Mindfulness

The main theme of my current Flight School course is mindfulness. The idea is to pay attention ~ to what I say to myself, to the thoughts I have, to my emotions, and to how I respond to these words, thoughts, and feelings. I have the choice to speak to myself kindly. I can dismiss the thoughts that do not serve me well, just let them go. The key here is to remember that I am not my thoughts, in the same way that I am not my emotions. I may be feeling one way or another, but that feeling does not define who I am. Feelings can move through me if I choose to let them go.

I have been introduced to the work of Sylvia Boorstein through the Buddha Chick courses with Jan Lundy. Sylvia says that every moment of mindfulness is a prayer for peace, an act of compassion for myself and others.

An assignment for one of our Flight School modules was to listen to a talk recorded by Sylvia on the topic of mindfulness. The ideas she shared have been helpful in recent days. I feel like there is little I can do to make the world a better place. I want peace and justice for all. I want people to be able to live their lives with equality and fairness. Any action I might take seems inadequate....

Then I review Sylvia's words:

I cannot stop wars; I can't do much more than control the habits of my mind.

I can't finish the job, but I can't not start.

What is happening is the only thing that could be.

It's a lawful world. There is no blame or fault; there are causes and conditions. Things happen.

When I ask what should I do, the answer is mindfulness.

Every moment of mindfulness is a prayer for peace.

I am reminded that I can control only myself. I make a difference when I am mindful about what I say to myself and others, what I think, and what I feel.

Those feel like small things, but they are things I can do. They are ways to be that make a difference in my life, which in turn impact how I am with others.

Each moment I am mindful I am saying a prayer for peace.