Sat, 23 Nov 2024 16:26:15 -0700WeeblySat, 23 Nov 2024 01:24:33 GMThttp://namastedrdave.com/mindfulness-blog/gymnastics-of-attention​The title of this passage Gymnastics of Attention written by Menka Sanghavi drew my attention. A question arose in my mind: Do I pay full and undivided attention to what is going on in my mind? Am I aware of where my mind is when I make choices? Am I mindful and aware of me making my choices? This is an important question for me to ask. This question makes me aware of where is my mind? Is it fully present in the present moment or wandering in different directions? When I am awake and aware of my mind I become centered and fully present. In these moments my mind is clear, free from the past that is already gone and free from the future that is yet to come. I have learned the significance of living in the present and not in the past or in the future. I know this is the right and wise way of living. Living this way makes my mind free from the grip of the past and the future. I flow in the river of self-consciousness which leads me to the unitive consciousness. It is a journey and it helps me live fully and openly. We all are aware of what is happening in our country. We are not the United States of America. We are the Divided States of America. We all need to work together to go from Me to We. We need to build bridges and not walls. It is a call for all of us and we all need to listen to it with an open mind and an open heart. I believe we can do it. The light of awareness shines and we need to walk together, joining hands with each other. This is very important. It is time to remain awake and aware for all of us. And I believe we can do it.
​Namaste. ]]>Sat, 09 Nov 2024 02:19:12 GMThttp://namastedrdave.com/mindfulness-blog/between-knowing-and-not-knowingThe difference Between Knowing and Not Knowing is a fascinating read for me. It helps me understand the difference between knowing and not knowing. The known is in the past and what is unknown is the future. The present is here and now, not there and then. The present is the reality. Like the authors say in the beginner's mind the possibilities are endless. I know the past which is gone and the future is unknown and has not yet arrived. If I hold on or am attached to the past there is no room for living freely and if I worry or think about the future then there is no possibility of living fully. The reality is in the here and now consciousness. Fresh and new ideas arise in the mind which is free from the past and future. As Swami Ramdass says in his book Here and Now, the reality is here and now. That reality is mysterious and true. The bottom line is to live in the world of the present, in the here and now consciousness. Such a way of living generates intimacy with me and with the mysteries of living. I have experienced such a mystery when I keep my mind and heart open, unbound by the past which is already gone and the future which is yet to arrive. I have such experiences when my mind and heart are open. Practicing mindfulness meditation, being fully present and awake in whatever I do such as walking in nature, washing dishes, brushing my teeth, taking a shower, listening to music, listening to me and others, doing Kirtan, chanting together and in my everyday life. Such experiences are very profound and they resonate deeply in my mind and heart. Such experiences are real and reliable. They create deep joy, love, fulfillment, peace and happiness in my life. This is the Beginner's Mind as The Zen Master Shunryu Susiki describes.
​Namaste! ]]>Sat, 02 Nov 2024 17:51:18 GMThttp://namastedrdave.com/mindfulness-blog/a-new-energy-gridBelow reflection is based on the article by Jonathan Harris:

We all receive gifts or blessings from nature and from human beings. Everyday I get gifts from nature-the sunshine and the sunset, from the rainy clouds and from the mother earth. When I was born, everyday I got the milk from the breast of my mother that nourished me. Every night she used to sing sweet lullabies. They still resonate with me in my heart though she passed away many years ago. She lives in my heart. My father taught me valuable lessons to know how to live spiritually. And I was blessed by many known and unknown people during my long life. I am grateful for their loving gifts. They will reside in my heart until I say goodbye to the world. How can I forget their blessings? How do I express my gratitude for their blessings? I thank them from my heart for their priceless gifts. Such memories are precious and unforgettable. Sometimes I bow to them. Sometimes I express my feelings of gratitude in words but mostly silently. Sometimes I let my heart sing songs of gratitude. Sometimes I cry when I feel their presence in my heart. I am deeply grateful to all of them for being in my relatively long life. I have come across many people in my life who have extended their loving hands to help me, to take care of me and haven't abandoned me in spite of my blunders. How can I forget them? And how can I forget mother Earth and and the natural elements for taking care of me day and night? Friends: Let us pay our homage to all living and not living people in our life. They have blessed our life and we are indebted to them.
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Namaste. ]]>Sat, 26 Oct 2024 17:04:26 GMThttp://namastedrdave.com/mindfulness-blog/why-do-we-send-flowersAlisha Gorder's Article  is very interesting and instructive. Reading and reflecting on this article makes me think about how to live wisely. According to my understanding, life is fleeting. We tend to live in the delusion and fantasy that life is eternal. This delusion keeps me abiding in darkness and I forget that life is fleeting and one day my body and mind will go away. This article makes me think and live with a clear understanding of how I live my life. My life is very precious. It is very important. Today I am here and tomorrow I may not be here. This is the truth. Realizing this truth makes me live mindfully. Every breath of my life is precious and to breathe wisely. Today is the day. I may not be here tomorrow. Knowing this truth helps me know how to live daily and fully. Each day is a good day. Each day is a God's day. Each day, each breath is very precious. Seeing many people passing away in my long life has taught me how to live my life everyday. I have come to realize how to live everyday and every night. Today I am alive. Tomorrow I may not be here. Knowing this truth I have come to see the value of living everyday mindfully. Realizing the impermanence of life keeps me awake and mindful of living my life meaningfully. May we realize how to live fully and gratefully. This is my prayer. Amen.
Namaste.]]>Wed, 25 Sep 2024 18:11:37 GMThttp://namastedrdave.com/mindfulness-blog/its-okay-to-be-perfectly-human​Below is my reflection to the article by Brian J Plachta:
Life is like a river flowing through ups and downs of living and I need to go with the flow. As a human being, I have gone through many ups and downs in my life. Rather than fighting against the ups and downs of life I have learnt to accept both. When I accept both I do not block the flow of energy. I accept the ups and downs of the current of the river in my life. Maintaining a dynamic balance between ups and downs saves my energy and it helps me to go with the flow. As a growing human being I have learnt that to err is human and to forgive is divine. When I err I do not deny my error. I forgive myself, learn from my errors and move on. I do not create a wall of denial, deceive myself and continue repeating the same cycle of misery. From my experience, I have learnt the lesson of not to stop the river of life flowing. From my experience I have learnt to let the river of forgiveness flow. Forgiving myself and the others in my life and loving myself unconditionally has lightened the burden of living mindlessly. I practice the art of living mindfully accepting the truth that I am not perfect and other people in my life are also not perfect. We all are on the path of learning and transforming ourselves from darkness to light. May we all join our hands and walk on the path of learning, growing and relating to each other as children of God.
Namaste!]]>Wed, 25 Sep 2024 17:39:23 GMThttp://namastedrdave.com/mindfulness-blog/citizen-of-dark-timesBased on the poem from the book- Wild Honey, Tough Salt by Kim Stafford, here is my reflection to it:
Like a bird I sing my own song. it is natural for a singing bird to sing. I sing my song not for an audience. I sing my song because it delights me. A song represents me. A song sings my authentic self. When I sing a song from my heart, it expresses me. It is my own song. It's my own life story with different colors. Each color of the story represents different emotions. It's like different colors of a rainbow. Different but real. I like the phrase " unity in diversity." Each color represents its own unique and authentic story yet each color has something in common. I describe it as "oneness in manyness." Like all human beings, I go through a wide spectrum of emotions-glad, mad, sad. I have learned that all emotions are sacred. I have learned to accept them without resistance. Accepting all emotions mindfully frees me from myself-created bondage and helps me fly freely in the sky. In my opinion we all go through ups and downs in life. Life is not like a straight line. It has its own curves. I have gone through many curves in my life. By the grace of people who love me unconditionally I have gone through difficult life cycles and my faith in the awakened self and in the goodness of people around me have helped me grow holistically.
​Namaste!
]]>Sat, 21 Sep 2024 22:47:17 GMThttp://namastedrdave.com/mindfulness-blog/addictionBelow is my reflection to the excerpt of Jac O'Keeffe:
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Our mind gets attached and addicted, not our body. The desire to eat sweet or fried foods arises in the mind, not in the body. We have five senses: smell, taste, touch, hear and see. The mind may make harmful choices and cause problems for the body. Mind is the cause of physical problems. So it is up to Buddhi, the intellect, to discriminate between what is helpful and what is harmful. Discretion is the key that opens or closes our mind's doors. Mind is the cause of freedom or bondage. We need to make wise choices for our physical, mental, emotional, relational and spiritual well-being. It took time for me to go beyond my self-centered ' I story'. I have been practicing the path of going beyond "my my, me me" walls and embracing my "us us, us us" self. Walking on this path creates a deep sense of oneness, a sense of unitive consciousness. Practicing mindfulness in different areas of my everyday life helps me walk on the pilgrimage of my life. It creates and sustains joy, love, and serenity. May we all find and follow the path of liberation, union, and harmony!

Namaste! ]]>Fri, 06 Sep 2024 18:36:49 GMThttp://namastedrdave.com/mindfulness-blog/inhabiting-the-bodyWho am I ? Am I fully present with my body, with my breath, with my emotion? With my thought? With my being? All these parts of myself are inter- connected. This is an experience of unitive consciousness. In that state I feel one with myself, with nature, and with human beings. In such a state of consciousness, all man- made differences fade away and I feel oneness.
When I do Yoga and Meditation I feel oneness with myself and with others. We are capable of having such experiences. Practicing nonjudgemental mindfulness helps me create and sustain the flow of unitive consciousness. It helps me to be connected with myself and with others in my life. It is a blessing.

Namaste!
Above is my reflection to Judith Blackstone's excerpt posted on awakin.org 
]]>Fri, 06 Sep 2024 18:24:46 GMThttp://namastedrdave.com/mindfulness-blog/what-is-muRobert G. Harwood is an author, and retired builder. Excerpt from Pouring Concrete, A Zen Path to the Kingdom of God is posted on awakin.org and below is my reflection to it:

There are two worlds we live in: one world is a world of sleeping; the other world is the world of awakening. The the first world is a world of illusion, the world of darkness. The second world is the world of light.
In the first world of sleeping, I am ignorant of my True Identity. Who is Mu? Who am I? The first world is a world of separation, a world of disconnection. The second world is a world of union, a world of harmony.
The first world is the world of bondage, the second world is the world of freedom.
In the first world I am bound by a gate of separation. The second world is gateless, a world of union. In the gateless world I feel oneness and harmony.
Life is a journey with ups and downs. When I am awake I realize the difference between freedom and bondage, Gate and Gatelessness. At times I lose my awareness of the Gateless Gate and create walls of separateness. When I get awakened I see the Gateless Gate and live with freedom. I live in the world of connectedness and harmony. Awareness of the world of Gateless Gate and living with that awareness helps me not to be bound by the Gate of separation. This is my pilgrimage and I am not in a hurry. May we all find our path of awakening, a path of Gateless Gate.
​Amen! Namaste,
]]>Sat, 24 Aug 2024 18:40:58 GMThttp://namastedrdave.com/mindfulness-blog/i-no-longer-prayBased on the lovely poem written by Chelan Harkin, here is my reflection:
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According to my experience prayer creates intimacy and a sense of oneness with existence. Prayer has helped me to be one with me, a sense of wholeness with existence. Prayer helps me to see the truth. Prayer takes me to a place which is beyond right and wrong, a place of oneness. When I was a child every evening we were chanting Divine songs. We were doing what we call Kirtan. Chanting together created a sense of intimacy, a sense of oneness or "onening". My childhood experiences have built a spiritual foundation of my life. This foundation has helped me go through thick and thin times of my life. It has helped me go through all seasons of my life. I love to read spiritual books and articles, reflect on what resonates in me, have discussions with friends and family members and regularly practice Mindfulness Meditation. We have created a spiritual community, a sangha where we virtually get together once a week for practicing Mindfulness Meditation and have spiritual discourses. Such weekly spiritual gatherings have helped us in our journey of life. May we all find our way to walk steadily in the journey of our life! This is my prayer.
Namaste!]]>