Tag: Haemin Sunim

Fasting

“If you are stressed out, maybe it’s because your mind is overcrowded with other people’s thoughts and activities. If this is the case, go on a “media fast” for three days- forgo your cell phone, TV, and internet. You will soon be able to listen to your own body and mind and return to a state of good health.” – Haemin Sunim

I gave this gift to myself for the most part this week. I haven’t done a total fast from my phone and internet, (TV is an easy pass for me) but I have drastically reduced my “media calories.” I’ve mostly stayed home. I’ve read two books, enjoyed quiet dinners and long dog walks with my husband, and gone to bed early each night. I’m feeling restored and refreshed after a “go-go” first half of the year.

Now admittedly, this isn’t too hard for me. As a natural introvert, I crave experiences like I’ve had this week. I need alone time like I need food and air. Still, in a particularly tumultuous year like this year’s election year (on top of everything else in this fast-paced, crazy world . . . .), I can’t imagine that anyone wouldn’t benefit from this “finest medicine.” It’s a way to get back in touch with yourself. It’s interesting, that just like Dorothy of the Wizard of Oz, and so many spiritual seekers of the world, what you often realize when you stop searching and grasping, and hunting, and you get to that quiet, solitary, special space, just within yourself, is that what you are craving and seeking is something that you’ve had with you all along. Peace is within.

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Here is the question of the day from 3000 Questions About Me:

1766. What is your favorite thing about nature? (For me, everything – endless variety, unparalleled resiliency, the constant reminder that miracles abound.)

Tuesday’s Tidbits

+ We have an adorable little plant and bookstore near us that states this mantra: “Support your body. Manage your mind. Expand your spirit.” It’s a great mantra. It’s a good mission statement. It’s a simple and all-inclusive formula to the best way to go about living a life.

+ I read this in one of Haemin Sunim‘s excellent books (it reminds me of two of my favorite axims in life – 1. Tears are our body’s God-made release valves and 2. Our lives are the clear, blue skies. The clouds always, always pass.):

“Clouds release their sadness by crying until they can cry no more. When they have no tears left to cry, they feel a great weight has been lifted, as heavy as all the tears they have shed. We can release our sadness into the sky within us. When we feel sad, it’s okay to cry like the clouds.”

After quite a dry spell, the clouds over us here in Florida have been crying a lot. In fact, they’ve had many stormy tantrums. And afterwards, everything feels so cleansed and refreshed and robust and healthy for it.

+ I have four adult children. I’ve noticed that my kids (particularly my youngest two) seem to believe that I have extra powers in my prayers. When they really want something to happen they often ask for my prayerful intercession with the Powers that Be, my “magic”, my mommy ju-ju. It feeds my ego to be “needed” but I know that their prayers are heard just as loudly and faithfully, and their intuitive guidance is every bit as strong and connected as mine. And so when they ask for my prayers, my prayer is that my children find this strong connection of their own, and that they surrender to it, and it boldly sustains them for the rest of their lives. I often tell my family this: Let Life Love You.

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Here is the question of the day from 3000 Questions About Me:

2458. On a scale of 1-10, how funny would you say you are?