How to Zazen

First off everyone should check out Brad Warner's blog, it's fantastic. But for those of you looking for a great intro into sitting Zazen, check out this link.

Quoting Solitude

“My imagination functions much better when I don't have to speak to people.”
― Patricia Highsmith

“If you're lonely when you're alone, you're in bad company.”
― Jean-Paul Sartre 

 “Literature is the most agreeable way of ignoring life.”
― Fernando Pessoa, The Book of Disquiet 

“I have to be alone very often. I'd be quite happy if I spent from Saturday night until Monday morning alone in my apartment. That's how I refuel."

(Audrey Hepburn: Many-Sided Charmer, LIFE Magazine, December 7, 1953)”
― Audrey Hepburn 

“There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but Nature more”
― George Gordon Byron 

“The more powerful and original a mind, the more it will incline towards the religion of solitude.”
― Aldous Huxley 

“I find it wholesome to be alone the greater part of the time. To be in company, even with the best, is soon wearisome and dissipating. I love to be alone. I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude.”
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden  

“I need to be alone. I need to ponder my shame and my despair in seclusion; I need the sunshine and the paving stones of the streets without companions, without conversation, face to face with myself, with only the music of my heart for company.”
― Henry Miller, Tropic of Cancer  

The Stability of Quotes

“So much of what is best in us is bound up in our love of family, that it remains the measure of our stability because it measures our sense of loyalty.”
― Haniel Long

“Most men either compromise or drop their greatest talents and start running after, what they perceive to be, a more reasonable success, and somewhere in between they end up with a discontented settlement. Safety is indeed stability, but it is not progression.”
― Criss Jami, Killosophy  

True stability results when presumed order and presumed disorder are balanced. A truly stable system expects the unexpected, is prepared to be disrupted, waits to be transformed.”
― Tom Robbins, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues 

“They who reach down into the depths of life where, in the stillness, the voice of God is heard, have the stabilizing power which carries them poised and serene through the hurricane of difficulties.”
― Spencer W. Kimball 

“[The moon] ... is an example of practiced stability … it wanes when it must, and reliably returns to full strength … it is a humble model of reasonable potential that I can emulate, and follow.”
― Terry Crawford Palardy  

Quotes on Serenity

“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.”
― Lao Tzu

“We are not going to change the whole world, but we can change ourselves and feel free as birds. We can be serene even in the midst of calamities and, by our serenity, make others more tranquil. Serenity is contagious. If we smile at someone, he or she will smile back. And a smile costs nothing. We should plague everyone with joy. If we are to die in a minute, why not die happily, laughing? (136-137)”
― Swami Satchidananda, The Yoga Sutras  

“One man practicing kindness in the wilderness is worth all the temples this world pulls.”
― Jack Kerouac, The Dharma Bums 

“Nothing is so aggravating as calmness.”

― Mahatma Gandhi

 

“Peace is present right here and now, in ourselves and in everything we do and see. Every breath we take, every step we take, can be filled with peace, joy, and serenity. The question is whether or not we are in touch with it. We need only to be awake, alive in the present moment.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life  

 

Quotes on Learning

Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence.
- Abigail Adams

Upon the subject of education ... I can only say that I view it as the most important subject which we as a people may be engaged in.
- Abraham Lincoln

Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.
- Albert Einstein

Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.
- Albert Einstein

The best teachers are those that show you where to look but don't tell you what to see.
- Alexandra K. Trenfor

Inner Peace Quotes

As human beings we all want to be happy and free from misery.  We have learned that the key to happiness is inner peace. The greatest obstacles to inner peace are disturbing emotions such as anger, attachment, fear and suspicion, while love and compassion and a sense of universal responsibility are the sources of peace and happiness.
– Dalai Lama 

Peace of mind is not a goal I need achieve.  It’s a place inside I never want to leave.  Close my eyes, I still my thoughts and then I say I will choose to live in peace today.
Robert Alan  

If a person’s basic state of mind is serene and calm, then it is possible for this inner peace to overwhelm a painful physical experience. On the other hand, if someone is suffering from depression, anxiety, or any form of emotional distress, then even if he or she happens to be enjoying physical comforts, he will not really be able to experience the happiness that these could bring.
Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama

Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.
– St. Francis de Sales

Our happiness depends on the habit of mind we cultivate. So practice happy thinking every day. Cultivate the merry heart, develop the happiness habit, and life will become a continual feast.
– Norman Vincent Peale

 

Mission Statement

Mission Statement:

-I make the following promises to myself-

Inner Peace- I shall make time every day to find and nurture my inner peace.  I will make time for myself to meditate or enjoy the peace of being in nature everyday, even if it is only a few minutes.

Learning- It shall continue to be a part of every day of my life. I will surround myself with knowledge and continue to seek new experiences.

Serenity- I shall endeavor to create a serene environment for myself and those around me, wherever life may take me.  

Solitude- I shall create time in my schedule no matter how full it may be, for a few moments of peace and quite.  Mia and I will continue our daily walks in the woods to find the peace and quite we both enjoy.

Stability- I shall work diligently to build stability in my life in all aspects.  Stability, not rigidity.