Change Per Post

Someone may be “walking on water” not because they have learned a great secret, but rather that they have not ‘learned’ that they cannot do such a thing. Sometimes the correction for a situation is not to do something more, but primarily to stop what we have being doing; rather than learning something new, relinquish limiting information that you have acquired along the way.

Knowledge is gained by daily increment,
Tao is gained by daily loss
Verse 48: Tao Te Ching

Some would assert that except in certain medically or psychologically induced conditions unlearning our limitations is a hopeless fantasy. But isn’t the effect of a Zen koan a bit of “un-learning”? In such things exposed via a koan, the conscious mind is provided ‘enough rope to hang itself’ so that the wisdom beyond and before the dubious learning can come forward. When the blaring flaw in any held/learned concept is exposed, the accepted reality of it crumbles.

One might argue that the purpose of a Zen koan is redirection of the mind. It is generally a question unanswerable in the context of the logical mind—something like, “what is the sound of one hand clapping?” The logical mind will grapple with such a question until it exhausts itself. At that point, with it defenses—the infallible fortress of reason—down, the mind is open for a new perspective…thinking outside the box, as it is sometimes called…

(Continue reading this post via Into the Mist)

I can’t claim that my home is completely minimalist, but it surely isn’t cluttered, and most people I know would call it a pretty minimalist home.

One recent visitor saw my kitchen and remarked, “I’ve never seen a kitchen that looked so clean, so clear of stuff!” Well, I do my best to keep it clean, but the key is to remove the unnecessary stuff.

For example, on the floor of my kitchen/dining room area are just a few essentials: dining table (clear of any clutter), chairs, some counter stools, a high chair, a step stool for the kids. On the counters are only the toaster, coffee maker and microwave.

Is this kind of minimalist home devoid of character and fun and life? Some might think so, but I get a strange satisfaction, a fulfillment, at looking around and seeing a home free of clutter. It’s calming, and liberating, and just nice.

Benefits of a Minimalist Home
I could probably go on for awhile about this, but let me just list a few key benefits:

1. Less stressful. Clutter is a form of visual distraction, and everything in our vision pulls at our attention at least a little. The less clutter, the less visual stress we have. A minimalist home is calming.
2. More appealing. Think about photos of homes that are cluttered, and photos of minimalist homes. The ones with almost nothing in them except some beautiful furniture, some nice artwork, and a very few pretty decorations, are the ones that appeal to most of us. You can make your home more appealing by making it more minimalist.
3. Easier to clean. It’s hard to clean a whole bunch of objects, or to sweep or vacuum around a bunch of furniture. The more stuff you have, the more you have to keep clean, and the more complicated it is to clean around the stuff. Think about how easy it is to clean an empty room compared to one with 50 objects in it. That’s an extreme example, of course, as I wouldn’t recommend you have an empty room, but it’s just to illustrate the difference.

(Continue reading this post via Zen Habits)

Electrical appliances and chargers (including cancer cell phone chargers) left plugged in drain electricity like there’s no tomorrow - even when they’re not in use! Yes, even appliances that are switched off can draw power from the grid (it’s called phantom load).

For example, a TV set that’s switched on for 3 hours a day (the average time Europeans spend watching TV) and in standby mode during the remaining 21 hours uses about 40% of its energy in standby mode. Forty (freikin) percent of all electricity is used to power home appliances while they’re turned off!

Yeah, but what could I possibly do about it?

(Continue reading this post via Green Your Day)

So it’s New Year’s Eve. The fireworks have rained and exploded across the sky, the dessert is all eaten and the champagne bottles are empty. You sit around talking and New Years resolutions come up. “Yeah, this year is gonna be different!”. You feel enthusiastic.

Fast-forward to the middle of January. The weather’s dreary. Enthusiasm has waned, dabbling has ensued. Maybe the resolution is abandoned altogether.

How do you keep yourself from reaching that point? How do actually stick with your New Year’s resolution? Well, in the end it’s up to you and I don’t have a solid plan that will work 100% of the time.

However, I have a few suggestions that can help you to make this year’s New Years resolution more than an empty promise to yourself…

(Continue reading this post via The Positivity Blog)

Each day, more people are awakening to the realization that we are connected at a much deeper level—to each other, to the planet, and to the universe at large.  Consciousness is blossoming, and I truly believe we are living in a time where humanity will awaken to a new reality that is marked by peace, sustainability, social justice and love. 

But we are not there yet, and most human beings still feel completely isolated and alone (a phenomenon that has been referred to as “the human dilemma” throughout history, among other things).  Conscious living is not the norm…yet.

There are volumes and volumes written about the illusion the human mind perpetuates; the greatest thinkers in human history—Jesus, Buddha, Emerson, Descartes, Gandhi and countless others—explored the implications of the mind and theorized about a time of conscious enlightenment. 

Although many people are becoming intellectually aware of what “consciousness” refers to, they have not yet made the leap to integrating this type of awareness into their own lives.  The thing about consciousness is this: it has to be personally experienced for it to permeate an individual’s life, and there has to be a critical mass of people experiencing it to generate a cultural tipping point. 

In my opinion, there is nothing more important than this pursuit– it can be the very thing that saves humanity and planet earth!  With that said here are 12 excellent practices for starting yourself down a path of increased awareness and heightened consciousness: 

(Continue reading this post via We The Change)

When you were a child, you may have been told to “Stand up straight!” or “Don’t slouch!” from your parents and teachers. I remember when I was younger, my mother would poke my back out of nowhere to remind me to stand up straight. I hated this as a teen and was determined to rebel for no reason other than to be stubborn and go against what I was told. My purposeful slouching eventually turned into a habit and carried with me into adulthood.

Now that I’m older, I understand why my mother was so insistent. My poor posture now makes me feel:

1. Pain in my back and shoulders.
2. I am breathing shallowly.
3. I appeared to lack self confidence.
4. Energy was not flowing efficiently throughout my body. I was often tired.
5. It made me look and feel weak.

I have spent much time correcting the damage, and undeveloped muscles, from my rebellious teen years. Like any habit, breaking bad posture can be a challenge, but definitely doable with some attention and practice.

Many of us may like to improve our posture, but we often don’t know how, or where to start…

(Continue reading this post via Think Simple Now)

The New Year draws rapidly closer; people are starting to set their goals and resolutions – they’re looking for something, and very often this involves what we call success.

But the strange thing is: For many, the definition of success relies on the failure of other people.

Is this true for you? Please read on.

Competition and Comparison

“Wealth - any income that is at least one hundred dollars more a year than the income of one’s wife’s sister’s husband.”
~ H.L. Mencken.

This is how many minds operate: constantly comparing and judging others. How are they doing? Are they prettier, are their biceps bigger, are they richer, is their car bigger?

This mindset is a bottomless pit – we can never find satisfaction in it. Our income increases by $20,000; it might make us ecstatic. But soon, we see Fred from across the street – his car is still bigger! He has what we have, but he got it all at a younger age! And so we resume our struggle. It never ends; we move from thousandaire to millionaire; and then shortly after, we think that’s not enough; now we want to be a billionaire.

(Continue reading this post via Urban Monk)