How useful is YOUR mind?

OK, up there in the links section - you know, that part that you aren't paying attention to because it doesn't look sexy and doesn't have little thumbnails or nifty pictures? Anyway, up there is the link to Tricycle. Nope, not the little 3-wheeled bike you rode as a kid, but instead, a wisdom-filled website that will, if you sign up for them, deliver nuggets like the one below to your email inbox every day.

Today's offering was especially good. Titled "Umbrella Mind," it's written by Gerry Shishin Wick in his "Dharma Discourse."

Now, read and ponder - and oh, what a great idea – maybe implement?

UMBRELLA MIND

Zen Master Dogen said that “not knowing is the most intimate thing.” Not knowing means to be open to all eventualities, to not prejudge a person or situation. If your mind is full of preconceived notions, there is no room for an unbiased view. It is like when your hands are full of objects, you cannot pick up anything new. A closed mind causes separation and suspicion. Like an umbrella, a mind is only useful when it is open. The first step toward maintaining an open mind is to understand the nature of mind or self.

-Gerry Shishin Wick, "Dharma Discourse"

'Tis the season to eat everything you see

Yes, we do, don't we? All those goodies, all those office parties, neighborhood get-togethers, holiday dinners - oh, my! It's all so yummy - and so full of calories and butter and loads of other temptations.
And we'll soon be wearing the evidence around our middles and on our hips...
It doesn't really have to be that way - and not just at the holidays, but all the rest of the year, we don't really have to have an unhealthy relationship with food.
Click the link below and read some of the wisdom of Jan Chozen Bays to learn more about loving your food and inviting it to love you back.

http://www.tricycle.com/-food/mindful-eating?offer=dharma

Some of the reasons why meditation can do so much good!

There are a lot of really smart heavy hitters chiming in at this roundtable. Jon Kabat-Zinn was one of the first to really start "getting it" that meditation gives each of us so much power to move ourselves into a better life, to start teaching us that we don't have to be at the mercy of those things that we think we can't stop thinking about - you know, the ones that we think are going to drive us crazy! Read on...

http://www.tricycle.com/feature/roundtable-meeting-minds

Share your illumination

 These are words of wisdom from Master Sheng Yen, from "Rich Generosity."

"When a candle is lit in a dark room, it illuminates the room to some extent, but its power is limited. But if you use the same candle to light another candle, the total brightness increases. If you continue to do this, you can fill the room with brilliant illumination. The idea of transferring merit to others is like this. If we keep our own light selfishly hidden, it will only provide a limited amount of illumination. But when we share our light with others, we do not diminish our own light. Rather, we increase the amount of light available to all. Therefore, when others light our candle, we issue forth light. When out of gratitude we use our candle to light other people’s candles, the whole room gets brighter. This is why we transfer merit to others. This kind of light is continuous and inexhaustible."