr Amy Johnson

: Time is Thought Time is Thought by Dr Amy Johnson

: Time is Thought Time is Thought by Dr Amy Johnson

: No path, no way, no method, no technique that endures. Everything changes. Only the ever present raw …

: No path, no way, no method, no technique that endures. Everything changes. Only the ever present raw …

: No path, no way, no method, no technique that endures. Everything changes. Only the ever present raw …

: This timeless present moment of eternal reality right now reveals everything we need to know about …

: This timeless present moment of eternal reality right now reveals everything we need to know about …

: This timeless present moment of eternal reality right now reveals everything we need to know about …

: We can recognise a great teaching to be true when it points away from itself to the heart of truth …

: We can recognise a great teaching to be true when it points away from itself to the heart of truth …

: We can recognise a great teaching to be true when it points away from itself to the heart of truth …

: Buddhism isn’t about becoming a Buddhist or even Buddhism. It’s about recognising the nature of your …

: Buddhism isn’t about becoming a Buddhist or even Buddhism. It’s about recognising the nature of your …

: Buddhism isn’t about becoming a Buddhist or even Buddhism. It’s about recognising the nature of your …

: When truly sought Even the seeker cannot be found. Thereupon the goal of the seeking is attained, …

: When truly sought Even the seeker cannot be found. Thereupon the goal of the seeking is attained, …

: When truly sought Even the seeker cannot be found. Thereupon the goal of the seeking is attained, …

: Listen, trust and learn from yourself. Ultimately we are our own best teachers.

: Listen, trust and learn from yourself. Ultimately we are our own best teachers.

: Listen, trust and learn from yourself. Ultimately we are our own best teachers.

: I have nothing to say and I am saying it and that is poetry as I need it. John Cage

: I have nothing to say and I am saying it and that is poetry as I need it. John Cage

: I have nothing to say and I am saying it and that is poetry as I need it. John Cage

: Shifting out of our world of images and stories about ourselves and the world is simple but hard, …

: Shifting out of our world of images and stories about ourselves and the world is simple but hard, …

: Shifting out of our world of images and stories about ourselves and the world is simple but hard, …

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: If we are anything we may say we are fields of potentiality.

: If we are anything we may say we are fields of potentiality.

: If we are anything we may say we are fields of potentiality.

: We can discover everything we need to know about ourselves by observing how we behave when no one is …

: We can discover everything we need to know about ourselves by observing how we behave when no one is …

: We can discover everything we need to know about ourselves by observing how we behave when no one is …

: The universe includes us but isn’t about us.

: The universe includes us but isn’t about us.

: The universe includes us but isn’t about us.

: Others suffer because we suffer.

: Others suffer because we suffer.

: Others suffer because we suffer.

: Everything minus the ego.

: Everything minus the ego.

: Everything minus the ego.

: The non dual condition is fundamentally paradoxical. As quantum phenomena are real but make no …

: The non dual condition is fundamentally paradoxical. As quantum phenomena are real but make no …

: The non dual condition is fundamentally paradoxical. As quantum phenomena are real but make no …

: ‘Awareness’ is a word that points to the seeing that is never divided into seer and seen. Joan …

: ‘Awareness’ is a word that points to the seeing that is never divided into seer and seen. Joan …

: ‘Awareness’ is a word that points to the seeing that is never divided into seer and seen. Joan …

: Walking into each moment without history or expectation.

: Walking into each moment without history or expectation.

: Walking into each moment without history or expectation.

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: The only way one really gets any of the most important benefits of meditation practice is by giving …

: The only way one really gets any of the most important benefits of meditation practice is by giving …

: The only way one really gets any of the most important benefits of meditation practice is by giving …

: Enlightenment is the end of the one who cares about being enlightened or unenlightened.

: Enlightenment is the end of the one who cares about being enlightened or unenlightened.

: Enlightenment is the end of the one who cares about being enlightened or unenlightened.

: What is beyond doubt takes no effort to maintain.

: What is beyond doubt takes no effort to maintain.

: What is beyond doubt takes no effort to maintain.

: “The entirety of practical spirituality consists of distinguishing fantasy from actuality. …

: “The entirety of practical spirituality consists of distinguishing fantasy from actuality. …

: “The entirety of practical spirituality consists of distinguishing fantasy from actuality. …

: The entirety of practical spirituality consists of distinguishing fantasy from actuality. The …

: The entirety of practical spirituality consists of distinguishing fantasy from actuality. The …

: The entirety of practical spirituality consists of distinguishing fantasy from actuality. The …

: This. This, that is utterly inconceivable and yet totally obvious and impossible to avoid. Joan …

: This. This, that is utterly inconceivable and yet totally obvious and impossible to avoid. Joan …

: This. This, that is utterly inconceivable and yet totally obvious and impossible to avoid. Joan …

: Thoughts are stories. Emotions are energy. Connect the two and cling to either or both creates …

: Thoughts are stories. Emotions are energy. Connect the two and cling to either or both creates …

: Thoughts are stories. Emotions are energy. Connect the two and cling to either or both creates …

: Stories are sophisticated patterns and we have evolved to create patterns out of chaos to survive. …

: Stories are sophisticated patterns and we have evolved to create patterns out of chaos to survive. …

: Stories are sophisticated patterns and we have evolved to create patterns out of chaos to survive. …

: We are constantly told that we love stories. I would amend that to; we are addicted to stories. …

: We are constantly told that we love stories. I would amend that to; we are addicted to stories. …

: We are constantly told that we love stories. I would amend that to; we are addicted to stories. …

: Nihilism is just another story. Open awareness is that which is prior to, and allows for, all …

: Nihilism is just another story. Open awareness is that which is prior to, and allows for, all …

: Nihilism is just another story. Open awareness is that which is prior to, and allows for, all …

: The fewer stories and narratives we have running in our minds the freer we become.

: The fewer stories and narratives we have running in our minds the freer we become.

: The fewer stories and narratives we have running in our minds the freer we become.

: As open awareness, walking along a deserted beach or a tranquil field is no different than being in …

: As open awareness, walking along a deserted beach or a tranquil field is no different than being in …

: As open awareness, walking along a deserted beach or a tranquil field is no different than being in …

: Whatever this is, cannot be pulled apart, divided or separated.

: Whatever this is, cannot be pulled apart, divided or separated.

: Whatever this is, cannot be pulled apart, divided or separated.

: Liberation is the aliveness and immediacy beyond belief. Liberation is when all the answers, …

: Liberation is the aliveness and immediacy beyond belief. Liberation is when all the answers, …

: Liberation is the aliveness and immediacy beyond belief. Liberation is when all the answers, …

: Since our first breath thoughts, feelings, concepts, ideas and experiences have come and gone over …

: Since our first breath thoughts, feelings, concepts, ideas and experiences have come and gone over …

: Since our first breath thoughts, feelings, concepts, ideas and experiences have come and gone over …

: This is always it.

: This is always it.

: This is always it.

: Suffering is feedback, showing us that we’re attached to ideas and thoughts that appear true, but …

: Suffering is feedback, showing us that we’re attached to ideas and thoughts that appear true, but …

: Suffering is feedback, showing us that we’re attached to ideas and thoughts that appear true, but …

: If we persist in looking to get or obtain something, anything from ourselves, others and the world …

: If we persist in looking to get or obtain something, anything from ourselves, others and the world …

: If we persist in looking to get or obtain something, anything from ourselves, others and the world …

: What stories are we going to believe and invest in about ourselves and the world today? What forms …

: What stories are we going to believe and invest in about ourselves and the world today? What forms …

: What stories are we going to believe and invest in about ourselves and the world today? What forms …

: Thoughts, ideas, theories, concepts, and stories are all for nought without the rigorous practice of …

: Thoughts, ideas, theories, concepts, and stories are all for nought without the rigorous practice of …

: Thoughts, ideas, theories, concepts, and stories are all for nought without the rigorous practice of …

: What is fear of death but a complicated tangle of images and stories about everything except the …

: What is fear of death but a complicated tangle of images and stories about everything except the …

: What is fear of death but a complicated tangle of images and stories about everything except the …

: Dissolving or seeing through the fabricated ego self automatically frees us from craving and …

: Dissolving or seeing through the fabricated ego self automatically frees us from craving and …

: Dissolving or seeing through the fabricated ego self automatically frees us from craving and …

: Allow everything without holding onto anything.

: Allow everything without holding onto anything.

: Allow everything without holding onto anything.

: Egos meet and remain separate but open, aware minds share presence.

: Egos meet and remain separate but open, aware minds share presence.

: Egos meet and remain separate but open, aware minds share presence.

: As Beckett was exquisitely aware, all language fails attempting to capture the formless absolute.

: As Beckett was exquisitely aware, all language fails attempting to capture the formless absolute.

: As Beckett was exquisitely aware, all language fails attempting to capture the formless absolute.

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: Enlightenment, awakening, recognition, realisation, whatever, is not an answer, has no answers …

: Enlightenment, awakening, recognition, realisation, whatever, is not an answer, has no answers …

: Enlightenment, awakening, recognition, realisation, whatever, is not an answer, has no answers …

: Deconstructing the self automatically opens us to boundless possibilities.

: Deconstructing the self automatically opens us to boundless possibilities.

: Deconstructing the self automatically opens us to boundless possibilities.

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: Myriad holograms of meaning come and go, arise and fade away over and over and over and yet the …

: Myriad holograms of meaning come and go, arise and fade away over and over and over and yet the …

: Myriad holograms of meaning come and go, arise and fade away over and over and over and yet the …

: No arrival, no conclusion, no ending, just perpetual freshness and unknowing.

: No arrival, no conclusion, no ending, just perpetual freshness and unknowing.

: No arrival, no conclusion, no ending, just perpetual freshness and unknowing.

: This includes us but is not about us.

: This includes us but is not about us.

: This includes us but is not about us.

: The illusion of a spiritual journey is just more hinderance, more occlusion of the infinite ground …

: The illusion of a spiritual journey is just more hinderance, more occlusion of the infinite ground …

: The illusion of a spiritual journey is just more hinderance, more occlusion of the infinite ground …

: ‘Symbols and conventions can be used for awareness rather than for developing worldly attitudes to … photo thumbnail

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: With complete recognition of open awareness the need for the crutches of meaning, purpose and …

: With complete recognition of open awareness the need for the crutches of meaning, purpose and …

: With complete recognition of open awareness the need for the crutches of meaning, purpose and …

: Data, information, knowledge - none have anything to do with wisdom.

: Data, information, knowledge - none have anything to do with wisdom.

: Data, information, knowledge - none have anything to do with wisdom.

: In spite of the famous phrase: ‘There must be more to life than this’, there is actually no more to …

: In spite of the famous phrase: ‘There must be more to life than this’, there is actually no more to …

: In spite of the famous phrase: ‘There must be more to life than this’, there is actually no more to …

: The infinite — the only condition where logic and paradox dwell without conflict.

: The infinite — the only condition where logic and paradox dwell without conflict.

: The infinite — the only condition where logic and paradox dwell without conflict.

: There are infinite ways to recognise the infinite.

: There are infinite ways to recognise the infinite.

: There are infinite ways to recognise the infinite.

: Things to be interested in come and go but the raw unmediated actuality of the present moment is …

: Things to be interested in come and go but the raw unmediated actuality of the present moment is …

: Things to be interested in come and go but the raw unmediated actuality of the present moment is …

: Whenever we look, whatever we witness is simply what is here now and that is always everything and …

: Whenever we look, whatever we witness is simply what is here now and that is always everything and …

: Whenever we look, whatever we witness is simply what is here now and that is always everything and …

: Trust not knowing.

: Trust not knowing.

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: Words and images, words and images, so many, seemingly endless words and images describing and …

: Words and images, words and images, so many, seemingly endless words and images describing and …

: Words and images, words and images, so many, seemingly endless words and images describing and …

: The problems of thought are not clarified by more thinking. A ruler trying to measure itself…

: The problems of thought are not clarified by more thinking. A ruler trying to measure itself…

: The problems of thought are not clarified by more thinking. A ruler trying to measure itself…

: No hope nor fear here. Just what is.

: No hope nor fear here. Just what is.

: No hope nor fear here. Just what is.

November 2022

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: Nothing here now will remain.

: Nothing here now will remain.

: Nothing here now will remain.

: The weather alters our mood only to the extent to which we indulge the ideas and concepts that it …

: The weather alters our mood only to the extent to which we indulge the ideas and concepts that it …

: The weather alters our mood only to the extent to which we indulge the ideas and concepts that it …

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: There is no elephant in the room. The elephant is the room.

: There is no elephant in the room. The elephant is the room.

: There is no elephant in the room. The elephant is the room.

: Here language always fails. Sometimes beautifully, sometimes less so But always unable to touch what …

: Here language always fails. Sometimes beautifully, sometimes less so But always unable to touch what …

: Here language always fails. Sometimes beautifully, sometimes less so But always unable to touch what …

: The anxiety and fear of a week ago is gone. Traces remain as ever-diminishing memory. Then as now, …

: The anxiety and fear of a week ago is gone. Traces remain as ever-diminishing memory. Then as now, …

: The anxiety and fear of a week ago is gone. Traces remain as ever-diminishing memory. Then as now, …

: Cold. Darkness. Street lights. Stillness. An alarm. Distant shouting. The merest hint of dawn.

: Cold. Darkness. Street lights. Stillness. An alarm. Distant shouting. The merest hint of dawn.

: Cold. Darkness. Street lights. Stillness. An alarm. Distant shouting. The merest hint of dawn.

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: There is no right or wrong time nor right or wrong place.

: There is no right or wrong time nor right or wrong place.

: There is no right or wrong time nor right or wrong place.

: Open. Open to what is. Open to what is not. Open to everything and open to nothing at all. Open to …

: Open. Open to what is. Open to what is not. Open to everything and open to nothing at all. Open to …

: Open. Open to what is. Open to what is not. Open to everything and open to nothing at all. Open to …

: Whatsoever is your attitude towards life will be your attitude towards death… What is the Zen …

: Whatsoever is your attitude towards life will be your attitude towards death… What is the Zen …

: Whatsoever is your attitude towards life will be your attitude towards death… What is the Zen …

: None of this is about happiness or sadness, joy or sorrow, hope or despair per se. It is whatever we …

: None of this is about happiness or sadness, joy or sorrow, hope or despair per se. It is whatever we …

: None of this is about happiness or sadness, joy or sorrow, hope or despair per se. It is whatever we …

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: This includes us but is not about us.

: This includes us but is not about us.

: This includes us but is not about us.

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: The ordinary. The everyday. The shit on my shoe.

: The ordinary. The everyday. The shit on my shoe.

: The ordinary. The everyday. The shit on my shoe.

: Break the identification with thought and there is simply what is, and that includes thought too.

: Break the identification with thought and there is simply what is, and that includes thought too.

: Break the identification with thought and there is simply what is, and that includes thought too.

: To say that one is ‘spiritual’ is just more identification with something, sometimes any ‘thing’ …

: To say that one is ‘spiritual’ is just more identification with something, sometimes any ‘thing’ …

: To say that one is ‘spiritual’ is just more identification with something, sometimes any ‘thing’ …

: What is sought is not beyond. It is that which is already fully present before anything. Before joy, …

: What is sought is not beyond. It is that which is already fully present before anything. Before joy, …

: What is sought is not beyond. It is that which is already fully present before anything. Before joy, …

: There is nothing to be gained… that is all. There is nothing to be gained.

: There is nothing to be gained… that is all. There is nothing to be gained.

: There is nothing to be gained… that is all. There is nothing to be gained.

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: There is no more or less life to be had anywhere other than right here, right now.

: There is no more or less life to be had anywhere other than right here, right now.

: There is no more or less life to be had anywhere other than right here, right now.

: Wherever and however we are is where must always begin again.

: Wherever and however we are is where must always begin again.

: Wherever and however we are is where must always begin again.

: Not knowing is true wisdom.

: Not knowing is true wisdom.

: Not knowing is true wisdom.

: Meditation techniques are easy to practise because they have a form. Awareness is harder because it …

: Meditation techniques are easy to practise because they have a form. Awareness is harder because it …

: Meditation techniques are easy to practise because they have a form. Awareness is harder because it …

: Knowledge and ignorance are both untrue, nothing but dream and illusion — the nonduality of true and …

: Knowledge and ignorance are both untrue, nothing but dream and illusion — the nonduality of true and …

: Knowledge and ignorance are both untrue, nothing but dream and illusion — the nonduality of true and …

: The truth of the moment is beyond all thoughts, all feelings, all ideas, all concepts, all systems, …

: The truth of the moment is beyond all thoughts, all feelings, all ideas, all concepts, all systems, …

: The truth of the moment is beyond all thoughts, all feelings, all ideas, all concepts, all systems, …

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: Doing nothing but with full attention and awareness.

: Doing nothing but with full attention and awareness.

: Doing nothing but with full attention and awareness.

: Once you realise you’re distracted, that you’ve been thinking without knowing you’ve been thinking, …

: Once you realise you’re distracted, that you’ve been thinking without knowing you’ve been thinking, …

: Once you realise you’re distracted, that you’ve been thinking without knowing you’ve been thinking, …

: Meaning and purpose are just a distracted person's imaginary friends. Sam Harris

: Meaning and purpose are just a distracted person's imaginary friends. Sam Harris

: Meaning and purpose are just a distracted person's imaginary friends. Sam Harris

: Nowhere to go but here. All journeys lead home.

: Nowhere to go but here. All journeys lead home.

: Nowhere to go but here. All journeys lead home.

: If I am anything, I am the totality of everything and nothing that is and isn’t happening in this …

: If I am anything, I am the totality of everything and nothing that is and isn’t happening in this …

: If I am anything, I am the totality of everything and nothing that is and isn’t happening in this …

: Hanging, weightless in open awareness.

: Hanging, weightless in open awareness.

: Hanging, weightless in open awareness.

: Clinging to no tradition. Seeing through each of them to the common unicity of all of them.

: Clinging to no tradition. Seeing through each of them to the common unicity of all of them.

: Clinging to no tradition. Seeing through each of them to the common unicity of all of them.

: Darkness, wind and rain. The drip, drip, drip from a broken gutter.

: Darkness, wind and rain. The drip, drip, drip from a broken gutter.

: Darkness, wind and rain. The drip, drip, drip from a broken gutter.

: The dark night of the unknown. The steps one knows one has to take and the associated fear.

: The dark night of the unknown. The steps one knows one has to take and the associated fear.

: The dark night of the unknown. The steps one knows one has to take and the associated fear.

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: Responsibility.

: Responsibility.

: I feel this is the heart of meditation: Simply being interested in what is here – being more …

: I feel this is the heart of meditation: Simply being interested in what is here – being more …

: I feel this is the heart of meditation: Simply being interested in what is here – being more …

: The dog, snoring at my feet. Loud chatter coming through the wall from next door. The smell of …

: The dog, snoring at my feet. Loud chatter coming through the wall from next door. The smell of …

: The dog, snoring at my feet. Loud chatter coming through the wall from next door. The smell of …

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: The silence of not knowing.

: The silence of not knowing.

: The silence of not knowing.

: No doer nor nothing to be done.

: No doer nor nothing to be done.

: No doer nor nothing to be done.

: No thought can improve what is already here.

: No thought can improve what is already here.

: No thought can improve what is already here.

: We don’t have ideas, ideas have us. Carl Jung

: We don’t have ideas, ideas have us. Carl Jung

: We don’t have ideas, ideas have us. Carl Jung

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: In times of trauma I have no idea what I’m doing except somehow saving myself.

: In times of trauma I have no idea what I’m doing except somehow saving myself.

: In times of trauma I have no idea what I’m doing except somehow saving myself.

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: Sitting, wondering at the beauty of existence but also inquiring into the horrors here too.

: Sitting, wondering at the beauty of existence but also inquiring into the horrors here too.

: Sitting, wondering at the beauty of existence but also inquiring into the horrors here too.

: Pain yet complete aliveness.

: Pain yet complete aliveness.

: Pain yet complete aliveness.

: What is the duration of this moment? Does it last only until the the next instance of inattention?

: What is the duration of this moment? Does it last only until the the next instance of inattention?

: What is the duration of this moment? Does it last only until the the next instance of inattention?

: This is always it.

: This is always it.

: This is always it.

: Roaring tinnitus this morning in my now blocked, deaf left ear. My experience of the world is now …

: Roaring tinnitus this morning in my now blocked, deaf left ear. My experience of the world is now …

: Roaring tinnitus this morning in my now blocked, deaf left ear. My experience of the world is now …

: A solitary lamp illuminating the corner of the room. Ringing, hissing tinnitus; shrill, clean and …

: A solitary lamp illuminating the corner of the room. Ringing, hissing tinnitus; shrill, clean and …

: A solitary lamp illuminating the corner of the room. Ringing, hissing tinnitus; shrill, clean and …

: I am very lucky to have a job in which I spend most of the time in a state of flow. No distracting, …

: I am very lucky to have a job in which I spend most of the time in a state of flow. No distracting, …

: I am very lucky to have a job in which I spend most of the time in a state of flow. No distracting, …

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: Noticing that which would otherwise have gone unrecognised.

: Noticing that which would otherwise have gone unrecognised.

: Noticing that which would otherwise have gone unrecognised.

: This is neither special nor ordinary as these words are referring to that which defies all …

: This is neither special nor ordinary as these words are referring to that which defies all …

: This is neither special nor ordinary as these words are referring to that which defies all …

: AE’s clear, bright eyes. Full of life lacking nothing but sight.

: AE’s clear, bright eyes. Full of life lacking nothing but sight.

: AE’s clear, bright eyes. Full of life lacking nothing but sight.

: Each of us has our own story about death and grief but in the end that’s all they are. Distracting …

: Each of us has our own story about death and grief but in the end that’s all they are. Distracting …

: Each of us has our own story about death and grief but in the end that’s all they are. Distracting …

: One fire unfolding as infinite flames.

: One fire unfolding as infinite flames.

: One fire unfolding as infinite flames.

: The fire again. Crackling and sputtering a fuss over damp logs. The dog is here, still but watchful. …

: The fire again. Crackling and sputtering a fuss over damp logs. The dog is here, still but watchful. …

: The fire again. Crackling and sputtering a fuss over damp logs. The dog is here, still but watchful. …

: Snoozing…

: Snoozing…

: Snoozing…

: There is no Buddhism here, no Zen, no Advaita, no Dzogchen, no awakening, no enlightenment, no …

: There is no Buddhism here, no Zen, no Advaita, no Dzogchen, no awakening, no enlightenment, no …

: There is no Buddhism here, no Zen, no Advaita, no Dzogchen, no awakening, no enlightenment, no …

: The raw, unmediated pain of grief of an individual I support at work. There are few if no words that …

: The raw, unmediated pain of grief of an individual I support at work. There are few if no words that …

: The raw, unmediated pain of grief of an individual I support at work. There are few if no words that …

: Nowhere to go but here, where everything and nothing already are.

: Nowhere to go but here, where everything and nothing already are.

: Nowhere to go but here, where everything and nothing already are.

: Birth, life and death are not personal but we make them so Who are we to claim them as our own? …

: Birth, life and death are not personal but we make them so Who are we to claim them as our own? …

: Birth, life and death are not personal but we make them so Who are we to claim them as our own? …

: On my way to work this morning, just letting everything unfold without explanation, rhyme or reason: …

: On my way to work this morning, just letting everything unfold without explanation, rhyme or reason: …

: On my way to work this morning, just letting everything unfold without explanation, rhyme or reason: …

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: Early start. Still dark. Silence but for the ticking clock and the hum of the fridge.

: Early start. Still dark. Silence but for the ticking clock and the hum of the fridge.

: Early start. Still dark. Silence but for the ticking clock and the hum of the fridge.

: An evening spent in good conversation with my wonderful wife. Happily fuelled by a bottle of Baileys …

: An evening spent in good conversation with my wonderful wife. Happily fuelled by a bottle of Baileys …

: An evening spent in good conversation with my wonderful wife. Happily fuelled by a bottle of Baileys …