“Awareness, CLARITY, compassion, generosity, understanding – these are in the middle of everyone’s spiritual road.” Sylvia Boorstein

“Mind tangles and suffering are universal and the desire for happiness and the end of suffering is also universal.” Boorstein

“The Buddha’s maps for the journey to wisdom and happiness are attractive to many people because they are so SIMPLE.” Boorstein

I like the Buddha because he does not require belief in dogmas which I can’t understand but must accept in faith. Goodness. But i am 60% logical and only 40% Intuitive.

“Eventually the Buddha taught that it doesn’t make sense to upset ourselves about what is beyond our control. We don’t get a choice about what hand we are dealt in this life. The only choice we have is our ATTITUDE about the cards we hold and the finesse with which we play our hand.” Boorstein

“The people who didn’t understand him immediately needed to practise meditation and then they understood.” Boorstein

In my case, more than the meditation which i practiced for years, my meaningful challenges since March 2018 and especially this April 2018 have helped me to change my ATTITUDE.

Keep it SIMPLE.

Sylvia Boorstein:
“I don’t think it’s possible to love God with all your heart and not love everything else. Complete loving mandates and rejoices in complete acceptance.’

“METTA PRACTICE is concentration practice. The practitioner attempts to develop specially deepened concentration by steadfastly focusing attention on one single object.”

“One form of METTA PRACTICE uses a set of resolves, wishes for the well-being, safety, health and happiness of all beings.”

“The Metta PRACTITIONER attempts to keep resolves as the on going focus of attention.”

“Full METTA practice includes dedication to maintain a friendly noncombative attitude in all conditions.”

This is a challenge for me. Maintaining a friendly noncombative attitude in ALL CONDITIONS! My Goodness! I want to change conditions I don’t like. I want to protest. i want to complain. i usually struggle.

“METTA practice is transformative. Direct experience of the pleasure- indeed joy- of benevolence over time, loosens the habitual self-centered, defensive actions of the mind and strengthens the habit of friendly acceptance.”

Friendly acceptance. Surrender. These are real challenges to me. By template, I am a warrior.

“Responsive behavior – motivated by kindness- replaces reactive behavior. Benevolent, decisive, strong responses are possible. we become peaceful, passionate people.”

After months of challenges, now that i have turned 75 years old, I am settling with SYLVIA BOORSTEIN: “THE NATURAL MIND is free of tensions and doesn’t allow attachment to become entrenched. Preferences arise but they dissipate without creating problems when the mind is relaxed. Annoyance also arises but it doesn’t take up residence Fears and hurt feelings, doubts, and desires all come up in response to challenges and also disappointments but they do not upset basic CLARITY”

“All defilements are self-liberating in the great sphere of awareness.”
The bottom line is : “IT means all the nonsense falls out of your head when it’s screwed on straight.”

the greatest truth is: “Terrible things do happen. I do believe that fully mindful prayer , undistracted presence, establishes the capacity of the mind to see clearly and when necessary to surrender gracefully.”

My husband commented on the way I drop/slash things. I have been drastically dropping foods from my diet. So disciplined, apparently. I think it’s more than that. I think there’s nothing Zen about the procedures.

i believe I have to be kinder to myself. I think substitution or compensation may be in order. I have to be compassionate.

“Every simple act we do has the potential of causing pain and every single thing we do has consequences that echo way beyond what we can imagine.”

“It doesn’t mean we should not act. It means we should act carefully.” (Sylvia Boorstein)

After an outpouring of blessings that started on Easter Sunday, I had a spate of ocular migraine last april 7.

I am now writing about annoyances that emanate from my cellphone, my laptop and deliveries.

In a way, I am disappointed with myself for reacting to the annoyances.
Sylvia Boorstein teaches: “We could condition our mind to such spacious CLARITY that our experience would come and go and the mind would remain essentially tranquil.”

Also: “Grumbling gets the mind fogged down in the weariness of its own story.”

Of course I forgot to have a CLEAR MIND and OPEN HEART!
“I knew the tendency to struggle in the mind comes from taking one’s own story PERSONALLY rather than seeing it as part of the great unfolding cosmic drama.”

How shocking. My worldview as formed by the Urban Shamanism takes everything personally. Self-esteem is key. But it’s a matter of perspective.

Sylvia Borstein’s interpretation of the noble truths addresses my fears and anxieties.