Aligning with Grace

One of my favorite morning practices is  Lovingkindness , which is very powerful and is sourced from ancient Buddhist teaching and practices. There are many things I like about this practice. ​First of all, it is  SIMPLE . Secondly, it is  TRANSFORMATIVE . The more you do it, the more you will notice things shift around you - only because the shifts are occurring within you first. If we  CHANGE , the world also  CHANGES .  Yes, it is as simple as that. But the thing is, we have to constantly work at changing ourselves. It is the essence of human nature, and of Buddhist teachings as well. Buddhists teach about the impermanence of all things. Nothing lasts forever. Many of us have heard the old adage, " The only constant in life is change ." But in order to change, we must be willing to open our hearts first, and then subsequently our minds. But I believe all change begins in the heart. We could become disillusioned by all the violence in the world - the cons...

  I bless you. Yes, you... We ALL can use a blessing. This is the second practice that I wanted to share with you. Start with someone you love, someone who matters, someone you care deeply about or are grateful for. That one will be easy. Maybe there are a few people you want to send blessings to - people you know who may need it right now. Then, I am going to suggest you move on to people in your life that are most challenging. Start with one. And maybe add on another person tomorrow. Maybe you will have to stay with the first person for a few days. Or a week. Or a longer while. But do so. You might just find your hard feelings toward that person melting away. You may become more compassionate towards them and their circumstances. Keep working at it. Then, consider people you read about or hear about who may need a blessing. You will change over time. And you may also find that the ones you are blessing change as well . Are you willing to give it a try? Let me know how it goes and...