wattsghost

Really interesting video that has a lot of applications to meditation and mindfulness. I encourage you to spend 8 minutes watching it - it will be worth your time.

https://youtu.be/MFzDaBzBlL0

I'm taking this from one of my favorite Facebook pages - I credit the source below...if you are on FB, they post good stuff like this weekly. This sums up the essence of meditation:

Observe and return.

You can choose to follow your mind wherever it leads you, and suffer the stress, anxiety, and other problems that arise as a result.

Or, you can choose to observe your mind-made activity, use what is helpful, and let the rest pass. When you let the rest pass, it means that - instead of following your mind - you opt to return to the present moment and focus on right here and right now.

Observe and return. It takes practice, but with practice it becomes habitual. And, life im

I found this short post insightful. I don't think you need a Facebook account to view it: https://www.facebook.com/whatistad/photos/a.297790073651289.64609.287774987986131/774229219340703/?type=1&permPage=1

I know some aren't on Facebook, so I cut and pasted the post below. If you are on Facebook, show them some love and like their page - they post insightful stuff like this weekly:

Stress sucks, but we have a hard time admitting it is self-inflicted. Instead, it is easier to blame other people, our job, our partner, or some other "external" thing.

Reality is reality - the situation is the situation. Our thoughts, feelings, and emotions about the situation are what actually cause us to suffer.

As Tolle points out, you have three options when it comes to any given situation: remove yourself from it, change it, or accept it.

Everything else is just self-inflicted suffering.

Impermanence: everything is transient, everything is in a state of flux. This concept can be life-changing if you fully understand it. Those thoughts you have, those emotions you feel, those urges that make you uncomfortable - none of it is permanent. It all comes and it all goes. Your mind tries to make it permanent by grasping (clinging) to what you view as "favorable" and avoiding (running from) what you view as "unfavorable."

But, it is all temporary. Think of it as if you were looking at clouds in the sky - they float in one side and float out the other. Those thoughts you have will do the same - you can watch them, and you don't have to follow them. Those emotions you feel will do th