Mindfulness poems and movies..

I’ll Meet You There
Rumi

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right doing, 
there is a field. I will meet you there.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY IN FIVE SHORT CHAPTERS ~ Portia Nelson

1

I walk down the street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk

I fall in.

I am lost... I am helpless.

It isn't my fault.

It takes me forever to find a way out.

2

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I pretend I don't see it.

I fall in again.

I can't believe I'm in the same place.

But it isn't my fault.

It still takes a long time to get out.

3

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I see it is there.

I still fall in... it's a habit

My eyes are open.

I know where I am.

It is my fault.

I get out immediately.

4

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I walk around it.

5

I walk down another street.

The Five Remembrances

I am of the nature to grow old. I cannot escape growing old.
I am of the nature to have ill health. I cannot escape having ill health.
I am of the nature to die. I cannot escape death.
All that is dear to me and everyone I love are of the nature of change. I cannot escape being separated from them.
My deeds are my closest companions. I am the beneficiary of my deeds. My deeds are the ground on which I stand.

Come Dance with me.

-Hafiz

 

Every Child
Has known God,
Not the God of names,
Not the God of Don'ts
Not the God who ever does anything weird
But the God who only knows four words
And keeps repeating them, saying:
"Come dance with me."
Come Dance

Guest House
Rumi

This being human is a guest house.

Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness

some momentary awareness

comes as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!

Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,

who violently sweep your house

empty of its furniture,

still, treat each guest honorably.

He may be clearing you out for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,

meet them at the door laughing,

and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,

because each has been sent

as a guide from beyond.

Welcome difficulty.

Learn the alchemy True Human Beings know:

the moment you accept what troubles

you’ve been given, the door opens.

Welcome difficulty as a familiar comrade.

Joke with torment brought by the Friend.

Sorrows are the rags of old clothes

and jackets that serve to cover, and then are taken off.

That undressing,

and the beautiful naked body underneath,

is the sweetness that comes

after grief

THE JOURNEY ~ Mary Oliver

One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began,

though the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice--

though the whole house began to tremble

and you felt the old tug at your ankles.

"Mend my life!" each voice cried.

But you didn't stop.

You knew what you had to do,

though the wind pried with its stiff fingers at the very foundations,

though their melancholy was terrible.

It was already late enough, and a wild night,

and the road full of fallen branches and stones.

But little by little, as you left their voices behind,

the stars began to burn through the sheets of clouds,

And there was a new voice

which you slowly recognized as your own,

that kept you company as you strode deeper and deeper into the world,

determined to do the only thing you could do

determined to save the only life you could save.

Too Soon to Tell

As the story goes, there was once a farmer and his only son in the days just before the Civil War. Having only one horse, the farmer and son worked long, hard days, sunup to sundown, just to get by, with nothing left to spare.

One day, as the father and son plowed the fields, their horse got spooked and ran off. The son was devastated; "What bad luck, now what will we do?"

The father replied, "Good luck, bad luck, too soon to tell."

The father and son continued to work the farm. Then one day their horse comes running back over the hill with 6 other horses. The son exclaimed, "What great luck, now we have all the horses we'll ever need!"
To which the farmer replied, "Good luck, bad luck, too soon to tell."

The next day, as the farmer and son were working with the horses, one particularly difficult horse threw the son off its back and broke his leg. The son cried, "Oh, father, I am so sorry, now you have to work the farm all by yourself. What bad luck!"

Once again, the father replied, "Good luck, bad luck, too soon to tell."

Several days late,r the Civil War broke out, and all the able-bodied young men were sent off to war. The farmer's son, having a broken leg, was forced to stay at home.

After the leg had healed, the father had the only farm around with a son to help and seven horses to boot. They worked the farm and prospered.

Good luck, bad luck. It's too soon to tell.

Two Wolves - A Cherokee Parable

An old Cherokee chief was teaching his grandson about life...

"A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy.
"It is a terrible fight, and it is between two wolves.
"One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, self-doubt, and ego.

"The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.

"This same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather,
"Which wolf will win?"

The old chief simply replied,
"The one you feed."

Relax

Bad Things Are Going to Happen–Ellen Bass

Bad things are going to happen.
Your tomatoes will grow a fungus, 
and your cat will get run over.
Someone will leave the bag with the ice cream
melting in the car and throw
your blue cashmere sweater in the dryer.
Your husband will sleep
with a girl your daughter’s age, her breasts spilling
out of her blouse. Or your wife
will remember she’s a lesbian
and leave you for the woman next door. The other cat,
the one you never really liked, will contract a disease
that requires you to pry open its feverish mouth
every four hours. Your parents will die.
No matter how many vitamins you take,
how much Pilates you do, you’ll lose your keys,
your hair, and your memory. If your daughter
doesn’t plug her heart
into every live socket she passes,
you’ll come home to find your son has emptied
the refrigerator, dragged it to the curb,
and called the used appliance store for a pick up—drug money.

There’s a Buddhist story of a woman chased by a tiger.
When she comes to a cliff, she sees a sturdy vine
and climbs halfway down. But there’s also a tiger below.
And two mice—one white, one black—scurry out
and begin to gnaw at the vine. At this point
she notices a wild strawberry growing from a crevice.
She looks up, down, at the mice.
Then she eats the strawberry.

So here’s the view, the breeze, the pulse
in your throat. Your wallet will be stolen, you’ll get fat,
slip on the bathroom tiles of a foreign hotel, 
and crack your hip. You’ll be lonely.
Oh, taste how sweet and tart
the red juice is, how the tiny seeds
crunch between your teeth.

More mindfulness poems at https://cih.ucsd.edu/mindfulness/mindful-poetry

The root word of "anxiety" is "angere," which is Latin for "to choke or constrict." This reflects the feeling of tightness and constriction often associated with anxiety. 

Anxiety is inevitable. We all started our lives with anxiety, passing through the narrow birth canal. Face it. Pause, observe, and respond. Don't stay there worrying. You will be reborn in some form.

The root of joy is gratefulness...It is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful.

"The antidote to exhaustion may not be rest. It may be wholeheartedness. You are so exhausted because all of the things you are doing are just busyness. A central core of wholeheartedness is totally missing from what you're doing."  
"We are never more than one grateful thought away from peace of heart." ~ David Steindl-Rast

What question should we ask ourselves?

Before asking any question, we should realize the preciousness of our lives and ask what we can do to make the most out of it and align our thoughts, speech, and work with it.

Seneca said, "It is not that we have a short space of time, but that we waste much of it".

Reflect on the cause of suffering - the ignorance and delusion. Everything is ephemeral and transient. Remember that you will be old, sick, and die, and so will everyone. So do the best action. And the best is already in the freshness of the moment. It gives you inner peace and inner freedom.

Humans have a special ability to use language for something other than what other animals do (food, mating, safety vs danger). Humans use it for storytelling. We have stories about ourselves that we tell ourselves over and over again and believe it to be true. We catastrophize things. This makes us overtly prepare,  hypervigilant, and this is the cause of anxiety.

It's not just about being aware non-judgmentally. It's about being curious and welcoming. Just like you welcome a guest.

We all need to die to something in order to live.

All we need is "a moment" to live and be happy.

But we are all chasing it and running for it, but never arriving. Whenever there is this moment, either we chase it away or we run away from it. The art of arriving home is the art of mindfulness.

The silence is the sacred sound and in that spaciousness all other sounds arrive.

Someway, baby, it's part of me, apart from me

And at once, I knew I was not magnificent
High above the highway aisle
Jagged vacance, thick with ice
But I could see for miles, miles, miles. ~Halocene (Bon Iver)

(This brings the sense of coldness, emptiness, fragility, and humility. "Holocene" refers to the geological epoch we’re living in now.  That name hints at the song’s theme: how small we are in the grand scheme of things, and yet how beautiful that smallness can be. It’s about feeling small in the world but still connected to something larger. It’s about realizing your place in the world—not as something grand, but as part of something much bigger. )

The Science of Enlightenment by Shinzen Young 

Seeing, hearing, and feeling 

Gone...

Rather than trying to “get rid of thoughts,” Shinzen encourages investigating thoughts as sensory phenomena—especially those that arise as internal sounds (mental talk) or images (mental pictures). Emotions, similarly, are approached as bodily sensations that can be gently observed and allowed to change. Through this lens, the self becomes an illusion created by the binding together of various sensory events.

"If I could bottle this state, I could make the whole world addicted to it." The California woman shares her experience after the moment of awareness in a near-drowning. When fear passed and she was fully aware of what to do next.

Rather than striving for special mystical experiences, Shinzen emphasizes the refinement of perception and the dissolution of identification. He envisions a future where meditation is demystified, practiced universally, and studied scientifically—perhaps one day even measured like blood pressure or temperature.

“See, Hear, Feel” Practice

 
“See” refers to both external visual perception and internal mental imagery.
See Out: Noticing the visual field—colors, shapes, shadows, light, motion.
See In: Watching the inner screen—mental pictures, visual memories, imagined scenarios.
Sit and let your eyes be either open or closed. Notice what visual impressions arise. If you recall someone’s face or imagine your to-do list, silently label that as “See In.” If you notice a ray of sunlight on the wall, label it “See Out.”
“When you see a mental image as just light in the mind, the grip of the past begins to loosen.”

“Hear” includes external sounds and internal talk or narration.
Hear Out: Environmental sounds—cars, birds, a fan, distant voices.
Hear In: Your inner voice—thoughts in the form of words, songs, silent reading.
Close your eyes and tune into sound. If you hear your own voice in your head planning the day or replaying an argument, label it “Hear In.” Notice the tone, rhythm, and emotional charge of the internal sound. If a dog barks or a bell rings, acknowledge it as “Hear Out.”
“The voice in your head is just a sound. When you see it that way, it loses its power.”

“Feel” covers all bodily and emotional sensations.
Feel Out: Physical sensations—touch, breath, posture, heat, heartbeat.
Feel In: Emotions—tightness in the chest, tension in the shoulders, knots in the stomach.
Sit still and scan the body. Where do you feel pressure, heat, or tingling? When emotions arise, don’t name them as “sad” or “angry.” Instead, label the raw sensation as “Feel In.” This reduces mental proliferation and lets you stay grounded in direct experience.
“When you feel anger as a sensation instead of a story, it becomes manageable.” Putting It All Together


In time, you can practice noticing the vanishing of each sensation (“Gone”), or explore combinations like “See-Hear” or “Feel-Hear” when multiple streams are active.

Mindfulness is a form of brain training. Training attention to where we want it to be. As an example, if we use our breath as an anchor to focus our attention as our attention wanders, we notice our attention has wandered. We notice our reaction, and we return our attention to the sensation of breathing. We use the breath as an anchor as our attention wanders. We notice that our attention has wandered, we notice our reaction, and we return our attention to the sensation of breathing. When we are practicing mindfulness, we repeat this cycle over and over again, and with each repetition, we further strengthen the neural pathways in our brain connected with this activity. How we do this is really important. If we do this with frustration and with excess effort, we end up becoming tense, which triggers our sympathetic nervous system, flooding our system with fight or flight hormones, and we fail to reduce our physiological state down to more of a resting state. Our mind will continue to feed its own state of stress and mental activity. Won't calm down. I often liken this process to puppy training. We need to cultivate an attitude of curiosity, playfulness, softness, and fun. If we get angry with the puppy whenever its attention wanders, we just end up with a frightened puppy. We need to be playful, make the learning process light and fun in the same way we need to do this with our own mind when practicing mindfulness.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bxw4IYW1eE

MORNING RECITATION

Waking up, this morning, I smile.

Twenty-four brand new hours are before me.

I vow to use them wisely.

I vow to do good, be optimistic, and live each and every moment happily, with acceptance and

equanimity, gratitude and generosity.

I vow to pay attention, look deeply, and notice, appreciate, savor, and absorb all the beauty and wonder

around me.

And I vow to look at all beings--all beings--myself included, with the eyes of compassion.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh (expanded by Piero Falci)SENTENCES OF SOLACE ~ Piero Falci

I am here, now, and I am safe.

I know who I am.

I know where I am.

I know this ground, the ground upon which I stand.

Right now, I have nothing to do, nothing to achieve, nothing to worry about, and nowhere to go.

I have arrived already.

I am here, now, surrounded by love.

I have arrived already.

I am home.

I am home in my body. I am home in nature. I am home in the world.

I am home anywhere and everywhere, and I can rest now.

…

~ Excerpt from the 6-book series "A Better Life in a Better World" ~ Piero Falci

LOST ~ David Wagoner

There’s a story, told by David Wagoner, of a young American Indian who asks an older member of the

tribe “What do I do when I am lost in the forest?” In his answer, the elder instructs the young Indian to stand still and observe the woods with the utmost attention, seeing all the details, and even listening to the forest breathing.

Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you are not lost.

Wherever you are is called Here, and you must treat it as a powerful stranger, must ask permission to

know it and be known.

The forest breathes. Listen. It answers, I have made this place around you.

If you leave it, you may come back again, saying Here.

No two trees are the same to Raven.

No two branches are the same to Wren.

If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you, you are surely lost.

Stand still. The forest knows where you are. You must let it find you.

THE TALE OF THE MAJESTIC MOUNTAIN

There was a big, beautiful mountain in a faraway place. It wasn't like other mountains. It just sat there, looking calm and strong, as if it had a million stories to tell. Its base went deep into the Earth, and its tall peaks reached for the sky.

The mountain felt everything. It could feel the ground below, sensing every little shake and rumble. It felt alive, but it was also steady and quiet, like a big curtain that only moves when the wind blows.

From its high spot, the mountain could see everything. It watched the seasons change, coloring the land in different ways. It saw the sun come up, covering everything in a warm, golden light, and then saw the moon's silver light take over when night fell.

In the summer, the snow on top melted, showing the rocky sides underneath, maybe with a few white patches in the shadows. Water ran down its sides like shiny jewels, flowing happily and bringing life to the
land below. 

When fall came, the mountain put on a show of red, orange, and gold. The trees dropped their leaves in a colorful display, painting the whole place in fiery colors.

Winter covered the mountain in a fresh blanket of snow and ice. It was a beautiful, magical sight that everyone loved. Sometimes, thick clouds would cover it, and rain would beat against its sides. But the
mountain just stood there, strong and steady, welcoming every drop of rain and every snowflake.

People would come from all over to see it. Some would be amazed by its beauty on clear days, while others would complain when clouds or fog hid the view. But the mountain didn't care what they said. It knew its own value, and it understood that what people find beautiful can be different, and that change is the only thing you can count on.

This great mountain had seen many storms and felt nature's fury, but it also saw many peaceful days when nothing moved. Animals lived on its slopes, and birds sang old songs.

The mountain had a simple lesson for anyone who would listen. It taught the importance of staying calm when things change, of being strong when times are hard, and of just being yourself. With every gust of
wind, every rain shower, and every day and night, the mountain stayed true to itself, staying put and strong.

And so, the story of the mountain reminds us that even as life changes all around us, we can find our
own solid ground. We can be like the mountain—watching without judging, standing firm in who we are, and taking on every moment with grace.

THE TALE OF THE SERENE LAKE

In a tranquil corner of the world, there lay a serene lake. It rested within the embrace of the Earth,

cradled and cherished by the land surrounding it. Travelers, weary from their journeys, stumbled upon this

special place and lay down to rest.

As the travelers settled, their gaze turned to where the Earth met the lake, watching as it supported and

held the body of water so lovingly. The contact was gentle, a harmonious dance between the land and the

water. It was as if the Earth itself was aware of every ripple, every movement within the lake.

The breath of the wind, gentle and rhythmic, whispered secrets to the lake. With each gust, the lake's

surface danced.

Some days, the lake was a mirror, capturing each moment with grace and poise, reflecting the sky,

trees, rocks, and clouds.

One day, the sun bathed the lake with its golden rays, causing the water to sparkle and shimmer.

Another day, the moon took its turn, casting silvery reflections upon the tranquil surface, accompanied by the silhouette of trees and the play of shadows. Seasons changed, and the lake adapted. During winter, its surface turned to ice, but life beneath continued its dance, unhindered and full of vitality.

The travelers, captivated by the lake's beauty, saw more than just reflections. The lake had a depth, a stillness below its surface that remained undisturbed, even when the waters above were ruffled by the wind. It was a silent strength, a resilience that came from being cradled by the Earth for so long.

Days turned into nights, and as the travelers observed the lake, they realized that, like the lake, they too

had depths. There were moments of stillness within them, untouched by the fleeting thoughts and feelings that often stirred their mind. They found solace in the thought that, beneath the ever-changing surface of their emotions, there lay a vast reservoir of peace and stillness, waiting to be discovered.

As days passed, the travelers learned from the lake. It taught them the art of reflection, the beauty of

depth, and the strength that comes from stillness. And as the travelers continued on their journeys, they

carried with them the lessons of the lake, a constant reminder that, within each of us, there's a serene depth

waiting to be embraced.

- Piero Falci