Take a Walk

Take a walk and avoid a hurry to get anywhere. No destination to reach means you just amble. Turn a corner. Follow a scent or sound.

When you release the desire to get somewhere you will energize your body and brain.  

In the present moment, feel the precision of each step. Notice a stumble and smile.

As you revel in the experience of walking, release mind chatter. Breathe in nature's attractions.

Look up.

Peer downward. Use curiosity and creativity to notice what you see.

         Hum a tune and chuckle.

Just take a walk 

Odyssey into Words

 

Pursue experiences as an odyssey into words.  Leave the comfort of understanding to delve into ways to discover a wisdom of well-being?

This happens by thrashing about in the wilderness, forests, and seas for the unknown.

Which vehicle will you take today?  If you go on foot, by car, boat, plane or fantasy, amusements spring on every sensory level.

Each time you decide on the destination, you will become surprised and distracted by attractions along the way.

Should you stop for a carnival? Sticky your face with cotton candy and a candy apple?

Where will the merry-go-round take your mind if you change to a different lion, tiger or horse to ride? 

Taste a notion like a lozenge. It dissolves and words arise.  They flutter and flicker at the lips and beg for release. Taste the flavor of their feathers and sigh. They baffle, energize, and frighten. Some hide as ink soaks into a finger.

Ride the train with your face pressed against the window ready to hop off at the first astonishment.

Probe the mysteries of travel in myriad ways. 

Explore an odyssey into words.

Don't Bite the Hook

The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, 

move with it, and join the dance. 

- Alan Watts

Pema Chödrön promotes shenpa, which is Tibetan for  “biting the hook” with our habitual reactions. Shenpa thrives on the insecurity of living in a world of constant change. 

Tibetans call shenpa, "that sticky feeling." We feel a tightening, a tensing, a sense of closing down. Then we experience a withdrawing. The tight feeling has the power to hook us into self-denigration, blame, anger, and jealousy. Emotions lead to words and actions that do not serve us well.


Chödrön writes, "When someone criticizes us, our work, or leaves us, we may bite the hook of grasping. When something unfair happens, we may bite the hook of rage. When we are disappointed, we may bite the hook of numbness." 


What would it look like not to bite the hook in an action of nonshenpa?




Chödrön's philosophy involves how to grow and learn from experiences. She advises not to waste time berating oneself for supposed sins. Learn and move on. 

If we cultivate clear sight, which Tibetan Buddhists call prajna, we view our life without deceiving ourselves. Once we observe the self clearly, we grow and gain strength for the next encounters. 

Consider how you talk to yourself concerning unhappiness. Do you denigrate yourself to induce a wave of guilt that proves you are unworthy? 

"At moments like that, what is it you feel? It has a familiar taste in your mouth, it has a familiar smell. Once you begin to notice it, you feel like this experience has been happening forever," Chödrön says. She continues, "All we're trying to do is not to feel our uneasiness. But when we do this we never get to the root of practice. The root is experiencing the itch as well as the urge to scratch, and then not acting it out."

Learn to recognize when you get hooked in your experiences. Realize you have the wisdom to see your frustrations for what they are. 

The more you practice that realization the less control outside forces have on you. 

When negative feelings intrude, focus on the breath. Stay in the moment. Relinquish the need to react.

You'll benefit by not biting the hook. 

Feelings of freedom will take over.