
Dear Spirit to Spirit friend,
I was listening to spiritual teacher Adyashanti the other day.
This is what he said:
"Mindfulness fosters connection...which invokes insight...which invokes connection."
Adya is offering here, with precision and clarity, guidance/direction in how to move into our next phase of life. What he is pointing to is a way to be with/engage life in every moment, whether we are in a gentle phase of life or in a very challenging one.
Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh: "I define mindfulness as the practice of being fully present and alive, body and mind united. Mindfulness is the energy that helps us know what is going on in the present moment."
In paying extraordinary attention to our inner state of being as well as paying exquisite attention to what is outer- whether it is the blade of grass beneath our feet, the song of a bird, the feelings of a family member, or the events of our world- we become mindful. In being mindful, we become aware of and present to this moment, this singular moment, fully touching life and being touched by life.
In living in mindfulness, our connection to ourselves, to others, to life becomes more attuned, more refined. We feel/experience and come to know ourselves, others, and life in more subtle, more intimate ways.
And, in that, Adyashanti suggests, deeper insight/knowing opens in us and moves us into even deeper connection. Into understanding and perhaps experiencing the ways in which we/all life are One. One Great Connectivity. One Great Unfolding. One great expression of Something Greater.
In small moments in our lives as well as in large event moments, being mindful- of the breath in and out, a smile with another, an insect making his way- and holding great care and compassion for all living beings- will open us into a richness in life beyond what we can imagine. Not one thing taken for granted. Deeply loving of and caring for this life and for the precious gift that it is.
In Gratitude & Love, Joanna
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