Zen Living For Idiots December 30, 2011
Posted by nrhatch in Books & Movies, Meditation, Mindfulness.comments closed
I’ve been reading The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Zen Living and can sum it up in two words:
PAY ATTENTION!
That’s really what Zen Living boils down to ~ being mindful of what you’re thinking, feeling, and doing as you move from moment to moment.
Pay attention to the thoughts you think . . . but realize that YOU are not your thoughts.
You are the observer of those thoughts.
Pay attention to the emotions you feel . . . but realize that YOU are not your emotions.
You are the observer of those emotions.
Pay attention to what you are doing in THIS moment.
NOW is all that matters.
The world is full of amazing sights, sounds, aromas, tastes, and textures. We miss them if we don’t keep our eyes, ears, mind, and heart OPEN.
Zen living means living fully in the present moment:
Zen is not about obliterating your thoughts, your feelings, your personality, or any other aspect of you. On the contrary. Zen helps you to unclutter you so you can think more easily, see more clearly, understand more readily, and know yourself more intimately. [p.5]
Zen is like cleaning out your attic and dropping off all the stuff you don’t need ~ your worries, fears, opinions, preconceptions, attachments ~ at the recycling bin. Because you really don’t need them. [p.5]
As we cultivate mindful awareness, we begin to view the world with alert curiosity, rather than through the distorted lens of stale judgments, attitudes, and opinions. We start to see things as THEY are rather than as WE are.
We learn to PAY ATTENTION.
”What are you ~ a god, an angel, a saint?”
“No,” replied The Buddha, “I am A-W-A-K-E.”
That’s Zen Living . . . Here . . . Now . . . where the dance of life takes place.
Aah . . . that’s better!
Spirit Lights The Way 