Reading Archive (Openness)

The Shambhala Warrior

Joanna Macy

[A Tibetan Legend] "There comes a time when all life on Earth is in danger. Barbarian powers have arisen. Although they waste their wealth in preparations to annihilate each other, they have much in...

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74K reads, 33 comments

True Splendor of Science

Alan Watts

The true splendor of science is not so much that it names and classifies, records and predicts, but that it observes and desires to know the facts, whatever they may turn out to be. However much it ma...

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34K reads, 4 comments

Emptiness And Compassion Go Hand In Hand

Norman Fischer

The word “emptiness” is a fair translation of shunyata, but it has the drawback of sounding negative, even despairing.  The Chinese, searching for a word that might translate shunyata...

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33K reads, 12 comments

Presence: The Quality of Consciously Being Here

Kabir Helminski

A common theme runs through all the great spiritual traditions. It goes by many names – awakening, recollection, mindfulness, dhyana, remembrance, zhikr, presence – and by no name at all. ...

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31K reads, 4 comments

The Gentlest Thing in the World

Byron Katie

The gentlest thing in the world is an open mind. Since it doesn't believe what it thinks, it is flexible, porous, without opposition, without defense. Nothing has power over it. Nothing can resist...

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29K reads, 20 comments

Difference Between Eah and Oh!

Jerry Wennstrom

After walking some distance, stopping for a cup of tea, and winding my way back to the apartment, I happened upon an older, homeless man in an alley. He was surrounded by several overstuffed plastic b...

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23K reads, 17 comments

Big Enough to Take It All In

Margaret Wheatley

To want to see clearly is a true act of fearlessness. To open our heart and mind, to be open to what life is offering us in this moment, requires tremendous courage and steadfastness. In the openne...

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23K reads, 7 comments

Forgiveness & Your Life's Unfinished Business

Stephen Levine

 As awareness becomes yet subtler, able to discern even the muffled whispers of the mind, we are confronted with what a dying musician friend called “the Unfinished Symphony” – ...

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22K reads, 13 comments

Laziness As Our Personal Teacher

Pema Chodron

The path of awakening is a process. It’s a process of gradually learning to become intimate with our so-called obstacles. So rather than feeling discouraged by laziness, we could look into our l...

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20K reads, 5 comments

True Humility: Selfless Respect for Reality

Costica Bradatan

From the potential unique location – the site of devastation that we might become – we understand that we are no grander than the rest of the world. Indeed, we are less than most thin...

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18K reads, 9 comments

Intentions Are Seeds

Gil Fronsdal

While our activities have consequences in both the external and internal world, happiness and freedom belong to the inner world of our intentions and dispositions. [...] Mindfulness places us where o...

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16K reads, 4 comments

Faith is to Let Go

Allan Watts

"Faith is a state of openness or trust. To have faith is like when you trust yourself to the water. You don't grab hold of the water when you swim, because if you do you will become stiff and tight...

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13K reads

Bringing Attention to Intention

Gil Fronsdal

The greater our awareness of intentions, the greater our freedom to choose. People who do not see their choices do not believe they have choices. They tend to respond automatically, blindly influenced...

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13K reads, 3 comments

Antithesis Of Addiction

Sukh Chugh

There is something deep within our nature. A guiding light if you will. A voice that always speaks of goodness. A voice that is always moving us towards more love, towards more life. Can we hear...

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9K reads, 4 comments

Fuel For An Endless Fire

Adyashanti

Most people are in a constant state of struggle with themselves. Tremendously burdened by the past and in constant anticipation of the future, most human beings are rarely able to be fully present fo...

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8K reads