By Joanna Macy — 2011
The greatest gift we can give our world is our presence, awake and attentive. What can help us do that? Here, drawn from ancient religions and wisdom traditions, are a handful of practices Joanna Macy has learned to count on.
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Forget about learning from the past and applying those lessons to the future: reclaim and expand the present moment.
The Four Horsemen of my apocalypse are called Efficiency, Convenience, Profitability, and Security, and in their names, crimes against poetry, pleasure, sociability, and the very largeness of the world are daily, hourly, constantly carried out.
Mindfulness is available to us in every moment, not just the special or precious ones. We just have to tune into it throughout the day.
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“Living in the present” is a recognized and evidence-backed lifestyle that psychologists are quick to recommend for those struggling with anxiety and stress in their day-to-day life.
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Jana Long writes that for her, the meaning of life is found in the simple act of bearing witness to the here and now.
As the old adage goes, if you think you're enlightened, go home to mom and dad and the rest of the family and see what happens. If you haven't completely released the grip of the past, it will surely come back to haunt you now.
"It is no exaggeration to say that Mary Oliver gave me the blueprint, the road map, for the rest of my life."
New research underlines the wisdom of being absorbed in what you do
Three ways to find strength, courage, and wisdom when the going gets rough.
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Nichtern, who's a senior teacher in Shambhala Buddhism, uses "the commute" as a metaphor for how people approach their lives — schlepping from job to job and relationship to relationship, hoping for something better to happen.