Morning is broken, like the first morning, Blackbird has spoken, like the first bird, Praise for the singing, praise for the morning, Praise for the springing fresh from the world.  — Eleanor Farjeon My readers may remember this hymn better as having been sung by Cat Stevens. A link to the youtube is as follows: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X48weyESpec in…

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  Dear Tom: It has been a while since I wrote. Please forgive me Sufi master. I need a little understanding. Bodhidharma says, “Not thinking about anything is zen…. To know that the mind is empty is to see the Buddha…” Yet I read that people average an amazing 50,000 to 70,000 unique thoughts per…

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  “Suffering is not enough. Life is both dreadful and wonderful…How can I smile when I am filled with so much sorrow? It is natural–you need to smile to your sorrow because you are more than your sorrow.”  — Thich Nhat Hanh   Such good advice. I need to heed it myself and pass it on to…

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Internal peace is an essential first step to achieving peace in the world. How do you cultivate it? It’s very simple. In the first place by realizing clearly that all mankind is one, that human beings in every country are members of one and the same family.  The Dalai Lama Long time readers of the…

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  One of my favorite people I ever encountered was asked, “Who are you, my dear?” Her response was, “nobody special.” The following made me think of her. She really was in so many ways, “somebody special.” In the eating hall, a stuffed parrot hung from the ceiling, and from its golden beak dangled a…

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