Zen Wisdom for Your Everyday Life

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Many feel that love is scarce, and it must be sought, earned or fought for. Not only that, it can be lost in the blink of an eye.. They may hide from love, feeling it is painful, and the price is too high to pay. However, this has nothing to do with love at all. If it hurts, or is scarce, it is not real love. What you are up against then,  is Counterfeit Love,  It's crucial to know the difference. Real love is abundantly available, flows to all, is the  Unshakeable ground of our lives. We do not need to find the Perfect Person, or even change anyone at all.  The love we are seeking is right within ourselves, when we change the way we view our relationships, how we respond to others.  The very search to get love from another, to have them meet your needs is what keeps it from you. Instead, turn around and find ways to give love, to uplift, without looking for something in return. The greatest return you can ever have, is the wonderful experience of love you will be filled with..  You will stop using others to meet your needs then, and instead encounter the  fundamental beauty and warmth of all. (From The Unshakeable Road to Love); www.totalrelationshipsnow.com

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Most of us are driven by the confusion we live in. It causes us to take actions, enter relationships, and go on journeys that often lead us astray. This stream is driven by automatic rseponses, old beliefs, painful emotions and what may seem uncontrollable. It is also fueled by strong yearnings and needs.  However, as often as are lives are activated by this stream, the rewards, successes and times of fulfillment that arrive are only temporary. Zen practice offers a wonderful, simple alternative to being driven in this way. It is a way all can embark upon to stop the power of confusion and allows us to engage with life in a way that inevitably brings meaning and fulfillment each step  of the way.  Come listen to the podcast and explore this.

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We all think a moment will come in our lives when things will fall into place - our relationships will work out,  the day will be beautiful, we'll get just what we've worked for and a sense of success and belonging will come. It's all about to come, one day. We wait for the future to bring this about, to taste the results of our efforts... This attitude itself, keeps our joy and well being life away. We keep striving and striving for some image we hold onto, rather than truly jumping in and tasting each day, meeting each person encountering each moment completely. When we do, we can see that we're alive right now! We Belong. We're here, breathing, part of this incredible universe, one with all that goes on. Our sorrow and pain comes from our deep sense of alienation, separation, being cast out. Many feel they do  not make the grade, may spend their whole life trying to make it.  It is so simple and urgent to see through that, to stop comparing ourselves with others, and realize that all of us are precious, and belong here, just as we are.

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We spend most of our time  on one road or another hoping to arrive at a destination. So much of our lives hoping, travelling, waiting, looking. And yet, the great wisdom of Zen practice shows us that there is nowhere to go. You can't find it that way. All is here, waiting for us.  It is available, open and plentiful. It is our endless searching somewhere else  that leads us astray. This searching takes us away from our true destination and our true fulfillment. Why is it so difficult to give up seeking, to postpone being with that which we are?  Not only Zen practice, but the discovery of a love that is true, unshakeable and available to all of us is always Rght Here! 

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So much of the time we are searching here and there for what belongs to us. We have no idea that right in the midst of our lives is our very own treasure house.. It's there, waiting to be opened, enjoyed and depended upon. And yet, most feel they have no idea how to find the nourishment and guidance they long for. Instead of turning to their own treasure house, they live off the ideas, discoveries and jewels of others. What a mistake! Each of us have a unique road to travel, our own journey to take. It is easy to stumble and fall when we do not realize that, and follow the treasures of others. We hope for a drop of true guidance here and there, when all that we need, an abundance of riches is waiting for us within. Better to open your own treasure house and live a life that is real and meaningful for you.

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It is so easy to get caught up in the scenery of life and be distracted from the journey we are on. All kinds of different scenery appears as we go along, beautiful days, thunder clouds, intoxicating moments, and sometimes passengers on our trip we can't stand to  be around. Many of us give up the journey, or get off at the next stop because of the passing scenery. Either we love it so much, we forget where we're going, only want to be in that place. Or, we find the scenery  so upsetting we get off the train to hide from it.  This happens in all areas of our lives, including our relationships. Living this way we are blown around like helpless leaves in the wind. We are unaware of our true roots, which keep us centered and unshakeable through all that comes and goes. When we see where are our true roots and well being are, we also see how to nourish them, and make any kind of journey in ease and peace.

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As we approach a New Year, in order to make it new, it is necessary to approach it differently, or we get the same old thing again and again... When one asks what is Zen and how can it be helpful, an important part may be left out of the answer. That part is the need for "practice" or what we call zazen. To many Zen is just being fully present and allowing things to be fresh and new.  That is certainly an important aspect., but what we do not realize is that being fully present and the wonderful experience of "Allowing life and all in it to be", need to be cultivated. It is important to practice the way, to give it our whole hearted attention. When we want something to be really new, we are going against the current of habits, thoughts and conditioning we have established over many years.  To do this requires courage, and also the willingness to practice our new direction again and again. As we do so, we make the way our own, into our flesh and bones as is said. Once it  becomes our flesh and bones, we embody the beautiful, new way of seeing, receiving, and stepping into each moment of our lives. 

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Is there something we can depend upon whole heartedly that will never let us down? It seems as if that's impossible in this ever changing world. Throughout our lives we try everything, hoping to receive what we are needing this time. And to keep it at our side.  As the years go by, most would say it is difficult to find that precious jewel. That what we need is not available, or perhaps it is rare and easy to lose.
However, the joke is that the precious jewel is right here, wherever we are. It has always been and not only that, it is not hiding anywhere! It is only that we are looking elsewhere, grabbing for this or that. And all the time everything we have always wanted and needed, is with us all the time. What a wonderful way to start the New Year, letting go of a futile search and seeing what is right under our feet, step by step.

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It might seem that it is impossible to be planted, centered and unshakeable amidst the many storms and shocks life brings our way. Being tossed around by the winds of change and by unexpected events may seem like the norm. Many of us do not realize that beneath the turbulence all around an Unshakeable Life lies waiting for us. There is a road we can travel along  and a different way to walk.  
The first step in living this new life is knowing that such a road exists. We must realize that the road is spread out beneath us at all times and  we are always being supported and held. The next step is to see what it is that causes us to find ourselves drifting onto so many other pathways that lead to sorrow, confusion and pain. It is not difficult to discover this. Clarity and light are always available to discern our way. The only  impediment are the endless illusions, poisons and temptations that accost us daily. But, once we see what they are, and how they operate, it is easy and natural to take brand new steps.

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Most of the time we are dissatisfied with what's going on. Nothing is as we wanted it to be, or just right.  The gifts we receive, the people we meet,  the results of our efforts seldom hit the spot.  We may re-double our efforts, look for new friends, change the course of our work, or just throw up our hands in despair. Something we do not realize though, is that Dissatisfaction Is Not Necessary. And it is not inevitable. We are totally in charge of how we react to what is going on. Most of us cannot help but compulsively look not for what is right, but what is wrong. We automatically search for what doesn't work and what off about the people we meet.
This automatic and lethal focus is the source of our unhappiness. But the good news is that it is possible to change it in an instant. We can take charge of our focus, and instead look for what is right, satisfying and meaningful about everyone and every moment. It's there if we open to it, see it, acknowledge it and give thanks.

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