Prayer

Osho – Prayer is wonder, reverence. Prayer is receptivity for the miracle that surrounds you. Prayer is surrender to the beauty, to the grandeur to this fantastic existence. Prayer is non-argumentative dialogue with existence. It is not a discussion… it is a love-dialogue. You don’t argue… you simply whisper sweet nothings.

When a man falls in love with a woman he whispers sweet nothings into her ear. When a man falls into love with existence… the same romance: prayer is romance. It is fantasy; it is becoming available to the miraculous. Many people have lost the capacity to pray, because many people have lost the capacity to wonder. They have lost the capacity to be surprised. You go on seeing millions of wonders every day but you are not surprised at all. Your eyes are so full of dust and knowledge that you don’t see anything. A seed is sprouting, and you don’t see any wonder. A new leaf coming out of the tree, and you don’t see any wonder. A bird singing, and nothing happens inside you. A peacock dances, and nothing dances inside you. A white cloud floats in the sky, and you remain untouched. Then prayer is impossible.

Prayer needs a poetic heart, a loving heart. Approach reality more poetically — don’t be too much of a scientist, don’t be too much of a rationalist. don’t think that you know; nothing is really known — ignorance is absolute, ignorance is ultimate. Once you understand that nothing is known, and ignorance is ultimate, you will again be full of those beautiful eyes you had when you were small children.

I have heard… The husband was one of those cynical, sour guys whom nothing moved or impressed. To him, everything was just a big “so what?” He visited a psychiatrist, and after a short examination was given this diagnosis: “You are cold and blase. To you, everything means a big nothing. You are married, eh? Well, here’s what you do. Ringling’s circus is in the town: take your wife and see the show. Take a look at how red-blooded people live and act. Watch the performers who live dangerously; see how they pulsate and glow.”

The schnook took his wife to the circus. Out into the ring came the roaring lions and tigers. The wife was thrilled by the excitement, but the husband yawned and replied, “Yeah? So what?” Finally there came the grand finale where the daredevil was shot out of a cannon three hundred feet into the air, turned several somersaults, and then, pulling out a clarinet, began playing before hitting the net. The crowd roared its appreciation for the act, but the husband, after a few minutes of thought, turned to his wife and grunted in a bored manner, “A Benny Goodman he’s not!”

Prayer is the capacity to be amazed. prayer is the capacity that you had as children, and you have lost. Claim it — reclaim it — because with prayer you have lost all. The day your wondering eyes closed, God became nonexistential to you. Open your wondering eyes again, and you will find him pulsating again. He’s very close by… he’s all around you… he is within and without.

Source – Osho Book “The Divine Melody”

Osho shares his thoughts on making love.

Making love is a gift. Most of us forget the sacredness of sex. It is perhaps one of the most beautiful treasures in life that we take for granted. While it should be honored as a moment to savor, we rush. If you could, for a moment, think of the person you are in love with. Now imagine tomorrow is the last time you will have the opportunity to make love to them. How will you choose to experience this last, sacred moment with this person? Will you be rushed and hurry off or will you savor every minute? In life, we have taken our sacred gifts: breathing, eating, observing, resting, love-making, and we rush through all of it, mindlessly. We take it for granted. We are constantly in a state of what was yesterday and what will be tomorrow but very few times we think about what is right now. We assume that there is always tomorrow, so we forget to appreciate what is right now. The present moment is what exists. Tomorrow does not exist yet. Do not assume that it will. Right here, right now, exists. And in everything we do, we should devote ourself to it, be fully present with it. Sex should have its own sacred space, it should be transcendent and nurturing, but it has become tarnished and abused. In our culture, it is not treated as sacred but merely as an act or an object. It is used to sell products, it is shown violently on television, and it is viewed as something to conquer, not as something to share. Please, take a moment to listen to Osho’s words. It is worth every minute of your time.

Gratitude.

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.

How often are we so concerned about the few things in life that we feel we lack, that we forget so many things that we DO have. Look at your wonderful friends, your home, your full pantry, your job. So perhaps you feel as though it isn't a great job, but it gives you money. So many people are out of work, some stand in lines for free bags of food. But they are probably so grateful for these bags of food. I was in their shoes once. When I was a child, my mother and I went through hard times a lot. I have experienced, many times, the feeling of being "without". But the truth is, when we have what we need, we are not without. What we are feeling is a socially conditioned, media and market-driven idea that we have to have more in order to matter. We always matter, though, regardless of our current financial or social state. We have to love ourselves unconditionally and always, always show gratitude for what we have. Appreciate the functionality of our 6 senses, of our hands and feet- truly!
Appreciate a sound mind, a warm home, electricity, running water, a car or a bike. Realize that you do have everything you need, and probably many things that you want..and be grateful. Smile, knowing that like the plants, birds and animals, the universe has taken care of you, too. :)

I wish everyone a new year filled with gratitude.
Happiness in 2011.

every mind lives in his own world

"In a cinema hall, you look at the screen, you never look at the back - the projector is at the back. The film is not there really on the screen; it is just a projection of shadow and light. The film exists just at the back, but you never look at that. And the projector is there. Your mind is at the back of the whole thing, and the mind is the projector. But you always look at the other, because the other is the screen. When you are in love the person seems beautiful, no comparison. When you hate, the same person seems the ugliest, and you never become aware of how the same person can be the ugliest and the same person can be the most beautiful. So the only way to reach to truth is to learn how to be immediate in your vision, how to drop the help of the mind. This agency of the mind is the problem, because mind can create only dreams. Through your excitement the dream starts looking like reality. If you are too excited then you are intoxicated, then you are not in your senses. Then whatsoever you see is just your projection. And there are as many worlds as there are minds, because every mind lives in his own world". -Osho

Osho describes it well. We have said for decades that "love is blind". Perhaps it is sometimes, but I prefer to think that real love is not blind but forgiving. I also agree with Osho in that often times, we want something so much that we create it. Our minds wander and dream and project our desires onto a person that may or may not be the image that exists, but what our mind wants to see. We create an image, expectation. It is important for us to be mindful and aware of what we are really seeing and not what we want to see. We must remember to be completely honest with ourselves in order to see and feel what really is.

It's the end of 2010, as we know it

"Every man should be born again on the first day of January. Start with a fresh page. Take up one hole more in the buckle if necessary, or let down one, according to circumstances; but on the first of January let every man gird himself once more, with his face to the front, and take no interest in the things that were and are past".-Henry Ward Beecher


In a few more days, 2010 will be like dust clouds in the rear view mirror of my metaphorical 1969 Mustang fastback. I'm not at all misty-eyed about it. I'm glad to see it go and I pray to the gods that be that the next year is a prosperous one for all of us. 2010 was like a regurgitated version of 2009 in every way for me. Lost job, lack of job, lost relationship, still in Dallas, still spinning wheels, still broke. But there was a lot of good, too. The universe pushed me into my pit twice to make sure I learned it. I learned. It didn't feel good, but I finally got it.

My birthday came and went. I was sick with a cold, as I still am. But it was a good day. I relaxed, and did what I love to do in my free time: bake. It was a carrot cake from the box, only, this one promised to taste like it was "home made". It turned out to be a very dense cake, quite good. But the icing left much to be desired. Next time, I'm making my own icing from scratch. This love of baking has brought me to other ideas, perhaps ones that won't pan out but at least the wheels are still turning for ideas. This lets me know that I have not given up. There is still a light on in the lighthouse.

This time of year is strange for me. I ponder the past, realize I'm a year older, wonder "where am I today? Am I any better off"? I guess that's the ever-climbing goat in me. Always looking ahead, always trying to do more, be better. But I want to make sure I don't allow the seemingly bad experiences to overshadow all that was won, all that was really, truly good. I learned so much in 2010. I finally took a chance and opened my own studio, which I love spending time in. It brings me peace, quiet and focus, all of which has been missing and so desperately needed in my life. I began playing the guitar again. I started my own jean line with a factory and Mockingbird Denim is due to launch in January. That is really huge. It's something that I thought would always be just a dream. I had really hoped it would work out but I never believed it would pan out as flawlessly as it did. I feel grateful for the opportunity.

I feel really thankful for my friends and family too. I am surrounded by beautiful people, brilliant minds, hands full of creative talents, love. I really have nothing to mourn for 2010. And I hope everyone will take a moment to remember all of the good they can take from this past year into the new year. We all have a pretty long list, if we just think about it.

2011 is a story just waiting to be written. A blank canvas just waiting to be painted. An empty shop waiting to be opened, fabric waiting to be sewn into a beautiful dress, a vacation to Scotland waiting to be explored. Or for you, a project to unfold, a screenplay that will be completed, a house to be purchased, a child to bring into the world. Whatever it is in your life, look ahead, see how far you've come and be excited for the things ahead. I have learned that there is no energy to be spent on the past. It's over. The future is where all the fun is.