Zen Wisdom for Your Everyday Life

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We have so many expectations about what is going to happen, what needs to happen and how to manage everything. So many hours are spent planning how to navigate the twists and turns of life, to be ready for everything. Yet, most of the things we expected, don't happen. And what we don't expect arrives on its own. Our reactions to this dominate our life, anger, upset, immediately trying to change, fix or alter what's going on. We're so busy opposing and altering life as it comes, that we have little time to experience it directly. To fully taste and digest what's going on, to live life truly. When we are willing to stop listening to our frantic reactions and running around, simply sit still with all that's happening, meet it, know it directly, it no longer threatens us. As we make friends with life, it makes friends with us. And beyond that, to our great surprise we see that there is no need to manage everything, life has its own rhythm and order, and when we do not oppose it, it is entirely beneficial for all.

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Thanksiving is here, a yearly time to remember, thank and reach out. But this practice is so powerful and central to our well being, our lives would turn around if we took a day or two each week, (or more) and gave thanks all day long.  Normally, our brains are wired to focus upon what is wrong, what's lacking and who did us harm. That seems to be our automatic reaction as we go through our days. And all the while, the opposite is true. There's always an abundance of gifts, warmth, love and nourishment available. We just can't see it, as we focus on the opposite. This year, with all the difficulty in the world, a great gift we can give to ourselves and others is to give thanks all day long. Give thanks to those you seldom recognize, and to moments that might have otherwise passed you by.  When we all do it together, a great wave of healing spreads over the land.

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Where is God when I need Him?? This cry is heard so loudly these days and during times of trouble. Let's explore the feelings of abandonment, loss and the confusion we experience as things seem to go out of control. There is a secret answer which is here right where we stand and live. Especially at the kitchen table.  The problem is not that God is absent, it is us. We are not here. We're not available, connected, aware and ready to stand and act.  Let's explore ways not only of finding God with us in every moment of our lives. And also, let's take a look at what prevents it.

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So many phrases we use are routine, casual, empty comments to daily questions. For example, how are you today? How's it going? Fine, fine. Really? How's what going? Nothing has really been asked, and no answer given. We hide behind words, slogans, easy responses, use them as a way to get by, to be accepted or admired. In this way we create our own confusion and rip the meaning out of our lives. The power of true communication is lost as is our natural clarity about what is truly happening and which way to go. There is a simple answer to this dilemma.. be still, enter the silence. The silence speaks loudly and has all the answers to whatever we need. Take time to listen to it; don't add decorations and comments on what it has to say.

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Everyone wonders where to go, how to get to our destination. We try to figure out all the twists and turns in the road. So often there's a fork in the road, or our journey is not what we expected. As we figure out what to do, we lose touch with the very step itself. We're not right here experiencing the step, or moment, fully. Instead most of us is engaged in figuring out where to go. However, when we return totally to where we are, and take that step, truly, and fully, the step itself leads us to the next one. Each step taken that way guides us in the right direction. Our body knows, our deeper wisdom knows.. our feet has a brain all of its own. Enter the wisdom of our whole self as we really plant our full selves in the moment. Allow the moment and the truth of each step to guide us, in all ways.

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In the midst of the chaos we are going through, it seems we've left sanity far behind and it will be so difficult to return to it.  Living in a world with mixed messages, confusion and emotions flaring high we wonder if we will ever find the road to clarity, and simple moments of joy. The truth is that sanity is right here, all the time, impossible to avoid. Unless we turn away from it. .. It is truly up to us to stop and notice where we place our attention, what messages we respond to, and believe to be valuable. In Zen practice, we stop racing around, searching for answers. The quieter we become, the more we attend to simple, natural moments, and the plain reality of who we are, what is happening right now, the more truth reveals itself. The more we enter the natural, inevitable harmony which directs and nourishes all. 

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In these enormously difficult time the first thing we ask is Where Has God Gone? Endless prayers are offered, vigils and all of us instinctively turn to the divine at a time like this. In fact, God has not gone anywhere. He/she is right here, always available and present. Right Where We Are. Actually it is said that "We Are the Temple of The Living God," and therefore when we turn to God, remember, return and set our mind and hearts stayed upon the Divine, it Must Appear. We are guided, We are accompanied, and the power of goodness, wisdom and love, will prevail.

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In order to break out of the spell of fear, it's necessary to learn more about fear, meet it face to face.  We are all senior to fear, there is no need to get caught in the great undertow it brings and lose our clarity and mobility. Fear never keeps us safe, it does just the opposite, creates confusion, obstruction and illusion. Divides friends and also leaves us helpless without the support we crave. Discover the true nature of fear in this podcast, and a few wonderful steps to take that will disarm it with ease. Regain your natural strength and seniority as we draw upon our true power for wisdom and courage.

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The Journey to Safety begins with our ability to dismantle fear. This episode describes the nature of fear, and our ability to see through it, on our journey to the natural safety that we are.

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We love to make our lives more and more complicated, fill them with "problems and fears" and then spend the entire day trying to find solutions. At the end of the day, tied up in knots, we wonder what we've gained. Actually, we have not gained anything, but lost the strength, power and beauty  a simple, natural day can bring. We have grown out of touch with the natural healing rhythms of life itself and of our own nature. As we practice Zen, we return to simplicity, take the focus away from all that's wrong, and enter the immense healing that's provided moment by moment, no matter where we are. As we take power and focus away from what's wrong,  and simply breathe, walk, look at the sky or enjoy the smile of others, little by little we regain, our natural rhythm, health, joy in life and the healing that provides.

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