nathanieltry:

Happy 2012 to all the yogis and yoginis out there.

lazyyogi:

Great Goddess Lakshmi

Allow us to prosper

by the power of love

in this new year.

Shower us with your blessings. 

Show us strength and passion

Romance and discipline

Success and opportunity. 

Let this be the year

we make it all come true. 

purpleaggregates:

Liberating Prayer

PRAISE TO BUDDHA SHAKYAMUNI

O Blessed One, Shakyamuni Buddha,
Precious treasury of compassion,
Bestower of supreme inner peace,

You, who love all beings without exception,
Are the source of happiness and goodness;
And you guide us to the liberating path.

Your body is a wishfulfilling jewel,
Your speech is supreme, purifying nectar,
And your mind is refuge for all living beings.

With folded hands I turn to you,
Supreme unchanging friend,
I request from the depths of my heart:

Please give me the light of your wisdom
To dispel the darkness of my mind
And to heal my mental continuum.

Please nourish me with your goodness,
That I in turn may nourish all beings
With an unceasing banquet of delight.

Through your compassionate intention,
Your blessings and virtuous deeds,
And my strong wish to rely upon you,

May all suffering quickly cease
And all happiness and joy be fulfilled;
And may holy Dharma flourish for evermore.

mothernaturenetwork:

We’ve got recipes for easy dishes with 8 or fewer ingredients!

lazyyogi:

Look deep into your throbbing life and you will find the quality of the divine. You will not find a God but you will find a godliness, a truth, an awakening, a buddha.

Osho

lazyyogi:

To meditate does not mean to fight with a problem.
To meditate means to observe.
Your smile proves it.
It proves that you are being gentle with yourself,
that the sun of awareness is shining in you,
that you have control of your situation.
You are yourself,
and you have acquired some peace.

Thich Nhat Hanh

lazyyogi:

Zen is the very principle of existence. Whether there is anyone who teaches it or not, whether there is anyone who learns it or not, it is there. Zen is the very heartbeat of existence. It is not dependent on any teaching, not dependent on any masters, not dependent on disciples. Masters come and go, disciples come and disappear; Zen remains. Just as it is. It is always just as it is.

Osho

mothernaturenetwork:

The crab nebula is located within the constellation Taurus. It is believed to be the remains of a giant supernova that was recorded by Chinese and Arab astronomers in the year AD 1054. The nebula emits pulses of gamma and radio waves and is expanding at a rate of about 1,500 kilometers per second.

dancingdakini:

Mindfulness is basically the opposite of forgetfulness; it is being able to remember something. In Buddhist practice, that something is our object of meditation, or Dharma that we have decided to incorporate into our daily life.

The function of mindfulness is to prevent distractions to our mind by keeping our mind on a virtuous object and bringing our mind back to that object if we’ve forgotten it. If our mindfulness degenerates, we become more forgetful and more easily distracted, and our spiritual practice will degenerate as a result. In order to be successful at our spiritual practice, whether that be working on our compassion, or patience, or cherishing others etc., we have to remember to do so all the time.

Mindfulness helps us stay focused on our spiritual practice throughout the day and in our meditation practice. Just as with anything else we do, the more we practice mindfulness, of being aware of our thoughts and feelings throughout the day, our mindfulness will become more stable, and our distractions will decrease. If we are aware of negative thoughts and feelings as they begin to arise, we can quickly apply the appropriate opponent and restore our sense of inner peace before our emotions spin out of control. Mindfulness helps us take control of our mind and thoughts, instead of letting our emotions and thoughts control us and take us for an emotional rollercoaster ride.

Simple breathing meditation is an excellent way to practice and increase mindfulness. One method is to focus on the feeling of the breath as you inhale and exhale through your nose, always bringing your attention back to the breath every time you notice your mind wandering to a distracting thought. Another method is to visualize your mind as being like a clear blue sky, and any thought you have is a cloud in that sky.  Any time you have a thought/cloud, imagine it drifting away and disappearing, carrying that thought along with it. Gradually the distracting thoughts will decrease, and your mind will become more peaceful.

lazyyogi:

On the path of Will, you have much to do. On the path of Surrender, you have nothing to do. 

Osho