World Peace Within

“The world around you is only beautiful when you are at peace with the world within you.” — Paulo Coelho

This quotation sounds like a marketing mantra for Meditation Hill Sangha.

Our ultimate intention is to recognize the true nature of our Being (Self, I am) as the joyful peace that passeth all understanding, and then to celebrate this perennial Truth in our unique human expression of Life.

In short, when you see how you change (unveiling your peaceful aware Presence), you change how you see (a beautiful Divine world).

Let It Flow

“The greatest weapon over stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.” — William James

If you think this self-harmonizing weapon of choice sounds too easy to be true, then I would tend to agree. Because what is implied is that you have first observed the stressful thought in order to choose a more peaceful alternative.

I repeat my adage that the unobserved mind is the root of all stress (dukkha).

Herein lies the beauty of meditation. In a quiet, controlled environment you master the ability to observe not only the appearance of fear-based thoughts, but also their tendency to fuel uncomfortable bodily feelings and emotions that habitually loop into more disturbing thoughts. Only then can you effectively choose a joyful thought; or better yet, the thought to let it all go. Just let it flow.

The Monk and the Master

Monk: “What happens when the leaves are falling and the trees are bare?

Master: “The golden wind, revealed.” — Hegiken Roku

What happens when the voice-in-the-head is silent and there is no mental noise projecting your thoughts and worries into the imagined future or reflecting your thoughts and regrets from the illusory past?

The Greatest Mystery

“The time has come to set out for sacred ground—the mountain, the temple, the ancestral home—that will stir our heart and restore our sense of wonder. It is down the path to the deeply real where time stops and we are seized by the mysteries.” — Phil Cousineau

Allow the energy of curiosity and wonder to bubble up, and see that the sacred ground is as close as your next mindful step. You need not cross the world or be on top of the world to be seized by the mysteries. Just be open, empty, available, and aware right now—because the greatest mystery is closer than your next breath.

Peace Be You. Love, PC