Guilt & Emotions & awareness

June 2, 2025

There is no point in feeling guilty. 

Guilt is from the
past; it is a concept. The feel-
ing of guilt is happening now,
so it is an object. Our aware-
ness should be on the mind's
reaction to this object. 

Entrance - Rilke

"Entrance" - a poem by Ranier Maria Rilke

Whoever you are: in the evening step out
of your room, where you know everything;
yours is the last house before the far-off:
whoever you are.
With your eyes, which in their weariness
barely free themselves from the worn-out threshold,
you lift very slowly one black tree
and place it against the sky: slender, alone.
And you have made the world. And it is huge
and like a word which grows ripe in silence.
And as your will seizes on its meaning,
tenderly your eyes let it go. . .

Translated From The German By Edward Snow

From America’s Favorite Poems: A Favorite Poem Project Anthology, edited by Robert Pinsky and Maggie Dietz (W.W. Norton: 328 pp,)

Practicing Presence

Practicing Presence

“To continue practice through severe difficulties we must have patience, persistence, and courage. Why? Because our usual mode of living – one of seeking happiness, battling to fulfill desires, struggling to avoid mental and physical pain – is always undermined by determined practice. We learn in our guts, not just in our brain, that a life of joy is not in seeking happiness, but in experiencing and simply BEING the circumstances of our life as they are.”

Charlotte Joko Beck from Everyday Zen

Practicing Presence

Practicing Presence

“To continue practice through severe difficulties we must have patience, persistence, and courage. Why? Because our usual mode of living – one of seeking happiness, battling to fulfill desires, struggling to avoid mental and physical pain – is always undermined by determined practice. We learn in our guts, not just in our brain, that a life of joy is not in seeking happiness, but in experiencing and simply BEING the circumstances of our life as they are.”

Charlotte Joko Beck from Everyday Zen

Opening from the Heart

Opening From Heart

Right now, and in every now-moment, you are either closing or opening.
You are either stressfully waiting for something--more money, security,
affection--or you are living from your deep heart, opening as the entire
moment, and giving what you most deeply desire to give, without waiting.
If you are waiting for anything in order to live and love without
holding back, then you suffer. Every moment is the most important moment
of your life. No future time is better than now to let down your guard
and love. Everything you do right now ripples outward and affects
everyone. Your posture can shine your heart or transmit anxiety. Your
breath can radiate love or muddy the room in depression. Your glance can
awaken joy. Your words can inspire freedom. Your every act can open
hearts and minds. Opening from heart to all, you live as a gift to all.
In every moment, you are either opening or closing. Right now, you are
choosing to open and give fully or you are waiting. How does your choice
feel?
--David Deida, from /365 Nirvana, Here and Now/