All Comments By Francis daCosta
On Jan 31, 2024 Francis daCosta wrote on The Difference Between Knowledge And Understanding, by Aldous Huxley:
I am deeply grateful to my cat, both old friend and teacher. Without one word spoken he has over last 12 years brought me to a visceral understanding of what being in a relationship entails where - as Rumi put it - we find a common field - where new common ground has to be discovered together. Through meow and occasional scratches, he helps me discover his world.
On Nov 28, 2023 francis dacosta wrote on Gratitude, by Tiruvalluvar:
All the trillions of living beings in Nature are driven by service, I feel. We are sort of like lost orphaned children lost in ourselves. Our religions are point us to true North but we seem to have an erratic ant-like meandering. But within all of this there are spaces like this community to help us self correct . For that I am grateful
On Nov 15, 2023 Francis dacosta wrote on Mistaking The World We’ve Made For The Real World, by George Saunders:
In AI there is a term, Ground Truth. for me that is the Buddha touching the Earth as witness for veracity. The physical senses experienced not inferred.
On Oct 24, 2023 Francis dacosta wrote on En-Lightening, by Tash Shadman:
reality minus expectations and narratives equals equanimity. easy to say harder to do without continous effort.
On Sep 26, 2023 Francis dacosta wrote on Gratefulness Happens Before Thinking, by Brother David Steindl-Rast:
I continue to be grateful to my cat who jumps up and sits on my computer keyboard, stopping my digital unreal world for me and inviting me into his. I think of Rumi and the wedding and curb my irritation at being forcibly brought back to what is real.
On Sep 24, 2023 Francis dacosta wrote on Half A Pomegranate, by Brian Conroy:
Seva is a word i have used often focusing on the anonymous nature .. not expecting acknowledgment. Lately i feel its also the need to give completely.. beyond convenient cheque writing or occasional making sandwiches for the homeless. Nice to do but dont cover the kind of giving expressed in both this passage and the bible.
On Sep 7, 2023 Francis dacosta wrote on The Practice Before The Practice, by Mark Nepo:
waiting and becoming available has become one of my new favorite phrases.
On Sep 6, 2023 Francis dacosta wrote on The Vessel And The Filter, by Rick Rubin:
Sooner or later I think we all develop filters to prune, collate, corrobate. Baba Muktananda said, let the witness behind your eyes only be shown scenes of love. In other words, (my take) ferret out the love embedded in all.
On Aug 10, 2023 Francis dacosta wrote on What You Are Is Perfect Imperfection, by Emannuel:
a friend told me, he focuses on his strengths and as that positive energy works within him, the weaknesses erode slowly on their own. its a case of whether we feed the white horse or the dark horse that decides which horse prevails. acknowledging imperfection (the horses) is key for us humans i think.
On Aug 4, 2023 Francis dacosta wrote on Compulsion To Closure, by Joan Tollifson:
"Reality is simple. It is right here. Present experiencing, just as it is. " Its pretty much all there is but of course we all want more :-). In that distraction I have found I get less - for example I cant remember where I left my car keys and then the frustration and self recrimination rituals kick in. Its all amusing after a while, however :-)
On Jul 30, 2023 FRANCIS DACOSTA wrote on Tale Of The Ringless Ring, by Thomas Moore:
a non gift (as in not physical) can be fond memories and i am grateful for them.
On Jul 25, 2023 Francis dacosta wrote on Shadow Cannot Drive Out Shame, by Bonnie Rose:
Dogen said that while the truth is devoid of judgement, sometime when we hear the truth, there is pain or resistance because we resist change. Change has required my ego to accept that is is fallible and its notions around shame were to protect that secret.
On Jul 21, 2023 Francis dacosta wrote on Shadow Cannot Drive Out Shame, by Bonnie Rose:
To come back to my breath is the best way I come back to myself.
On Jul 12, 2023 Francis daCosta wrote on Sound Of The Genuine, by Howard Thurman:
When my intentions focus on others, beyond my own time/space limitations, then I step aside and let her do Her thing.
On Jun 27, 2023 francis dacosta wrote on Beginner's Mind Vs. Expert Mind, by Christina Feldman:
in the book Zen Mind Beginners Mind, Suzuki roshi says: in the beginners mind there are many possibilities, in the experts mind there are few. I believe all great ideas emanated from a beginners mind. Despite great odds. Eric Fromms book Mans search for meaning had its birth inside a concentration camp.
On Jun 14, 2023 francis dacosta wrote on Forgiveness, by Wayne Dyer:
"Dont let those emotions rent space in your head". A priest said this in a sermon and it stuck.
On Jun 5, 2023 francis dacosta wrote on The Simplest Meditation: Waiting, by Peter Russell:
As part of becoming more present, I now take short breaks. For example, when eating or reading, i pause to close eyes, pay attention to sounds or tastes more. I feel it helps me be more connected with the energy i am co creating in my home. Less about me and more about we/us.
On May 19, 2023 Francis dacosta wrote on Letting Someone Know They're Not Alone Is No Small Thing, by Deborah Hawkins:
I am grateful to the Presence that brings to together this chain of events .. someone finding this message, it coming to us from this digital nervous system, my eyes.. all of this helps me remind myself I am never alone. There is a beautiful song by Dylan “every grain of sand” that refers to this sense of being not-alone.
On May 16, 2023 francis dacosta wrote on Shape Of Silence, by Kent Nerburn:
krishnamurti speaks of the space between thoughts. Thats where sacred silence resides, i feel. In one meditation class i was asked to focus on the silence between the in and out breath. where there was no easily identifiable activity.
On May 10, 2023 Francis dacosta wrote on End Of The World, by Dougald Hine:
“ We will need to remember that we are not alone and never were, that we are part of a world of many worlds, only some of which are human”. I am fascinated by the super colonies of trees, ants, bees and their timeless acts of service, always paying forward for future generations. Much to learn from them.
On Apr 25, 2023 Francis daCosta wrote on The Extraordinary In The Ordinary, by Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee:
I am grateful for my teachers. Some time back I was euphoric about my inner journeys. I have a dear old friend who has spent most of her life in an ashram. And we would go for hikes. And me being a typical male, could not stop babbling. At some point she just quietly said, yes its exciting isnt it, when its new. And then pointed to the orange poppies springing up, new life all around me. Gently and sweetly she brought me back to the earth. She was too sweet to say it but I got all this excitement was useless if I could not appreciate what was happening all around me and what I was intricately entangled with for all eternity. Baba Muktananda had said "Let the witness behind your eyes only be shown scenes of love". That helps.
On Feb 8, 2023 Francis daCosta wrote on The Cauldron Of Time, by James O'dea:
To me, The empty well of original bliss, means Emptiness as in Buddhism. Leonard Cohen wrote "Dance me to the end of Love". For personal experiences, Nature puts me back in touch with visceral reality and then I sometimes "see the Master's hand" (Bob Dylan). For me its boundless neutral Love .
On Mar 9, 2024 Francis daCosta wrote on As Way Opens, by Carrie Newcomer: