Author : Lisa Hayes
My motto is, "If it isn't beautiful, it must not be true." For most people, that statement is nothing more then a Hallmark greeting card message. However, in my life, I work hard every to incorporate that ideal as a large part of my spiritual practice. Sometimes with more success then others.Now, I know what you might be saying. "Lisa, not everything is beautiful. There are some down right ugly things out there that are absolutely true." I know it seems that way. However, I think in the words, "If it's not beautiful, it must not be true", there are two challenges that can transform our lives in an instant.First, in the face of what appears to be "reality" that seems to be less then beautiful, if not down right horrific, the challenge is to always seek the beauty. In Buddhism the illustration is the lotus, a beautiful flower that grows out of the mud. Sometimes in the most acutely horrible and painful moments there is unspeakable beauty. I have experienced that kind of profound beauty more times then I can count. The first experience of that nature I remember clearly was when I was 18. After I graduated from high school I took a Summer job at a nursing home. The place was the definition of horrible. I worked the swing shift and it was a commonly known fact that if the people were going to die, they were going to do it on my shift or the next. I remember one night walking down the hall as I was about to leave my shift when a women's voice caught my attention. She was singing. I stopped in the hall dead in my tracks as I gazed upon them. Mr. Sterns was clearly dead. He lay in his bed, face contorted and already turning gray. His eyes were still open, but there was no life in them. It was the first time I'd seen a dead person and I was instantly disgusted. However, his wife still sat there, by his bed, holding his hand, singing. Her love for him was overwhelmingly clear and even in that moment through the love she was peaceful. The scene was so profoundly beautiful that it impacted the way I felt about death for the rest of my life.The second challenge might be to simply learn to compassionately turn away. This means that if you are gazing upon something that doesn't please you, simply, and gracefully turn your damn head away. You cannot make the sick well by dwelling upon sickness. You cannot stop the fighting by dwelling upon war. You cannot help the poor by dwelling on poverty. So, if you are looking at something and it's not beautiful to you simply find something else to look at. Now, I know this is easier said then done. However, a really good step in the right direction might be to surround yourself with beauty. You can surround yourself with beautiful people and relationships that nurture you. You can surround yourself with art and flowers. You can surround yourself with music that uplifts you. Whatever it is you find beautiful, seek it out, and wrap yourself in it. That way you have plenty to look at when you are needing to find a beautiful distraction. It's more then a practice. It's a discipline.It's a discipline that will catapult you to a new way of being. An relenting commitment to the absolutely beautiful is a commitment well worth making and keeping. You will not be disappointed with the results.Lisa Hayes is a mind, body, soul, practitioner who views the person as a whole -
with meditation for the mind, yoga for the body,and as an ordained minister, for the soul, Lisa works with women to help them achieve peace and bliss in the chaos of their every day lives.
Lisa is also a partner in an independent technology firm and is a single mother of a teenage boy, so she understands chaos. Chaos is a part of everyday life. It is a part of the contrast of life that makes the zen seem so much more precious.
Lisa began the pursuit of the healing arts more then fifteen years ago when she completed her degree in natural health and nutrition. She continued that path as a yoga and meditation instructor before becoming a life coach.
Lisa believes that zen is our basic nature. All we have to do is release it. She has dedicated herself to assisting women in finding whatever tools work best for them individually to become their most blissful and beautiful selves.
To contact Lisa email her at lisa@moderngirlsguidetozen.com
or call her at 360-490-1411
Keyword : prayer, meditation, zen, appreciation, contemplation, thankfulness, faith, faithfulness
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