The Path

The Path is simply to be who we are, to be able to recognize what is the most appropriate for us in Life.
It is to be gratefull for being alive and willing to live reality as it is.
It is learning to live and learning to die.
Dying for the differences and mind conceptualizations.
It is to accept what each moment has to offer, and nourish ourselves with all the ingredients that Life gives us.

Healthy Ego

The Zen way is not intended to eradicate ego.
It aims primarily to help us to deal with it.
We must have a healthy relationship with our ego.
That alone is enough.
It is a mistake to think that we need to remove ego.
We should have a healthy ego that does not enslave us.

All reality is relative

We must remember that all reality is relative.
There is my reality and the reality of the others.
When we remove these "my" , "the others" that work like mind filters , mind ceases to qualify and label reality as true, false, right or wrong.
When that happens there is nothing more than than the serenity of the understanding.

Direct your thoughts to hapiness

Happiness is not somewhere in the future.
Happiness is in the present, where and when we are.
Direct your thoughts to hapiness.
Happiness is not a closed paradise,separate from the world.
It is at the same time, the source and the ocean.
There is no happiness without the will to be happy.

To be a Master

Being a Master is for those who teach while they learn and learn while they teach. Being a Master is only available to those who know how to live in this permanent exchange at all times and in all their relationships.

It is impossible to be more Zen than a child

A couple of minutes ago I was walking on the street when I heard a mother explaining to her 5-6 years old child why trees are leafless in the winter.
In an outburst that mother told the kid that the trees in winter, without leaves, are uglier.
The child stared at her and told her something like this:
"But without leaves we can see the sky much better."
I could not help smiling and thinking:
It is impossible to be more Zen than a child.

The insidious self violence

One of the most insidious form of violence is self violence.
I refer to people who are violent to themselves.
Who are they?
Those that keep thinkig about the same thing for days.
Those who do not have time for anything but work.
Those who do not think in themselves but always and only in the other.
Those who worry too much.
Those who want everything perfect.
Those who do not get the luxury of a rest.
That is, those who fail to Live ...

Time to change paradigms

A decisive step towards spiritual maturity and tranquil happiness happens when we distinguish the subtle but important difference between what we do with Life and what Life does with us.
In western world average life expectancy is increasing, but expectancy and hope in Life is decreasing.
It´s time to change these paradigms.

Lessons from nature

It's amazing how nature presents us with many silent but sublime lessons about Life.
Check out butterflies.
They seem to be always out of reach when we chase them.
But when we wait quietly they may even end up landing on us.
Happiness is just like butterflies ... ;)

Lead your negative emotions to the exit door

If a negative emotion hits you, lead it to the exit door with the power of your thoughts.

Be the gardner of your life

It is hard to understand what drives our life in a certain direction.
I prefer to think that every moment is like a seed capable of tracking all the bloom of life.
The seeds of today depends on what he had sowned yesterday.
Tomorrow is sown now.
Everything we think, feel and act is like a seed that is planted in the garden of our life.

True peace

Peace is not what we find in a place without noise, without problems, far from work, but what keeps our heart and mind calm even amid the most adverse circumstances.
This is the only true meaning of Peace of Mind.

Place your thoughts on the sunny side of your mind

With so much room full of light inside our mind, why do we insist on placing our thoughts on the darkest corner?
Our certainties need to be placed in a light and airy place, without the shadow of a doubt.

Suffering is a mere option

Never forget that in life pain is inevitable but suffering is an option.

Feelings are magnetic

Feelings are magnetic.
Every feeling is a beacon that attracts reality.
Love attracts love.
Gratitude attracts more reasons to be grateful.
Sympathy generates simpathy.
Serenity attracts serenity.
Generosity creates a generous response.
So when we strive to have feelings that make us feel good we are also contributing for a better world.

A "religion" of awakening

Many people ask me what drew me into Zen Buddhism
First of all the fact that it is a "religion" of awakening, and not a religion of believing ...

Live lighter

Ego convinces us that reallity is only what we label as being real.
Ego tells us to only accept as real what we process in our minds and what fits in our limited mental conceptualization.
Peace of mind can be achieved when we finnaly understand that we do not need to make any mental effort to create reallity.

Keeping a child´s mind is not childish at all

There is a big difference between being childish and keeping the mind of a child.
Many adult remain childish throughout their lifes.
They want to be always in the spotlight and to grab just for themselvs everything that is good.
They live a life in wich they are absorbed with by their own ego, and only care about what they want.
Keeping a child's mind throughout life is different.
It is a mind that finds beauty in life, a mind that doesn't hurt nor let be hurt.
It is a mind that do not carry wounds , is free, open and willing to enjoy.
The child's mind is itself a manifestation of a life of love.

Infect the world with your best

Love to be loved.
Smile for the world.
Do not compare yourself, you are unique.
Notice the little things.
Dream, because dreams are the fuel of achievement.
Fall in love with life.
And please, infect the world with your best.

Ask once Thank a lot

Lao-Tzu said:
"The universe is sacred.
We can not improve it.
If we try to change it, we spoil it.
If we try to grab it, we lose it. "
How difficult is for people to realized that they are just passing through this life.
How strange it is how people believe that everything turns around them.
And how sad it is the way people complain about what life has given them.
We just have to ask once but we must give thanks many times.

Enjoy the adventure of living

Life is longer for those who can live and really enjoy the small pleasures of this adventure we call Life.
Enjoy!
After all ,at the very end , we will never survive this fantastic adventure we call Life...;)

Honor the positive in you

We have an innate tendency to value our pain, our difficulties, but, curiously, and by contrast, we hardly notice what we do or think positive.
We must reverse this unhealthy trend.
When we start to notice and to pay attention to the good things we do, we think , or experience in our day to day, and allow ourselves due recognition for them, however small they are, little by little we will be more happy and fulfilled.

Time to be happy: NOW

We forget that there is no way to happiness.
Happiness is the way!
Stop waiting until you lose 5 pounds, until you have children , until they leave home , until the sixth, until the second, etc..
The time to be happy is right NOW.
Remember:
Happiness is a journey not a destination.

Live seriously

Some people say we mustn´t take life so seriously.
That we should always find some time to dance, relax, sleep, love, laugh, time to be happy.
But for me , taking life seriously is finding time for all of that.
Everything else is not taking life seriously.