Today I had to channel my inner hidden Buddha quite a bit. Work was hell to begin with and after work I decided to stress myself even more by going grocery shopping because it looks like this weekend will be busy busy busy. And for your information walking a city block and up two flights of stairs four times with at least ten extra pounds weighing you down isn't fun at all, especially after eight hours of pulling, pushing and lifting old people (I'm a nursing assistant if I forgot to mention that before).
Anyway, Buddha says that everyone is in misery no matter what type it can be over come by connecting with your inner self and pretty much relaxing. Let the universe take the wheel. Good things will happen to those who put good things into the world. For instance, smiling even though you are miserable gives good vibes on to the world. One action as small as a smile can turn your whole day around. You may even influence someone else to smile with you.
So, even though shopping after work wasn't the best feeling, I smiled and chatted with one of the night workers who was obviously bored. Made him laugh and hopefully uplifted his mood for a short time. That is all we can really do as humans for each other, make one another smile and be happy. In the end my dash of Buddha for the night was a literal version of one of my favorite quotes. "Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared."-The Buddha :)
Friday, September 14, 2012
Thursday, September 13, 2012
A Dash Of Buddha Post #15
Out with the old and in with the new.
It may not be Spring but it's time for me to start new and fresh. Along with getting rid of my ex, week 1 and still holding strong, I am trying something else new. Buddhism.
Don't get all Judgey McJudgerson on me just yet, I am not a religious person and thankfully Buddhism isn't a religion. In a nutshell, Buddhism is about inner peace and being a good person. The Buddha was not and still is not seen as a God or a Prophet. He was simply awakened. Always seen as a human being, no more special or more important than anyone else, he was only enlightened with knowledge and understanding of the Universe. I won't go too deep into what Buddhism is because I am still learning myself but I'll be keeping you updating on how I am adding a dash of Buddha into my day to day life.
First of all I am meditating. Which is harder than it seems, but also a lot easier than it appears. You can meditate anytime and anywhere. On your way to work at a stop light, on your break, while exercising, in the bath, in bed before you fall asleep and even in bed with your lover. That's right, you can even meditate while you're having sex, actually some people consider sex a form of meditation because you are out of your head while you are intimate with someone. Crazy! Oh yeah, by the way Buddhism, unlike most religions, doesn't frown on the fun things in life. As long as you aren't hurting yourself or anyone else you can pretty much do anything you want as long as it is part of your path to becoming enlightened/awakened. Suck it conventional religious conformists!
So, why is it hard for me to meditate at times? Well, getting a chance to actually push all thoughts out of my head for more than a few minutes is rather difficult with my busy life and insomnia. If I'm not working I'm trying to sleep, you would think that would be the perfect time to meditate... yeah, shut up! It's not!
Anyway, the easiest way to meditate is to put on some soothing low music, light a candle, sit on the ground on a pillow with your legs crossed and hands resting easily on your knees (palms facing upward) and close your eyes. Start out breathing normally and get yourself "centered" which means comfortable and prepared to let go of the day. Take your first deep breath and let it out slowly, then your second breath breathe in deep and then deeper still til your lungs are filled with all your negative energy and thoughts, push them all out slowly. With every breath you should feel your body relax more and more, your mind should be focused on your breathing, the soft music and the little bit of light flickering behind your eye lids.
There is no specific time that you should meditate for, as long as you are comfortable and relaxed at the end of your meditation. What does meditation do for you on your path to awakening? Don't be so feeble minded, becoming more aware of your breathing makes you more aware of the stillness that is really all around you. Knowing you're oneness with the Earth and Universe is a teaching of the Buddha, we are all connected through the same Sun, Earth, Moon, air and water. Breathing in the air that connects you with the rest of the world is humbling on some level. Not to sound like the stereotypical hippie mind you, I am not going to change my diet or bathing habits anytime soon. Trying to incorporate the Buddhas teachings into my daily life will be a positive challenge that I am very excited to share with you, and I hope I can inspire you to add a dash of Buddha to your day as well.
It may not be Spring but it's time for me to start new and fresh. Along with getting rid of my ex, week 1 and still holding strong, I am trying something else new. Buddhism.
Don't get all Judgey McJudgerson on me just yet, I am not a religious person and thankfully Buddhism isn't a religion. In a nutshell, Buddhism is about inner peace and being a good person. The Buddha was not and still is not seen as a God or a Prophet. He was simply awakened. Always seen as a human being, no more special or more important than anyone else, he was only enlightened with knowledge and understanding of the Universe. I won't go too deep into what Buddhism is because I am still learning myself but I'll be keeping you updating on how I am adding a dash of Buddha into my day to day life.
First of all I am meditating. Which is harder than it seems, but also a lot easier than it appears. You can meditate anytime and anywhere. On your way to work at a stop light, on your break, while exercising, in the bath, in bed before you fall asleep and even in bed with your lover. That's right, you can even meditate while you're having sex, actually some people consider sex a form of meditation because you are out of your head while you are intimate with someone. Crazy! Oh yeah, by the way Buddhism, unlike most religions, doesn't frown on the fun things in life. As long as you aren't hurting yourself or anyone else you can pretty much do anything you want as long as it is part of your path to becoming enlightened/awakened. Suck it conventional religious conformists!
So, why is it hard for me to meditate at times? Well, getting a chance to actually push all thoughts out of my head for more than a few minutes is rather difficult with my busy life and insomnia. If I'm not working I'm trying to sleep, you would think that would be the perfect time to meditate... yeah, shut up! It's not!
Anyway, the easiest way to meditate is to put on some soothing low music, light a candle, sit on the ground on a pillow with your legs crossed and hands resting easily on your knees (palms facing upward) and close your eyes. Start out breathing normally and get yourself "centered" which means comfortable and prepared to let go of the day. Take your first deep breath and let it out slowly, then your second breath breathe in deep and then deeper still til your lungs are filled with all your negative energy and thoughts, push them all out slowly. With every breath you should feel your body relax more and more, your mind should be focused on your breathing, the soft music and the little bit of light flickering behind your eye lids.
There is no specific time that you should meditate for, as long as you are comfortable and relaxed at the end of your meditation. What does meditation do for you on your path to awakening? Don't be so feeble minded, becoming more aware of your breathing makes you more aware of the stillness that is really all around you. Knowing you're oneness with the Earth and Universe is a teaching of the Buddha, we are all connected through the same Sun, Earth, Moon, air and water. Breathing in the air that connects you with the rest of the world is humbling on some level. Not to sound like the stereotypical hippie mind you, I am not going to change my diet or bathing habits anytime soon. Trying to incorporate the Buddhas teachings into my daily life will be a positive challenge that I am very excited to share with you, and I hope I can inspire you to add a dash of Buddha to your day as well.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
The Bedside Blogger #14
Hey all, its been a little while since my last post. I've been working a ton and haven't had time to rant and rave about anything lately. But lucky for you I am stuck at work and have a few things on my mind.
First, I have officially been single (for the most part) for a year. To be perfectly honest, it's been a very interesting year. I have met and become strangers again to a few really interesting and nice guys. Also, in the course of the year of being somewhat single I have fallen for and had my heart broken (into a million shards) by someone whom I am still very fond of. That's right, I'm going to spill a little truth right now about how I've learned so much about dating crazy people.
My D-bag was first and foremost the most complicated yet utterly simple person that has ever walked into my life. Deep and hidden at times but mostly just a shallow goof ball. I won't go into great detail about him because I don't want to bore anyone, just know that he could probably charm the pants off of anyone with his wit and good looks. Anyway, D-bag has had my heart for about a year and has single-handedly changed my whole outlook on men and made me into a man hater for about eight months. How? Well, he's either scared of commitment or a horrible narcissistic sociopath... possibly both actually, even after knowing him for a year I still don't know. For a little under a year he has been toying with my emotions, using them to his advantage whenever possible. Because of him I have been unable to trust anyone when they say they have feelings for me, not to mention that anytime someone gets remotely close to me he some how reenters the picture and throws me into a tailspin. I ran into his muscular tattooed arms in my darkest times, when I was depressed, sad, lonely, horny, drunk and worst of all I ran to him when I was scared that someone was getting too close. He never, in my opinion, actually cared about my feelings or my needs. As long as we were hooking up at some point, he couldn't care less what came out of my mouth. I probably could have confessed to murder and he would've gone with it if I said it half naked. I actually liked that about him for a very long time. I could make a complete fool out of myself in front of him and he didn't care. Luckily, I realized that if someone could look past all the crazy things I've said or done that they didn't really care about me, it was the complete opposite and I deserved someone who would care about me enough to help me work through the crazy not just use it to their advantage.
My point to this sappy rant is that I've been single for a year and I am a completely different person. Recently I have been giving people way better advice than I have been taking for myself. So, my new goal is to give advice that I would actually take. I usually think very hard about what I say because I know that it is very hard to hear sometimes. Starting with my own problem, being addicted to someone who plays games with your emotions. WALK AWAY!! And before we get all "uumm... yeah, harder than it sounds" hear me out. Walking away from someone you care about, or in my case are addicted to, is very hard. So, how did I do it? DELETE EVERYTHING! I gave him a very simple good-bye then deleted his number and pictures. I know that I will miss him and I will think about him often, but I know that I can never move on and become a better person with him still involved with who I currently am. Giving myself space and time to breath is also how I have been able to rid myself from him. It won't be easy, and it wasn't easy getting to this point to where I could let go, but I knew it was time.
All in all so far so good. I know that I am strong and I can hold myself together when I miss him the most. The key is not to replace him with someone new, which took me a while to figure out, but to trust in myself and turn inward when I felt vulnerable and not run to him every time I was sad, depressed, or horny. Also, now when I'm scared of getting too close to someone I know that I have to work through it myself in a healthy way, not a destructive selfish way. Using him as a crutch is no longer an option if he is completely out of my life and phone contacts. So, if you take my advice and find it hard, don't worry you're not alone. It takes deep breathes and small steps to walk away from someone whom you truly love with all your heart.
First, I have officially been single (for the most part) for a year. To be perfectly honest, it's been a very interesting year. I have met and become strangers again to a few really interesting and nice guys. Also, in the course of the year of being somewhat single I have fallen for and had my heart broken (into a million shards) by someone whom I am still very fond of. That's right, I'm going to spill a little truth right now about how I've learned so much about dating crazy people.
My D-bag was first and foremost the most complicated yet utterly simple person that has ever walked into my life. Deep and hidden at times but mostly just a shallow goof ball. I won't go into great detail about him because I don't want to bore anyone, just know that he could probably charm the pants off of anyone with his wit and good looks. Anyway, D-bag has had my heart for about a year and has single-handedly changed my whole outlook on men and made me into a man hater for about eight months. How? Well, he's either scared of commitment or a horrible narcissistic sociopath... possibly both actually, even after knowing him for a year I still don't know. For a little under a year he has been toying with my emotions, using them to his advantage whenever possible. Because of him I have been unable to trust anyone when they say they have feelings for me, not to mention that anytime someone gets remotely close to me he some how reenters the picture and throws me into a tailspin. I ran into his muscular tattooed arms in my darkest times, when I was depressed, sad, lonely, horny, drunk and worst of all I ran to him when I was scared that someone was getting too close. He never, in my opinion, actually cared about my feelings or my needs. As long as we were hooking up at some point, he couldn't care less what came out of my mouth. I probably could have confessed to murder and he would've gone with it if I said it half naked. I actually liked that about him for a very long time. I could make a complete fool out of myself in front of him and he didn't care. Luckily, I realized that if someone could look past all the crazy things I've said or done that they didn't really care about me, it was the complete opposite and I deserved someone who would care about me enough to help me work through the crazy not just use it to their advantage.
My point to this sappy rant is that I've been single for a year and I am a completely different person. Recently I have been giving people way better advice than I have been taking for myself. So, my new goal is to give advice that I would actually take. I usually think very hard about what I say because I know that it is very hard to hear sometimes. Starting with my own problem, being addicted to someone who plays games with your emotions. WALK AWAY!! And before we get all "uumm... yeah, harder than it sounds" hear me out. Walking away from someone you care about, or in my case are addicted to, is very hard. So, how did I do it? DELETE EVERYTHING! I gave him a very simple good-bye then deleted his number and pictures. I know that I will miss him and I will think about him often, but I know that I can never move on and become a better person with him still involved with who I currently am. Giving myself space and time to breath is also how I have been able to rid myself from him. It won't be easy, and it wasn't easy getting to this point to where I could let go, but I knew it was time.
All in all so far so good. I know that I am strong and I can hold myself together when I miss him the most. The key is not to replace him with someone new, which took me a while to figure out, but to trust in myself and turn inward when I felt vulnerable and not run to him every time I was sad, depressed, or horny. Also, now when I'm scared of getting too close to someone I know that I have to work through it myself in a healthy way, not a destructive selfish way. Using him as a crutch is no longer an option if he is completely out of my life and phone contacts. So, if you take my advice and find it hard, don't worry you're not alone. It takes deep breathes and small steps to walk away from someone whom you truly love with all your heart.
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