Here Now

I have been following the story of 16 year old Ram Bahadur Bomjon and his 8 month meditation that has caught the eye of many.

What do you say?

How impossible is it to be still?

Namaste

Unhappy Today?

1/8W+(D-d)3/8 x TQ {m}/(NA) = Unhappiness?

"Scientists say that today marks the gloomiest day of the year. Cliff Arnall, a health psychologist at the University of Cardiff in Wales (leave it up to the English to come up with this!) has devised a formula that combines personal and season factors to calculate the year's emotional low point."

The variables are (W)eather, (D)ebt, (d)monthly salary, (T)ime since Christmas, time since failure to (Q)uit a bad habit, low (m)otivational levels and (NA) the need to take action.

I say we should just close ourselves off into a small, lightless room with a family- sized box of Twinkies, a bottle of Jack Daniels and a carton of cigs. and remind ourselves that we're losers with dead end jobs and all our credit cards are max-ed out....and let's prove this man wrong by having fun!

Tomorrow, we'll get a life!

AND BESIDES....today's my Mom's Birthday- and I couldn't be happier!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Finding

I had tea this morning with a friend from Unity and she said the most interesting thing in regards to her expectations for the New Year.

She said she has adopted a philosophy of “finding” instead of searching and expects that her intentions will be met. She didn’t say what it was she was expecting to find, only that instead of being a searcher- she chooses this year to be a finder.

I thought that was interesting because most people are adamant, life- long searchers. Perhaps instead of searching this year we should be still and centered and discover a whole world of great finds right on our doorstep.

“Seek… and you will find.”

I wonder what’s waiting to be found today? It does make sense to spend time discovering every now and again instead of always searching.

Understanding

My friend Sadiq is indeed a mystic in the truest sense of the word. He constantly amazes and inspires me to look to the One for my inspiration. Thank you Sadiq and Mark for your words.

The one with no face asks,
If deeper things are beyond understanding,
Then how can we possibly understand them?

MysticSaint says,
Deeper things are not *really* deep.
It is the conditions of mind that makes it deep.

From where you measure the depth?
Don’t stand on still ground but fly.
Be dynamic,
And Lo!
The depth vanishes.

When mind is ready,
We can penetrate infinite depth in a moment.
Even between the in-breath and the out-breath.

Then where is the depth?


© MysticSaint // IMRE, Singapore.
Inspired by Eternal Awareness.

Country Boys

Filmmaker David Sutherland ("The Farmer's Wife") debut his new critically acclaimed six-hour documentary "Country Boys" on PBS's Frontline this past Monday. The documentary is a moving portrait of the trials and triumphs of Chris Johnson and Cody Perkins, two teenaged boys coming of age in eastern Kentucky's Appalachian hills.

The film was shot over three years (1999-2002), and tracks the dramatic stories of Chris and Cody from ages 15 to 18.

The lives of Cody, an orphaned heavy metal musician for Jesus who dreams of being a preacher and Chris, who is essentially abandoned by his alcoholic father and seemingly non- caring mother are linked with the story of the David School in David, Kentucky.

The David School is a high school for troubled adolescents, which operates solely, and quite effectively on outside contributions and volunteers.

I can't tell you how extraordinary this documentary is. The lives of Chris and Cody, their friends and family and the remarkable contributions of everyone affiliated with the David School will break every connotation ever attributed to rural Appalachian life and help one understand that dreaming makes life worth living for all beings. This film was a joy to watch with my wife. We were constantly moved by the articulate manner in which these boys shared their hopes, fears and dreams. You can watch the entire six hour series on PBS.org for a limited time or order the DVD from shopPBS.org.

The Mind

Difficult to detect and very subtle,

the mind seizes whatever it wants;

so let a wise person guard his mind,

for a guarded mind brings happiness.

Dhammapada 36