Failure

Good Morning,

My wife and I are about to embark on a new fitness training program. We both stay active and work out regularly, but wanted to change it up since our current routine is growing stale. Our new program pushes you to use your muscle groups to the point of failure. What I found interesting was the way the word "failure" is used in this context.

To weight lifters, failure is success. Unless they lift a weight to the point of "failure," their muscles aren't growing. So they have programmed themselves, through repetition, to use the word "failure" in a positive sense. They also call what we would consider "pain" as something positive: "the burn." Getting to "the burn" is the goal! You'll hear bodybuilders call out to each other: "Roast 'em!" By changing the language, they acquire access to an inner power through the use of the human will.

My point in this day and age of spoon fed information and email relationships is that language leads to power. To optimize our levels of inspiration and motivation, we need to conscious of the creative potential of the language we use on a daily basis.

Have a thoughtful day and look at it this way - the limits of our language mean the limits of our world.

Peace and Love, Jim

Learning

Good Morning,

Many times during quiet moments, I reflect upon things in life that reveal themselves to be powerful lessons that shaped my perceptions over time. These are not big magical moments at the time, (many I post here) but they did influence me. I guess that's the point of attention these days. Many of these little lessons have not been realized until much later, so one can only ponder how many of these moments slip by unnoticed? Where is one's attention? There are so many things unfolding all around us and how much of it do we take in or block out?

It's tough in our everyday lives to not get into habits or block out some of the one gazillion things being aimed at us by media, advertising, bosses and friends. However if try in small ways to break our cycles, we find new connections to ourselves, our work and our relationships. These moments can be as simple as spending some time staring at a flower or picture as though we had never seen it before or maybe take a different route to work and really focus on the moment. It's not rocket science, but it will bring a deeper connection to what life can really be about - Learning.

In my quest to be present and awake to my life in all it's moments I have learned some simple but enlightening truths. I have found that what I see in people is what I look for in people. If I look for God, I find God and If I look for bad qualities, I find them. I, in a sense, select what I expect, and I receive it. I am happy or unhappy because of what I think and feel. I need to have no concern for tomorrow, today is the yesterday over which I had concern. A life without challenges is like going to school without lessons to learn. These days, I learn a little more every moment.

Have a beautiful day and carry this thought: A person comes into your life to either teach you something, or to learn something from you.

Peace and Love, Jim

Splash

Good Morning,

When I was younger I spent many a summer staying with my grandparents. After my grandmother passed away I began spending more time with my grandfather. He was an irreverent old guy with a personality somewhere between Archie Bunker and Fred Sanford. He always had a way of getting me to pay attention and understand the lessons life was putting in front of me.

One such time that has stuck with me was on a little fishing trip to his favorite little pond. I was about 11, and he told me to throw a stone into the water. He told me to watch the circles created by the stone. Then he asked me to think of myself as that stone. You may create lots of splashes in your life but the waves that come from those splashes will disturb the peace of all your fellow creatures.

He went on to explain that I was responsible for what I put in my circle and that my circle will also touch other circles. If I create a splash that comes from anger or jealousy I send those feelings to other circles. He laid his hand on my small shoulder and said: It's your place in the world and no one is responsible except you.

That was the first time I realized each person creates the inner peace or discord that flows out into the world. We cannot create world peace if we are riddled with inner conflict, hatred, doubt, or anger. We radiate the feelings and thoughts that we hold inside, whether we speak them or not. Whatever is splashing around inside of us is spilling out into the world and creating beauty or discord with all other circles of life.

I understood my place in the world for the first time. The waves I have sent out have not always been my brightest moments, but knowing their effects has never left me. As I have grown older I am no longer a young boy trying to make the biggest splash by throwing boulders into the pond. I am content with small drops that send out the slightest ripples and create beautiful patterns when intercepted by other waves in the pond.

I now know why grandpa's fishing trips meant so much to him even if the fish weren't biting.

Have a beautiful day and carry this thought: We are responsible for the effort, not the outcome.

Peace and Love, Jim

Chickens, Roads and Philosophy

Good Morning,

I wanted to end the week with a little humor. I am sure most of you have heard the chicken crossed the road jokes. Here is a version with a little philosophical twist. Have a great weekend!

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Heisenberg:
Because the chicken is moving very fast, you can either observe the chicken or you can measure the chicken, but you cannot do both.

Xeno:
The chicken can never reach the other side because there are an infinitessimal number of segments between him and the other side.

Einstein:
It depends on the chicken's frame of reference as to whether the chicken crossed the road or the road crossed the chicken. Nietzche:
If the chicken gazes too long across the road, the road will also gaze into the chicken.

Newton:
Chickens at rest tend to stay at rest. Chickens in motion tend to cross the road.

Timothy Leary:
Because it was the only trip the establishment would let it take.

Plato:
The ideal chicken must ideally cross the ideal road. Therefore, imperfect chickens in this world cross imperfect roads, imperfectly.

Karl Marx:
She was driven by the lash of economic necessity.

Aristotle:
It is the essence of chickens to cross the road.

Lao Tse:
Those who cluck do not know. Those who know do not cluck.

Capt. Jean Luc Picard:
To see what's out there.

Col. Oliver North:
It was a national security matter.

Sigmund Freud:
The telephone pole suggested a phallic symbol and like all female creatures she wanted to be dominated.

Jacques Derrida:
The question admits of limitless answers, since there is no one logo-centric strategy of discourse that takes primacy over all others.

Oscar Wilde:
This chicken problem has many depths, but all of them are equally shallow.

Vito Corleone:
We made her an offer she couldn't refuse.

Jean Paul Sartre:
To impose a meaning upon her accidental existence.

T.S.Eliot:
To leave the place she knew for another place, and to stay there for a while, and then to move onward to a third place.

Buddha:
There was no chicken, no road, no crossing. There was only an interpretation.

Charles Darwin:
It was the next step after coming down from the trees.

Thomas Jefferson:
All hens are endowed by Nature and Nature's God with the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of the other side.

Confucius:
When the emperor performs the rites with full reverence, and the court officers behave as true scholars and gentlemen, a hen may cross any road in the kingdom safely.

Ernest Hemingway:
To die. In the rain.

H.P. Lovecraft:
To escape the crawling horror lurking on this side of the road, a nameless and foetid monstrosity that cannot be conceived save in the dreams of madness.

Sid Vicious:
Cause I had the effin' bird pinned to my right nipple when I started chasin' Nancy across the effin' road wif my effin' switchblade.

Darth Vader:
She was seduced by the dark side of the road.

Raymond Chandler:
She had beady inhuman eyes like strange black jewels and the kind of feathers a bird of paradise might envy. I knew that if they made her a free-range chicken she'd grab the first opportunity and never look back.

Ronald Reagan:
I don't remember.

Weekly World News:
Nostradamus predicted chicken/Bigfoot horror!

Newt Gingrich:
The chicken choose to exercise individual initiative and not wait for a government-funded traffic light program.

Hannibal Lecter, M.D.:
I ate her liver. With fava beans. And a brandied cranberry sauce.

Plato:
Because it is in the nature of chickens, strictly defined in as much as they are chickens, to cross roads. Jacques Prevert:
I put the chicken on my head, and my military cap crossed the road...

Bill Gates:
To lead the other chickens across the Info Superhighway (NOT road) and into a world where there's a computer in every home. Its just where he wanted to go today.

Lao-tzu:
The chicken both crosses the road and not-crosses the road because that is the way of Tao.

The Great Gonzo of muppet fame:
Carmilla, come back!

To Be

Good Morning,

Many people have commented on how they appreciate the positive affirmations and daily thoughts presented here within the daily buddha blog, but often add how difficult it can be to apply the thoughts or hold on to the meaning. This is true for all of us and that is the challenge laid out for all. Rest assured that none of us can live perfect lives and maintain absolute clarity of thoughts and process all the time.

A great example I recently encountered came through my work. We have one of the most outstanding teams I could ever claim to be a part of. Each person does their job with incredible dedication and supports the other team members in ways that go beyond work. Yesterday we had a particularly rock moment when a certain client triggered a emotional flair that rippled through the team. We got over it and moved on, but later in the day when i apologized my particular reaction, one of the team simply said that's OK, no need for apologies. . . that's life.

He was so right. Life is about winning AND losing, staying on the horse AND falling off. It's the ability to see that this is correct and not a fault or failure. This attitude is what allows us to remain mindful, happy and stay on path when we think or feel we are losing our grip or perspective. It is this mindset that allows us TO BE.

Promise yourself to be so understanding that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet.
To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.
To think only of the best, to work only for the best and expect only the best.
To be enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.
To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

Peace and Love, Jim

Inspired

Good Morning,

I wanted to continue today (and the week) sharing some daily affirmations. May you each find one of this weeks affirmations inspiring and use it in your own daily routines. The power of what one mind can do to change the course of a day is nothing short of miraculous!

May you be inspired today.

May you be encouraged to travel your path with sure feet, confident in your direction.

May you be spurred on to explore, to face the challenge, to go to the next level.

May you experience many moments when you want to stand up and shout, Yes!

May you fall asleep exhausted but giddy with anticipation for what is to come, as though you cannot wait until the morning to continue the adventure, to see what glorious events are going to occur.

And finally, may you realize your power to create such a day and such a life for yourself for you truly do possess it.

Have an exciting day! Peace and Love, Jim

Human

Good Morning,

I was standing in line at a restaurant the other day when i overheard two gentlemen discussing their bosses behavior over some issue at work. One of the young men said "well what do you expect, he's only human and I would have done the same thing."

How often do we hear other people (or ourselves) say Well, we’re human.. or That’s just what people do, as justification for certain behaviors? Have you ever questioned such comments? What does it mean to be human? How can we do something like live in fear, because that's what humans do? Is there such truths or is it just an easy way out?

There is no better time than the present to evaluate and, perhaps, readjust our personal definition of being human.

We are amazing creatures. We can be whatever we want to be. The only things that can stop us are our own beliefs about ourselves and tI do not mean this in a corny, self-help sort of way. For example, some of you may have heard the claim that we are not meant to be with one person for our entire lives and it’s not logical to expect someone to be faithful forever. That is a belief and a choice not a fact of nature. I know many people who do fall in love and make it last a lifetime. You may have heard someone justify another’s outburst by claiming, They’re human. Anyone would be angry in that situation yet, there are those who are able to remain peaceful and in control of themselves at all times. Are these people not human? Of course they are!

But they have taken the time to perceive and redefine what it means to be human.

Challenge your definition of humanity today. ... Does this definition allow you to become the greatest version of yourself? ... Does it make you proud to be a member of this species? As you work through your day and lay yourself to rest tonight, begin to create a new definition of yourself, what you want to be, what you want to believe, and what you know in your heart to be true. Every human being is the author of their own story.

Have a beautiful and human day!

Peace and Love, Jim

Being

Good Morning,

I thought I would start the week with a series of daily affirmations. I found the power of starting my day off with a series of thoughts and affirmations back in college when my workload and my life seemed rather hectic. By simply reading and repeating a series of thoughts, then dwelling upon their meaning I found I could handle the days insanity and unplanned surprises with much more grace and skill. I have continued the practice ever sense (one of the reasons for this very blog).

This one affirms how we are complete just as we are, if we can only accept the fact that what we call imperfect is simply part of the plan.

Being is the letting go of all the should's, the must's, the have-to's, the have-nots, the cannots, the doubts and the guilt.

It is allowing your thoughts to come forth -without judgement.

It is allowing yourself to feel - without judgement.

It is allowing yourself to do what you want - without judgement.

It is allowing yourself to be who you are - without judgement.

When you allow yourself to be, You find Peace, Freedom, Love and Joy - Within you.

May the day shine into your heart. All is as it should be.

Peace and Love, Jim

Class

Good Morning,

Over my years and since my days of beginning to write I have learned many things. I am sure I would have learned much more at a earlier point in life, but I always was a horrible note taker. Since I have started staying awake in class, pay attention and taking better notes the lessons make more sense and have more value in my life. As we end the week I thought I would share my notes with those who might have missed a day or skipped a class. After what are friends for. :)

The lessons of life are here for us: To learn that we cannot make anyone love us. What we can do is to let ourselves be loved... To learn that what is most valuable is not what we have in our lives, but who we have in their lives... To learn that it is not good to compare ourselves to others. We all exist on our own merits... To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in persons we love, and that it takes many years to heal them... To learn to forgive by practicing forgiveness... To learn that there are persons that love us dearly, but simply do not know how to express or show their feelings... To learn that money can buy everything but happiness... To learn that two people can look at the same thing and and not see the same thing... To learn that a true friend is someone who knows everything about them, and likes them anyway... To learn that it is not always enough that they be forgiven by others, but that they have to forgive themselves.

So enjoy class and the gift of being able to learn, what if you could not?

Have a great weekend!

Peace and Love, Jim

Essence

Good Morning,

Someone once asked me how I turned my life around so dramatically. They wanted to know how one could go from a homeless vagabond to a fairly successful business owner in one lifetime (and so many other diversion in-between!). Well there is no secret, I just began to realize what I was not, which allowed me to see what I could be. I simply recognized the "essence" of life and it all made sense.

If you are unhappy, be unhappy. Do not judge yourself for being that way. It is wonderful to be unhappy, it makes happiness all the sweeter. Love your unhappiness. It means you are ready for change. Allow the unhappiness, there is purposefulness in it.

Remove from your life everything that inhibits you from being the totality of yourself. This is called "becoming". Remove from your thoughts all the have to's, should's, must's. Remove the images you think you must be and just be. Embrace your life. Know that you created it. Love all that you have been, said and done. Know it was all purposeful.

Never see anything as a failure. See everything as an accomplishment. Love the hurt, the pain, the sorrow. For what an experience! What a wonderment! What jewels of wisdom are now in your treasure! Be your own teacher, friend, counsel. Confide in yourself, speak to yourself.

Seek answers that feel right within your soul. Your soul knows what the truth is, and it will tell you through feelings. Always listen to your feelings. They know ... they know. Live, experience, feel. Do not seek to identify yourself. You will never have a point of understanding from which you can say, "This is who I am!", for in each expanding moment of consciousness, you will have changed into the next moment of being. To know who you are is to feel what you feel each moment.

Never do anything, no matter how far you are into it, if you lose the joy of it and it becomes monotonous and mundane. Do away with it and do something else that brings happiness. For perhaps what you needed to learn from it you have already achieved. Go wherever you want to go, Do whatever you want to do, for as long as you want to. Create only for the mere joy of creating. When you create for you, you will soon find yourself living in joy.

Don't ever strive to have anyone understand you. If they wish to understand, they will. Love everyone. Have compassion for all other entities. You do not need to go and take care of them. Love them by allowing them to express however they choose. That is the greatest thing you can do! If they are angered or disappointed by your life, love them by allowing them to be they way. Then you have become a great light, you have understood the essence.

Have a beautiful day, you are a part of it, and contribute to it's beauty like no else can!

Peace and Love, Jim

One

Good Morning,

So many times in life we can feel overwhelmed by the situations and circumstances that seem out of our control. Other times we may subconsciously feel like "why should I care or try." Many times we may not even be aware of what a powerful and gentle force we can be in the lives of others and the grander scheme of things.

But throughout history (and in indeed history itself) the course of all we currently know and perceive began with just one thought or action by one person. Think about that for just a moment. . . everything we like or dislike is the result of one persons thoughts or actions. Everything.

So do not think you do not count, or that you may hide and not contribute in some small way (good or bad), we all make our world, one thought at a time.

One song can spark a moment,

One flower can wake the dream.

One tree can start a forest,

One bird can herald spring.

One smile begins a friendship.

One handclasp lifts a soul.

One star can guide a ship at sea.

One word can frame the goal.

One vote can change a nation.

One sunbeam lights a room.

One candle wipes out darkness.

One laugh will conquer gloom.

One step must start each journey.

One word must start each prayer.

One hope will raise our spirits.

One touch can show you care.

One voice can speak with wisdom.

One heart can know what's true.

One life can make the difference.

You are the most important one.

Have a beautiful day and let someone in your life know they matter!

Peace and Love, Jim

Caring (part 2)

Good Morning,

Yesterday when i spoke of idiot compassion, I referred to the act of giving people what they need VS what they want. How does one end up offering idiot compassion when they see a friend or loved on suffering? Many times it is driven by guilt. We see someone in suffering and instead of true compassion we go from sympathy to a feeling of guilt because we want to end their suffering. Then because we can not first hand bring an end to it (their suffering) we feel guilty.

When we get stuck in guilt, we never make it to compassion. We never shift the focus from ourselves and our feelings to the other. Overwhelmed with the need to do something, we can’t just be with people. Instead we want to fix it and make it all better. In fact, if we can’t fix it or at least feel like we’re helping, it feels like we’re not being compassionate at all. We then begin with even more effort to help and out of the best of intentions, end up not acting with compassion at all, but with Idiot Compassion.

Idiot compassion robs others of the opportunity to move through their own experiences in order to become empowered. We are all victims when this type of compassion is applied. Parents saving their children from rough spots in life, spouses enabling spouses to continue their destructive behaviors, and the energy drain it places on all parties involved. The fact is, we can’t do anyone else’s work for them – they must do their own work.

This is understanding the nature of genuine compassion.

Have a great day and carry this thought - Out of chaos find simplicity; From discord find harmony; In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.

Peace and Love, Jim

Caring

Good Morning,

Last week I made several posts concerning, kindness, equanimity, and compassion. One of the topics that was brought up was concerning the issue of "idiot compassion." Idiot compassion is the highly conceptualized idea that you want to do good. It refers to the tendency to give people what they want as opposed to what they need, and we all fall into this routine at some point or another.

Being in bands and a creative career for most of my life has certainly presented me with many opportunities to fall victim to idiot compassion. I had many friends consumed by alcohol, drugs or other sidelines in life (I call them kiosks and people get sidelined by them often) and in most cases the application of true compassion - giving them what they need and not what they want - has proven to be most beneficial ( and even saved a life or two).

It is tough watching people suffer, and there is a part of in all of us that wants to end others misery. What we have to realize is that we can end their suffering immensely by applying the right type of compassion. It is not always easy to walk out of a friends life, to tell someone you will not buy them another bottle, or explain why their work is not up to par. But to hide these truths from them, to lie or deny what really must happen is not being a friend or compassionate, we are simply enabling them to continue the behavior and living in our own denial. I may be making this sound easy, but it is not. As a turnaround of true compassion myself, I can attest first hand to the power of genuine compassion and doing what is required, it has saved many a life and career in my ever growing circle of friends. When people care enough to be truly honest, they care enough to make a difference and that is truly caring in the highest sense of the word.

I guess we could sum it up this way: Real courage allows people to fail and learn powerful lessons from the failure so that in the end, they didn't fail at all.

Peace and Love, Jim

Discover

Good Morning,
This week I have talked a great deal about the relationships we have with ourselves and how we must give ourselves love before we can give it to others. I would like to end the week with one of my favorite readings from the Dhammapada, Words of the Buddha:
Live in Joy, In love, Even among those who hate. Live in joy, In health, Even among the afflicted. Live in joy, In peace, Even among the troubled. Look within. Be still. Free from fear and attachment, know the sweet joy of living on your path. Love yourself and be awake - today, tomorrow, always. First establish yourself in the way, then teach others, and so defeat sorrow. To straighten the crooked you must first do a harder thing -straighten yourself. You are the only master. Who else? Discover yourself, and discover your master. Have a beautiful day and wonderful weekend!
Peace and Love, Jim

WARNING

Good Morning,
Be on the lookout for symptoms of Inner Peace. The hearts of a great many have already been exposed to Inner Peace, and it is possible that people everywhere could come down with it in epidemic proportions. This could pose a serious threat to what has, up to now, been a fairly stable condition of conflict in the world.
Some signs and symptoms of inner peace:
A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on fears based on past experiences.
An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.
A loss of interest in judging other people.
A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.
A loss of interest in conflict.
A loss of the ability to worry (this is a very serious symptom).
Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation.
Contented feelings of connectedness with others and nature.
An increasing tendency to let things happen rather than make them happen.
An increased susceptibility to the love extended by others, as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it.
<< WARNING ! >> If you have some or all of the above symptoms - please be advised that your condition of Inner Peace may be so far advanced as to not be curable. If you are exposed to anyone exhibiting any of these symptoms, remain exposed only at your own risk.
Peace and Love, Jim

Best Friend

Good Morning, Sometime back I made a post in which I talked about the relationships we have with ourselves. Of course the beginning of any good relationship is friendship. You can search the entire universe for someone more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, but that person is not to be found anywhere. You, yourself, more than anyone in the universe, deserve your own love and affection. This is not the attitude that has taken root in our society and we are not teaching it in our schools. In fact very few of us embrace ourselves in this manner, and yet it is key to the treasure of truly respecting, honoring, and supporting ourselves. This is the beginning of being able to extend love and kindness toward all people everywhere. It is also an essential requirement for experiencing the quality of love we all so deeply want to give and receive. This brings us to a realization so eloquently described by the poet Walt Whitman - I am larger and better than I thought; I did not think I held so much goodness. Have a beautiful day. Peace and Love, Jim

Treasure

Good Morning,

In yesterdays post I spoke of equanimity. This state of mind relies
on our ability to open continuously to the truth of our actual
experience, not cutting off the painful parts and not trying to
pretend things are other than they are. Equanimity can't thrive in an
environment that is bound to one's desires or to getting our
expectations met. In this context pleasure is something to be enjoyed
and let go, not clung to or desperately held onto because we do not
want it to end. Pain in this context is not a trick or life's cruel
joke, it is part of the reality of human experience, an opportunity
for us to practice maintaining our authentic presence.

An old teaching sums the concept up:
There once was a man so displeased by the sight of his own shadow and
his own footprints that he determined to get rid of both. After some
thought he decided the best way to eliminate them was to run away
from them. So he got up and ran, but every time he put his foot down,
there was another step. His shadow of course kept up without
difficulty. He attributed his failure to the fact that he was not
running fast enough, so he ran faster and faster until he met his
death. What he failed to realize is that if he had merely stepped
into the shade, his shadow would vanish, and if he sat down and
stayed still, there would be no more footsteps.

When we make the courageous choice to be still rather than run away,
we give ourselves an opportunity to have a relationship with the very
things we think we need to escape. We give ourselves a chance at
understanding, a chance at growth and we discover a treasure we never
knew we possessed.

Have a great day and carry this thought; The greatest treasures are
those invisible to the eye but found by the heart.

Peace and Love, Jim

Clear Sky

Good Morning,

After spending a week in Miami on vacation I came to the realization
that we all could probably use a little more balance or "equanimity"
in our lives. Equanimity is considered a state of balance or poise.
Sometimes it is referred to as a "radiant state of mind." None of
this should be confused with withdrawal or indifference (subtle forms
of aversion). By contrast equanimity is a state of complete openness,
we are fully connected to what's going on, yet we are free of the
exhausting ceaseless grasping on to pleasure and pushing away of pain.

To reach a state of equanimity we must first learn to not identify
with our emotions and believing that they define our experience (I
feel bad, so it's a bad day or I like this this, so this is a good
day). If we do this habitual pattern we often end up feeling defined
and/or trapped by those feelings. One method that may help us break
free of the chains of our emotions is to liken the mind to a vast,
clear sky. All our sensations, thoughts and emotions are like weather
that passes through without affecting the nature of the sky itself.
The clouds, the winds, the snow and rainbows come and go, but beyond
it all the sky remains clear and undisturbed. If we let our minds be
like the sky and all the moments that arise in your mind pass through
like the changing weather we can remain more balanced and relaxed
without getting swept away in the drama of every passing storm.

Equanimity is the natural fruit of mindfulness and when we are
mindful of the changing sensations, thoughts and emotional states we
acknowledge their existence and their impermanence. In this way,
every single moment of mindfulness becomes another step toward
equanimity.

Have a wonderful day and think about this; When we take control of
our emotions we begin to consciously and deliberately reshape our
daily experience of life.

Peace and Love, Jim

Choices

Good Morning,

What do you want out of life? Do you spend a lot of time thinking
about the choices that have led you to your current point? Even when
things are going well it's hard for us to not think they could be
better if we had made smarter, better, braver, or wiser choices. It
is easy to drive oneself crazy with this type of thinking.

The road not taken is about the most seductive trick our minds can
play on us because it allows us to think only of picture perfect
outcomes and edit out the hard journey it would take to reach them.
What makes this line of thinking more detrimental is that it assumes
we are where we are and that's where we will stay. Worse yet we often
think it's all our fault! This is simply not true. Understanding the
choices we make and embracing them is probably one of the hardest
things we can do for ourselves, but it will set you free.

When we know what we want out of life and more importantly WHY WE
WANT IT, we begin to break down the illusion that we have lost
course. It's never too late to rediscover and reinvent yourself.
Maybe we can't run off to Hawaii to become champion surfers or become
virtuoso pianists, but we can rent a surfboard and take piano
lessons. We can make small changes everyday that nudge our life's in
the right direction. It's not as bold as "That's it I moving to
california!" but it will work as long as we are willing to look at,
learn and understand our motivations.

The real trick is patience and understanding. Have faith that your
choices are learning experiences and will always lead you to good if
you are only available to the lessons that come with them. So set a
goal for yourself and leave that alternative timeline thinking
behind, it is a new year and there is nothing to do but get started!

There is no such thing as a long piece of work, except one that you
dare not start.

Peace and Love, Jim

Paradox

Good Morning,

Well it's the end of the first week of 2007 and already people are
back in their saddles and getting on down the trail so to speak. All
week I have been posting about various activities we can engage in to
bring us to a more enlightened perspective for this our new year.
Today i wanted to wrap up the new year theme with a collection of
simple paradoxes to reflect upon. May they point us all in a
direction more suited to our needs.
We have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but
narrower viewpoints; we spend more, but have less; we buy more but
enjoy it less.

We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but
less time; we have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but
less judgement; more experts, but more problems; more medicine, but
less wellness.

We drink too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too
fast, get too angry too quickly, stay up too late, get up too tired,
read too little, and watch TV too much

We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We've learned
how to make a living, but not a life; We've added years to life, not
life to years.

We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble
crossing the street to meet the new neighbor. We've conquered outer
space, but not inner space; We've done larger things, but not better
things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul; we've split the
atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less; we plan
more, but accomplish less.

We've learned to rush, but not to wait; we have higher incomes, but,
lower morals.

We build more computers to hold more information to produce more
copies than ever, but have less communication; We've become long on
quantity, but short on quality.

If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily
replace us in a matter of days. But the family we left behind will
feel the loss for the rest of their lives.

So stop and think about all this for just a few moments as you whole
heartily get ready to do another year. Where do you want to invest
yourself? What fruits do you hope to harvest and more importantly
what seeds to you plan on sowing?

Have a wonderful weekend and a GRAND NEW YEAR!

Peace and Love, Jim

Diet For The Soul

Good Morning,
When we seek the perfect diet or workout regimen, what is it we are
really seeking? Does it go beyond appearances and the longing for
absolute physical health? There is nothing wrong about improving ones
health. We must remember, however, that immortality and perfection do
not represent the human experience. Once we recognize the motive
behind the attempt to control what we eat, we are suddenly awakened
to great compassion for the self. Rather than berating ourselves for
setting up dietary guidelines that we continually fail to uphold, we
can begin to see that we are trying to be as good as we can be. I

What we may neglect to see is that the drive to extend the years of
our lives negates the beauty of the present moment. Of course, no
diet comes with a guarantee that we will increase either the length
or the quality of our lives. Often such attempts at longevity and
attaining perfect health are based on fear. We fear the unknown and,
in an attempt to gain mastery over our lives, we impose rules and
restrictions to frame our existence.

What if, instead of seeking the perfect physical nutrients, we
embrace love as a primary form of nourishment? Then we can move
beyond fear as we recognize and accept that we are immortal souls
encased in earthly bodies. Each day, we can care for these bodies by
tapping into a richer, deeper source of well-being. Through our love,
children thrive in a nurturing environment, and through love our
bodies respond to tender care. We can begin by trusting that the
body's innate intelligence will restore us to a state of harmony and
balance.

We have attached moral values to the foods we eat before we even take
our first bite. When we shift our focus to the quality of the mental
and emotional energy that we are ingesting from moment to moment, the
physical body reaps tremendous benefits. Let's stop feeding ourselves
plates full of anguish.

When it comes to the endless sensory and sensual delights associated
with the food we eat, we tend to think we are supposed to deprive
ourselves. We feel virtuous when we restrict our pleasures to a
minimum. Somehow we have come to believe that if it tastes wonderful,
it must not be wholesome. Perhaps we ought to consider that we are
taking this dietary stuff a bit too seriously. Staying in touch with
what brings us joy is vital to the Spirit, and anything that
nourishes the Spirit nourishes us at all levels of being.

By paying attention to the body's innate wisdom, we learn what is
best for us in each moment. To receive the most complete nourishment
from the foods we eat, we would benefit from integrating a sense of
joy and appreciation into every bite. This counts far more than
calories and nutrients in bringing us closer to the experience of
total well-being.

Clearly love is the way to the perfection we seek. Love and
appreciate the wisdom of your body, and your body will guide you to
what it needs.

Peace and Love, Jim

New Year, New Things

Good Morning,

Well the new year is here. The sense of starting fresh is always a good one and only reinforces the noble aspects of beginning again. As I move forward here in the new year I would like to let you in on a few things in the works for me. Recently my wife and I published a printed version of The Daily Buddha for distribution to those who do not have internet access and as gifts for some of our closest friends. The response was overwhelming and we are trying to decide how to proceed with the book from here.

I also have a dear friend who is assisting me with launching a full Daily Buddha website. I receive so many questions about various topics that I felt a web site that could serve to inform and enlighten would be the best way to share information. Of course I will continue my daily posts and those will be a feature of the new website. I will let everyone interested know when the site goes live. I look forward to a wonderful year of mindfulness, growth and insights.

Have a wonderful day and carry this thought - Arriving at one goal is the starting point to another.

Peace and Love, Jim