Life Plan, Distractions and Miracles

What is the Perfect Teaching?

The perfect teaching is the one before you. Richard Baker Roshi once told of a dream he had: He was trying to find the answer to a question, and the telephone rang. He ignored the phone and focused instead on the question. On the 30th ring he picked up the phone, and the answer came to him through the receiver. What he had labeled a distraction was really the point.

Dairyu Michael Wenger


I enjoy it when simple things speak volumes to me
How everyone has there own interpretation of things.

I started reading this and it didn't make much sense or even mean anything to me until the I read the following sentence....what he had labeled a distraction was really the point.....instantly my mind was flooded with thoughts about how this simple sentence applies to where I am currently in life. I always find moments like this to be miracles....what you need to hear or read without you realizing that you needed it in the first place. When it comes a rush of relief streams over and a strange comfort is felt all over. A general feeling of peace....like god directly whispering in your ear "Everything will be okay" .....

It seems like "the life plan" is always being rewritten and rearranged...rather then dwell on the idea that these things that "come-up" are distractions from "the life plan" I think its important to realize that they might just led down to a path of happiness you never saw coming or expected. Growing up, art was always a "distraction", at least according to my parents. Many years I spent wondering what it is I want to do with my life...What I could pursue as a career that would truly make me happy.

A career in art never crossed my mind because of the "distraction" mind set I had.....Letting go of the idea of art being a distraction I realized that it was the answer I was seeking...the endless hours spent worrying about not having a plan or having no career goals were a complete waste of time, because the entire time I always had the answer....

Be Open....never allow your mind to set limits....

Happy Feelin's - Maze feat. Frankie Beverly

Keep Moving Forward

The Remedy for Fear

One of the methods for working on our deepest fears is to consider that they have been produced by our past actions. Then, depending on whether the object of your fear is emotional suffering or physical pain, examine it well and ask yourself whether there is any remedy for it. If there is, why be afraid? If there is nothing you can do, then there is even less point in worrying about it. There is also another approach, which entails looking for the person who is afraid. Look at the nature of yourself. Where is it?

–His Holiness the Dalai Lama XIV, from The Dalai Lama’s Little Book on Inner Peace (Element)


Fear is never far and sadly it moves a lot of us more so then encouragement and confidence do.
I find it interesting that as children we don't seem to have these fears at first, its with each year that we turn we add a new fear. In kindergarten we are introduced into the idea of becoming accepted into a "group", quickly we learn our differences and see them negatively. These encounters are what we like to call "lessons". But rather then learning that our differences are our strengths we dwell on the idea that individuality is a weakness, so we grow fear, rather then grow confidence .We become weary of our every step and spend countless hours rethinking and questioning our actions, believing them to be mistakes and errors. Seldom is a lesson truly learned because we spend so much time dwelling on the idea of failure...
how we failed,
that we failed,
what we could have done to prevent the failure,
that we will fail again
that we shouldn't try again
This is what moves us away from those dreams and goals we started developing as children. Yet we are the only ones preventing ourselves from achieving those or any goals. Another person could easily tell us "You aren't good enough for this....You just wont do well.....Your just wasting your time....etc" but ultimately we run our own journey. It is our decision to listen to those voices and have them dwell and resonate throughout our mind and body. It is our decision to allow those voices to lead our thoughts, our actions, and our decisions. And it is those same voices that become that fear we hold within.....that fear that comes out as excuses, as reasons to doubt and reasons to hold back from placing your best effort into any situation. We waste our own time convincing ourselves that we aren't good enough. Pushing people and possibilities away....

Not to long ago I watched a movie with my younger brother. I excepted it to be a typical Disney movie....but what I learned from the this simple children's movie has stayed with me...I've included a clip below....keep moving forward regardless of anything. Always continue to move forward...no fears, no doubts, no assumptions, no excuses, keep moving forward...

"Lewis: I don't even know what I'm doing.
Wilbur: Keep moving forward.
Lewis: I mean, this stuff is way too advanced for me.
Wilbur: Keep moving forward.
Lewis: And what if I can't fix this, what are we going to do?
Wilbur: Keep moving forward."