Power ...

A stonemason was carving a block of stone, sweating in the sun. He became very hot, and, in frustration, looked up at the sun. He said: 
I wish I was the sun, just sitting there in the sky, it has all the power!
In an instant, he was transformed, and he enjoyed shining down, until a cloud obscured his view. He said: 
I wish I was that cloud, blocking even the sun, it has all the power! 
And he became the cloud and enjoyed floating in the sky, until a great wind came up, and blew the cloud across the sky, and he said:
I wish I was the wind, it has all the power 
.. and he became the wind, and enjoyed blowing clouds & leaves ... nothing could resist it, until he saw a great block of stone, just sitting there, completely unaffected, and he said:
I wish I was that great block of stone ... nothing would move me .
... and having become the stone, he enjoyed that until he felt the chisel of a stone mason cutting away at him ... and he said - I wish I was a stone mason .. he has all the power!

Letting go ...

Letting go of a possession is very difficult. This is mainly due to the amount of identification we have with things, to the extent that we "become" the thing. We become our status, our job, our achievements, our deliverables etc. But we should remember we are human "beings" ... not human "havings" ... think of the things you have like precious butterfly you caught in your hand, the harder you hold on, the more likely you are to crush it. Nothing is permanent. Get used to the process of letting go, it is the natural way to experience things.

Controlling a temper ...

A Zen student came to Bankei and complained: 

"Master, I have an ungovernable temper. How can I cure it?"
"You have something very strange," replied Bankei. "Let me see what you have."
"Just now I cannot show it to you," replied the other.
"When can you show it to me?" asked Bankei.
"It arises unexpectedly," replied the student.
"Then," concluded Bankei, "it must not be your own true nature. If it were, you could show it to me at any time. When you were born you did not have it, and your parents did not give it to you. 

Think that over."

5 Minute Zen exercise to relax

Here is a path that works for me to get a bit de-stressed, or to my intuition about a decision. I call it the SANCTUM path, because it helps me remember the "windows" I need to open. (silence, awareness, neutrality, clarity, trust, unttachment, modesty) 

All you need is 5 minutes and a quiet space.

- Think of a place where you have been completely at ease
- "go" there in your mind, taking your time, leave anything you don't need behind, including problems you don't need to solve right this moment
- "arrive" there, settle down, take a few deep breaths, observe every detail "there"
- think of a "role model" person you would like to be there with you
- Think of having a conversation with that person, or asking a simple question ... what would they say?
The answer you hear is the voice of your intuition. Try it sometime, I'd be interested what you do to take a "time out of mind" 

Finding A Teacher

How do you find your personal zen master, coach or teacher?
You don't
When you are ready to learn, the teacher will show up

Finding your self

Some people go take a long trip to "find themselves" ... interesting concept, since, whereever you go, there you are ... Trying to find yourself is like the donkey chasing the carrot on the stick. But if you must, here is how you do it .. using the zen technique of opposites ... find yourself, by losing yourself ... lose your self ... do something that absorbs all of your attention ... and in that moment ... there you go ...

Happiness

happiness is the sudden realization that 

-- in this moment -- 

you have no needs