The Art of Power - Thich Nhat Hanh
Trying to find peace in my life and I keep going back to the same quotes from Thich Nhat Hanh and Eckhart Tolle. Their words speak to my soul. I decided to look and see if we had any books by them and we do! How great to not have to wait for amazon. And how great to read an actual book instead of a phone!
I've only read the first chapter of AoP and I wanted to remember a few things
1) our thoughts and emotions are seeds. And the seeds we feed and water are the plants that grow. Thinking about the seeds as living in the basement and the flowers as growing in the living room is a powerful analogy. The environment we live in is super important. But it's not really the environment of our circumstances, it's the environment of our mind. If the seed of anger/frustration is touched and begins to grow, it's important to grow water a plant for good. Do not allow the environment of your mind to become full of dark plants.
2) non-self, interconnected- This is actually really interesting because it is exactly opposite of how we as americans think. We are always trying to be unique, different, SPECIAL. But this is about remembering that we are all connected and that none of us is better than the other, we are just different. Unique in our connectedness. The author used the example of his hands: he is right handed and uses his right hand to do most things; but his right hand does not boast about itself to the left hand. Nor does the left hand feel bad about itself. Also, when he accidentally hit the thumb on his left hand instead of the nail he was aiming for, his left hand did not want revenge on the right hand. His right hand immediately started taking care of the left hand. And looking at my own kids, who are literally a part of me, it's much easier to practice this with them. As a mom, part of them will always live in me. And part of me will always live in them. We are as connected as two humans can be biologically. Remembering that will help me remember how insignificant I am in comparison. Insignificant isn't really the right word because we are all significant, but none of us is better than the other. We are all part of the whole.
3) mindfulness - this is the one that is the easiest and the hardest to work on. Easiest because all it takes is being in the present moment. Really focusing on what you are doing while you are doing it. Put down the phone. Turn off the TV. Eat when you are eating. Walk when you are walking. Pay attention to those around you. But as a mom, who feels busier than seems possible, this is the hardest of all things to do. Turning off the TV is easy because I don't watch that much, turning off the phone is harder because I use it as my lifeline to the outside world. For some reason I view the outside world as more important than what is going on in my own home and my own life. But I'm starting to change that. The hardest thing to turn off is my mind. I have a million things I want to keep track of, and a million things that I need to do at the same time - or so it seems. And doing one thing at a time and giving my total attention to that one thing sounds impossible. For example, making breakfast takes 10 minutes. During that 10 minutes, I feed the animals, get the kids settled doing something, open up the house, go to the bathroom, text people on my phone. If I only cooked for those 10 minutes then I would have to spend another 10 minutes doing those other things. Why waste the time? I'm already on my feet so much, if I spent all that extra time doing those extra things, everything would take longer and I would never get to rest. But I think what I am going to try doing is to focus on things that actually deserve my full attention. Doing stuff with the kids, playing with my family, cleaning, etc. Actually paying attention to the things that I am doing when life isn't pulling me in all directions.
I've only read the first chapter of AoP and I wanted to remember a few things
1) our thoughts and emotions are seeds. And the seeds we feed and water are the plants that grow. Thinking about the seeds as living in the basement and the flowers as growing in the living room is a powerful analogy. The environment we live in is super important. But it's not really the environment of our circumstances, it's the environment of our mind. If the seed of anger/frustration is touched and begins to grow, it's important to grow water a plant for good. Do not allow the environment of your mind to become full of dark plants.
2) non-self, interconnected- This is actually really interesting because it is exactly opposite of how we as americans think. We are always trying to be unique, different, SPECIAL. But this is about remembering that we are all connected and that none of us is better than the other, we are just different. Unique in our connectedness. The author used the example of his hands: he is right handed and uses his right hand to do most things; but his right hand does not boast about itself to the left hand. Nor does the left hand feel bad about itself. Also, when he accidentally hit the thumb on his left hand instead of the nail he was aiming for, his left hand did not want revenge on the right hand. His right hand immediately started taking care of the left hand. And looking at my own kids, who are literally a part of me, it's much easier to practice this with them. As a mom, part of them will always live in me. And part of me will always live in them. We are as connected as two humans can be biologically. Remembering that will help me remember how insignificant I am in comparison. Insignificant isn't really the right word because we are all significant, but none of us is better than the other. We are all part of the whole.
3) mindfulness - this is the one that is the easiest and the hardest to work on. Easiest because all it takes is being in the present moment. Really focusing on what you are doing while you are doing it. Put down the phone. Turn off the TV. Eat when you are eating. Walk when you are walking. Pay attention to those around you. But as a mom, who feels busier than seems possible, this is the hardest of all things to do. Turning off the TV is easy because I don't watch that much, turning off the phone is harder because I use it as my lifeline to the outside world. For some reason I view the outside world as more important than what is going on in my own home and my own life. But I'm starting to change that. The hardest thing to turn off is my mind. I have a million things I want to keep track of, and a million things that I need to do at the same time - or so it seems. And doing one thing at a time and giving my total attention to that one thing sounds impossible. For example, making breakfast takes 10 minutes. During that 10 minutes, I feed the animals, get the kids settled doing something, open up the house, go to the bathroom, text people on my phone. If I only cooked for those 10 minutes then I would have to spend another 10 minutes doing those other things. Why waste the time? I'm already on my feet so much, if I spent all that extra time doing those extra things, everything would take longer and I would never get to rest. But I think what I am going to try doing is to focus on things that actually deserve my full attention. Doing stuff with the kids, playing with my family, cleaning, etc. Actually paying attention to the things that I am doing when life isn't pulling me in all directions.
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