The Eastern Mind

01/26/2022

A great quote from Yuval Noah Harari. This comes from page 315 of the book 21 Lessons for the 21st Century.

09/22/2021

12/28/2020

The propensity to divide the world into friends and enemies is rooted in the desire to build-up and defend a false sense of self.

11/15/2020

Tips for Everyday Living
Watch out for the busy trap - Many people that find themselves stressfully busy don’t actually need to be in that circumstance. Often times this activity overload is rooted in the unconscious need to build up and/or defend a false sense of identity. As we become willing to let go of how we are perceived in the eyes of others, many of the activities we previously labeled as important will start to fall by the wayside.

08/20/2020

This book is a compilation of conversations between Sri Ramana Maharshi and vistors to his ashram. The teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi gracefullly influence the mind of the seeker to turn inward creating conditions that are ideal for growth.

05/22/2020

Tips for Everyday Living
Look for opportunities to reframe competition. Competition does not have to be adversarial and can instead be symbiotic. When looking at it in a symbiotic context, the role of the competitor is to provide a series of scenarios for other competitors to attempt to overcome. This is done in a manner that facilitates the long-term growth of the skill and character of the one that is sometimes labeled an "opponent". As the opponent experiences growth, they develop the capacity to return the favor. Through this collaborative relationship, everyone involved reaches a level of skill and understanding that they otherwise could not have obtained. When competition is experienced this way, the score becomes somewhat irrelevant.

05/06/2020

Eastern philosophy at work in the Lego Movie. When we look at the character of Emmet we see the following...

He is simple and ordinary.

He has a mind that is empty of ideas.

He makes no effort to compete with or distinguish himself from others.

He is so seamlessly connected to the whole that he goes unnoticed by those around him.

The name Emmet has an old German origin meaning "entire or universal".

04/23/2020

“Success, failure, both lead to the Way. But the path of failure is shorter”

- Red Pine

02/05/2020

This is an excellent book containing an English translation of 4 sermons from the Indian Buddhist monk known as the Bodhidharma. While being short and concise it can be read numerous times throughout a lifetime and each time it will bring forth new meaning. Highly recommended.

01/01/2020

Tips for Everyday Living
Ordinary Conceals Extraordinary - Become content with being perceived as ordinary. The need to be perceived as something other than ordinary agitates the mind and slows our ability to evolve in whatever it is that we choose to study.