 SPIRITUAL WARRIOR, Native American Poem
Life offers us the opportunity to become a Spiritual Warrior. A warrior is one who bravely goes into those dark areas within themselves to ferret out the Truth of their being. It takes great courage, stamina and endurance to become a Spiritual Warrior. The path is narrow, the terrain rough and rocky. You will walk alone: through the dark caves, up those steep climbs and through the dense thick forest. You will meet your dark side. The faces of fear, deceit, and sadness all await your arrival No one can take this journey but you. There comes a time, in each of our lives, when we are given the choice to follow this path. Should we decide to embark on this journey, we can never turn back.... Our lives are changed forever On this journey, there are many different places we can choose to slip into and hide. But the path goes on. The Spiritual Warrior stays the course, wounded at times, exhausted and out of energy. Many times, the Warrior will struggle back to their feet to take only a few steps before falling again. Rested, they forge on, continuing the treacherous path. The journey continues. The Spiritual Warrior stays the course. Weakened, but never broken. One day, the battle, loneliness and desperate fights are over. The sun breaks through the clouds; the birds begin to sing their sweet melodies. There is a change in the energy. A deep change within the self. The warrior has fought the courageous fight. The battle of the dark night of the soul is won. New energy now fills the Warrior. A new path is now laid before them. A gentler path filled with the inner-knowing of one who has personal empowerment. With their personal battle won, they are filled with joy. A new awareness that they are one with the Spirit beams as they go forth to show others the way. They are not permitted to walk the path for others. They can only love, guide and be a living example of the Truth of their being. Bryan Kest ... “A warrior needs a worthy cause as well as courage. The more virtuous the cause, the higher his calling ? and the cause of greatest challenge, power and subtlety is that of self-examination. A wise warrior of such virtuous purpose embarks upon the age-old practice of yoga. A practice that roots out the habits, addictions, and incessant redundant thoughts that dull perception and cloud the heart; a practice that celebrates perfection in daily experiences and clears the soul for a joyous and poignant interaction with life."
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 "18 Spiritual Teachings that Blew my Mind Wide Open."
Michelle Fajkus put together a great list of teachings that we talked about in class today. I needed to be reminded that worry is useless. Which one of these did you need to hear? "Via Michelle Margaret Fajkus on Jul 5, 2014 1. Everything I need is already within me. 2. I can (and do) create my life through creative visualization (to a certain extent). 3. All things must pass. 4. Beliefs separate. 5. Faith is letting go. 6. All meditation is good meditation. 7. Metta. (Loving kindness meditation) 8. Each morning, I am born again. What I do today is what matters most. 9. Equanimity. (Balance in the mind) 10. No self. (Let go of "I") 11. Suffering is the result of clinging. 12. Worry is useless. 13. Friendship is the highest form of love. 14. Difficult people are the best teachers. 15. Therefore, be grateful to everyone and everything. 16. Don’t get on the train. 17. Breath is life. 18. Make your mind as vast as the sky."
Thich Nhat Hanh “There is the mud, and there is the lotus that grows out of the mud. We need the mud in order to make the lotus.”
"The work of mindfulness is first to recognize the suffering and second to embrace it. A mother taking care of a crying baby naturally will take the child into her arms without suppressing, judging it, or ignoring the crying. Mindfulness is like that mother, recognizing and embracing suffering without judgment. So the practice is not to fight or suppress the feeling, but rather to cradle it with a lot of tenderness," Thich Nhat Hanh Zen story- The Difference Between Pain and Suffering "There is a Buddhist teaching that says that when you get hurt, say, by an arrow, that is pain. The arrow hitting your arm, it hurts. Pain. However, there is a second arrow, which is your reaction to the arrow, the getting angry, the planning revenge, that is beyond pain, that is suffering." "On the day when the lotus bloomed, alas, my mind was straying, and I knew it not. My basket was empty and the flower remained unheeded. Only now and again a sadness fell upon me, and I started up from my dream and felt a sweet trace of a strange fragrance in the south wind. That vague sweetness made my heart ache with longing and it seemed to me that is was the eager breath of the summer seeking for its completion. I knew not then that it was so near, that it was mine, and that this perfect sweetness had blossomed in the depth of my own heart." Rabindranath Tagore |
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