‘Let go into the mystery,’ Van Morrison’s excellent advice for all seasons of life, has often been my stated goal as I sit down to meditate. I’ve kept Albert Einstein’s brilliant words on my altar, ‘No problem can be solved from the same consciousness that created it,’ to blow my mind, and Pythagoras’ ‘Astonishing! Everything is intelligent,’ to wake it up. I use these beautiful sayings to remind me of the purpose of meditation. I make sure each sitting session has a goal that comes from within. Sometimes it will feel like drudgery; sometimes it will awaken painful thoughts or feelings or physical sensations; but always, if our practice arises from a deeply personal goal, it will be a dependable, exceptional friend that will eventually lead us home.   ~Elizabeth Lesser

sensing the all-too-often sales pitch about why life is bliss may undermine the gritty nuances that truly offer the path of fluidity and clarity….

inquiry for today~  give into the depth of sorrow and less easeful ways……be with whatever practice offers a more conscious way of knowing and breathing into stillness….

all on the outbreath

Our life is an endless journey; it is like a broad highway that extends infinitely into the distance. The practice of meditation provides a vehicle to travel on that road. Our journey consists of constant ups and downs, hope and fear, but it is a good journey. The practice of meditation allows us to experience all the textures of the roadway, which is what the journey is all about.   ~Chogyam Trungpa