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Tag Archives: Buddha

Daily Ramblings – Wednesday Wisdom – Attached to Suffering

03 Wednesday Apr 2019

Posted by Dave Gardner in Wisdom Wednesday

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Advertising, Attachment, Buddha, Marketing, News, social media, Suffering, wisdom

“Attachment is the source of all suffering” – The Buddha

Is there something in your life that you do not like? Does your job suck? Are you not making enough money? Are your relationships toxic? Are you unsatisfied with your image in the mirror? Final question: Why?

In most cases we have what we need. We may not have what we want, but we have what we need. We have a place to lay our heads at night; we have enough food to eat, and we have some means of making a living. Why are so many people suffering?

We suffer because we are resisting change. We resist changes to our body as we age. We resist changes to our employment when it’s time to move on. We resist changes in our relationships (i.e. it’s time to move on or accept that we weren’t right for the person who left us).

I used to suffer. I used to suffer from want and need. Then, I ran across this quote above and decided that I should change my mindset. I took a few times to understand this. Greed caused my two bankruptcies. I wanted things I could not afford and borrowed more than I should have to get the things I wanted, which today, I don’t even own.

Why do we buy things? Because we are unsatisfied. We are missing something. Both feelings come from being bombarded by marketers who are fighting for our attention and money. They show us pictures and videos of things we should have, places we should go, the diet we should be on, the food we should eat, the supplements we should take, the deals we’re missing out on. All this advertising has a huge effect on our psyches. It is constant, persistent, and all-encompassing. If you think this does not impact you, think again.

How do we avoid it? We can avoid social media, we can avoid the news, and we can avoid mindless surfing of the web. We can choose the sources of information we use and get rid of the rest. I enjoy social media but only spurts. I’m literally on social media for a few minutes in the morning and the evening. The same goes for the news. I scan the news for about 10 minutes in the morning while I enjoy my first cup of coffee. The rest of the day I am spending my time on the tasks that are important to me: Reading, Writing, Programming, Meditation, and Exercise. These are my Big 5. Everything else is secondary.

We can also develop a sense of gratitude and thankfulness. It takes time to develop this habit because we are told constantly that we don’t have enough and told we aren’t enough. We are missing something that the couple in an advertisement has. That couple by the way aren’t a couple, their bodies aren’t that perfect but photo-shopped, and that sailboat they are on is not theirs. It’s all made up. It’s all designed to make you feel you are missing something. If they convince you that you are, you just bought what they are selling or something like it to fill in this “make believe” gap in your life. A gap that isn’t even real. Do you understand how insidious this is?

Look, don’t get me wrong. I understand that marketing and advertising is needed. They tell us what is out there in case we are looking. What I’m describing is the effect these advertisements have on us and why they are so harmful. They create the suffering the Buddha talks about. We become attached to the idea that we don’t have enough; we aren’t enough, and the only way to fix us is to pursue more money, more things, which require us to work harder and harder to pay off the bills we keep adding to. It is a vicious cycle that most people never, ever get out of.

If you are tired of feeling crappy all the time, tired of running subconsciously on a rodent’s exercise wheel, take charge of yourself and your life. Take time to take inventory of what you have and express thanks for your life, your health, your family, your place of residence, and the job you have. None of them are perfect, but they are yours. You really don’t need another pair of shoes, a brand-new car, a new sound system for your home, or yet another bottle of protein or some powdered meal that will sit in your cupboard for the next year and gather dust.

Life is good. Be grateful for all you have. End your suffering by detaching from ideas and things, realizing that it will all change. It will change because everything in this life does. We change, our things change, our attitudes change, our ideas change, our relationships change. If you become detached, change is variety. Change is refreshing. Change is exciting.

Until next time…

Dave

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Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday

06 Saturday Oct 2018

Posted by Dave Gardner in Spiritual Saturday

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Tags

Buddha, Contemplation, Meditation, Prayer, Religion, spirituality

Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life. - Buddha

Image Credit: www.brainyquote.com

Regardless of your religious or even non-religious stance, it is one of the critical pieces of our lives. Today is a day to contemplate your relationship with God, the Universe, or whatever you consider beyond yourself. Perhaps philosophical concepts are divine to you.

I am an Eckist (see www.eckankar.org). This has been my religious path since childhood. Like most believers, it is a joy each day to go into contemplation (meditation or prayer are equivalents) and give my love to God. It is a joy to give thanks for the things I have in my life.

The path back to God is a long and hard journey but it is a journey worth taking. Those of us in Eckankar believe that we reincarnate over and over and over again to perfect Soul. Soul is the true “us”. The body we use currently is only for Soul’s use, not the other way around. As Soul learns it becomes more Godlike. It never becomes God. It becomes more refined and grows in awareness. This awareness provides Soul with better insights. These insights allow Soul to avoid past mistakes and this, in turn, allows us to live a better life.

Ultimately, we discover that Soul’s purpose is to continue to learn better ways of giving and receiving love—to be a channel for God’s love, wherever we are. The more we give, the more we get.

Whatever path you follow, give it reverence. Learn the religious books, practice the tenets of these scriptures. Dedicate yourself to improve in conjunction with the teaching your path provides. There is no greater pursuit than God.

I hope each of you is having a terrific weekend so far.

Until next time…

Dave

Reference

Buddha Quotes. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com. Retrieved October 6, 2018, from BrainyQuote.com Website: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/buddha_121766

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Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote

30 Friday Jun 2017

Posted by Dave Gardner in Quotes

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Buddha, Christ, Confucius, Hari Krishna, Harold Klemp, Muhammad, Rumi

“If you fill your consciousness with the positive aspects of Divine Spirit, there is no vacuum where the negative may enter.” – Harold Klemp – The Language of Soul

Our mind is so focused on scanning our environment for danger that it is much easier for us to think negatively. Focusing on positive things is much more difficult and takes some discipline, particularly if you are trying to adjust your thoughts this way. One way that will work for you is using whomever you use as a focal point for your religious worldview. Whether you use Christ, Hari Krishna, Rumi, Confucius, Muhammad, or the Buddha, the effect will be the same.

I don’t know of anyone who can think negatively while keeping their mind on Christ or any other spiritually elevated individual in history. By keeping your attention on one of these spiritual giants (One that has special meaning to you), negative thoughts will leave you while you practice this exercise.

Once you begin the practice of focusing on the positive, your outlook will change. Things that may have bothered you in the past will no longer trouble you. You’ll feel a calmness begin to take over your being. You will relax.

Thanks for reading!

See you tomorrow…

Daily Ramblings – Daily Quotes

08 Monday May 2017

Posted by Dave Gardner in Quotes

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Buddha, John Wooden, Naguib Mahfouz, wisdom

“You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.” – Naguib Mahfouz

I’ve had numerous professors bring this up during class. This is a quote that demonstrates that thinking, learning, and discovery are much more important than knowing the answers. Interestingly, this leads to another famous quote: “The more you know, the more you know you don’t know and the more you know that you don’t know.” – David Byrne

“To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one’s family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one’s own mind. If a man can control his mind he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him.” – Buddha

Our mind is an excellent tool, but a horrible master. Keep the mind focused on the good, the beautiful, and on others. Never let the mind focus on the self–this is when the trouble comes.

“Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.” – John Wooden

This is a terrific quote from John Wooden, who had his fair share of talent while coaching over the years. This is all about being thankful for the gifts we are given and avoiding the vices that typically come with success and fame.

Hope you are having a terrific Monday!!

Until tomorrow…

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